Adjustment appointments

[Beckley816]

I can't tell if the ortho assistant is just a B or what. So my ortho office has 1 ortho and seriously 10 assistants. I've been stuck with the same girl the past two times and I'm seriously going to request someone else if I get her again. Last time the ortho came around and looked at my mouth and started spouting stuff off to her that I clearly wouldn't understand and when he was done she just started going at it- and replaced my rubber bands without even saying a damn word and then it was get up and make appt for next time. Do I have to ask them what their doing or do they normally do that?! And with the rubber bands- do they ask you or just assume a color? (I have self ligating ceramic on top and regular ceramic on the bottom) What's your experience?!

[sirwired]

Just ask the ortho before he leaves. (Or ask the assistant what she's about to do.) I don't recall my ortho's assistants detailing the treatment plan for the day either. (Although due to hanging out here way too much, I did recognize most of the lingo from the ortho...)

[chichi]

Sounds fairly normal, to be honest.

My ortho's office is the same - 1 ortho, usually around 8 assistants. The ortho usually does a quick look and tells the assistant what to do, which I mostly understand because of these boards. I will also ask to see the computer screen (each chair has a computer at it) and/or I'll ask what they're doing. At this point, they just tell me because they know I ask, but you might have to start being more vocal at your adjustments and ask some questions.

As far as your lig color, if you have ceramic brackets, they probably do assume you want clear ligs.

[Matilda]

Your post reads familiar to me too. The office I go to has one orthodontist and many assistants as well. At the very beginning of my treatment I was extremely unsatisfied with one of the assistants who used to work with my braces a lot. I shared my frustration with my orthodontist and she took action immediately. A different assistant usually takes care of me now. She's talkative but only because I am. As chichi wrote, make certain you're verbal and ask questions.

[Fionisimma]

Just ask the ortho before he leaves. (Or ask the assistant what she's about to do.) I don't recall my ortho's assistants detailing the treatment plan for the day either. (Although due to hanging out here way too much, I did recognize most of the lingo from the ortho...)

With a first adjustment @8weeks in SL Clarity ceramic coming up I will definitely be asking my Ortho for more details on what specifically the treatment plan is aiming to do before the next adjustment..... I absolutely trust his expertise - it's just starting to look as though I have some movement - but it's the kind where things look worse before they get better.....

[SunshineRay]

Mine is the same way. 1 ortho and tons of assistants. Your appointment sounds normal to me....they do ask me if I want the same color ligs. I go every 3-4 weeks and they are friendly but I dont 'know' what they are doing in their terms.

[MrsCharisma]

I guess everyone is different.

I'm not interested in all the technicalities of my braces. If I have questions about something, I ask. I don't expect though for the treatment plan to be detailed to me.

Also, I get my ligs changed every appointment. I think that is the norm.

They put on the same colors that they took off unless I request differently.

[WiredOldLady]

My ortho will usually tell me what he's planning to do next and the tech takes care of it. I always have the same tech (good grief he's gorgeous) and he takes the time to explain to me what he's doing as he's pushing, pulling, wiring and all that stuff. I usually get to pick my lig color before they start. This time, it's powerchain city so I'm currently stuck with clear or smoke grey. I go back in 4 weeks so we'll see what happens then.

[mmkay]

Assistant doesn't go near my mouth...she just hands instruments to the ortho, who treats only me at an allotted time. Been the same assistant at each appointment (only 3 thus far). Apart from at the end of the initial appointment when she was delegated the task of explaining oral care, the most I have said to her is 'hi'. It's not a small practice, either. As an aside, I prefer the private approach, although it surprised me after reading other people's experiences here.

My ortho doesn't give a running commentary while he is changing the wires etc, even though I'd prefer if he did. He tends to make small talk instead. I imagine it's because a) the vast majority of people don't want the technical details and b) it would be boring for him. But I do ask questions before/after. Having said that I am in a very simple initial phase, he may be a bit more talkative further down the track.

I'm wearing metal braces, and he just assumes I want steel ties and doesn't give me a choice.

Anyway, based on what you say all I'd say is maybe her chairside manner isn't particularly great because she isn't even talking to you, even if it's about the weather.

[Woobster]

My ortho always checks me over and then explains what is going to be done during the appt. He does parts of it and his assistants do parts of it. Everyone I've dealt with so far (6 months in) has been great about telling me what they're doing.

I kinda like it. I have a lot of stuff in my mouth (some linguals in addition to my Damons) and I like knowing how it's all working.

[joeyyeo]

Seems like orthodontic clinics work very differently here in Singapore as compared to where most of you reside. My appointment is 15 minutes, and it's just me, the ortho and her assistant. The ortho does all the work in my mouth, the assistant just hands her the ligatures/wires/tools. Also before I start the assistant would ask me what colours I want and then pass it to the ortho.

[anedia]

I'm in the USA and the assistants do most of the work. The ortho always comes in and checks everything, but then she goes off to another patient.

[cs2thecox]

The UK seems to be more like Singapore.
I generally get a 30min appointment, but the ortho does everything, with the assistant handing tools and ligs over as needed.
I can tell if they're changing my wires or not (obvious really!) and my ligs get changed every time - I have a mix of wire and rubber. Right now, the wire are over to my left side as they needed to get the wire tied down a bit tighter over there, and I have rubber on the right. Given I have (had!) a wonky midline, I guess this makes sense.

My ortho always talks to me a bit about what he did and why, and what comes next, at the end. He didn't the first time and I asked loads of questions, but now he knows that I like to know exactly what's going on, and always takes a couple of minutes to tell me.

Teeth aren't predictable though. I thought I was going to move to elastics this month, but I didn't even get my top wire changed as my teeth hadn't moved as much as they wanted and we need to get them to a certain point of alignment before adding elastics.

I'm not sure how I'd feel if I was paying all this money and only saw an assistant!

[sirwired]

Well, it's not quite that dire. In the US, at most orthos you see the orthodontist every time, but the assistants handle the "rote" work. Removing and installing wires and ligatures is simply not very complicated (you could probably do it yourself if you were so inclined and had some opportunity to practice), and is really a waste of the orthodontist's time. Delegating all the tedious "busy work" to assistants allows one ortho to see more patients. The ortho usually does all the "precision" work like placing brackets.

Usually I came in, the assistant gives me a once-over, and removes all the elastic ligatures. The ortho came in and looked over my progress, and calls out to the assistant what the plan is for the treatment. He reeled off (if needed) wire size, wire ligatures needed, elastics needed, a request for models and/or x-rays, bracket re-positioning, etc., all of which was recorded in the chart. Any bracket placement, IPR, etc. he did. He then went off to the next patient while the assistant carried out the instructions.

[chichi]

Usually I came in, the assistant gives me a once-over, and removes all the elastic ligatures. The ortho came in and looked over my progress, and calls out to the assistant what the plan is for the treatment. He reeled off (if needed) wire size, wire ligatures needed, elastics needed, a request for models and/or x-rays, bracket re-positioning, etc., all of which was recorded in the chart. Any bracket placement, IPR, etc. he did. He then went off to the next patient while the assistant carried out the instructions.

That's pretty much exactly how my appointments go.