First Visit
We want your first visit and subsequent visits to our office to be an excellent experience. Dr. Hart, Dr. Wells, and our staff strive to provide personalized and individualized care.
Dr. Hart and Dr. Wells typically spend about 30 minutes with you at the first visit and another 30 minutes with you at the report (consultation) after obtaining diagnostic records. This gives us an opportunity for us to become acquainted and for you to ask questions about your treatment plus share goals and expectations.
There is a fee for the first visit, which we believe will be valuable to you for Dr. Hart and Dr. Wells to use their care, skill, and judgment to answer your questions concerning treatment at a high level of excellence.
At the first visit, we want to answer these and other questions:
- What are your main concerns?
- What is the nature of the bite problem?
- What are the options to consider for treatment?
- What will be involved with the treatment?
- What is the estimated time in treatment?
- What is an estimated cost for treatment, plus options for payment plans?
- How is insurance handled?
- When is the best time to start treatment?
If all or most of the permanent teeth have not erupted yet, it is helpful to examine a recent panoramic X-ray. We will contact your family dentist to send a current panoramic X-ray if available. If not available, we can make this film at the first visit.
The American Association of Orthodontists states that the recommended age for a child's first visit to the orthodontist be as early as age seven, unless a special problem shows up before age seven. Braces are not usually placed at age seven, but developing crowding and bite problems can be identified and an approach planned for eventual treatment. If no treatment is indicated at age seven, then Drs. Hart and Wells can monitor dental development and growth at periodic appointments, as needed.
If treatment is indicated, then diagnostic records are obtained, which includes models of the teeth mounted on the articulator device, which is done in only a small percentage of orthodontic offices in the United States on all active patients. A follow-up appointment is done for the report (consultation) to review findings and recommendations.
