Orthodontist in Bay Area California/San Francisco?

[tartanhabit]

I have been seriously thinking of switching for a long time now and perhaps better late than never would like 2nd opinions/additional consultation.

If you have faith in your ortho and feel like you are on track for good results, please let me know details. This site has a NO DEFAMATORY comments policy. Positive recommendations please.

Thanks.

[lovecakenfruit]

Where do you live in the Bay area? I live in southern san jose, my ortho is just OK, he's rather young. Who does your dentist recommend?

[tartanhabit]

Following up with my dentist. My first choice (who my dentist likes) retired by the time I plucked up courage to go for braces. I'm in East Bay.

[littlething]

I see Dr. Robert Iezman in Berkeley. He is awesome! I'm only 2 months into my treatment, but I started seeing him last summer. My case has required a lot more planning, since my teeth were an absolute mess when I first showed up to him (so I needed to get everything healthy first, and I had 4 "hopeless" teeth so that made things a little more complicated). He's worked really closely with my dentist (who he also referred me to) to ensure that I have an ideal result, and I have complete faith in him. He's always been great about communicating, and always encourages questions (even when I'm flustered and can't remember what I was going to ask). He's also a super nice guy, and his staff is great as well.

[tartanhabit]

Thank you for the Dr Iezman recommendation! See, that's the kind of communication I feel I am lacking and the close contact with my dentist too for a holistic kind of treatment.

[tartanhabit]

Littlething, may I ask a couple of questions about Iezman's practice?

Do you see much of him at each visit?
Does he explain what's going on without you having to remember all the questions while you have a mouth full of instruments and your head tipped down to the floor?
What level of detail did your treatment plan include?

Thank you.

[littlething]

Do you see much of him at each visit?
Honestly, I only see him 5 minutes a visit. I saw that this was pretty much standard for most orthos, so I didn't really think much of it. Although, even when I showed up for unscheduled visits (i.e. my wires popped out of my molar bands), I sometimes end up seeing him. Generally though, the less busy it is, the more time he has.

Does he explain what's going on without you having to remember all the questions while you have a mouth full of instruments and your head tipped down to the floor?
He gives me a general gist of what's going on, if I want more specifics, I have to ask. That's fine with me. His staff also tries to explain things to me as well. I am laying back in the chair when he's talking to me, but he will wait until his hands our out of my mouth before he talks to me, or to ask if I have questions. Sometimes, he'll come back and ask me if I have any questions. I get the feeling that he encourages questions, and I don't always have any to ask, so sometimes I feel bad that I don't - ha! In the beginning, when I was still super nervous and flustered, he always told me that I'm more than welcome to call if any questions came up.

What level of detail did your treatment plan include?
After my last consult appointment (I ended up having 3), when he finally felt ready to move forward, he sent a letter in the mail with my treatment plan/X-rays/photos. The treatment plan wasn't super technical, but it listed what was to be done/may possibly need to be done, so I did get a pretty good sense of what was to come, and how long it would take (he gave a range: 27-33 months). It read something like: full upper and lower braces, small rubber bands to wear as necessary, extraction of 4 teeth (insert tooth #s here), canine substitution and reshaping of tooth #6 to look like #7, possible need for TADs. It also contained his findings/diagnosis, which were pretty detailed without being super technical (I don't have it in front of me at the moment though), along with risks that were specific to me (i.e. I extracted a lateral incisor from one side, so my midline will be off slightly to the right), recommendations (I should see my dentist every 3 months, I'd need some retainer wear for the rest of my life). It laid out everything I needed to know but in a format that was easy-to-understand for me, and gave me a realistic picture of what to expect.

Feel free to message me if you have any other questions

[tartanhabit]

Thank you so much. I did just send you a quick message. Looks like you had a decent amount of info in your treatment plan. The fact that your teeth are referred to by numbers is already more info that I had. And I'm impressed that he invites you to call if you have questions too.

[tartanhabit]

Seems that he won't take a patient already in treatment.