How to choose the right orthodontist?

Consequences of choosing the wrong orthodontist:

• prolonged treatment;
• complications: loosening, tooth loss, gum recession, root resorption, enamel damage;
• disappearance of an orthodontist due to dismissal, pregnancy, frequent business trips;
• aesthetic disappointment with the result;
• dysfunction of bite;
• price increase during treatment;
• relapse.

Patients who want to get a perfect smile are worried about the question: “How to choose a competent orthodontist?” The suggested tips will help you decide.

Filter recommendations and reviews

Patients often choose a doctor based on the positive experiences of people in their immediate circle. But you need to understand that each orthodontic case is unique, has its own characteristics, severity and specifics of correction. A treatment that works for one patient may not work for another.

When looking for information about an orthodontist, you can read medical forums, portals, and chat rooms. But don’t blindly trust outside reviews. Remember, among

They can contain both true stories of people and false or custom-made comments.

Do not rely on the doctor's experience

The doctor's extensive experience does not guarantee the success of treatment. Many experienced orthodontists adhere to outdated bite correction technologies. They prefer to work the old fashioned way, ignoring innovative orthodontic methods. Even the presence of numerous certificates does not ensure the professionalism of a specialist.

Young orthodontists cannot boast of experience, but they are more flexible in training. A beginner can be trusted if he works under the guidance of an experienced mentor. Every action of the “student” is controlled by the orthodontic teacher. The risk of getting a bad result is minimized.

Study the doctor's social networks

You can get to know an orthodontist by looking at their social media accounts. The number of subscribers is not an indicator of a doctor’s competence. The content will tell you much more about the doctor’s professionalism. A good specialist actively fills out his profile: shows video and photo results of treatment of his patients, shares information from the field of orthodontics, and talks about the nuances of braces correction. Medical content can be supplemented with personal photos. This suggests that this is a real person. He is not afraid to be closer to the audience and is ready to show his life. On social networks, you can chat with the orthodontist by asking him questions in private messages or in the comments.

Choose to your liking

The duration of braces treatment is 1.5-2 years. During this period, the patient and the orthodontist become allies in the fight for a beautiful and healthy smile. There must be chemistry between them. It's not about love feelings. Trust and

emotional comfort is an important component of the doctor-patient relationship.

Don't see it as cheap

When a clinic tries to tempt you with low prices, discounts, and coupons, this should alert you. Probably, the establishment does not inspire confidence in patients and does not attract them. The reasons for this may be the low professional level of orthodontists, the deplorable condition of instruments and equipment, and inconvenient location.

To lure people into their networks, orthodontic clinics artificially lower prices for treatment. They are forced to take this desperate step to cover the costs of rent, equipment, and employees. Low-pricing clinics rely on the number of patients rather than on the quality of services provided.

Kolesnichenko M. V.

Working in a private clinic in Moscow, pediatric orthodontist and adult specialist Marina Vladimirovna Kolesnichenko earned herself the highest reputation as a specialist and master of her craft. She receives patients at the following addresses: Solyansky proezd, 1 (metro station "Kitay-Gorod"), st. Poklonnaya, 6 (metro station "Kutuzovskaya"), st. Nikolskaya, 10 (metro station "Revolution Square") - all this is the "Private Clinic of Doctor Kolesnichenko". Marina Vladimirovna performs absolutely the entire range of orthodontic, dental and dental services. orthopedic with one plus, and in reviews patients speak of her as a serious and highly qualified professional who knows how to choose an individual approach to each individual case.

How do clinics save money?

1. The orthodontist works in turbo mode. When a doctor devotes no more than 10-15 minutes to a patient, he misses or poorly implements key stages of treatment. An orthodontist can quickly diagnose the dental system, poorly prepare teeth for braces correction, and install braces “by eye” without taking an impression.
2. Treatment is left to chance - no individual treatment plan is drawn up.
3. Outdated equipment, inconvenient tools or lack of them.
4. Poor sterilization of instruments.
5. Problems with documentation. The desire to avoid taxes pushes clinics to violate the law. For example, a medical center may not issue checks to patients or enter into a treatment agreement. The lack of supporting documents is primarily dangerous for the patient. In case of unsatisfactory treatment, he will not be able to make legal claims to the clinic and prove his case in court.

When choosing a cheap clinic, a patient may encounter treatment and service at the level of African countries.

Often a patient is looking not for a specific doctor, but for a clinic. Here, too, there are subtleties of choice.

Choosing an orthodontist: why don’t online forums and telephone consultations work?

The practice of solving problems over the phone is widespread not only in medicine. We often hear in a beauty salon or service station how a hairdresser or car mechanic is trying to explain to a client that they cannot remotely tell the cost of hair coloring and diagnose a car malfunction. At best, an approximate price will be quoted, which will most likely be seriously adjusted during a personal visit.

When choosing a clinic and a doctor over the phone, patients also run the risk of being seriously deceived in their expectations. The essence of the orthodontic problem, and therefore the treatment method and even the choice of braces , is hidden in the details. The clinic administrator will, of course, provide answers to your questions. But the information will be vague and will only allow you to determine the degree of politeness of the staff.

The situation is approximately the same with recommendations from friends and acquaintances who have worn braces, and with searching for an orthodontist on the websites of dental clinics or on Internet forums. Each person is individual, as is the state of his body. Therefore, you should not “try on” other people’s recommendations. Moreover, they usually come down to a description of personal subjective impressions of the treatment process and its result.

