Can you tell me when it comes to dentists and orthodontists, do they have different scopes of practice?

Yes: General dentists practice all scopes of dentistry that they feel comfortable and qualified to treat. This can range from pediatric dentistry to crowns, implants ; extractions to just name a few areas. Orthodontics is the dental specialty that includes the diagnosis, prevention, interception, and correction of malocclusion (bad bite). These are the dentists you usually visit for braces.

Other differences: In addition to dr coppola's excellent answer know that orthodontists have a minimum of 2 full years of full time residency training (>5, 000 hrs) in orthodontics beyond their dental school education, and hone their skills by limiting their practices to orthodontics exclusively. They are dento-facial growth ; development experts.