The Ultimate Guide to Braces for Adults

chapter

03

How to Choose the Best Orthodontist For Adults

Should you pick the cheapest orthodontist? Or go with the most highly successful orthodontist?

What’s the right thing to look for when getting braces for an adult?

These are good questions and we will answer each one below...

You’ll Want a Highly Successful And Experienced Orthodontist When Getting Braces For Adults

Sounds simple enough. But how do you find one? One good clue to selecting the best orthodontist for adults is by observing their practice. Is it busy?

When you see a full waiting room, it’s safe to assume there are a lot of word-of-mouth referrals. Patients don’t enthusiastically refer if they had a bad experience…

Additionally, families won’t bring their next family member to an office if they were overcharged. Adults refer their friends to the best orthodontic practices when they’ve earned their trust.

What will you find when you come to our office? That it’s efficient and very busy with patients. Yes, we advertise.

But mostly, our practices thrives by word-of-mouth referrals and our patients telling their friends. All of that can be seen by how busy our practice is, day in and day out.

Successful and experienced orthodontists don’t need to charge outrageous fees or upsell things you don’t need…

In the end, there is no real advantage to cutting corners (though sadly many dental offices think so). By providing patients high-quality care at a price they can afford, we know that we’ll get to treat other members of your family and some of your friends down the road.

Top-notch service at an affordable price is a win-win every time!

Why The Cheapest Option Is Actually NOT The Biggest Value (In The End)

We see the following scenario more frequently than we’d like—someone goes to an office promising “cheap braces”…

…and several years later, comes to us to fix what went wrong.

The patient ultimately is the one who suffers. Sure,they got an incredible (too-good-to-be-true) price for their initial treatment…

…but now they are in braces twice as long and often end up paying almost twice as much than if they had just had it done right in the first place.

Our orthodontists and our staff are all highly trained to produce the best treatment outcomes, nothing less. The doctor makes a difference.

That’s why we tell everybody to find a highly successful orthodontist…

…and not the cheapest braces…

…when they are looking for the best orthodontist for adults.

The Ultimate Ten-Item Checklist For Finding The Best Orthodontist For Adults In Your Area

Here are 10 more factors you should consider when choosing an orthodontist for adults…

1. Are they a specialist?

Orthodontists are like In and Out Burger…

…we only do one thing—but we do that thing better than everyone else.

We straighten teeth and align jaws. That’s our focus.

Not annual teeth cleanings. No tooth removals or cavities. Just teeth straightening and jaw alignment.

Day after day, month after month, our qualifications and certifications help patients get the best looking smiles and the healthiest bites with braces and Invisalign (while providing the best experience possible).

Orthodontists are dentists who go an extra 2-3 years of school to obtain a specialty certification in orthodontics. All orthodontists are dentists, but only 6% of dentists are orthodontists.

If you’re wondering if your doctor who provides braces is an orthodontist, it’s easy to check. Just look for the seal of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO). Only orthodontic specialists can belong to the AAO.

2. Do they treat adults?

Some orthodontists prefer to treat only kids. That’s fine, but if you’re looking for braces as an adult, you’ll want to find an office that caters to adults as well.

At Premier Orthodontics, over ⅓ of all of our patients are over 18. At our practice we treat a lot of teens and pre-teens, but we’ve also made a specific point to cater our services and facilities or adults.

3. Do they provide the first visit free of charge?

Most orthodontists offer free examinations so you can get advice about treatment needs, options, and pricing information without having to take a chance on somebody or pay something up front.

Your first exam and consultation for braces, is your time to make sure all your questions are answered and concerns are addressed.

The best orthodontist for adults will even include digital X-rays during the exam at no charge. That’s how confident they are in their service and ability to provide incredible results.

4. Do they offer guarantees?

With braces or Invisalign, you are not making a small investment. Wouldn’t you want to make sure your orthodontist is going to stand behind their treatment?

Of course!

At Premier Orthodontics, we offer a lifetime guarantee on your smile…

This means, if your teeth ever shift or move, you won’t have to pay for retreatment. Your smile is guaranteed for life.

5. Are they using the latest technology and treatment options available?

Orthodontics today differs a great deal from years past. Computer-designed braces and wires dramatically increase the precision with which we move teeth and shorten treatment time.

6. Does their quoted fee include retainers?

Retainers are one of the most important parts of the orthodontic process. They also can be very pricey…

The best orthodontist for adults will offer you a contract that clearly spells out the expenses for your treatment before it begins. It shouldn’t read like a lawyer wrote it. If you can’t understand it, that’s a general red flag.

You should ask your orthodontist as soon as possible about what retainers cost and if you can expect any other hidden fees.

At Premier Orthodontics, there are no hidden fees and your retainers are included with the cost of your treatment!

7. Do they charge for emergency appointments?

With braces you’ll sometimes get broken brackets, poking wires, or other things that require an unscheduled visit. This is to be expected…

At Premier Orthodontics, we provide all of these types of visits free of charge.

8. Do they have a great reputation?

With the internet, it takes one click to pull up ratings and reviews from patients to determine the best orthodontist for adults in your area. Simply go to Google and search for orthodontist reviews and ratings in your town.

Also take a look at the website for video testimonials from actual patients. You can also ask the orthodontist for references.

9. Do they have flexible financing options?

The best orthodontist for adults will help you navigate different payment options, doing their best to help you maximize insurance benefits, consider flex spending accounts or even get on interest-free payment plans.

During the initial exam and complimentary consultation, we will answer all of your questions, including those about our typical cost of braces and the variety of payment options available.

And with payment plans starting at just $97 per month, we’re sure to find a plan that fits comfortably into your budget.

10. Do their business hours work with your schedule?

Many orthodontists are open between 9 am – 4 pm – and only on weekdays. For some adults (especially with kids) that just won’t work. During the course of your treatment, you might end up taking off 20+ days of work!

We understand that adults are busy with jobs and most would prefer NOT to use up their sick days on their orthodontic adjustments. That’s why we offer….

…so you can get braces or Invisalign without missing work!

How to Know What Questions to Ask

This guide attempts to cover all the questions most adults have—the ones they ask and the ones they don’t– , but in the end, you may still have a question that we missed.

If you have a specific question not answered anywhere in this guide, or have a personal and confidential question, you can contact us personally at [email protected] or call (623) 343-7400

Now that you understand how to pick an orthodontist for adults, let’s answer the question you’re probably wondering…

…how much do adults braces cost??

Click below to continue reading in Chapter 4.