Do you want to make the right choice? Get out of the house! You can find out all the details about your problem and ways to solve it only by visiting several clinics and personally seeing several specialists.

Which clinic to choose?

• Economy-class chain clinics can be compared to fast food. The main goal of institutions of this format is to ensure a constant flow of patients. Their priority is quantity over quality. Budget chain clinics lack a personalized approach. Often the orthodontist sees the patient for the first time only when installing braces. Consultation, initial examination, and creation of impressions are delegated to a specialist of a lower level.
• Premium-class network clinics have a large selection of high-level orthodontists and have an established patient treatment system. Mostly they treat well, but you will have to pay extra for the brand.
• Author's clinics are a small team of specialists adhering to a single concept. At the helm is a doctor risking his name, reputation and money. Therefore, he is motivated to ensure that every patient receives a high-quality result. Initially, the author's clinics do not have a well-promoted brand. They are required to treat effectively in order to gain the trust of patients and not be outdone by competitors.
• The orthodontist may work alone. The risk is that no one controls his actions. He can turn out to be either a top-class professional or a werewolf in a white coat.

Write in the comments what criteria do you use to choose a doctor?

First consultation: what to pay attention to

So, a good orthodontist...

1. Offers tooth extraction only in extreme cases.

Modern braces and aligners can usually place all teeth in one even row. But sometimes it is impossible to do without removing healthy teeth. This is done when the sizes of the teeth and jawbone do not match. If the jaw is very narrowed and the teeth are large, then some of them (usually the fangs) will not have enough space even after treatment. Then 1–2 teeth are removed, and very rarely more.

In most cases, removal can be avoided.

Healthy teeth are removed only in extreme cases

Tooth extraction in itself is undesirable. If a tooth is lost, the roots of neighboring teeth will tend to come closer, as if closing. The jaw bone tissue will begin to suffer from lack of nutrition, and its volume will decrease. This negatively affects the health of the remaining teeth - the enamel is renewed more slowly, the roots become more fragile. Therefore, even diseased teeth should be treated and preserved as long as possible, and healthy teeth should be removed only as a last resort.

A good orthodontist will be calm if you want a second opinion. If the doctor recommends removing a healthy tooth, an additional consultation will not be superfluous.

1. Explains what will happen at each stage of treatment.

And complex things can be explained in simple words. Correcting a bite is a long process. And in order to decide on it, the patient first studies the information and already roughly understands how each stage will go.

Discussion of treatment is one of the important points in establishing contact with the patient. Psychological comfort and trust in such a long treatment are very important. Even with the most modern system of braces or aligners, you will have to see a doctor for at least 12 months, and often 18 or more. When wearing braces for a long time, the patient becomes tired and wants to remove them quickly. Therefore, it is important for the doctor to be partly a psychologist in order to help the patient maintain motivation.

The doctor plans the main stages of treatment before installing braces

1. Strives to provide ideal treatment results.

Perfectionism is an important quality for an orthodontist. After treatment, the patient's smile should be perfect. Therefore, the doctor’s warning that some teeth will remain unevenly positioned, because this cannot be corrected, should alert you.

Sometimes, in order to achieve an excellent result, after removing braces, the doctor recommends artistic restoration of teeth, installation of veneers or crowns. But such treatment is usually related to the appearance of the enamel or the shape of the teeth and does not depend on their location.

Sometimes the patient thinks that the teeth look absolutely straight, but the doctor is in no hurry to remove the braces. It’s easy to explain: a layman may not notice small flaws, but for an experienced doctor they are obvious. Of course, in this case, you should listen to the doctor and wait a little longer until the dentition takes on the correct form.

Choose a doctor with whom you feel comfortable undergoing treatment

Before starting treatment, the patient visits the orthodontist at least twice: at the first consultation and to take photographs and impressions. At these appointments, you need to ask the doctor all the questions that concern you to make sure that you trust the doctor and you will be comfortable interacting with him throughout the year.

With us you can have your first consultation with an orthodontist online. The doctor will conduct a preliminary diagnosis, approximately estimate the duration of treatment and answer all questions.

Itina E. V.

The rating of orthodontist Ekaterina Vladimirovna Itina is 4.9 out of 5 and she works with both children and adults, performing a full range of orthodontic and dental services with an individual approach to each client. The slightly underestimated rating depends, again, on the price - Ekaterina Vladimirovna is an expensive specialist. But there is no doubt about her professionalism after reading the reviews - clients thank her for their children, as she communicates with little patients with the utmost sensitivity and pays the most concentrated attention to their care. It should be noted that doctor Itina is one of the few in Moscow who uses self-ligating and lingual aligners, in other words, transparent braces. Ekaterina Vladimirovna conducts consultations at the clinics of the Dental Fantasy network at the address: Leningradskoye Shosse, 92 A and st. Garibaldi, 15.

Ivanova Yu. A.

Yulia Andreevna Ivanova is also a pediatric orthodontist at the Institute of Dentistry in Moscow. Its rating is 4.9 out of 5, with reviews indicating that it is "a little too serious" and this is scary for some young patients. But on the other hand, she never had any unpleasant incidents in her work - Yulia Andreevna’s orthodontic professional reputation is beyond praise, and her work experience consists of 14 successful years. Visitors like that doctor Ivanova strives to select the most suitable material and treatment plan for their budget. In addition to the main appointment at the Institute of Dentistry, Yulia Andreevna sees patients at the Masterdent-Elite dental clinic, located at 33 Kutuzovsky Prospekt, Kutuzovskaya metro station.