Who actually put your braces on?

[silly123]

I was quite suprised when an assistant actually put the brackets/ligs/archwire on. One of the orthodontists, came over a couple times to make sure everything was right.

Is this usually how it is?

I get a little worried, because even though it it is a reputable practice (even my dentist said he knew he was good) it is very cheap compared to what I see people paying on here.

Is it normal for a practice to have more then one Dr. and if you see different ones every time you go?

[Karan's Mum]

Yes! The assistant actually put my braces on! Also during the adjustments and when one of my brackets got loose.

The orthodontist only check my teeth and tell the assistant what she has to do.. I think it's also weird cus practicly the assistant does everything and the ortho got paid more

[spacesong]

Is the assistant only a hygienist or is it maybe a dentist in training?

I don't know, my orthodontist shares his building with two other dentists and they have a group of hygienists but he's the one who does all my work, it's very rare that I even have a hygienist in the room but that might be because I usually have the first appointment of the morning, sometimes he even gives me an appointment before the office even opens (I'm pretty sure it opens at 8 but sometimes he has me come in for 7:40 and since I always show up so early for my appointment, sometimes we'll even start around 7:30)... I guess because he knows that I work at 8:30 and it takes me an hour and a half to get to work so we try to start as early as possible, haha.

Well, I assume that as long as the orthodontist is supervising the work, then everything should be fine. Sometimes, especially during busy hours, dentists can have a lot of work to do at once so they move between patients and let the hygienists do the "in-between" work, but obviously a good orthodontist presumably has good hygienists who know what they're doing.

If it's really a major concern with you, you shouldn't be hesitant to ask your dentist about it, right? No question is a stupid question when it comes to your own health, body, mouth, progress, whatever.

[suetemi]

The assistants are just that -- orthodontic assistants. I wouldn't say they're hygienists in that they don't actually clean your teeth, they just instruct you on how to clean your teeth in braces. They're trained specifically in orthodontics. They're usually around to supplement the ortho's work and deal with the smaller stuff. At my ortho's office the assistants do the smaller stuff like putting in spacers, sanding teeth, putting glue on the molar bands and handing them to the ortho, placing brackets on (they bond them only after the ortho approved their positions) while the ortho put my molar bands, archwire, and ligatures on. So far the ortho has done most of the work on me, but I think that's because I'm starting out. That might change once I start going for adjustments -- then I'll probably be dealing more with the assistants.

[micachica]

My ortho put all my brackets on but he had two different assistants helping him out. The assistants place my ties, show me where to put my elastics, and "prep" my teeth for replacement of the brackets that keep popping off. But he did put my "figure eight" and a couple of ties on last time. But I live in an extremely small town and there are only four people working in his office. I'm sure your ortho's assistants know what they are doing, especially if he comes in and checks to make sure everything is right.

[KianaFran]

The assitant put on my T-arch, and also the brackets on back. The ortho put on my front brackets and springs. I don't have an archwire yet, but I do have silver ligs that were put on by the assistant as well. I just think that is the way it is done. Don't worry, I'm sure assistant and ortho know what they are doing.

[melliemoo]

The assistant prepped my mouth and the ortho placed the brackets and the archwire. Then the asst. closed the doors on my brackets and showed me how to floss and brush my teeth. At my first and only (so far) adjustment, the asst. took my archwire out and the ortho checked my brackets, placed the new archwire, checked my bite, and then explained what was going on. The asst. then closed all the doors and I was finished!

[SnowSara]

It's pretty common (in the US) for assistants to do a lot of the hands-on work like putting the braces on and changing out ligs & wires, but don't worry, your ortho is the one orchestrating everything and directing the assistants. If there is something that he/she feels needs to be done by them specifically they will jump in. This might include preparing bends in wire or shaping teeth, like mine.

