substandard treatment?

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#1 Post by **Sherri** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 7:33 pm

Friends of mine have found a dentist that will fix their kids teeth in under a year. The two kids look like they have major work to be done but I'm no orthodontist. He will do the treatment for less than three thousand dollars. i just know that with my own kids and myself treatment is a minimu8m of two years and between six and seven thousand dollars. My ortho sends all of our molds and photos to a lab in california which he consults with frequently. I just wonder can any dentist just put braces on and get esthetic results without really fixing the bite etc. I guess what I am really wondering can an average dentist fix teeth just as good as an orthodontist or are they just making the teeth look relatively good and not correcting the function?

#2 Post by **jcdamon3** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 7:38 pm

Dentists don't have the same training as orthos. That is the bottom line. That is why it is cheap. He probably plans on doing the minimum, which is just aesthetic. I doubt he will fix their bites, etc.

Hopefully you can tell your friend without risking the friendship. Most people don't like sound advice. They take it as criticism. So it is a tough one.

#3 Post by **Delag** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:10 am

Wow, what a difficult situation. It is really hard to tell someone they might be messing up - especialy when their kids AND money are involved. I think would try to gently express your concerns and stress that your are just a worried friend, not trying to be pushy. See if you can at least get her to have a consultation with an ortho and ask questions about bite and future TMJ problems. Remind her that lots of orthos don't charge for the first visit too! Then just step back and never say another word - it is her decision and her kids.

#4 Post by **4tobrace** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 4:58 pm

A long time ago I had braces. I'm 30 now...had them when I was in 4th grade I think. Anyway they were done by my dentist. They looked nice when they were done. Guess what...I need braces again. My teeth were done to look good but my teether were not lined up properly and caused me to start grinding. Several years ago I had to see somebody about it and I was told I needed the braces again and he explained why. It made sense.

So here I am at 30 needing braces again after my mom spent $1500 (now it was a while ago) on braces that looked nice in the end.

I know my mom and dentist meant well...but there's no doubt that braces can be used just to make teeth look nice but it doesn't mean that it won't cause other problems from teeth not being alligned properly.

#5 Post by **hippyhippo** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:25 pm

Dentists will almost always charge less than orthos, as they don't have to go through as many years of schooling as orthos (and don't have as many student loans to pay off!). The trade off is, they aren't trained like orthos are. I personally would rather pay more for expertise, which is why I take my car to be serviced at the dealership, instead of a Mr. Lube, and go to an ortho instead of a dentist. To each his own.

As to whether they are making a mistake? I'm sure that something like 50% of people would probably benefit in some way, shape, or form from orthodontic treatment, but a heck of a lot less get it than that. And they go through life with their somewhat wonky bites and crooked teeth just fine. Some may eventually develop some dental issues, but many won't as long as they practice good oral hygiene.

What it comes down to is that the primary reason most people get orthodontic treatment is cosmetics. Getting a perfect bite isn't the goal for most people, and in many cases it's not even possible without surgery (which is something no one should enter into lightly).

So yes, I'm sure there are dentists and orthos who will be happy to only straighten the teeth and try to somewhat improve (not perfect) the bite all while charging a reasonable cost. Which it sounds like is being done with your friend's kids. I don't think this is bad necessarily, as without services like this many people wouldn't be able to afford orthodontics at all and they'd be left with a much worse bite / smile.

To be honest, if my overjet wasn't actually causing me problems with my teeth, I probably would have just gotten veneers on my 6 front teeth and been done with it (this had been recommended to me in the past by dentists). I'm sure I would have been thilled with the result too!

#6 Post by **shinyam** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 8:16 pm

Ok, my ticker says my braces should have been off by now. Guess what? I have a new pair of braces on now. Why? Because I let a dentist do the job the first time. Big mistake.

The dentist used an expander when he shouldn't have, as I had too much crowding. The result was a severe overjet, and my molars were not lined up properly. The dentist also never bothered to have me do periodontal work which I badly needed. The result, I lost a lot of bone because he moved my teeth when I had severe gingivitis. Now I may end up losing a tooth.

Yeah, I thought I could save a few bucks by going to this dentist. In the end it cost me A LOT of frustration, pain, money, time, and now possibly a tooth.

My advice: Get it done right the first time. Even if it's a few thousand more. It's worth it. Trust me on this.

#7 Post by **rsprouse** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 8:50 pm

Dentists will almost always charge less than orthos, as they don't have to go through as many years of schooling as orthos (and don't have as many student loans to pay off!).

Correct! But trust me, most of us still have a LOT of money in loans to repay. It is much easier to build a lucrative Ortho practice off the bat, but that is one of the reasons why Ortho is one of the most competitive specialties.

I disagree with all of the Dentist bashing (mostly because I take it personally

). An Orthodontist is a specialist, with a couple extra years of training with manipulating the location of teeth and addressing function. They do braces all day every day and that is basically it. An Ortho is also trained to do fillings and crowns and perio work because they are Dentists. I am sure that there are a couple Ortho's somewhere out there that might do a little restorative work from time to time. Are they as good as another Dentist at it? Probably not because they don't do it all the time. But could they do a good job and have a good result? Possibly. My point is that there are competent Dentist's out there that can handle minor and intermediate level Ortho cases and they can do it as well or better than some Ortho's. If a GP is performing Ortho on there own they have probably done quite a few cases and taken a lot of CE courses to gain knowledge and skill. Would I go to a Dentist for basic Ortho? It depends on if I was comfortable with their skill and the complexity of the case. The same point is would you call a handyman to upgrade and rewire your dream house? Not likely, you would call your local electrician. It is possible to get top notch treatment for both functional and aesthetic problems from a General Dentist. But an Ortho is a specialist and will have more experience. Use that to make a proper decision for the situation.

As an aside, I have seen plenty of adults with "messed up" teeth that had treatment from an Orthodontist as a child. In fact my childhood Ortho treatment was performed by a well respected Ortho in Atlanta. I am now 28 and in braces for the 3rd time in my life to correct a problem that he was deficient in correcting. It is the human body and you never know what is going to happen as it grows or wears with age.

Thanks for listening to my rant

Best,
Rory

#8 Post by **hippyhippo** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 10:34 am

I disagree with all of the Dentist bashing (mostly because I take it personally ).

Ohhh, I hope I didn't come across as dentist bashing. I love my dentist, and I would trust him with most things with my teeth. He doesn't do braces at all, but if he did I would have seriously considered using his services because I have such a good relationship with him. To be honest, I'd likely still end up going to an ortho, just for the extra training and specialization, but it would be a tough call.

#9 Post by **Braces2.0** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 4:58 pm

4tobrace wrote:A long time ago I had braces. I'm 30 now...had them when I was in 4th grade I think. Anyway they were done by my dentist. They looked nice when they were done. Guess what...I need braces again.

Same here. The dentist didn't tell us that my jaw would change after I had my braces off (I was only 11!!) and now my bottom teeth are all a mess again. I have a great dentist but I've got an ortho doing my braces.

#10 Post by **bill** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 8:29 pm

i don't know if you can go by cost...but you can go by references and second opinions.

i'd say get both.