Please help - need advice on Orthodontist not performing

[orangecountymetal]

I was referred to my orthodonist by my maxo surgoen. Upon the initial consult back in November 2005 the ortho seemed competent and experienced with lower jaw advancement and he had worked closely with my maxo surgeon for about 20 years - it seemed like a no brainer.

I had the xrays, mold, etc done and I was scheduled to have my metal braces applied on January 17, 2006. Upon arriving at my appointment I learn that my ortho had one of his vertebrae broken in an accident. They assured me that he would be back soon and they had one of the assistants put on the braces, with a young "fill in" ortho walking around supervising in case the assistants had a questions. I had the braces applied and requested to sit with the fill in ortho to ask him some additional questions about the braces and my specific situation.

I'm having lower jaw advancement due to a overbite and tmj issues. The fill in ortho looks like he is in his late 30's and had no clue about my procedure. He looked like a deer in headlights and told me he would review my file with the hurt ortho and get back to me. He never got back to me, however I did receive a letter in the mail stating that my ortho will be retiring and the new ortho will be taking over the practice. I called the office and they assured me that the original ortho would still work in the mornings for another year or so. 6 weeks later I show up for the 1st adjustment and my original ortho is there (he must be in his late 60's and on crutches) along with the new ortho and neither one of them adjust me, it's the assistant again. The original ortho asked how I was and I told him that I was having my two lower front bicuspids removed in 1 week - so he told me to see him a few days afterwards. After the adjustment I went home and upon looking at my teeth there are about 6 bands that are half on, so I put them on myself with one of those hook tools.

Last week I had my two bucuspids removed by the maxo and everything went fine except the maxo was surprised that the ortho left the brackets on the teeth that were supposed to get extracted - he had to "jimmy it" with his tools to take them off!

So, I show up this morning for the power chains or whatever it is that the ortho needs to apply to close these two gaping holes in my mouth and as I walk in the receptionist tells me that my ortho is not coming in today and that she has no way of telling when he is coming in and not coming in. No apology for not contacting me prior and she re-scheduled me for tommorow "hoping" that he would be in!!!! It's a 1 hour drive for me in traffic!!!!

Here is my concern:

Since my ortho is retiring and hurt - it's obvious he is not at the top of his game and the new ortho looks like and sounds like he is just out of his internship. I'm only 2 months into this journey and I am seriously considering going to another ortho. (my maxo had originally referred 2 different ones to me and I chose the wrong one apperantly)

Question:
Should I change ortho's?
Is this a good idea now that the process has started?
If I do will they come after me for full payment for the braces? I was quoted $6,000 and so far I have only paid about $1,800.00 - I'm on a payment plan - does anyone know if I can just walk and not pay the remander that is due?

sorry for the long post - needed to vent...
thanks for any suggestions.

[SamanthaClavier]

i would if i where you,you choose the ortho you wanted he is retiring,so i would think you have an option to find another (i would ask for most of my money back)you should talk with another ortho tell them everything thats going on,they may be able to work something out together i would be scared if i where you

[Brandyleigh35]

Yes I agree, I would not feel comfortable in that situation and I would switch also. I would talk with the billing clerk at your current ortho's office and tell her that you are going to be changing orthos. You can tell them that you were referred to dr. "whatever his name is" before he was hurt, and now that he is not going to be treating you and that is so sporatic about his schedule, that you would prefer to find a Ortho that is close in location to your home. Ask her how you would go about having the amount you have paid be pro-rated for only the services you have recieved thus far, and the future balance refunded so you can pay your new ortho.

Find a new ortho, explain the situation and see if they can work out the rest of the cost with you. Since you already have the brackets on your teeth, they can probably work with what you already have and would not have to charge you for that portion of it.

This is what I would do. You are paying for a service, and you are not getting the quality of service, nor the doctor you originally signed on with. I would tell them that you went with this doctor because he had a lot of experience with jaw advancement, and that you are not comfortable with the new doctor performing the necessary work, or getting your teeth ready for it. That you would prefer to switch to the other specialist that your Maxo doctor recommended as you just feel more comfortable with that. It is certainly not YOUR fault that the ortho had an accident and now has decided to retire! If you are not comfortable with the new guy...then get out! I'm having the same procedures as you eventually (I just got braced Feb 3, and had a SARPE last Friday) If it were me, I would be out of there so fast it would make your head spin. Hope this helps!

Brandy



Brandy

[Kimberley]

Hi there,

I know that people who move can change orthodontists pretty easily, so I'm sure there shouldn't be a problem with you changing your ortho with everything your going through. I think the previous post was correct in saying that they should be able to charge you for the work they've completed and then refund you the difference.

The thing is that orthodontists seem to work a greatdeal on referrals, I don't think it would be wise for them to have an unhappy patient. They seem to be pretty green with this new guy in the office & with the combination of jawsurgery and orthodontic treatment you reallly need to feel confident you're receiving good treatment.

Good luck!
Kimberley

[orangecountymetal]

Thanks for all the feedback!

I had a consultation with a new ortho yesterday and he was also referred in the beginning by my maxo. When I returned home from that consult I called my original ortho and explained that I was going to swing by the next day and pick up all my charts, xrays, molds etc and that I would be using a new ortho. The receptionist asked me to meet with my original ortho when I picked up the items.

This morning I drove to the original ortho and had a private meeting with him. I just let it all out and surprisingly he agreed with me and apologized about 10 times. He asked me to give him 1 more try and that If I was not happy he would not charge me and help me go to the new ortho. He promised me that he would see me every 4 weeks instead of 6 and that only he and his 1 most experienced assistant would be touching my teeth.

I was so ready to bolt with my items - I had to really think about it since moving to a new ortho will be more expensive and I will loose about 3 weeks. Also, the new ortho does things a little different so I will have new items inserted and some original stuff taken out - big pain.

I basically told him that I would stay with him as long as he lived up to his promise - so he put in new archwires and "tied" my bottom front teeth together and applied some rubber bands to start moving the teeth back to fill in the gap. He told me that this is a faster way of moving the teeth versus power chains - however I will need to apply new bands three times a day. Anyone ever hear of this?

Just wanted to update everyone.

Thanks again for the feedback - this is a great site!