Initial Consult - How much were you told ?

[mikecl]

I had my initial consult with ortho no. 1 on Thursday and had the usual impressions and x-rays taken.

Other than confirming that braces of some kind would be needed the ortho wanted to wait until the next appointment (May 11) before going into any greater detail about my bite problems and likely treatment. I just wanted to know if this was normal ? I don't mind if they are waiting to look at the x-rays and impressions in more detail before making a judgement it's just that as this is all so new and a little bewildering I am second guessing everything at the moment.

My story so far (not that it's a lot) can be found by following the link below:

Many thanks

Mike

viewtopic.php?t=17886

[skibunnie29]

Hi Mike,
Here is how my dental adventure went.

I had my dental visit with my regular dentist late March, by the way there is an orthodontist on staff. I initially wanted veneers to correct my smile and have to say the dentist shamed out of them. My teeth are really healthy, my dentist told me to get over it, she didn't want to cut away at such healthy teeth. They scheduled a consult with the ortho a week later, I went into the ortho and he already had my records and a plan of action for me. I got my exam, he said ceramic on top metal on bottom. This was April 3rd, I go in April 18th for a filling, cleaning, floride treatment with regular dentist, then on April 26th i get braces. I'll post that day and let you know how it went.

[timsmith]

Hi Mikecl,

I had 3 consults and I got progressively more detail from each one. I had a good idea what to expect in terms of the detail plan after the 3rd consult, I chose that ortho because I felt he was being more honest about complications than the other 2. The most detail did not come until the records had been analysed. Make sure that you get a clear treatment plan before having braces fitted and do not be afraid to ask your ortho lots of questions. When you are happy with the plan, then allow your braces to be fitted, not before!!

Good luck,

Tim

[dugsmom]

I've only had 1 consultation but plan on going to a couple more ortho's when I get home.
Here's how my consultation went:
Took tons of X-rays and pictures of my smile.
Ortho looked over everything then checked my teeth and wiggled around my jaw for awhile.
Told me that I had a crossbite and gave me 2 options to correct it...I could either do option 1: upper jaw surgery, wear expander and get braces for 2 years and get implants for 2 missing bottom molars.
or option 2: get two upper teeth pulled (to even out my smile since I am missing bottom molars)and get braces to straighten teeth and to pull teeth forward (because of missing teeth). I would also be in braces for 2 years
he recommended option 1 because it would fix my bite.
He also gave me the cost of each option. Option 1 would cost $15,000 and Option 2 would cost about $2000. I'd be paying 200 a month for the braces. Then he left and told me to ask his assistant questions which at the time I didn't have any since I was gonna go with option 2 because surgery freaks me out. But I have had time to think about it and am considering going with option 1 so I have to go back and ask tons of questions. So get a paper and pencil and start writing down questions because you don't want to be like me....and not know what a darn bilateral line procedure is (I'm out of town and they won't answer my questions until I go to the office).
Dugsmom

[vtrieu]

i was able to get a quote and lenght of time and what needed to be done during the initial consultation. consultation first and then ortho xrays were done. but this might not be the same for everyone maybe they do need to have a closer look to see what really needs to be done. i would go to the other consultation before taking the xrays for the first place, just in case you like the second place better and so you won't need to get another set of xrays.

i also had 2 consultations at different places, the first place wanted to take out 4 of my back molars and would take 3 years. the second place said they could do it with the damon system without any extraction and in half the time. i was really surprised that ortho treatment can vary that much. shop around, it's well worth it.

i was also told that i would not be able to use the invisalign system, at least not at first maybe after a year or so of the damon and then they can switch to invisalign but this would be slower than just using the damon the whole time.

[jennandtonic]

Well, my initial consult was just a lot of my ortho going 'open!' 'bite!' with a couple of 'hmm's thrown in there for good measure, and she took pictures galore, then took models of my teeth. Then at the 'sit down' consultation she laid out her entire treatment plan, showed me the models and what was wrong, what she saw as the best action, then the types of braces that she worked with and what she thought would work for me. Then she told me that she could definitely make my smile into a beautiful one and how long she thought it would take to do that.

Honestly since I had been recommended to her by several people, I didn't go to any other consultations with any other orthodontists, I knew I had found the right one immediately.

[skyclad]

ortho 1 said 700 down and 238 a month for 18 months. Clear would be 300 more per arch. this ortho said 26 months. no mention of self ligating (didnt know to ask.)

ortho 2 who i really liked said 900 down, 218 a month for 18 months, clear would be 250 per arch. This ortho said anywhere from 14 to 22 months.

third ortho said 100 down, 100 a month for 39 months, and clear would be 500 down and 120 a month. This ortho said 18.5 months.

