What Everyone Should Know About Orthodontic Treatment and Selecting an Orthodontic Office

When selecting an orthodontist, experience and training always count:   There is no substitute for a well trained, experienced orthodontist.  Make sure that your doctor was trained at an accredited university residency program and not at a weekend motel courses like these:

In order to become an orthodontist, a dentist must attend a two to three year orthodontic residency after dental school.

You GET what you pay for:  An orthodontic fee that appears to be too good to be true, probably is.

You PAY for what you get:   Orthodontic offices are businesses, and fees must cover business costs.  "Extra or free" services, products and prizes are incorporated into your treatment fee.   In order to keep fees affordable, Dr. Staggers' office does not offer games, gimmicks, contests, prizes or scholarships that only benefit a few patients.  Lower fees benefit every patient.

When selecting an office, make sure that the office schedule is compatible with your schedule:  Asking about the office hours and  if they change during the summer months is a good idea.  Also, ask how after hours emergencies are handled.  All orthodontists realized that evening and weekend hours are convenient to patients and parents.  However, delivering orthodontic treatment is a team effort between the orthodontist and the dental assistants.  Most dental assistants are women with family responsibilities.  Well trained, competent dental assistants are usually unwilling to give up their family time in order to work evening and weekend hours.  Therefore, very few orthodontic offices offer evening and weekend hours. 

Select an orthodontic office that focuses on the dental health of your child, not on entertaining your child:   The purpose of orthodontic treatment is to improve the dental esthetics and the dental health of your child.  If dental treatment is the priority in the orthodontic office, more time and effort is spent on the treatment by the doctor and the staff, than on showing off video games, DVD's and internet in the waiting room.  The more entertaining the waiting room, the more time you are likely to spend there.

Do your homework before you select an orthodontist:  Orthodontic treatment requires a long term relationship (years) between the orthodontist, the patient and the parents.  Spend some time making the right choice.  Ask your friends what they liked or disliked their orthodontic treatment.  If you feel pressured to commit to an office before you are ready to make that choice, do not sign up for treatment.

Don't use fast food criteria to select an orthodontist:  Fast food is quick, convenient and cheap, and it fulfills a short-term need.  Health care delivered in quick, convenient and cheap manner is like fast food, not good for you in the long-term.

Select an orthodontic office that fits your personality:  Each orthodontic office has its own personality.  Make sure the one that you select matches your personality and expectations.

First impressions count:  If an orthodontic office doesn't meet your expectations on your first visit, it probably never will.  Everyone is usually on their best behavior for a first meeting.  If the office appears disorganized, rushed or running very late, this will likely be repeated during the entire orthodontic treatment.

If the doctor is too busy to answer your questions, he/she is too busy to be your orthodontist:  select another office.

New or high technology is great, but the what matter most is the skill and knowledge of the doctor that uses it:  Most orthodontic office use modern technology when selecting orthodontic brackets, wires and other appliances.  However, promoting high tech brackets and wires in office advertising is a marketing tool and does not represent superior treatment results.

Completion of orthodontic treatment does not guarantee a lifetime of perfectly straight teeth:  All patients experience some shifting of the teeth after orthodontic treatment.  For most patients, this shifting is minor and can be minimized by wearing retainers.

Treatment times are determined by the type and the severity of the dental problems, and therefore, are similar for all orthodontic offices:  An estimated treatment time that appears to be too good to be true, probably is.

Different doctors may approach orthodontic treatment differently:  How a doctor treats an orthodontic problems depends on his/her training and experience.  Different treatment approaches can still produce beautiful orthodontic results.