ortho or assistant doing adjustments?

[kellogg9]

My ortho lets the assistants do most of the work. he only does a quick check and moves on. However last time when it is a complex Detail bends he does the bends himself but then oddly lets the assitants put back the archwire which doesnt seem like a good idea since the wires need precise placement and i would think the person who put the bends should be the one who places back the wire in place.

[kids041]

The assistant does 99% of the work, with a quick look see by the ortho for my daughters braces. I will be going to the same one for mine, as soon as I can save up the down payment.

[Leebie3]

wow. I would have thought an assistant was just that.. an assistant to the ortho who is the person you're paying to carry out the work. Ortho student does all mine which is checked by the ortho consultant. The ortho student has an assistant who hands him the ligs and tools.

[AM21]

Most of the time, the assistants do most of the work and my ortho just comes over to check my bite as well as check the assistants work once they are done.

[seeker304]

The assistants handle all the paperwork/appointments/x-rays/taking impressions. My orthodontist seems to do everything directly teeth related by himself and there is always an assistant just standing there and watching for some reason.
Just once when he was really busy, an assistant took my spacers out. When I got my braces on, the assistant helped the orthodontist with something.
After I got my braces on, an assistant told me what I couldn't eat.

[djss16]

I've only had 1 adjustment so far but it went kind of like this:

Assistant removes wire
I brush and floss
Ortho comes and checks my teeth and gives intructions to assistant
Assistant places in the new archwire.
Ortho comes and checks.
If all is good... I leave.

When I got my brackets in, the assistant did all the work... and the ortho came and positioned the brackets in the way he wanted them before they finished drying them. Then he just instructed the assistant which type of wire to start me off with.. and they did just that.

[fosterp]

The dr's involvement in treatment is usually concentrated towards the end.

The first year or so is simply a matter of letting the wires play out. All of the initial movement will be leveling and aligning. The dr's "work" is frontloaded when he places the brackets, and the rest of the time you are just waiting for the wires to to their magic. Dr only is there to make sure everything is going as planned, and maybe direct the elastic wear if you are trying to fix your bite early on.

During the end of the treatment is when the dr starts making decisions on how to make bends in the finishing wires, elastic wear, etc.

Basically the first half of treatment, all of the dr work is behind the scenes planning. Near the end is where the improvised decisions are made.

[asag]

I was curious about this too. I just got my braces this past week and the ortho prepped my teeth and placed the brackets. The assistant then put the wire on. I don't recall the ortho coming back to check. My ortho is also due in December but has assured her patients that the assistant will be able to handle any issues if necessary - which concerns me a bit. We'll see how that goes but I really don't want my treatment delayed if the assistant screws something up. Ugh.

[fosterp]

At the beginning of treatment there really isn't anything that an assistant "can" screw up, other than not following the treatment plan. It's really just a matter of following the wire change schedule and engaging wire in the brackets and instructing the patient on compliance. The assistants aren't actually making any decisions in your treatment progress. While its nice to have peace of mind knowing someone with 12 years of education is changing your wires, the reality is these things can be done by anyone with a bare minimum level of competence. As long as you are with some sort of reputable dr, the assistants have more than enough training to handle the early treatment stages.

[Xenbuf]

Reading these replies makes me nervous...my ortho does nothing. The assistant put the brackets on and changes the wire at each visit. My spouse and I have often wondered what in the world the ortho gets paid for!

[Leebie3]

It's not simply the wires though.. some teeth are wired into place instead of ligs etc..

[fosterp]

Reading these replies makes me nervous...my ortho does nothing. The assistant put the brackets on and changes the wire at each visit. My spouse and I have often wondered what in the world the ortho gets paid for!

The ortho gets paid to tell the assistant what to do.

It's just like going to a doctor...you tell him your symptoms and he tells you what to do/prescribes a cure. But a pharmacist fills your prescription and you follow his directions. The only thing he got paid for is knowing what to tell you (and having a license to write prescriptions).

[Anna5]

I went in today for my 3rd adjustment and this time, after the assistant removed the wired, the ortho came to check my bite and told the assistant what to do (changing wires). I was happy with this, because I didn't see the ortho at all at my first two adjustments, and was a bit worried about this. And I was also happy to get the opportunity to ask him some questions.