Need advice: getting braces last year of PhD?

[nhyn]

Hi all,
I have been thinking of getting braces, and even went through the whole process of getting the teeth impression, xrays etc. My orthodontist also came up with a plan, and scheduled to put braces on my teeth last week. Unfortunately, I had to cancel the appointment to have more time to think about it, not just because I got cold feet, but because of a few reasons:
- I recently learned of an opportunity for a job abroad, so I said yes without thinking (since academic jobs are really hard to come by), but I didn't anticipate changing orthodontists to be such a big deal (didn't even know different orthodontists do different things and they might not continue another orthodontist's treatment!). It's kind of a binding promise because my name is on the grant, so if the grant gets approved I will have to move in a year, but I don't know until late fall whether it will be approved or not. If the grant doesn't go through, I plan to stay put for at least another year after I graduate/extend my PhD by another year. My treatment plan is two years.
- I am in my last year of my PhD, but as I mentioned above, I might ask to stay another year, since there is funding available, even if my advisor won't be happy about it. Still, I have to work on my dissertation this year, and thinking of dealing with braces while doing dissertation stressed me out.
- On the other hand, this orthodontist is a really good one. She got great reviews online, and my interaction with her (twice so far) and her office has been very positive. She is affiliated with a famous hospital (I'm getting treatment from their dentistry branch, so no chance of them going out of business soon!), and has awards and certifications to back up her good reviews. I live in a big city, and she's one of the very few orthodontists with good reviews. I'm afraid I won't find anyone as good as she is elsewhere.

Although I've watched countless videos and read a lot of discussions in this forum, it's still unclear to me what I should do. Has any of you been in a similar situation? I think I have two choices:
- go ahead and get braces, and just deal with the transfer if the overseas job comes. Even though my orthodontist said she'd pro-rate for me based on my progress at the time of my move, I know I'd still be paying more than if I wait and start with another orthodontist with whom I can go through the entire treatment length with.
- wait till I finish my PhD, and get a job that will have me stay put for 2 years. This option seems to make the most sense, but it took a lot of self pep-talk for me to get to this point of being ready to get braces, and now it has become sort of an obsession, and I just want to start it asap so I can finish it asap.

I would appreciate any advice from those with experiences in braces, and those who have gone through a similar decision making process! Thank you in advance1

[sirwired]

If I were you, I'd wait until I could be fairly certain treatment could be completed in one place. Even if your current ortho would pro-rate, the new one could very well start you from scratch.

[TheProfessor]

I'm an academic and I totally get where you are coming from! We move around so much during the early years of our careers that it is difficult to commit to anything! I started toying with the idea of braces in grad school, but didn't actually do it until I finally had a permanent position! I don't recommend that-it is not fun to have braces at 40! If your new position is going to be for more than 2 years, I would wait until you get there to start your braces. I think you can find good orthodontists almost anywhere, it may just take more work if you are in a new city/country.

If you are REALLY anxious to get started, perhaps you could try to contact some orthodontists in the city you would move to and see if they would be open to taking on a "work in progress" and how much it would cost. You could even try to send them your current ortho's treatment plan. It would be complicated, but it might help you make a decision if you can get this information.

Good luck!
Prof

[jfriend33]

Solution.... find a great teaching school that will charge you a fraction of traditional offices.... as in 3 grand instead of 12.


Then use that 9 grand savings to cover your monthly travel cost to get back to base. Have arrangements with nearby places in case something breaks. Then get set up for appointments every 6 weeks...?


How bad is your bite? Any orthodontist will take your money. And heck you may be able to find a university overseas that would transition you over for a lower price too.

But yeah, bottom line, I would probably wait until you can be in the same general area for at least 1 year.

Myself I am 50 percent on one side of a state, 50 percent on the other side of the state, while also being treated in another state entirely. I guess interstate travel is just a LITTLE different than international lol.

Whatever the case, get some extra opinions. They may move your teeth some now, then debond you and put you in retainers. That way when you are sent over, that ortho can place the braces perfectly how they want them. Thats just my .02.

[nhyn]

thank you everyone for the great advice! these are all very helpful! :)

[nhyn]

Oh sorry I forgot to reply: @jfriend33: I have a pretty bad overbite, and crossbite on one side; this orthodontist is gonna charge me $7000, which is a bit more than I thought (I was hoping for $5000), but it does sound like they have a lot to do (pulling 2 teeth, fixing both top and bottom for overcrowding, etc.), and I do live in a big, rather expensive city, so maybe it is par for the course.