Appointments
From your first appointment to final checks
Orthodontics requires regular appointments over the 18-24 months of treatment. Your first appointment is the initial assessment, followed by the record creation & consultation phase. After that, you may start treatment including regular adjustment appointments. After treatment is completed, we'll continue to see you for another year for follow up and retainer checks.
Time: 20 min, scheduled during school/work hours
Cost: $95 + X-ray ($95) if necessary, no charge for recalls*
At the initial examination appointment Susan will assess the face, jaws and teeth to determine whether the teeth are erupting as they should and make an assessment of the bite.
Susan will listen to your concerns and give a general idea of the orthodontic problems, and where possible, the treatment options if treatment is required.
Sometimes it is necessary to take an X-ray to see how the teeth are developing in the gums.
If your child is not ready to commence treatment, Susan will continue to review the tooth and bite development at recall appointments until a decision can be made whether or not treatment is required. *There is no charge for the recall appointments unless x-rays or photos are required.
Your first visit - Initial Assessment
Orthodontic Record Building
Time: 30 min, scheduled during school/work hours
Cost: $430 including the next Consultation
For patients undergoing full orthodontic treatment further information is required than that provided by the examination alone. This includes taking photographs of the face and teeth, X-rays and digital models of the teeth.
Susan will analyse the information that has been gained and formulate a treatment plan or a couple of treatment options for you to consider.
Treatment Choice Consultation
Time: 15-30 min, scheduled during school/work hours
Cost: Included in the Record Building total
At the consultation appointment Susan will discuss your orthodontic problems and show you the photos, X-rays and models so you can understand more fully why treatment is recommended and what it will achieve. Susan will discuss in detail any alternative treatment options available to you and the advantages and disadvantage of each plan.
You will also be shown what the different appliances look like so that prior to commencing treatment you are fully prepared about what to expect. The costs of each plan will also be discussed.
Pre-treatment Appointments
Orthodontic Treatment Appointments
Post-treatment Appointments
Time: 20 - 60 min depending on treatment type, scheduled during school/work hours
Cost: See payment options and details here.
Fitting of braces, plates and Invisalign aligners is not painful and does not require any injections of local anaesthetic.
Appointments to fit plates usually take 20 minutes whereas fitting upper and lower braces takes 60 minutes and fitting Invisalign somewhere in between.
Once the appliance has been fitted you will be given information on how to care for your teeth and the appliance.
If you have braces we will also provide you with a list of foods that should be avoided while wearing braces and some suggestions of alternative foods.
Starting Treatment - Fitting
Orthodontic Adjustments
Time: 5-15 min, usually before or after school / work
Throughout treatment it is necessary to monitor and activate the orthodontic appliance to ensure the teeth continue to move as planned. These routine visits are usually scheduled at 4-8 week intervals.
Most of these appointments do not take very long and can be scheduled before and after school hours.
Occasionally more time is required to adjust the appliance and these appointments will need to be scheduled between 9am and 3pm.
We have appointments available Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 8.00am to 5.00pm. (These hours vary a little from our “opening hours” when a receptionist is available to take your calls).
To help us run on time, provide high quality treatment, and maximise our efficiency, we have arranged our appointment book with certain procedures at set times during the day.
We will try to accommodate your needs as much as possible, but it will be necessary for every patient to have some appointments scheduled during normal school/work hours.
Most routine adjustment appointments can be scheduled for before or after school hours. Longer appointments are scheduled during the day.
To help you remember your appointments we can send text reminders to your mobile phone prior to each appointment.
Scheduling Appointments
Orthodontic Treatment Appointments
Time: 5 - 60 min
The day everyone looks forward to!
For patients finishing treatment with a plate, the end is simply taking it out your mouth and enjoying your new smile.
For braces or Invisalign, the appliances are removed and in most cases retainers will be fitted. Again this does not hurt and does not require injections of local anaesthetic.
The purpose of retainers is to minimise the movement of your teeth following orthodontic treatment because your teeth will want to move back towards their original positions.
It is also important to realise that teeth continue to move throughout life and often crowding increases with age. If you want to try to prevent these normal age changes you can choose to keep wearing retainers on a long term basis but they will not last indefinitely and will require maintenance and/or replacement.
Completing Orthodontic Treatment
Time: 5-10 min, usually schedule before or after school/work
If we have fitted you with retainers we will see you three times in the 12 months following completion of your treatment. This is to check that the retainers are intact and fitting as they should and that your teeth haven’t moved.
In most cases we will stop seeing you after one year but you are always welcome to return for replacement and repair of your retainers.
