Metal Mouth Message Board

My ortho treats alot of adults. One thing I don't like is that there are no doors on the rooms. I am lucky that the office is five minute away from work and I am able to go in the morning before the rush of kids after school.

My ortho's practice is 25% adults. His office is very elegant and professional - there's no "kiddy stuff" anywhere. I feel really comfortable there, even when there's a preteen sitting in the chair next to me.

Like most on here my ortho is certainly more kids than adults, had maybe a good 10 trips to my ortho and have not once since any other adults go in or out with braces.

I kinda feel a little out of place when sat in the waiting room with all theese kids sat around me but it dont faze me that much,but at the end of the day we are all there for the same reason are we not?.

My ortho told me they treat about 75% children, 25% adult. There are a lot of adult results photos, though, and office is pretty generically decorated – nothing cutsey or kiddie on the walls, no toys in the waiting room, etc. I feel pretty comfortable there, but sometimes I am mistaken for a parent by the other adults in the waiting room. One day a woman asked me, "Which one is yours?", pointing to the four exam chairs. I pointed at myself and smiled, revealing my bottom braces and upper brackets. She was pretty surprised. Also, one day when I was told – again – that expanders needed to stay in another week, my ortho said to me jokingly, "If you're a good girl, I'll let you go to the toy bin." I replied, "Honey, unless Johnny Depp's in there ready to clean my house and make me dinner, no thanks." I guess I said it pretty loudly, because I got a few looks from the parents. At least my ortho cracked up.

My ortho has about 25% adult patients. Usually when I'm there, I see mostly adults, as I go during school hours. The waiting area is pretty generic - there's a large fish tank (which my son loves!) and magazines for all ages. There are photo books, mainly of teenagers, but a few adults. But no patient pictures prominently displayed. There is a separate room for toys so that young kids can play during a sibling's treatment. That's nice that they're not taking over the general waiting room. There's also a coffee bar area for the adults. I love my ortho office!

I was very comfortable from the start, too, because one of the partners (around 50) has braces himself. If you're not comfortable there, get another consult. This was my second consult, as the first one felt geared far more toward teens, especially ones from well-to-do families.

My ortho's office is totally kid-oriented. The only adults in the waiting room are there with their kids, lol! It's kind of comical to sit in the waiting room as the only adult patient. You have to keep a sense of humor about it. I'm told there are actually a significant number of adult patients, and that the adult practice is growing quickly, but so far I haven't seen any others.

mackenzie wrote:You know the TV cartoon Rugrats? That's ALL over my ortho's walls. Huge murals of Tommy and the rest of them smiling with big obnoxous braces. It's weird because they're 2 years old but I deal with it.

I love the TV show Rugrats!!!!!
It is awesome!!!

- mariah

My ortho treats both adults and children. I tend to have my appointments in the morning when most kids are in school. So normally when I go it's all adults. We do have 2 waiting rooms. One has a few toys and games in it the other has magazines like ladies home journal and stuff. We are all treated in the same room.

My ortho's practice has an even split between adults and kids. I suspect the adult component is higher than average, probably because he offers invisalign and linguals in addition to regular braces.

my ortho has snoopy an a few more pictures on the wall with braces , all rooms are private, an the office is more adults than kids , because of his tmj work

My ortho has two offices. One is in the city, and the other is in a rural area very close to my house. I get my braces tommorrow, but from what i see of the rural office, which is a house, it's very cozy and not geared for any age. Which I don't really care, i'm not there to critique his decorating techniques, just his orthodontic ones........so far I really like him, and if he wanted to paint the walls pink, i wouldn't care. As long as my teeth and his other patients teeth, come before his decor.

Mott

My ortho's office treats both adults and kids. I've seen both adults and kids there. One of the treatment coordinators actually has braces. It's a very friendly office, with magazines. They always seem to have coupons that parents, and adult patients would like for dental products. Overall it's a great place, to both kids and adults!

candygrrrl wrote:my ortho said to me jokingly, "If you're a good girl, I'll let you go to the toy bin." I replied, "Honey, unless Johnny Depp's in there ready to clean my house and make me dinner, no thanks." I guess I said it pretty loudly, because I got a few looks from the parents. At least my ortho cracked up.

hehehe..... nice work!

when i saw my dentist a few months back, he asked how i was getting on with my ortho... as he's heard that a lot of children find her 'scary'!! i really like her straightforward, no-frills approach, and she talks to me about what she's doing - in much more orthodontic detail, since i started talking about things i've read on here and found out, but i imagine she doesn't see that many adult patients. usually, in the waiting room, there's a bunch of teenagers (not a problem for me, as teenagers are usually pretty shy about being there in the first place, so i don't expect many "what are you doing here?" looks), although at my last visit i saw an actual, real, grown-up twenty-something! and then had to stop myself looking surprised

My Orthos office is really classy looking, stone cladding, big screen TV, etc, which would make you think it's adult orientated. However all the staff seem to know me (or who I am) by name, even those who haven't had much to do with me, which leads me to think that I must be one of very few adult male patients receiving treatment at the practice. I have never been left long enough in the reception/waiting area to check out the mags (if they're kiddie or more mature reading material) as they almost always send me into the treatment room even before I can sit down. I've only met one other adult patient who herself was much younger than me, and was also nearly finished with her treatment, this makes me think that mostly teenagers and kids are treated in the practice.

My ortho currently shares premises with the community dentist, so it's all a bit utilitarian. There's a waiting room/reception area but it's just hard chairs and a few scruffy old magazines. His actual treatment room also looks a bit utilitarian. He keeps his patient records on a laptop which sits on a stool next to the stool he sits on while treating the patients. It doesn't look very comfy or good for his back!

He's soon to be moving to a new custom built office and I look forward to seeing what that's like. Apparently it's going to be pretty plush. I saw the blueprints on the local planning permission website.

I did ask him once what proportion of his patients were adults and he said about 20%. I've only ever seen teenagers in the waiting room, although I usually get called in pretty quickly so I'm not sitting in there for long. In the UK the orthodontist does all the hands-on work, so there is only one chair. All the assistants (they are called dental nurses here) do is pass him things and sometimes take photographs and X-rays. They don't do any clinical work in the patients' mouths.