Different treatment time estimations given by different orthos

[CeramicCynthia]

Hi all,
So I've been for a few consultations - 3 of the orthos said my treatment will be 12-18 months (one of those was very optimistic to have it done in 12).
However the last one said that my deep bite could take "up to 2 years" to fix.

Is it a red flag if one ortho is predicting a significantly longer treatment time than the others, or is it that some are just more conservative in their estimates than others?
The sceptic in me would believe that some may understimate the treatment time in the hope it will encourage me to sign up for treatment, whereas others prefer to be more realistic?
The one who estimated 2 years was my favourite, even though I'll likely have emigrated well before the 2 years is up.

[assertives]

You should pick an ortho and proposed treatment plan that you feel comfortable with and not one based on duration of treatment. Estimates on treatment duration are just that: an estimate. It's quite common that treatment duration ends up longer than the estimated time in the beginning because different people respond differently to same/similar treatments. Also, sometimes, what holds back treatment are the fine tuning stage towards the end which can be hard to predict with certainty. Orthos sometimes base their estimates on whether patients will be compliant in wearing their elastics and other instructions, etc and this will vary from patient to patient.

On another note, if you are planning to migrate in the near future, you may want to consider not starting treatment until you are settled in your new place. The last thing you want is to have to worry about finding another ortho mid treatment when you need to move far away from your ortho.

[Tyrantblade]

Go with one you will feel good about staying with; with a good amount of experience wiuld be good too.

[DrJasonKTam]

12-18 months seems like a larger range. If you look at the one saying 24 months, that's only 6 months longer than the 18 months, and it is possible that you could start running past 18 months and be reminded that you were told that it may take 18 months, but there are some extra things to do now, so we are running over time. In other words, 2 years is not significantly longer than the other estimates.

Generally, we divide up our treatments into these increments: 14 months, 20 months, 26 months. Each of these treatments can be +/- 6 months or more depending on a number of factors, but the main one is compliance (with elastics and breakage). You also want to make sure everyone is doing the same thing, producing the same result, and that they are generally good with keeping their treatment times within the estimated amount given at the consultation. Good luck!