What's the difference b/w AAO and ABO???

[posum]

I'm so confused. Can anyone tell me what the difference between the American Association of Orthodontics (AAO) and the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) is? Are orthodontists that are certified by one better than the other?

[dr.j]

AAO: is just an association that almost all ortho's belong to by default. ABO: is a board certification status that indicates that the doctor has gone through the optional process to become a diplomate of the ABO. Most ABO certified doc's are going to be very good. Doc's that are not ABO certified are by no means inferior, they have just not gone through the process yet. You cannot really use AAO/ABO as an accurate way to decide if a doctor is better than another doctor.