changing orthodontists midway through treatment

This is the place to post general questions and comments about all areas of orthodontic treatment. Before you post a question, use the forum's SEARCH tool to see if your question has already been answered!

New Members: YOU MUST MAKE A POST WITHIN 24 HOURS OF REGISTERING OR YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED. In other words, don't sign up unless you plan to actively participate in the message board immediately. This is necessary to keep out spammers and lurkers with bad intentions. Of course, you can read most forums on the board without registering.

DO NOT POST FULL-FACE PHOTOS or personal contact information on this website. We have had problems with people re-posting members' photos on fetish websites. Please only post photos of your teeth, not your whole face. Keep your email and your personal information private. Thank you.

Moderator: bbsadmin

Post Reply
Message
Author
horriblebite1
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2011 11:15 pm

changing orthodontists midway through treatment

#1 Post by horriblebite1 »

I am half way through a (supposedly) 12 - 18 month treatment with damon braces. Due to my boyfriends new job, we've recently had to move to a place six hours drive away from where we were living and because I don't drive myself, it's going to be extremely difficult to get back for my adjustments...we're in France and the train travel to where we were living from here involves a days journey, lots of changes and then a hotel stay in the town the orthodontist is in because it's not possible to get a train back the same day..it's going to work out a coupleof hundred euros each time i need an adjustment. sadly she's not open on a saturday when it would be possibe for me to geta lift. I asked my orthodontist if she could be recommend anyone in our new department (county) that deals with damon braces so i could get my adustments done up here and she said it was not possible to change since another orthodontist would not be aware of my treatment plan.

Surely other people must have had to move between towns and even countries when under going orthodontic treatment - i wondered what other people had experienced? If the orthodontist absolutely insists that only she can complete the treatment and this just proves too difficult for me, i wondered where i might stand with regard to her forcing me to pay her for the whole treatment. The total cost was about 4000 I think, I paid over 1000 after the first session (fair enough, as this included the damon bace) and then about 1500 since i think. very grateful for any advice from anyone who has had to move mid treatment.

kaas
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:43 pm

Re: changing orthodontists midway through treatment

#2 Post by kaas »

Hi,

I had my lingual braces a month ago, and next month I am also moving to another country - to Paris, France. I contacted an orthodontist and honestly he was quite rude on the phone with me. He said that he has no intention to continue what other ortho started,because he will have his own treatment plan, so he can only remove my braces and place new ones (that cost 7000 eur btw...).

Therefore, I decided that it's cheaper to take a flight back every month (aprox 150 eur), for my adjustments with the first doctor, than pay 7000 eur and go again through the process of having another set of braces.

I'm sorry to hear you are going through something similar, I hope you'll find a good arrangement.

Good luck!

Lynette
Posts: 193
Joined: Wed Sep 15, 2010 12:33 am
Location: Australia
Contact:

Re: changing orthodontists midway through treatment

#3 Post by Lynette »

Your options are:

1. Get them off and then get them again sometime down the track when it's convenient to do so. Make sure you get a retainer when you get them off.

2. Find a new ortho that is willing to work with what you've got - Search for orthos in that area that do damons and ask if they accept transfer patients. Not a lot of orthos like to accept transfer patients, but you should find at least one that is willing to. Then make sure you bring your moulds, x-rays and curent treatment plan to your new ortho. That will save you a bit of $$$$$

3. Find a new ortho in your area - Most orthos will probably want to take off your current braces and start again doing it their way, which could end up being full treatment price.


Your ortho can't force you to pay the full treatment cost because you're not finished. She will probably work out a figure based on how much treatment has been done so far.

People move all the time. My brother changed orthos relatively easily. His old ortho worked out the cost based on how much treatment had been done and my brother ended up getting money back from his old ortho. Then in his new town he found an ortho that was willing to work with what he had (just standard metal braces).

Anyway hope this kinda helps.
Image

23 year old female with ceramic braces.

http://www.projectbraceface.wordpress.com

Post Reply