Metal Mouth Message Board

Drazda - I have never heard of that being a policy. My ortho did not do cleanings, he expected I'd be visiting my regular dentist for that. For one I remember I had an ortho appt to remove the wires - went to the dentist for cleaning, then returned to ortho. I only had to do that once, and it's been so long I don't even remember the situation or why. It may have just been I was able to finagle both appts in the same day so it was a courtesy, who knows. My other cleanings during treatment they just did the best they could.

Personally, unless it was covered by the ortho in my treatment plan and it wasn't an additional cost, I'd rather go to my reg dentist because cleanings are covered by insurance, therefore no out of pocket cost.

I agree with everyone else! That is crazy that you HAVE TO get your cleanings at your ortho? If they did a good job then that would be great but if they didnt do a good job or were too rough with you ,I don't blame you for doing it elsewhere.
I agree that a receipt is enough proof. My ortho does not bug me about my cleanings. My dentist said I should get cleanings every 3-4 months just to make sure that I had no problems after Iget my braces off. I know there are a lot of people that get the braces removed and find out they have several cavities!
The choice is up to you and your ortho sounds like he wants $$ and being too pushy about it!

Gennel

Kiwi - funny you mention the ortho pointing out someone else's poor hygiene. I had a friend in high school who basically just had his removed because he wasn't taking care of them. I think it was a bad decision on his part not to cooperate with treatment, when you think of it being your parents' dollar vs your own. LOL!

I had to get a "cleaning/cavity clearance" form signed by my general dentist for my ortho.

BTW: Do you with this cleaning mean the professional dental cleaning done with a salt/water pistol, which removes all soft and hard stuff from you teeth? If so, i didnt knew i can let it done with braces too, cos i usualy make this every year once, and i already was sad i cant do it the next 3 years.

Can i still ?

My dentist uses a pistol of which a water and salt mixture beam comes shot out and hits u teeth. Every 2-3 teeth i have to rinse and what there comes out is ... dirty So this cleaning is very powerful, after the procedure the teeth are very shiny, white and glossy. *edit*: And this is luckily not unhealthy for teeth, i always get a concentrated fluorid paste on my teeth afterwards and should not eat anything for 2-3 hours.
You never saw such a cleaning ?

The high speed brush with the paste my ortho did used yesterday before i got braced. And ya i defenatly realized several differences between different parts of the world here regarding braces, but that goes to much off topic now, that doesn't belong to this thread

I go to a Dental Hygenist for my cleaning every six months. My first one since having braces is later this month. My Ortho has commented that I'm keeping my teeth clean but hasn't give me tablets or talked about cleaning except when I first got them on. But like KK I have heard him telling others off (the joy of having two chairs in the same room) and making them take the pink tablet so I know he'll do it if he thinks its needed. I guess they can tell pretty quickly if someone is looking after their teeth. I think the embarrassment of having the ortho tell me off makes me keep my routine up! Its bad enough having braces like a teenager without being treated like one too! And my ortho is also a personal friend of my husbands (he came to my wedding) so that would be extra embarrassing...

Hi.

What on Earth is going on here?

The orthodontist works for you! Perhaps I have a bad attitude, but my reply would be, (whether or not I noticed the clause in the contract), "Listen; I'll have my teeth cleaned when I want and where I want. Now let's get on with it". I'm reminded of that fabulous Seinfeld episode in which Jerry is having his Saab serviced and the mechanic, obsessed with the vehicle, verbally blasts and intimidates Jerry, and eventually steals the car. When you think about it, it's a lot like what is going on here - every reason you can give for an ortho grasping for that level of control is like the mechanic grasping for control of the car. The only differences are that the car costs more, but is less important than your teeth.

I understand full well the orthodontist's concerns, the anal-rententive reflexes surrounding liabilities, and the mutual desire for a good outcome. But I was the one who put $7000.00 on the table. Of course I'll take my ortho's advice/direction until I get that "wrong" feeling in my stomach which makes me say, "Back off!".

But that's just me.

Cheers

Glen

gomen- double post

hmm- i bet this ortho maybe had someone sue them because afterwards their teeth weren't as white as before? who knows- I think its ridiculous, but I would ask for the reasoning next time you see them, and tell them you don't feel comfortable with this atrtitude towards your oral hygeine. If you are taking good care of your teeth, it shouldn't matter. Both of my orthos [transferred because I moved] didn't even ask me about it- they jsut said I'm doing excellent in the ol' hygeine department, so they dont worry alot about it.


ps: I had that weird water salt mixture one tooo- apparently with peroxide solution? [ieeeee] all i'm going to say is: great clean during- sore gums afterwards o_o

My ortho showed no interest in doing the cleanings -- he said to keep my regular appointments for checkups and cleanings with my usual dentist.