[¤sabrina¤]

i havent gotten braced yet, but the assistant put in my bands on the molars

[Britlaw]

What can seem like an 'assistant' can often be a highly qualified person! My ortho is a maxillofacial specialist and in his orthodontics practice he sees all his patients personally (he only attends 2 1/2 days a week there) and does ALL the work in mouth, with just a lovely lady 'assistant' who makes appointments, takes the money and assists him in the surgery - e.g by passing each bracket on tweezers/grips as he puts them on, passes tools, mixes up the bonding/mould/etc stuff and holds the suction etc. The remaining half the week he works as a consultant at a hospital.

My son had a specialist orthodontist in a larger ortho only practice locally to where we live, where the specialist had 4 so called 'assistants' who did virtually all the work post diagnosis in a very 'conveyor belt' type operation. Well I talked to the 'assistant' (a Dr Morton) who usually saw my son and he told me he was a fully qualified dentist with a good deal of experience who (then) was a dentist who specialised in orthodontics but wanted to be a specialist orthodontist (like my current chap). He did a great job on my sons teeth, which was a complicated case. He did everything on my son's case except the diagnosis and we only saw the 'specialist' half way through treatment and at the end when the braces came off.

I think it differs country to country but dont assume that people treating you arent highly qualified. If you're not sure then ask - just like I did!

[TigerLily]

In my case my orthodontist (who has 20-30 years experience) does everything, she has an assistant who hands her ligs etc, seems the same sort of level as the nurse my dentist has. I seem to be paying 'top whack' for my braces, even by UK standards. It is a very small practice, actually not an ortho practice as such - the ortho just uses a room at my dentist's two days a week, the rest of the week the hygienist uses that room.

I didn't have the ortho's nurse show me any cleaning or flossing, the ortho told me that I should clean really well and use teepee brushes and floss but that was it. She also insisted before I start my treatment that I would have to see the hygienist every three months. The first time I saw the hygienist after having my braces, she showed me how to use teepee brushes with my braces. This is something separate in that the ortho warned me I'd have to budget for seeing the hygienist more and I pay for that separately.

It does seem common reading on these boards that people who go to larger practices, especially in the States go to places where there are several chairs in a room and a few assistants and the ortho does the rounds. This is similar to the set up I had when I used to go to an ortho hospital when I was a child on the NHS although I cannot remember how much work the assistant did compared to the ortho. For me, I am pleased I have the one on one attention that I have now, but as I said, I do pay a lot for that, although I had not researched other routes. If you're in any doubt, ask, you may find your 'assistant' is indeed a qualified dentist.


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[mary.]

My Orthodentist is excellent and has an amazing team and practice (which is growing like crazy). I have every confidence in them. There are a few assistants (I'm not sure that is their actual title, might be technicians) and they do the actual work in the mouth and he comes to check it after and decides where we'll go next. He is available while the work is being done for any issues that may arise. He however has done all the behind the scenes work and has mapped out the full plan deciding what to use where and how, they then execute it. I know there's a lot more involved to it (the planning and decisions that he has already make and mapped out) then I could ever understand. My upper braces were glued on one bracket at a time. My lower braces however were prepared from the mold and he prepared it himself (as he put it, I wanted it to be perfect - he's so cute). I've been for a number of appointments so far and all has gone just great with the technician doing the hands on work and him checking and consulting afterwards.

[MsVarlene]

My orthodontist actually put all my brackets on and cemented the molar bands in place. He then put the archwire in place. The assistant dry-fitted the bands and put the ligatures on, after the wire was in place.

It also depends on different states' regulations on what assistants can and cannot do.

[Britlaw]

It does seem that we pay more for our treatment in the UK, Tigerlily and others on here bear this out, so maybe it has to be a qualified dentist over here that does the inter mouth work. I will ask my ortho next time and report back Mine is costing me £3500 and my case is not exactly complicated. With next to $2 to the £1 this is $7k ish. People on here describe jaw surgery, headgear and all sorts for those sums. My elder son is more complicated and that is going to be £5k = $10k but still no jaw surgery, just extra appliances.

Then again, gas is $10 a gallon here!!! (imperial gallon)

[Zameera]

For me, my orthodontist actually did it all. Well, the assistant just help my ortho hold the spam spam light to set the bonding material. She also "squirt" bonding material on the brackets.