How long is it supposed to take to send a letter??

[melere]

Howdy y'all. Longtime lurker. I opted to get braces + jaw surgery to correct my class II open bite.

My ortho said the braces would be put on before the extractions. Due to overcrowding, they simply can't move teeth until some have been removed. They said they would send a letter to my dentist (across town) the day my braces were put on, January 15th. They honestly haven't hurt much besides the teeth going to be extracted and as such have no brackets, which have started to give me pain; and besides the fact I still cannot chew.

I'm really antsy to get treatment moving because obviously, they can't move my teeth where they need to be until there's room. Which is why I'm frustrated that I STILL haven't heard from my dentist about scheduling extractions. I called them last week to ask if they'd received the letter yet, and they had not--and when they called my orthodontist, it turns out the letter hadn't even been sent. Yep, in spite of saying the letter would be sent on the day my braces went on, it was not. Now it's been another week, I haven't heard anything, and I'm left wondering how long this is supposed to take or even what the point of putting braces on this early was, and coming in for an adjustment on the 12th, if there's nothing for them to adjust!

I can't call my ortho because he's in the next town over on Fridays, etc. I called the dentist again and they still haven't received it. What's the deal? Are these normal shenanigans and delays with orthodontic treatment?

[Navygrrl]

That doesn't sound normal to me. When my ortho's office sent my extraction request, it was a Thursday, and they said to let them know if I didn't hear back from my dentist by Tuesday (both offices are closed on Fridays). That Tuesday, I was able to make my extraction appointment. I feel like a week is ample time for the letter to get sent and to get some movement. It's been over 15 days now for you, so I would be concerned.

That said, my dentist is who referred me to my ortho, and both offices are used to working with each other. I don't know if my situation is unique or not.

[kplatt2010]

Sometimes you just need to make it happen. I would go to the ortho and hand carry the consult over to dentist. I would keep a copy of said consult too.

In my case; my dentist was not the liaison between the two. I picked up my ortho teeth extraction request and handed it directly to the oral surgeon's office. They even let me book both the consultation and surgery appointment (I believe) ahead of time to get the time block.
Karla

[melere]

Thanks guys. It was driving me crazy not knowing if it was just me or not. I ended up calling the other office to at least ask how long those sorts of letters take to arrive, and she said "Oh, at least two weeks. I'll get someone to check on Monday if they sent it yet." Argh. Perhaps they're using squirrels as messengers?

I had jokingly thought of telling them I'd deliver it to my dentist myself but maybe I'll have to go that route. Half the reason I'm antsy is I know it might take months to get an appointment with the dentist. The last time I had to re-book an appointment, it had to be scheduled six months later.

[assertives]

2 weeks is honestly kinda long. I would say perhaps get your ortho's note wrt which teeth to extract and then schedule an extraction appointment yourself and get it extracted. You could also send an email before you go for your appointment just in case the dentist needs to see your ortho's notes before seeing you. That was what my coworker did for her son's case.

Personally, my ortho and my dentist is in the same office, so he only needed to notate in the medical records system and when I make my appointment, my oral surgeon can pull out his notes from my patient records. I had my extractions before getting braced though.