Introduction & first adjustment

[Jahs2015]

Hi, my name is Rachel. I am 39 years old and am experiencing braces for the first time. I had wanted braces for as long as I can remember to correct crowding and a deep overbite, but unfortunately my parents were not in the position to pursue treatment. As an adult, I continued to become more self-conscious about my smile and finally took the plunge in January. I am amazed at the amount of progress that has been made in 10 weeks!

I had my first adjustment today. They changed the wire and went up two sizes (I don't know what size it is though). I definitely noticed the increased pressure immediately, but it's tolerable. I go back in 8 weeks and they will place a bracket on the lower second molars.

I do have a question about how often you see the orthodontist vs. the assistant. I expected that the orthodontist would at least take a peek today, but that wasn't the case. The assistant quickly changed the ligs & wires, told me they would add the molar bracket at the next visit, and said see you in 8 weeks. I was a little shocked...is this normal? I guess I would have felt a bit better if the assistant was more personable and open to questions, but she was really standoffish when I asked her about the different wires. She never even asked how things were going. Maybe I need to change my expectations.

Rachel

[scully]

I'm new, too! I've had my uppers on for almost 5 months, but I just got the lowers on last friday.

Rubber bands, bite block, the works.

[gramma2xander]

Hi and welcome.I see my ortho every visit (every 4 weeks) she looks to see how things are going and then lets the assistant(who happens to be my sister) know what she wants done.I really like the ortho I have

[kellyb]

hey guys another newbie here

i have had my lowers for 9 and a half weeks and my uppers will be fitted this weekend. so far i have only had one adjustment but of my 2 visits so far (fitting of lowers and first adjustment), my ortho did everything while the assistant sat in the background and passed him the relevant equipment needed. i feel more comfortable with this arrangement as these past 2 visits there were different assistants so for me it make this journey easier having the same person doing the important work all the time.

[Sita]

Hello!

I believe at my orthodontist the assistants do all of the repairs and wire trims and the orthodonist does all of the adjustments. At least that is my understanding of it. I have only had my braces for a little over a week so no adjustments yet. I'm going in on Friday to have one of the wires clipped and that will be with the assistant.

[Rusty'sMom]

I have the orthodontist check me in the chair, tell the assistant what to do, she does it, and then he comes back and checks the result. At every visit, I do have my bite checked by the dr. I am happy with this arrangement. The assistants at the practice I go to are always willing to answer questions and actually seem to enjoy their work. It seems to be a happy working environment to me. It would be unsettling to me if the assistant was standoffish. You are a patient and paying good money! Be assertive!

[Jahs2015]

Thank you for the replies. I will definitely ask to see the orthodontist on my next visit!

[midnight]

hey guys another newbie here

i have had my lowers for 9 and a half weeks and my uppers will be fitted this weekend. so far i have only had one adjustment but of my 2 visits so far (fitting of lowers and first adjustment), my ortho did everything while the assistant sat in the background and passed him the relevant equipment needed. i feel more comfortable with this arrangement as these past 2 visits there were different assistants so for me it make this journey easier having the same person doing the important work all the time.

Reading on here, it seems that in the UK the ortho does everything and the assistant sits there, writes stuff down, passes stuff over etc... whereas in the US the assistant seems to play a much bigger role.

[EbonyQ]

Each ortho works differently, some see their ortho very often and some almost never. Some assistants love it when you ask questions while others don’t.

I have only seen my ortho’s assistant once and that was the first time I went to his office and took some x-rays. My ortho does everything himself and has one pt at the time, but this is a common practice in my country. You rarely see orthos working like orthos in the states, having more than one pt at the time and letting the assistants do most of the pt work