Orthodontics around the world: orthodontics in Brazil: excellence for a minority.

Brazil is the largest country of South America, with an area of 8.511.965 km(2) and 150 million people. It has 113 dental schools and several orthodontic postgraduate courses variously at Certificate, Master, and Doctoral levels. The current article gives an overview of the speciality in Brazil. The discussion puts the delivery of orthodontic care within the context of social conditions in Brazil. Included is a description of two full-time orthodontic courses located in the city of Rio de Janeiro.