Orthodontist Passed Away

[randirocks]

So I was scheduled to get debanded this Thursday but my dentist/orthodontist (I had a one stop shop) got into an accident and passed away over the weekend. His assistant told me that she would still deband me (though next week) but there was still some minor corrections to be done.

The practice that I went to was very small and my ortho was the only one there. I'm assuming that I'm going to need to try and work with the office to either get my records sent to another ortho or they'll need to bring someone in? Has anyone had any similar situations? Does anyone have any suggestions?

I don't want to cause any waves. I'm being respectful of the situation and understand that this may not be as simple as it would have been. I just don't want to end up with problems because I wasn't finished properly.

Thanks!

[Chicagogal]

Wow, I never even THOUGHT about that happening (and my ortho is elderly so perhaps I should, but it feels weird). I think if there's still even tweaks to get done that you should at least go see another ortho (perhaps they have a referral?) they should absolutely provide you all your records. The tricky thing is if you've already paid for all your treatment, not sure how you might feel about another ortho charging you to finish your treatment. this sounds terrible, but at least you were almost done. yikes, so sad.

[Snowglobe32]

I am sure you office has or is working on a plan for current patients. I would go to your scheduled appointment, ask a few questions and see what they say.

I would think any great ortho and his/her staff would work as hard as they needed to, to deal with tragedies such as this.

[klobird]

Wow, that must have been shocking! And so sad.....for everyone....

Well, at least you weren't halfway in or something. His practice is probably worth quite a lot financially, so maybe the other orthos in town will absorb his patients, or someone will come in and take care of things part-time or something. You must know that his patients aren't the only ones concerned, and other professionals are trying to figure out a solution too, so that everyone isn't left hanging. This is a tragedy for everyone in the community. I bet you will have your answers soon.

[Amethyst]

My orthodontist recently retired at the age of 52. Luckily, I haven't gotten braces on yet (I'm getting them later this month). Anyways, a different orthodontist came in and took over the practice, as well as getting all of the patients and all the original assistants and secretaries still work there. Obviously this is a different case than yours because mine had time to find someone to take over. However, I'm sure the staff at your past orthodontist's practice are working hard to come up with a solution.

Best of wishes.

[DrJasonKTam]

An unfortunate part of life...

In our area, an elderly orthodontist passed away and nearby orthodontists each took on some of the patients so that no one practice would be overloaded. I believe they came to some kind of agreement with regards to fees with the estate of the deceased. Hopefully your orthodontist was well-liked by his peers .