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Questions to ask your Dentist

  1. Are you an orthodontist? This may sound like a silly question at first, but it is important. Some orthodontists perform quite a bit of general dentistry procedures along with orthodontic treatment. You may have originally started coming to your dentist for general dental care but he or she may actually be an orthodontist. More often, though, your general dentist will not be an orthodontist and will answer “no” to this question. If the answer is no, you should consider if you want your orthodontic treatment to be performed by a general dentist.
  2. Did you complete a residency in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics? This question is reserved for general dentists that answer “yes” to question number 1. Some general dentists may casually refer to themselves as orthodontists if they perform a number of orthodontic treatments in a year. Performing orthodontic treatment does not make an orthodontist! A residency is needed and so is this question.
  3. Are you board certified in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics? This is the true question of whether a dentist is an orthodontist. While most dentists that complete a residency in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics will pass their boards, a few will not. Also, there may be some dentists that are “board eligible.” Board eligible means that a dentist has successfully completed the required courses in an orthodontics residency but has not yet passed the clinical and written exams.
  4. How many different orthodontics patients did you treat last year? This is an important question—worded in this way—to determine if your dentist gets enough practice, simply put. Like anything in life, the more you do something, the better at it you become. Also, if you have not done something in a while, you will not be as good at it as if you did it every day or once a week. You will want to make sure that your dentist has had at least 40 to 50 orthodontic patients in the past year. Most will have more, but less than about one orthodontic patient per week means that orthodontic treatments are not the dentist’s bread and butter.
  5. Do you perform advanced or complex orthodontic treatment? You will find that general dentists that perform orthodontics treatment will cherry pick the easiest cases and refer those that are more challenging to an orthodontist. Billing for orthodontics procedures is a bit higher than most routine dental examinations and procedures. If the work will be easy and the dentist feels that the orthodontic intervention is within their skill set, they may go ahead and do the procedure. If you are comfortable with this then there is no problem. Unfortunately it is not always possible to predict if a patient’s orthodontic care will require complex treatment at the beginning of the process.
  6. To your knowledge, have orthodontists finished work you have started? How often has this occurred? This is a key question because it can tell you if your dentist is good at differentiating straightforward cases from challenging ones. This question is also somewhat sensitive and invasive. You may not get a straight answer or you may ruffle some feathers. If you are finding it difficult to ask the question but believe that knowing the answer is important, perhaps you should simply choose a board certified orthodontist for orthodontic treatment in the first place.
  7. Under what circumstances do you refer to an orthodontist? If you are still committed to staying with your general dentist for orthodontic treatment, make sure that you understand how he or she decides to refer to an orthodontist. If the dentist performs all cases and never refers, make sure the answer to question four is very high. Also ask if your dentist has had orthodontics training outside of an orthodontics residency as additional qualification.
  8. Are you a member of the American Association of Orthodontists? After board certification, most orthodontists will seek out membership in a professional organization. The premier organization for orthodontists in the United States is the American Association of Orthodontists. These organizations tend to hold their members to rigorous ethical and professional standards. Membership in a professional society for orthodontists gives you additional peace of mind before starting orthodontic treatment.
  9. Has your staff had specialized training in orthodontic treatment? Most orthodontists that have a thriving specialty practice will hire specially trained staff or require that staff complete extra classes in orthodontics. This is not essential, but it certainly can make for a better overall patient experience.
  10. Do you offer traditional braces as well as more advanced clear dental braces? This question is less about your personal preferences and more about determining the expertise of the dentist. Because clear braces are fabricated by using 3-D computer modeling and software, some dentists have decided to incorporate this orthodontic treatment method into their practice. While they would not necessarily attempt traditional braces, they might use clear dental braces on their patients. Make sure you pick a dentist that has experience in all forms of orthodontic dental devices so that you have the security of knowing that your orthodontic care is in good hands.