I need help deciding on an orthodontist! PLEASE HELP! ty!

[Summertimeolive]

Hello everyone! Im 26 and Im looking to get my braces on this month at some point, I've consulted with several orthos and narrowed it down to these 3 would love some insight from all of you who are going and have gone through the process

Ortho #1- Very nice, referred to me by my general dentist, uses the in-ovation brackets, stated that treatment time would be 18-24 months, is not board certified, and most of his patients appear to be children but his stuff looks good.

Ortho #2- Very nice, board certified, found him from a video I saw on youtube, a girl with an amazing smile and his work looks great, doesnt appear to have done a lot of surgical cases *even though the surgeon i shall be consulting with shortly said he is working with him and thus far everything is going great* Nice guy uses the damon clear which sound cool

Ortho #3- Slightly older than #1 and #2 board certified, very established practice, uses the 3m clarity braces (dont appear to be sexy), has done a number of surgical cases, seems pretty knowledgeable. I've only met with him for 15 minutes as a quick consult, but has a huge practice and appears to have a ton of patients. Im not a huge fan of big things, I like the personal and friendly approach and this place didnt feel wrong but it felt more serious at least in my perspective...

WHO should I chose, and what influenced your decision, I still havent decided on the surgeon yet, even though I've consulted with 3 and looking to meet with 2 or 3 more before Im finally set. I need to decide so I can get my braces on asap!

THANK YOU!! :)

[catgyrl]

Hi Summertimeolive

Welcome to the forum!

I only went to 2 consultations, both of whom were referred by my dentist's office. The first one was super-crowded, with people waiting in the hallway to get in. They were very quick in getting me in to see the ortho, who then proceeded to tell me that I had a HUGE overjet (yes, he used that word), which made me even more self-conscious. I asked about ceramic braces (because I was a vain 42-year-old woman and wanted them to be discreet), and he pretty much told me he hated them; they break all the time, that they would stain (not true...only the rubber ligatures around the, stain), and that it would add a LOT of time to my treatment. As for the treatment itself, he told me he would need to pull "at least" 2 teeth, and that I would have braces for 2-3 years. I was very anxious to get everything going, so I agreed to metal braces, and they said, "Okay, you want to get your molds and pictures taken now?" I felt very rushed, but I did it anyway.

After thinking about it the next day, I didn't really appreciate his negative attitude, or being rushed into anything. So I went to the second guy they recommended. That experience was "night and day" compared to the first guy. Quiet office, mellow orthodontist who told me I could get whichever brackets I wanted because I was the one who was going to wear them, and he wanted me to be comfortable. Didn't seem shocked at my overjet (but did jokingly say that he hoped I'd stopped sucking my thumb by now, or else the braces wouldn't work. LOL!) Quoted me a 2-year treatment with only ONE extraction. I could've even gotten them the same week, if I wanted. I had to wait to get the down payment and time off work, but he's the one I eventually chose, and I could not be happier. Ortho office #1 agreed to forward my pictures and impressions to the new office (not a hardship since I'd already paid for them, and their offices are only 2 doors apart).

You sound like you've done pretty thorough research, and that's great. From what you've said, I think Ortho #2 sounds like a winner.

Good luck to you, and keep us posted!

Cathy

[Snowglobe32]

Hello-

What would your treatment plan be and do you need extractions or surgery?

#1 would definitely be out... not board certified = RUN.

#2 sounds like he might be expensive. My first consult was with an ortho who was ranked #1 in my state (according to a prominent magazine), turns out his treatment price was extremely high. He also had an extravagent office, glossy ads in high end magazines, videos online and made me feel as though I would be "just a patient", not like a "member of the family" like my current office makes me feel.

#3 sounds similiar to my ortho, he is older, maybe early 60's, established, respected reputation, he does have a lot of patients but he makes time for all of us at every appointment. If anything, my appointments tend to run over. I remember seeing on my screen, at various adjustments, that they had 17, 26, and 45 patients scheduled for the days I was there. He has two locations and they are mainly at one office then visit the other office once a week. He and his staff really care about getting the best result, they make it a point to get to know each patient, they are excited about their jobs and love what they do.
He is very personable and explains everything in detail. I never have to wait if I have an emergency.


#2 and #3 sound good, I would get a quote from both and then pick which one ultimately makes you feel comfortable. Maybe you can ask to speak to current patients, on your next visit to the offices, ask to see what the actual brackets look like that you will be wearing, preferably on a patient.

Good luck!

[neednewsmile]

I can tell you my experience.....my regular dentist gave me two consults to orthodontists he knows. I made appts. for consultations with both of them. I liked the first dr., very nice. First a young lady sat with me to show me the various types of braces etc., and went over pricing. Then the dr. came in and looked at my teeth. No x-rays, nothing. Just sat in front of me and looked at my teeth, he didn't even touch my mouth. But this was my first experience at an orthodontist so thought nothing of it.

