Month: July 2016

22 Jul 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in Board Certified, orthodontists Permalink

Why Do We Choose Board Certified Doctors?

Sticky Post By On July 22, 2016

Why Do We Choose Board Certified Doctors?

  1. Only 1 in 3 orthodontists are certified by the American Board of Orthodontics
  2. Sam Lee and Dr. Trang Nguyen are Board Certified Orthodontists
  3. To become Board Certified, an Orthodontist must undergo an additional series of high level examinations.

The American Board of Orthodontics is the only orthodontic specialty board recognized by the American Dental Association and in affiliation with the American Association of Orthodontists.  An orthodontist is a dentist who has completed a graduate program in dentistry and received their DDS or DMD (Doctor of Dental Surgery or Doctor of Dental Medicine.) They have also gone through a 2-3 years residency at an accredited orthodontic program to be trained specifically in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics. A board certified orthodontist is an orthodontist who has voluntarily gone on to receive additional training and preparation to demonstrate their judgment, skills and knowledge required to provide the highest level of patient care. Both Dr. Lee and Dr. Nguyen attended dental school at UCLA. Dr. Lee attended USC for his residency and Dr. Nguyen attended UCSF. Both of our doctors are board certified and have been practicing for over 10 years!

Find out more about what it means to be a Board Certified Orthodontist at www.americanboardortho.com

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19 Jul 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in braces Permalink

What To Expect When Getting Braces!

Sticky Post By On July 19, 2016

What You Need To Know

  • You can choose from clear/ceramic or metal brackets.
  • You will change your ties (colors) every visit so have fun with it!
  • After placing your brackets and wires on, you will be sore for 4-5 days typically.
  • Soreness means your teeth are responding to treatment! We need your teethto be moving to straighten them out!
  • There are some food restrictions during your orthodontic treatment. We willgive you a list on the day your braces go on.
  • Keeping up with excellent hygiene and maintaining regular visits to yourdentist during treatment is very important.

 

Appointments

It will be important to see you every 4-6 weeks for an adjustment after your initial start appointment. We will schedule a future appointment at each visit. If you ever need to change your appointment, give us a call and we will be more than happy to arrange a different time to see you.

  • Bonding appointments (braces on) last about 1.5 hours.
  • Adjustment appointments are about 15-20 minutes.
  • Broken brackets that need repair are an additional 30 minutes. Please call ouroffice to inform us of any broken/loose brackets and we will adjust your appointment length as necessary.

 

The First Week With Braces

Everyone’s experience with braces is a little different – it depends on your pain threshold and how your teeth move overall. Some people report high levels of discomfort and others report very little. Either way your teeth start moving soon after your braces are on! During the first week, try to eat soft foods: mac and cheese, noodles, soups, smoothies, and ice cream! You probably won’t feel like eating a steak or salad. You may feel like your teeth are a little loose… this is very common and to be expected. Your teeth will be moving and aligning throughout your treatment, so you should expect that sometimes your bite may feel a bit different as well as it transitions to a new, better position.

 

Emergencies

Fortunately, with orthodontic treatment, there isn’t ever really a true “emergency”. If you ever have a broken bracket, pokey wire, or any other concerns give us a call at the office and we will do one of the following things:

  • Guide you through clipping your pokey wire
  • Schedule you to come in
  • Adjust the length of time for your next visit to re-bond your broken bracket
08 Jul 2016
Sticky Post By Posted in braces, invisalign, Irvine Orthodontist, Lake Forest Orthodontist, ORTHODONTIC BRACES, orthodontists, Tustin Orthodontist Permalink

The Importance Of Your Initial Consultations

Sticky Post By On July 8, 2016

The Importance Of Your Initial Consultations

Making the commitment to start your Orthodontic treatment is a big decision. We completely understand and don’t think it’s something you should rush into. Here are some things to consider, and questions to ask your treatment coordinators and doctors during the consultation.

 

Finding The Right Orthodontist

Do your research on your orthodontist:

  • Yelp them!  Look on Yelp since this is where happy and unhappy patients go to bring awareness about anything they love or don’t love.
  • Check if your orthodontists are Board Certified! Only 1 out of every 3 orthodontists is Board certified.  It means they went through additional testing and extensive certification to demonstrate the judgment, skills and knowledge required for providing the highest level of patient care
  • Look at the educational background and where they did their training.
  • Look up their website and any other social media outlets for their practice.
  • When going to the practice pay attention to how they interact with their patients.
  • Ask around, ask your friends and family who they recommend and where they went? How was their experience?

 

Insurance

Do you have insurance benefits? Most offices will be more than happy to check your insurance coverage for you. Typically, a PPO insurance will cover anywhere from $500-$2000 of the cost if you have Orthodontics coverage.

 

Financial Options

Orthodontics treatment isn’t cheap but it is an investment in your smile for the rest of your life! You want this to be as convenient as possible. Look at what types of financial options are available.

  • Care Credit– Health care credit card you apply for and you can use it for anything medical/dental-related. The office selects how many months interest free 12 or 18 months and you may put the full balance on the card or a selected amount. This also allows you to avoid a down payment.
  • Interest-free In-house monthly payments – Most Orthodontics offices have some type of payment plan for the duration of treatment where you can make monthly payments interest free. Typically, it is handled through Orthobanc or gets automatically drafted from your checking account.
  • FSA/HSA Reimbursement or monthly payments- You can use these for your Orthodontics treatment! Everyone’s FSA plan works a little differently but find out if you can use it for your monthly payments. Ask for an itemized receipt to be reimbursed if paying with a different method.
  • Paid in full discount- Are you planning on paying in full? Find out if there is a paid in full discount for paying with cash/check/card.

 

Office visits

You will be committing to going to this office once every 4-8 weeks for the duration of your treatment, so make sure your schedule works with the office. Things to think about when scheduling consultations and during your visit:

 

  • What days and times are they available?
  • How long are your future appointments
  • How punctual is the office?
  • What happens if you need to reschedule? Will they be able to fit you in the same week or following week?
  • How is the front office? Were they accommodating and friendly when you scheduled your consultation?

Life happens! The last thing you want is to have to cancel an appointment and not be able to get in until 4 weeks out! Make sure you know the flexibility of the office on rescheduling you. Pay attention to who you’re speaking with on the phone and who is at the front office … they will either make your life difficult or super easy when it comes to appointments! Ask yourself is this someone you will want to deal with during your orthodontic experience.