Orthodontic Assistants Work Equal?

Message

#1 Post by **Dreamer** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 8:23 pm

In the Ortho office I go to there are six Ortho Assistants and the Dr. goes from patient to patient and instructs the assistants on what she wants done then leaves them to do the work. I find it strange that she doesn't double back to re-check their work when they are done, should the Dr. be checking the work? Also the last three appts. I get the same asst. and she is brand new, younger and less experienced. She has had to get help from the other assistants a few times as I have a small mouth and she has a hard time working on me. My question is this: does experience that the assistant might have change the outcome of the results? In other words does a more experienced assistant have better skills in placing the wires, ligs, ties, etc that change how fast my teeth move? Would it be out of line to request that I have a different assistant when I make my next appt? It's a hard situation because I do not want to get anyone in that office unhappy with me but yet I feel I'd be more comfortable with a more experienced assistant since I have a hard mouth to work on with lots of work to be done. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

#2 Post by **dr.j** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 6:56 am

If at each visit the doc is satisfied w/ your progress I'd say all is okay. If he started to really wonder what is going on, he'll catch it that maybe your asst has botched somtething. Your teeth will not move any faster with someone else. Provided that the correct stuff is being done. I personally like to check out what my rookies are doing. They have to earn my trust. Most asst. are very concerend with doing a great job. If he has 6 of them then he is successful. There is a reason for that: he is good and has a good team.

Dr.J

#3 Post by **momof2grlz** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 8:27 am

I can totally relate to your concerns. Although my ortho double-checks behind his assistants, some assistants are better than others. His assistant manager is great. She clips the wires close and really bends them around so they don't end up poking me. One of his assistants is really sweet, but she's like a bulldozer trying to reach my back teeth and the wire always pokes me a day or two after she puts it on. I've considered asking that she not work on me, but I hate to hurt her feelings - so I just cringe and bear it when I get her.

Chris

#4 Post by **altinure** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:08 am

dr.j wrote:If at each visit the doc is satisfied w/ your progress I'd say all is okay. If he started to really wonder what is going on, he'll catch it that maybe your asst has botched somtething. Your teeth will not move any faster with someone else. Provided that the correct stuff is being done. I personally like to check out what my rookies are doing. They have to earn my trust. Most asst. are very concerend with doing a great job. If he has 6 of them then he is successful. There is a reason for that: he is good and has a good team.

Dr.J

so is my ortho not good because he only has one assistnat? my orthodontist is always the one working on me. his assistant just prepares cement and whatnot.

#5 Post by **dr.j** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 5:09 pm

Having one assistant does not a bad orthodontist make. (Confucious?)

Some docs desire a big practice with mutiple chairs and alot of staff - some are more "boutique" practices that run on few hired hands. The product is all about the doc. If someone is busy enough to run 6 chairs with 6 assistants - they usually don't get to that pace by doing shoddy work. Both ways of practice still acheive great results in general...

dr.j

#6 Post by **Dreamer** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 6:40 pm

Thank you for your input Dr. J! My Orthodontist has all this behind her name and she appears to have quite a successful practice so I guess I am in good hands: D.M.D., M.P.H., M.S.

#7 Post by **Chris** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 5:15 pm

I prefer some assistants better than others and I would like to know from Dr. J, how can I get only the ones I like? I mean who should I ask, the receptionist? Obviously, if I ask the ortho, all the other assistants will hear my request. I don't want to offend the ones I don't want, they all are very nice, its just that the others seem to do a better job (you can REALLY tell the rookies from the pros).

Is this a common problem in some ortho offices, ie., people requesting certain assistants? Do assistants get their feelings hurt?

Metal Mouth Message Board

Orthodontic Assistants Work Equal?

Orthodontic Assistants Work Equal?

delegation

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oversimplification