Metal Mouth Message Board

I know this is kind of an odd request.. But I'm not really sure how to talk to my ortho about my treatment. I thought you could shed some light on how to approach your kind

First off, let me say that my ortho is wonderful, highly certified and reputable. However, I think he is really used to dealing with children. It seems like whenever I ask him questions that make it obvious that I have some knowledge of orthodontics (more than say, a 12 year old at least), he's surprised. I have a ton of questions to ask him in my next couple of appointments, but don't want to seem pretentious, as he's the doctor - not me.

Now I could be totally over-analyzing this whole situation, but it really seems like he's sort of shocked whenever I ask questions like, "What is this appliance called?" or "How are you going to correct the curvature of my bottom teeth?" and so forth.

I've often heard that a lot of orthos are used to "dumbing down" their explanations (if they even give one at all) because they're so used to dealing with children.. So from an ortho's standpoint, how would you prefer your patients to approach this without sounding like a know-it-all?

I'm certainly no doctor, but I can tell you how I deal with it. It makes me feel awkward to speak with my ortho when he's standing above me and I have to look up, so I always ask to speak with him in his office before the appointment. This way, I'm face to face with him and I can have my list of questions in front of me. I'm paying a lot of money - almost $6,000, to be exact - to be kept in the dark. This is not acceptable. And, he's a wonderful man who is always happy to give me a few extra minutes of his time.

Good luck!

Well, I would just ask away. It does help if there is a finite number of questions. We realize that we are doctors of people not just teeth. I can usually recognize which patients need more explantion than others. Some folks are just naturally curious others could care less as long as the teeth look good.
I would say that if a patient comes in with a written list at each and every visit I am little concerned that I may not be communicating well (and concerned that there is a chance I may not make this person happy even if the teeth were ideal). If the doc wants to meet in his office first that's fine. I'd think that he/she was really doing this just to keep a very inqusitive patient satisfied. We could never stay on schedule with mini-consults each time. Thats the honest truth.
But your doctor should never, never, ever make you feel stupid. In fact he should pop right back with the answer in ortho lingo. So if next time you ask "doc, how do yoy intend to level my Curve of Spee?" He might say: " I going to use a 19x25 Copper Nitinol with a reverse curve of Spee to aid in posterior extrusion of the buccal segments while restraining your incisor torque with cinched arch wires and class III elastics off of high pull headgear" . That's actually mockery and taking it too far but you get my drift. All docs should answer as many questions as they can but eventually there is a limit to the time we can spend at each chair. If we did this for each patient, the result would be 45-60 minutes in the waiting area. Ugh! Try emailing your doc. Maybe he has an info@blahblah account linked to his office for Q/A.

dr.j

PS - hope the last post was not snippy. Patient communication in orthodontics is a art that we all need to master. We answer questions all of the time but this information is so esoteric I am used to answering a question about treatment mechanics and many patients and parents look at me like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears. It's hard to find a happy medium and present complex information simple and coherently.

dr.j

You could always tell him about ArchWired.com and show him that adult patients are becoming more educated in a positve way! Maybe he really isn't used to dealing with adults who take an interest and educate themselves on the topic -- and maybe he sees more kids than adults and isn't used to talking about treatment much with his patients.


By the way Dr. J, I love The Curve of Spee. They are my favorite band! (Sorry, it just sounds like a great band name to me!) Yo dude, I've got the entire Curve of Spee album on my iPod!

Dr. J - I didn't take your reply as "snippy" at all.. I'm actually one of those people who just wants an answer - No beat around the bush, no dancing around the question.. Which I think is the reason I'm trying not to get frustrated with my ortho - I just want answers, no matter what it is!

I think I will tell my ortho and his assistants about Archwired.com. I think he'd take that better than, "Yeah I saw this on the internet and it said.." which I'm afraid would sound pretentious as we all know the internet isn't always the most reliable source!

Just to let you know, I understand your point when you say that you can't spend THAT much time explaining every minute detail. But when I asked him how he'd correct my bottom teeth, he just said, "Oh don't worry we'll fix that." - I would have atleast prefered he said something a little more detailed.. But that will come with time - As said, he is an excellent ortho and I will have to develop a relationship with him and his staff over the course of my treatment.. And through that they will hopefully know that I want to be there and want to be as involved in my treatment as possible!
Thank you so much for your replies!!!

From a patient's perspective, I just wish they wouldn't book so many patients at the same time and give each patient more time. Yeah, I guess I'm asking for a miracle...times have changed, you get 10 minutes in a doctor's office, how can we expect more in the dentist or ortho's chair. I always seem rushed and I don't feel I ask TOO many questions. I don't expect a long explanation, a quick one will do, just so I know whats going on.

I have to agree with the other poster about being informed and asking intelligent, educated questions, sometimes the professionals (whether doctor or dentist) feel intimidated by them or that we are questioning their abilities when in reality we just want to "know whats going on in our situation."

Thanks, Dr.J....
This makes me more confident to ask questions. Yes, I will keep in mind the fact that the Dr. cannot spend a 20 min. consult at the beginning of each adjustment. If she did, I'm sure it would be $9,000.00 instead of $7,000.00.

Good posts you guys. Any orthodontist who gets stuffy and intimidated by questions probably has that as a personality trait in general and not just professionally. I know we (docs) get a rep for having a God complex b/c of the actions of a select few.

Remember: if you ask an orthodontist to name the top 3 orthodontists in the world, he'll have trouble naming the other 2!

dr.j