Extending Appointments

[vincent168]

What is the consequence of spreading out appointments i.e. seeing the ortho every 2 months instead of every month?

[katsface]

As far as I know it depends on the kind of braces you have, what other appliances you're in at the time, and what's going on/how fast your teeth are moving.

I read this from an ortho assistant over at Braces Review Forum (this thread: http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/trad ... tened.html )

"adjustments vary for many reasons, although some ortho's still like to see their patients at regular intervals...

Adjustments relate to how well the teeth are progressing and how well the archwires are working. The memory archwires which are used by most ortho's now, can continue to work without adjustments for many months ... sometimes six months to a year. Most ortho's would want to see you during this time though, as you may benefit from something extra added (or removed) to aid the progress that's needed.

Where I work, our adjustments are tied in with the treatment being done. This means they can be as close as one week or as far apart as 16 weeks, with most appointments are between 8 and 12 weeks.

A good ortho will know what your teeth need and when! Take care! "

and further down in the thread an Orthodontist chimed in

"In North America, most regular visits are 4, 6, or 8 weeks apart. There may be longer intervals during initial alignment with NiTi wires in some offices to allow full expression of movement or if the orthodontist is waiting for teeth to erupt.

Our patients generally come in every 8 weeks for visits. If there is something particular that I want to keep an eye on, or if we are just looking at some minor details towards the end of treatment, that interval may decrease.

A couple of considerations in addition to how often you go in are:

1. How much "work" is done at each adjustment (eg, are they simply retying your ligs or doing as much as can be done at each visit).
2. How long does full orthodontic treatment take to complete (it is possible to go in every 4 weeks and still end up with a longer treatment duration than if you went in less often).
3. What type of movement is the orthodontist looking to achieve.
4. What types of auxiliaries are being used (eg. closing loops, power thread, power chain, elastics, etc.)
5. Individual comfort level of the orthodontist in the progress of treatment.
"

I've read that if you have traditional braces with rubber band ligatures, your ortho may want to change those more often. If you have self ligating brackets, your ortho might not need to see you as often b/c no ligatures need to be changed.

I know that's long, but I hope it helps!

[vincent168]

Awesome thanks for your help!

[DrJasonKTam]

The ortho in that thread happens to be me .

There are certain times when seeing the orthodontist more frequently really won't do much because the desired movements have not yet been achieved. These types of extra visits are wasted time for the patient and doctor.

FWIW, the advertisements for SL brackets state that longer intervals can be allowed. There is no reason why there should be a difference with regards to interval for SL and traditional brackets.