how long a delay when rescheduling appt

[starzz]

I am someone who almost always keeps their scheduled appt. Today I had to call and change the one I had set up for Wednesday and they were not very accommodating! I'm wondering long long treatment is postponed for others when they have a schedule conflict?

My last appt was 6 weeks ago. I should be seen approx every 4 weeks but it was delayed because of the holidays. Today I learned my class schedule was changed so I could not keep my appt. I called the office and they kept offering me openings at the same time and day of week, which I obviously can't take because I have the same conflict with class -duh. Finally there was one on Feb 9th! I protested and said I thought it was unreasonable to wait for 2.5 months between adjustments, especially at this stage. Then I got an appt at their other office in 2 weeks time which is OK. I know they must be backed up because they had a long vacation, but please. Maybe I should break something -a powerchain?- and see if I can get in sooner

[TumbleDryLow]

I think orthodontist offices are very busy. Since most of their patients make their next appointment right away after their current, I'm sure there's very little wiggle room in their schedule for many months out, so yeah, two weeks seems about right for a new appointment. The only appointment I ever missed was due to having my appendix out--I was in the hospital. I think I had to wait like 2 or 3 weeks for another.

[VA5]

seriously? yes, break your powerchain or tell them that your wire is poking you at the ends. i would.

[braceface418]

If you "break" something, they're probably only going to fix your broken item at the appointment. Most of my quick fix appointments involved seeing one of the assistants to fix whatever I needed to have fixed and didn't involve an orthodontist. The only time an orthodontist was involved was to rebond a bracket.

As I recall, I went eight weeks between bonding time and my first adjustment. I've read that the wires can remain active for up to four months (and I've had some in for two or three months across many appointments), so I'm not sure the extra week or two is going to set you back that far. Your teeth will still be moving, perhaps just not as quickly as they would with a stronger wire.

[starzz]

It turned out I was able to get in last week! I did still have to trek over to the other office. A little emailing worked out; they still sent me email reminder after I canceled, I wrote back and said I'd canceled but asked for new appt, they offered me same time I'd previously canceled(!), I wrote back again, they had another opening, I called and confirmed. I'm glad my schedule is usually more flexible, LOL,
and that I could get some issues resolved about some things that were bothering me.

My comment about breaking something was tongue in cheek, mostly. I didn't have to resort to that!

I agree that longer intervals are often fine earlier in the process. At this point in my treatment, we're in the finishing stages, and I do think that postponing appts lengthens total treatment time. I've had the same wires for ages, but keep getting new bends and of course new powerchains at each adjustment. I go back in another month.

At this point, I'm definitely looking at my total time in braces being at least twice as long as the original estimate of 16 months! I hope to finish in under 3 years now.

[slharding]

Yeah, if I break something (it's only happened once), I just get popped in for a quick fix. My next appointment was only a week away, but since my ortho is busy, they just fixed my bite ramps and I was back a week later for the adjustment.

I had to cancel an appointment once, since a work contract of mine was extended. I went 4.5 months between adjustments and kept seeing lots of movement during that whole time - I could tell cause the darn pokey wires kept getting longer with no way for me to fix them!