Orthodontics, also known as dentofacial orthopedics, is the specialty of dentistry that deals with the correction of misaligned and improper teeth and jaw issues. An orthodontist's job is to provide treatment to people with misaligned, missing, and overall very screwed up jaws and teeth. Orthodontists can implement treatment by applying braces and possibly conducting surgery on a patient. Every patient's treatment is varied. An orthodontist will affix braces by gluing metal brackets to the concerned teeth and running a wire through the brackets. The brackets are usually placed on the front side of the teeth facing outwards, but they are occasionally placed on the inside, facing the tongue (called lingual braces). The braces are usually placed on the top and bottom rows of teeth but will occasionally only be placed on one row of teeth.
After a patient gets braces, they go back to the orthodontics office every 6-8 weeks to get a check-up on their teeth; how the alignment has improved, how they've been brushing, if they've been wearing their extra appliances correctly (i.e. their rubber bands). Oftentimes the orthodontist will make adjustments to the patient's braces during these checkups, like replacing the wire/fixing any broken brackets. An orthodontist is responsible for the regular reports on a patient's braces - after each check-up, an orthodontist is to report on what changes they made to the patient's braces and how the teeth are being affected.
Orthodontists are not among the major medical professions (since teeth don't need to always be perfectly aligned) but an orthodontist can also help open a person's airways which will improve a person's quality of life, as well as fix the jawline which can make eating far easier and less painful - like in such an instance where the teeth are directly on top of each other.