How long after consultation to having your braces fitted?

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#1 Post by **BraceFace2o1o** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 8:45 am

I'm just curious. How long did you have to wait after the initial consultation (with the Ortodontist you chose to go with) to have your braces fitted? Also, how long did your Ortho take to write to you with dianosis, treatment plan etc etc?

I have had two consultations so far. My first wasn't so great. I didn't have any impressions or x-rays during the consultation, but he said when I decide to go ahead I can come in and have the x-rays, impressions and brackets fitted all the same day - I didn't like the sound of this and thought it was a bit 'odd'. I was in there for no more than about 20 mintues.

My 2nd consultation: I had impressions and a thorough check, he even measured up my molars for the molar bands. I was in there for about 45 mintutes. Before I left, he said he would write to me with treatment plan/diangois/quote etc after looking at my molds. He also said I am welcome to come back for a 2nd consultation (no charge) to ask further questions if I have anymore once I receive the letter. and if I want to go ahead after that then I will probably have to wait 2-4 weeks for an appointment to have the braces fitted. I had the consultation 12 days ago and I am currently awaiting the letter.

So my 2 consultations were quite different. The first Ortho quoted me £3500 for regular metal braces without even taking any molds or anything like the 2nd Ortho - I'd been in the room with him for about 10 minutes and already knew I would NOT be going with him.
The 2nd Ortho didn't give me a quote at my consultation and said to wait for the letter.

#2 Post by **BraceFace2o1o** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 8:50 am

Please excuse the spelling errors! I'm really not feeling myself today

It seems I now don't know how to spell Orthodontist and diagnosis!

#3 Post by **jdwallac** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 9:06 am

I went to two orthos, and went with the second. It took a week to come in and get my molds, then another week to go in and get my braces on. After the molds she needed to look at them and my x-rays to see if extractions were necessary. Luckily, my teeth were more upright than they're supposed to be, so there is room to move them forward. I wouldn't have gotten them on AS soon if I'd needed extraction.

I also didn't need any spacers or appliances, so that made it go quicker.

So, I guess it just depends on whats going on/how busy your ortho's office is, etc.

#4 Post by **haywire** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 9:28 am

i got my braces after ~4 weeks from consultation

#5 Post by **Wongohk** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 10:05 am

1 orth, 1.5 moths, give me enough time to recover from a 5 tooth extractions, it took 3 visit to the dentist.

#6 Post by **NervousNewbie** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 11:38 am

My consult was free so it didn't include anything but a visual check from the ortho. There was no treatment plan - he only came in, looked in my mouth, and said yes, you are eligible for treatment, and if you decide to go with us then we can go from there. This is as much as I expected since the consult was free and I didn't expect him to do anything which would actually cost his practice money without being certain if I was actually going to be their patient. I said I would go with them and was given my price right there and then - but then again that may also be because I'm eligible for a flat rate discounted price through my insurance ($5500 for ceramics). I was booked about three weeks later to come back for my records (x-rays, molds, pictures) and received spacers and braces the exact same day.

#7 Post by **felicia** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 12:50 pm

At the first visit to my orthodontist, preliminary records were made to determine what the best course of treatment may be. Preliminary diagnostic records included a medical/dental history, clinical examination, FREE photos of face and teeth and a panoramic x-ray. This information was used to develop a preliminary treatment plan, which the doctor discussed with me. Those records were mine to take with me at the end of my "complimentary" examination appointment.
Everything just felt right, I liked the doctor, the office, everything.
I booked my first appt. a week later.

#8 Post by **BraceFace2o1o** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 1:06 pm

I forgot to add that the 2nd Orthodontist also took profile shots.

I paid for both consultations, but felt totally unhappy that I paid £100 (about $160) for the first because he was really vague about my issues/treatment and didn't mention fixing my overbite etc. He also refused to give me a lower brace because my upper teeth would hit on the lower brackets, his attitude towards my treatment sucked - when he said "you might just have to live with how your lower teeth are" (they are crooked!) I knew I was wasting my time being there. He was nice, I wont say he was rude, because he wasn't... it's just he seemed like he was thinking of the ££££££££££££ more than ANYTHING and tried to sell me the most expensive brackets he did. I also felt when I made it clear I didn't want the SPEED braces (self ligating and highest priced) and wanted traditional metal braces his body language and manner changed and I didn't like it. £3500 for just upper traditional metal braces is ridiculous IMO and with no talk of helping my bite problems just made up my mind even more.

I'm glad I had a consultation with the other (2nd) Orthodontist last week, he was alot better and I felt as if I got my money's worth

.

#9 Post by **sadpanda** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 1:35 pm

From the first consultation until brace day, I had to wait a month. In between that time, I had an appointment to take impressions, pictures, x-rays, etc. I didn't get a formal letter describing my treatment or anything. The consult was free and the ortho checked everything out and recommended upper and lower braces. They gave me the cost at the first consultation. The time waiting to get my braces on seemed sooooo long, so I was really excited when I finally got them. Before going to the ortho I chose, I had had another free consult with a different ortho who recommended the same treatment.

#10 Post by **BraceFace2o1o** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 1:48 pm

Thanks all for the replies.

Sadpanda, I think the waiting is the thing that is getting to me (yes, I am rather impatient!

). I had to wait over 5 weeks for my 2nd consultation. So if I decide to go ahead with treatment, it will probably have been a wait of about 12 weeks until I get the braces fitted.

#11 Post by **sadpanda** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 4:24 pm

I'm impatient too!!

Well, sometimes I'm really patient about things like waiting for friends who are late, but mostly I'm so impatient. It's why I use self-checkouts and ATMs and shop online and speed a lot in my car.

#12 Post by **Snowglobe32** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 4:55 pm

I just checked my appointment history. My initial consulation was Aug. 4th of 2009. Molds/xrays were taken on the 11th. I went to get my treatment plan on Aug. 18th. I made the decison to get braces on Aug. 30th, and had the braces placed on Sept. 30th. After making the decision to get braces, I scheduled my brace day for a month away, in order to give me more time to research and plan.

If I remember correctly, after the molds/xrays were done, the treatment plan took about a week to prepare. At that appointment, they were ready to place the braces but I needed more time to think about it. I only paid $85 for the treatment plan meeting, my molds/xrays were free.

My current ortho was actually my second ortho consultation. I had gone to another one about a year and a half (before Aug. of 2009).

Here we are, a year later, so glad and happy that I did this!

#13 Post by **Dilema** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 6:55 pm

1st week, consult, pics, molds, spacers
2nd week upper braces
3rd week lower braces

#14 Post by **MelB** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 7:25 pm

My dentist refered me to orthodintist. It took about 3 months to actually get an initial appointment. My dentist arranged for all my scans, xrays etc to be done during tha waiting time so when I arrived I had everything ready. Ortho checked everything out. I needed an extraction of wisdom teeth so that was done the following week. Went back 3 weeks after that for spacers. Turned out only one tooth needed spacing. Went back the following week for braces. Spacers did not work as lower arch so crowded and too tight. Braces on, but no band ring things around teeth.

#15 Post by **Lynette** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 11:34 pm

*Met with dentist
*3 days later met with ortho and got impressions
*Next day got x rays done
*2 weeks later met with ortho to discuss treatment
*2 weeks after that got ceramic braces put on