I'm a coward

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#1 Post by **felicia** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 11:38 pm

I can't pull myself together and ask my ortho how long until I'm finished with braces. It seems that everytime I go in for an appt I am determined to ask, but when he comes to see me, I loose all my courage.
I've read so many posts about people who asked the BIG QUESTION, and most of the time the orthos are not very pleased to be asked.
Anyway...at my last appt he made some small adjustments in both my wires, told me to keep wearing my elastics and powerchains...and he also said that there is a loooooooot of improvement in my teeth.

#2 Post by **sparkx** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 2:04 am

Weird, thats always the 1st (and usually last) thing i ask my dentist. And i've only had my braces on for a month. After the adjustment i said "So how much longer??" And i plan to ask each and every time i go.

After dropping 5G's on dental work I'm a pretty valuable customer with a right to ask any question I wish when it concerns me and my body.

#3 Post by **yoginbraces** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 4:42 am

The "how much longer do I have" question is probably the most common question orthos have so I wouldn't worry about it. Just ask. I am new to braces so I haven't even had my 1st adjustment yet but when I do that will be the question I ask first, along with how are my teeth and gums doing.

#4 Post by **hal2me** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 5:36 am

Hi felicia,

Don't be afraid of asking. You are paying the orthodontist thousands of dollars, so ask away! They are used to being asked this question on a regular basis. If you want to know, ask. I'm sure you'll get the answer you want! Hope you get the debrace date you are wishing for soon!

#5 Post by **drrick** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:33 am

Of course you can ask.
It only gets annoying when you ask at the bracketing appt and every appt after that when you were told your case will be 18 to 24 months

We wish we could give you an exact answer but that is impossible.
We can give our best estimate of course but again an exact answer is tough (unless you are at the very end)

#6 Post by **TumbleDryLow** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:44 am

I was just like you--meant to ask at many appointments but then would chicken out. Finally, I made a deal with myself that my reward for hitting the one year mark would be to ask the big question. Well.....that came and went. I think I drummed up the courage about 16 months in. The answer: "Oh....at least another year. (With a very large emphasis on "at least") But the doctor was very polite about it. I'm sure it's the #1 question asked in her office. I felt stupid for worrying about asking. But never the less, the answer was weirdly depressing, so I never bothered asking again.

#7 Post by **Snowglobe32** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:47 am

I have had my braces for almost 10 months now. My ortho gave me an estimate of 20-22 months. I wouldn't ask until I hit at least the 20 month mark.

Asking every appointment seems a bit juvenile to me. Yes, you can ask anything you want but why risk the chance of being seen as an impatient, annoying patient if you are nowhere near the estimated time? (We are adults, we are not 12 yrs old)

It is kind of like the question, "What's wrong?" When you are just quiet and everyone keeps asking you what is wrong, that can be annoying.

I bet the ortho would rather answer questions about wires, movement, treatment procedures etc. rather than "when do they come off?" Instead, try impressing the ortho with a really tough question.

Just something to think about.

#8 Post by **UGHBRACES** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:07 am

sparkx wrote:Weird, thats always the 1st (and usually last) thing i ask my dentist. And i've only had my braces on for a month. After the adjustment i said "So how much longer??" And i plan to ask each and every time i go.

After dropping 5G's on dental work I'm a pretty valuable customer with a right to ask any question I wish when it concerns me and my body.

Just because you are paying for the service doesn't mean you have to annoy the hell out of the ortho. There is nothing wrong with asking every once in a while but at every appointment is overkill. Do you think the answer is going to be different every month or something?

#9 Post by **ashesgap** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:07 am

Snowglobe32 wrote: Asking every appointment seems a bit juvenile to me. Yes, you can ask anything you want but why risk the chance of being seen as an impatient, annoying patient if you are nowhere near the estimated time? (We are adults, we are not 12 yrs old)

This is exactly how i feel. I was giving an 18-24 month estimate, so i won't ask until closer to the 18 month mark. We're adults and we should have a lot more patience than kids. Yeah you're paying a lot of money to the ortho, but that doesn't mean we get to torture them with nagging and whining, i think they get enough of that with the teens.

#10 Post by **Margie** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:10 pm

I don't think there is much need to ask at every appointment, mostly just because I don't think the time frame would change drastically enough from one month to the next.

The last time I asked (a couple of months ago) they said hopefully by the end of summer. I am thinking I will ask again at my appointment tomorrow, the end of summer is about 3 months away now so I am very curious to know if they are still thinking it is possible I will be debraced by then.

#11 Post by **yoginbraces** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 3:49 pm

It really depends on your treatment. My adjustments are every 3 months so I plan on asking the "how long" question at each appointment, along with "how are my gums holding up". Given my infrequent visits I don't see either question as impatient or annoying.

#12 Post by **PrincessPeach** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 4:17 pm

I've always been afraid to ask too, i dont want to bug him!

But at the same time i never want to ask for the dissappointment of him telling me i have more longer than i want, i much rather wait for him to say "we're almost done!" cos when he finally said it, i had never been more excited!

#13 Post by **sparkx** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 7:10 pm

UGHBRACES wrote:
sparkx wrote:Weird, thats always the 1st (and usually last) thing i ask my dentist. And i've only had my braces on for a month. After the adjustment i said "So how much longer??" And i plan to ask each and every time i go.

After dropping 5G's on dental work I'm a pretty valuable customer with a right to ask any question I wish when it concerns me and my body.
Just because you are paying for the service doesn't mean you have to annoy the hell out of the ortho. There is nothing wrong with asking every once in a while but at every appointment is overkill. Do you think the answer is going to be different every month or something?

Urm, its kinda their job to interact with their customers and provide answers. How is asking one simple question annoying them exactly?

I guess it's in the way you ask. If you ask like a whiny teenager, then yes i guess it could be construed as "annoying." When i ask its with a smile and a non-verbal "wink-wink" kinda approach which actually helps build rapport. She laughs and simply answers "probably a year left. Hang in there." Hardly something thats gonna keep her up at night or push her into jumping off a bridge.

#14 Post by **UGHBRACES** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 12:21 am

sparkx wrote:
UGHBRACES wrote:
sparkx wrote:Weird, thats always the 1st (and usually last) thing i ask my dentist. And i've only had my braces on for a month. After the adjustment i said "So how much longer??" And i plan to ask each and every time i go.

After dropping 5G's on dental work I'm a pretty valuable customer with a right to ask any question I wish when it concerns me and my body.
Just because you are paying for the service doesn't mean you have to annoy the hell out of the ortho. There is nothing wrong with asking every once in a while but at every appointment is overkill. Do you think the answer is going to be different every month or something?
Urm, its kinda their job to interact with their customers and provide answers. How is asking one simple question annoying them exactly?

I guess it's in the way you ask. If you ask like a whiny teenager, then yes i guess it could be construed as "annoying." When i ask its with a smile and a non-verbal "wink-wink" kinda approach which actually helps build rapport. She laughs and simply answers "probably a year left. Hang in there." Hardly something thats gonna keep her up at night or push her into jumping off a bridge.

Its not the question thats annoying, its asking at every appointment that is. Its like taking a kid on a road trip that starts asking "are we there yet" as soon as you leave home.

If your ortho gives you an estimate of 18 months for example, well then as the months chip away use some math!

#15 Post by **Snowglobe32** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 8:58 am

[quote="sparkx]. How is asking one simple question annoying them exactly?

quote]

What is annoying is asking "how much longer" when you are at month 2 of a 24 month estimate. Then at month 3, you ask the same question, then again at month 4, etc....