[phanta]

Skyclad,
18.5 months - wow, that's precise!

[skyclad]

That is the estimated time by the ortho. Could be shorter or longer. We all know that.

[Stich]

When I had my inital consultation the ortho looked at my teeth and made comments while an assistant typed info into a computer. He made molds and tooks x-rays and pictures of my teeth and profile. They also made me watch a downloaded video on a computer on what orthodontics can do for people. Then I had to come back a week later and sit down and have a talk with the ortho in his office. Since my bite could only be corrected by surgery he showed me what my profile would look like pre and post surgery. I did not see a big difference. But it was at the second meeting that he discussed his treatment plan, with or without surgery, and the financial person talked with me about payment plans. I decided against surgery but argreed to treatment and my next appointments were scheduled at this meeting. I had to have extractions before the orthodontic part could start so had to coordinate things with my dentist.

He estimated 20-24 months of treatment at his meeting, but it is turning out to be only 18 months. I have my debanding date for May 10.

Becky

[mikecl]

Thanks to all that have responded.

Skibunnie - it all seems to be happening really quick for you and I think part of my frustration is that I have made the decision to get braces but it's just taking so long to get there with the wait for the initial consult, the subsequent appointment and then a further wait until the treatment plan begins.

I hope your b-day goes well and look forward to hearing how it went - hints and tips would be very much appreciated.

Tim - thanks for the post and I will make sure I am happy with the treatment plan before I commit to it

Meryaten/Dugsmom - thanks for the advice and I will be asking a lot of questions at the next appointment with the 1st ortho and the initial consult with ortho no. 2 on Friday

Vtrieu - thanks for the suggestion. I will be going to see the second ortho as I would like a second opinion and who knows, perhaps they will be cheaper !

Jenn - your post describes exactly how my initial consult went - lots of questions from the ortho but not a lot of answers. She did say I definitely need braces and possibly extractions although this seemed unlikely given she said that following appointment on 11 May, the braces could go on shortly afterwards.

I have no doubt that at the appointment on 11 May, I will get a very detailed plan and description of what's needed and why. It's just that I feel that things have not progressed that quickly but having said that, knowing that in less than 2 months' time I could be reporting on my brace-day just seems very surreal !

Mike

[jennandtonic]

Jenn - your post describes exactly how my initial consult went - lots of questions from the ortho but not a lot of answers. She did say I definitely need braces and possibly extractions although this seemed unlikely given she said that following appointment on 11 May, the braces could go on shortly afterwards.

Did you mean my very first consult where she took the pictures?

Because at my "official" sit down consult, Dr. Greer answered every single question I had and more, even outlining pretreatment procedures.

It's concerning that this ortho didn't outline much...was this ortho planning on making another appointment at which he/she will outline your treatment?

[mikecl]

Jenn

Apologies for the confusion. At the appointment on 11 May the ortho intends to go over the proposed treatment plan at which time I plan to be asking a lot of questions.

I believe she intends to send something to me in writing before the appointment which will give me a good opportunity to consider the proposals and to think of a lot of questions.

Mike

[jennandtonic]

Ahh, I see what you mean now, sorry about my confusion. It's good that she's taking time to answer your questions. And I recommend asking lots and lots and LOTS of questions! You don't want to have a doubt in your mind when you make your decision. And seeing as how she's scheduling this in advance she will probably be pretty prepared to answer any question you might have.

I think my ortho was surprised at the amount of questions I asked. Considering I was 19, almost 20 at the time, she probably figured I wasn't going to be very interested in what went on because a lot of young people don't ask questions. However, I'm different, I was financing this joint, I needed all of my answers! She was caught off guard a little, but still answered all of my questions, and I didn't have a doubt in my mind when I started with her.

[skyclad]

I have some questions to fire off at my ortho such as which method we are using such as roth or another method..the other names escape my memory right now...
Another will be which are we working on first, alignment or bite? When do I start the elastics, for how long to i have to wear them? What kind of retainer am i getting (want hawley top and bottom)
I think of more everyday. I will have a 3 page list probably. also may ask him something i actually know just to see how he answers it. We already had the ligs vs self ligating discussion, found out he is not a huge fan of them. He believes that it is the ortho and the method and the placement, not the brackets that do the work.

Revisiting the idea of other orthos I have seen but I just dont have the down payment they want. I really liked dr shipley as i know for a fact he would use self ligating and i just liked him, he begged me to be his patient when i iasked about self ligating.