ortho or assistant doing adjustments?

[Anna5]

Hello,

I was wondering, who is usually doing your adjustments, the assistant or the ortho himself?
The assistant put on my braces, the ortho just quickly checked it. My first two adjustments have been done by the assistant
(putting in a new archwire), the ortho didn't even have a look at my teeth.
I wonder whether this is normal? Should the ortho himself not monitor the progress and do more himself?
I have heard that as the treatment progresses, the ortho himself comes more involved, is this true? After how many adjustments is this the case?
As the treatment progresses, do they also only put new archwires in, or do they also do specific actions do move specific teeth, eg to intrude or extrude teeth? Just curious!

Greetings from Anna

[Ciara]

My ortho does almost everything. One of the assistants will remove the ties and archwire then my ortho will take over. Last adjustment, the new assistant couldn't remove the ties so my ortho took over. She even did a quick clean (usually the hygienist does this).

[sirwired]

Each orthodontist works differently. It depends on their particular practice style, your treatment plan, the confidence the ortho has in their assistants, local laws and regulations, etc.

[Kipepeo]

For me, the assistant prepped everything and the ortho placed the brackets. Usually the sequence is like this:

• - assistant opens doors (Damons)

• - ortho checks, list out what needs to be done

• - assistant removes wires, makes bends, places power chains or lacing, replaces wires, closes doors

However, now that I'm near the end, and because my teeth move so quickly and easily, my ortho has been making all my bends, so usually the ortho does the entire visit.

[djspeece]

I think one of the most important things the ortho does is decide on the type and placement of the brackets. When I have my visits, an assistant removes the wires (I have Damon), I brush and floss, and he comes around and inspects, feeling about my gums as well. He then orders the wire, power chains and placement, and most recently elastics. The assistant carries them out, and then he inspects before I leave. I think he is very thorough and appreciate his approach.

[Alicia0913]

My ortho only places brackets and makes quick checks on the progress. The assistant pretty much does everything else..

[TMJJill]

I think one of the most important things the ortho does is decide on the type and placement of the brackets. When I have my visits, an assistant removes the wires (I have Damon), I brush and floss, and he comes around and inspects, feeling about my gums as well. He then orders the wire, power chains and placement, and most recently elastics. The assistant carries them out, and then he inspects before I leave. I think he is very thorough and appreciate his approach.

My visits are almost exactly like Dan's.

[NeilH]

So far, everything has been done by the orthodontist. I asked this question before I started treatment and was told adjustments would be done by both the Orthodontist or the Orthodontic Therapist depending on what needed to be done.

[MrsCharisma]

So far ortho checks progress, assistant changes wires and ligs, I leave.

At placement, the ortho checked and rechecked, asst places brackets, ortho checked and fine tuned

[kt87]

Ortho does everything at my appointments

[Anna5]

Thanks for all your reactions!! When I read through them all, I hope that my ortho himself also will be a bit more involved in my treatment. I will see, I will go in next week again.

[bmueller]

My orthodontist looks at my teeth, writes instructions on the computer and then the assistant comes over and does most of the work. If there is something complicated or particular, the ortho will come back over and fix just that.

[Jerseygirl]

My ortho does everything - the only exception was the xray and molds of my arch done pre-braces. But since then, I've never had an Assistant touch my mouth. I go every 3 weeks for a check and adjustment. I have seen his Assistant remove ligatures from the kids' mouths but never my own.

[Jborders12]

My adjustments were changed to every 2 weeks after I told my ortho that I was getting married in September.

My visits usually look like:

Assistant greets me/walks me to the room
Assistant removes ligatures/chains
Ortho comes in and checks the movement and tells the assistant what to do from there
Assistant does what the ortho says
I leave


This is just a summary for the typical appointment. Obviously, this changes when ever I've had a broken bracket or something to that extent...

[TheCarDoctor]

When I had my braces put on (six weeks ago) I was surprised that the assistant did 99% on the work. All the Dr did was place the brackets in the right spot and then left again. I have no complaints; the assistant did an excellent job. I go in tomorrow for my first checkup and I'm curious how much of the Dr I'll see. I've got some questions for him.