Metal Mouth Message Board

I'm braced for the second time. At first I was very happy with my orthodontist, but right now I am noticing that each appointment last for 5 to maximum 10 minutes! Is that enough? I'm afraid I'll be disappointed with the results! How long does your appointment last at each visit?

My appt. times varied depending on what was happening. What irritated me the most was a simple 15-20 minute adjustment would end up taking about an hour in the office. There is only one ortho, he bounces around from patient to patient (always washing hands and putting on new gloves), he takes phone calls...etc. The actual time with ortho was about 5-15 minutes, if the appt was simple. The assistants did most of the work in re: to wire changes, powerchains, ties...etc. He would check their work. Sounds to me that your appts are somewhat normal.

I am so glad it is almost over! I would schedule my appts for 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning, I do not believe I ever got to work before 10:30. And my work is 20 minutes away.

Hello!

At the beginning, my appointments were also very quick, 5-10 minutes and only with the assistent (thus not the ortho himself). Now that I am a bit further in my treatment (5 months), the ortho also comes to check and the appointments last about 10 minutes, thus still not very long.

Hi,

Well I am about a hearing with my braces and my appointments can take anywhere between 15-30 mins depending on what I'm having done. My 30 min appointments are usually when I'm getting a wire changed or he is doing other things.

Since I’m having my braces done at a dental school I was prepared from the beginning to spend longer time at each adjustment than otherwise and so far I can barely remember having an adjustment that lasted under 1 hour – it is usually between 1-1½ hour, but then that also includes having to wait for the ‘teacher orthodontist’ who has to check things and give advice so without that and with the added experience of a fully trained orthodontist I estimate it could probably have been about half the time spent

My most recent adjustment probably took just over 20 mins and that included two wire changes and a bracket being removed and re-positioned. I don't know if things are different in other places but when I have an appointment, I get one to one time throughout with the orthodontist and his assistant which always includes plenty of time for questions, discussion and pleasantries.

Anything from 10 minutes to an hour. Depends on what needs to be done.

I had my first adjustment done last month and it was only max of 10 minutes. Like you I was racking my brains thinking gee thats quick. I am having a new arch wire this Thursday so I think it will be a bit longer. I think the time varies according to your treatment. Try not to worry. Best thing is to question your orthdontist if you have any concerns.

Snowglobe32 wrote:My appt. times varied depending on what was happening. What irritated me the most was a simple 15-20 minute adjustment would end up taking about an hour in the office. There is only one ortho, he bounces around from patient to patient (always washing hands and putting on new gloves), he takes phone calls...etc. The actual time with ortho was about 5-15 minutes, if the appt was simple. The assistants did most of the work in re: to wire changes, powerchains, ties...etc. He would check their work. Sounds to me that your appts are somewhat normal.

I am so glad it is almost over! I would schedule my appts for 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning, I do not believe I ever got to work before 10:30. And my work is 20 minutes away.

This is exactly what my brace day and 1st adjustment was like. I actually asked the scheduler if there was a good time to come when it wasnt so hectic. My 2nd adjustment tomorrow is right before his lunch break. Its kind of frustrating to just sit and wait then be seen for only 10 mins.

My appointments generally take ~15-20 minutes, 5 of which is the orthodontist checking progress/deciding what changes to make if any.

Mine really depend on treatment, sometimes it'll be 10 mins if it's just a simple tweak to the wire and new bands and other times its 30-40 if he's moving a bracket or adding a lot of 'special features!' :)

If I eliminated all the waiting, my total appt. time would probably be 10 minutes or so. There just isn't much to do for most adjustments.

I'm 7 months into treatment. I'm NEVER there longer than 20 minutes and usually around 10. This last time I got full power chain on upper and new wire on lower and was there 15 minutes.

What exactly are you expecting to happen during visits?

malilou25 wrote:How long does your appointment last at each visit?

Anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.

I'm in the chair literally 5 minutes! I have total confidence in my Ortho....he doesn't mess around and just gets the job done! He always has time for a chat though if I want to ask him a few questions.