If you’ve been told that one of your children will need braces or orthodontic work in the near future, you’ve most likely had these thoughts:
Exactly how much work? And what will it cost? Will the insurance cover it? And who will we see?
The last question is so important because every parent wants a service provider who is not only trained properly and a specialist in their field, but also, value for money – both of which will only come from finding an orthodontist you trust, and can work with.
So what should parents do?
Dr Theresia Sudjalim, a practising specialist orthodontist in Melbourne, and also an Orthodontics Australia spokesperson, is a mother to two young children, so understands perfectly the apprehension many parents feel about orthodontic work for their kids.
Speaking to Mamamia, she said that some of the confusion around orthodontic treatment and who you should see can be clarified by properly understanding the different roles of a dentist and an orthodontist.
“The first thing parents must understand is that there’s a huge difference between a general dentist and an orthodontist. An orthodontist specialises in the straightening of teeth and the alignment of jaws,” Dr Sudjalim told Mamamia.
Top Comments
You also need to consider that braces in primary school might need to be repeated in high school. My dentist said parents are now being pushed into braces before their jaw is ready meaning a lot more movement still to come in teenage years. This buys in to parent’s vanity, not wanting their kids to have a mouth full of metal in teen years. But sometimes waiting and seeing is the best approach. I guess our oral hygeine is better now so not as much money in cavity and dental repair work, they have to make it somewhere else..
I was the Practice secretary for a specialist orthodontist for three years. The only thing that happened in our Practice was the putting on, checking and removing of braces. If patients needed dental work, they were sent back to their referring dentist. Incidentally, we often got patients coming in for correction of work which had been done by dentists not as well qualified but cheaper. When it comes to braces, the cheap comes out expensive.