Went to the second dr. 3 days later. I was given a tour of the office, exam rooms etc. Then sat down with a very knowledgable young lady who explained how the practice works, how braces work, what kind of support I would get etc. Then another young lady came and got me and took extensive x-rays, including scans of my whole mouth. She took photos too, from every angle possible. (Both of my consultations were free, from both practices.) Then I went back in and went over costs with the first girl. And to my surprise, the 2nd price was quite a bit less expensive then the first one. Then the dr. came in and they put me in a chair and he examined my mouth, bite etc. and told me what he would recommend. I was really impressed with this place.

I came home and looked up websites for both doctors and was far more impressed with the 2nd one. That's who I went with and I'm still impressed.

First, board certified is a must!
Visit each doctor, except the one that isn't board certified, get a feel for their practice and pricing. Hear what the dr. has to say and recommend.
Then pick who you feel most comfortable with and who seems the most professional. The dr. needs to examine your teeth, not just look at your smile, to give you the best options.
Good luck! Let us know how it all works out!

[EbonyQ]

You have to pay for your consultation in Norway, so I only went to one ortho, the one my dentist referred me to (one working right next to my dentist, they have the same waiting room). I did not have the money to go shopping for orthos but I would try one more if I had not been happy with this one.

I got a friend who “knows “ my ortho to tell him about my dental fear, to “warn” him about it. So when I arrived he had found a regular chair for me to sit in and we had a 20 min chat about braces and my dental fear. He also apologized that I had to wait 6 weeks, if he had known about my dental fear sooner he would have switched me with another pt. who were more comfortable with dentists.
He was very careful examining my mouth and always asked if this was ok and if that was ok. There was no other pts there, only him and me, his assistants had gone away giving us some privacy. They only came when we needed to take x-rays.

My ortho is the owner of the clinic but he only works Wen and Fri, and I had my first appointment on Fri. I think he felt a bit sorry for having me wait that long because of my dental fear - I got my next appointment on Wen, and since he was fully booked that day I got it when they close. “so you don’t need to wait that long again” he told me, I can survive four days of waiting . For me it was a good thing because it’ll only be my ortho and me on Wen. We’ll be taking impressions on my teeth, pictures and do some measurements of my jaw.
He also told me that we could do things in small steps, there was no need to hurry. That we could put some or all of the brackets one day, and the arch wire another day when I felt comfortable with the brackets.

Went to one ortho and that was enough for me, I won’t find a more caring ortho that this one. He is really moving mountains for me .

Don’t know how much training a regular dentist must have to be allowed to do ortho’s work in the states (in Norway you need to be an ortho to do orthodontic. You need those three years of special training at a University after your dental degree). Would it not be scary to let a general dentist do it? There must be a reason why orthos need three years of special training.
I would go for #2. One sounds a bit scary, and three maybe a little busy. When will they have time for your concerns and problems?

Take the ortho that you feel most comfortable with. After all, you are going to spend a lot of time together

[reynolk]

I would definately say #2 or #3. They all sound like they could do a good job though. Keep us posted.

[Summertimeolive]

Hi everyone thank you all for your advice, I've been sitting on this decision and Im SCARED to make a decision for fear if something goes wrong one way or another- I'll have no one to blame, but me...

I've made the decision to push out ortho #1 even though he is a nice guy, I think for my case its best to focus on #2 or #3. I am leaning towards the second ortho since its easy to connect with him and such, but he doesnt have as much experience as the third practice which slightly worries me...

What were the deciding factors for YOU when deciding your braces- and what was your initial consult with your orthodontist like, I'd love more insight as I plan on calling one of them tomorrow and booking a bracing appointment!

Thank you all :)

[ashesgap]

Being able to actually talk to the ortho is a big deal. Some of them really don't have a bedside manner, since most of their patients have their mouths busy and can't talk. My ortho explains things, in detail, anytime I ask and I really appreciate that.
I think since you've already picked the surgeon, and he's worked with ortho 2 before, you can't make a wrong decision at this point. This really is one of the hard parts....and we all worry about our choice till the braces come off.
Good luck.

[ArchWired28]

From what you have said, I would have personally preferred the #3. I think, experience is important in orthodontics, even more important than a friendly attitude or bedside manners. Although they all more or less follow (or at least should follow) the same standard protocol in treating similar cases, ability to recognize if/when you become a "one size does not fit all" case is important like nothing else. It is my firm belief that those horrible stories about spending 3, 5, 10.... years in braces stem from an ortho's failure to recognize the subtle signs of "something going wrong" at some point in treatment and take actions. The more experience an ortho has, the more likely he/she is to recognize the red flags and take actions. It is like doing a biology experiment, of course we all follow the same standard protocol, but if you have done it million times, you know better on how vigorously to shake that tube, or if you need to add several additional minutes to the reaction time... Details are VERY important and can lead to either perfect or suboptimal results. That is why clearly I would have opted for #3.
And I did, my ortho has 30+ years of experience. I was very sceptical at the beginning, but I now start to trust him more and more as I see that he seems to know what he's doing. Yes, he's kind of rushy and arrogant (not to the point of being impossible to handle), but to me, it seems like a good tread-off.