age of ortho?

[Topazs80]

I'll be getting braces soon. I live in a small town and there is an ortho that practices here(were he lives) on Fridays only. His main practice is in a larger town. It would be really convienent to use him because I'm off on Fridays and I wouldn't have to drive 30-40 miles to an ortho. But...he's really old-like way into his seventies. Would there be any concerns over using an old orthodontist? I have a bimaxillary protrusion with mild crowding and he wants to extract four teeth. From what I've read, the extractions are pretty standard in my case. I'm afraid of him not being up to date. But is being "up to date" mostly just a case of aesthetics and speed, or is there more to think about? I don't care if the braces don't look as good as some of the newer brackets and I don't care if it takes a little longer. On the other side of the ball, his age may make him very expierenced and he may know what he's doing. Any suggestions?

[gunter8888]

Most dentists, orthodontists and doctors attend regular training sessions to keep up on the latest techniques and products. In fact, I know medical doctors in the US are required to spend a certain # of hours each year in training. So I imagine that despite his age he is still fairly current on things.

You may want to ask what kinds of trainings and continuing education he participates in. Its a very fair question to ask.

Good luck!

[rsprouse]

In order to keep an up to date license you are required to earn a certain number of CE credits annually. You can take them in basically whatever area you want. I am sure that s/he is competent due to experience. But what I have seen is that there are a couple type's out there: 1) Techno gadget people that want to stay up to date and use/have all the latest technology (early adopters), 2) Middle of the road, let somebody else work out all the bugs but have some modern equipment and techniques. But they also have some older techniques and equipment that is "battle tested" over the long haul. 3) Old timers that are stuck in the past. They should still give competent care, but they may not be versed on some newer technologies and procedures/techniques.

You should be able to tell based on the doc's demeanor and the condition of the office and equipment. If you are comfortable with them and trust them then there is no reason to no reason to seek treatment elsewhere.

Regards,
Rory

[Topazs80]

rsprouse----Your #3 assesment was what I was getting at. Even if he was an "old timer" and was stuck in the past, he would most likely give competent treatment, all else being equal. The only concession you might be making is the type of brackets he uses(larger non self ligating) or he might not be on top of the "speed braces" thing. I'm pretty sure he's competent becuase he's been practicing for a long time. He also practices here in a small town where word gets around. He's a nice guy, he actually goes to the same church I do so if he messes up he'd have to see me outside of his practice!!! I found one person he treated that's close to my age(25) and she said she liked him fine. I did find out his hands aren't good, arthritic stuff. In the small office, atleast, he doesn't use an assistant. He does all the work himself and his wife works at the front desk. I'm not sure about his main office because I've never been there. I talked to a dental student guy at school and asked about the arthritic hands situation and he gave a few points I'd like to run by anyone. He said it might take him longer at your visit to adjust everything but that it shouldn't affect the treatment outcome. He actually did mention the bracket size because he said he'd likely use a large bracket because it would be much easier for him to work with than a smaller one. Does that sound right? Like I say, I don't care about the bracket size. I've been wanting braces for ever anyway!! I think the convienence would out weigh larger brackets.

[BracedSurgeryStudent]

My orthodontist is my mom's age if not a little bit older than her. I'm 20 so do the math but anywho, my ortho does higher tech stuff than some of the young orthos around here younger than her. I had a Surgeon who was really young do a surgery on me nad did a TERRIBLE job. Then I had a redo and fix of that surgery done by a really OLD surgeon I mean this guy's OLD. He did way better and higher tech than the other dude. So i say go for it, my ortho and her staff regularly attend conferences yearly to keep up to date.

[ArchWired28]

Topazs80
when I saw your topic, I thought you were concerned with your ortho's age because of his possible disease, retirement and/or death (it was such a topic here not so long ago). But as far as his skills... I personally would be more concerned to be treated by someone who is fresh from school! My ortho is almost 60 and has been in this business for 30 years, and I am very comfortable knowing that he treated thousands cases like mine in the past.
To be honest with you, I don't think the bimaxillary protrusion standard of treatment has changed in the last 50 or 100 years If you have any concerns, drive for a 2nd opinion once and if it's the same - go with the ortho that is close to you. Good luck!

[Crafter]

I went to 2 different orthos for evaluation.
The first one is maybe in his late 40s or early 50s. Big office with several branches in other parts of he city. The main issue it was that most of the times, I was getting seen by a general odontologist instead of himself, the odontologist was going to put my braces on and maybe do most of the stuff. So I didn´t quite like the idea of paying for an ortho and getting a general odontologist. Also, the price was steep (paying the treatment in full with my own pocket), time longer.

Then I went to anothe office quite close home and the ortho was a very young woman (mid-late 30s) but I found her more professional, very involved (she is the one doing everyting, from the initial evaluation, pictures and all that and, of course, all related to the bracing process). The cost was lower and the estimated treatment time shorter too. So I chose her as my ortho.

However, my husband is worried about her age and possible lack of experience.