Office Visits

Your First Visit

We offer an initial consultation at no charge to you. At this consultation, a thorough orthodontic exam will be performed by Dr. Chaekal. She will discuss the details of your orthodontic treatment plan and will let you know approximately how long your treatment will take. Dr. Chaekal will also use this time to answer any questions or concerns you might have. One of our treatment coordinators will help you understand your insurance benefits as well as financial options and make sure you have the answers to all your questions before you leave. You can plan on spending 45 minutes to one hour with us for this initial consultation appointment.

Early Treatment

Many times severe orthodontic problems can be corrected or decreased by treatment at a young age. Problems associated with skeletal imbalances, impacted teeth, and missing permanent teeth are often easier to correct at a young age when the patient is growing. The bones are amenable to change and the permanent teeth are still moving and erupting into the mouth. Straightening the teeth early, correcting the bite, and making room for the eruption of the permanent teeth allows for the development of more ideal gums and bone around the teeth. This aids in the stability of the bite and alignment of the teeth. Early treatment makes the bite and teeth look beautiful so patients do not have to be self-conscious about their teeth not looking great. Early treatment may help in finishing of the entire orthodontic treatment earlier in life, ideally before high school starts. It is our goal to avoid the extraction of permanent teeth whenever possible. Treating the problem at an early age can be helpful in achieving this goal. We follow the recommendations of the American Association of Orthodontists for children to be screened by an orthodontist at age seven.

Adult Treatment

Teeth can be moved at any age. Our adult patients range in age from eighteen to eighty. It's never too late to beautify your smile and improve overall dental health. Straight teeth are much easier to clean, therefore are more likely to be healthy. As people age, teeth tend to become more misaligned making cleaning more difficult. Aligning the teeth not only improves the look of the smile but also makes it easier to clean the teeth. Cleaner teeth means healthier gums and teeth. Just because a person ages does not mean they have to lose their teeth. Properly cared for teeth can last a lifetime.

Orthodontics is an integral part of your oral as well as overall health. There is new research that indicates people with poor oral health tend to have more serious problems with their general health, such as heart conditions and diabetes. Any infections in the gums may cause a worsening of other systemic problems.

Financial Options

Financial considerations should not be a barrier to obtaining a healthy beautiful smile. We offer a variety of payment options in order to accommodate the individual needs of our patients. We will review all of the options with you when we see you at your first appointment and find an arrangement that will work for you and your lifestyle.

1. Payment in Full Option
   For patients that wish to avoid making monthly payments, we offer a 10% discount for payment in full at the beginning of treatment.
2. Interest Free Option
   For patients that would prefer to make payments, it is possible to make an initial investment on the day orthodontic treatment begins, paying the remaining balance in monthly installments.
3. No Initial Down Payment Option (CareCredit)
   No initial down payment is required. This option allows you to make affordable monthly payments ranging from 12-24 months. No Interest and Extended Plans available. For more information go to www.carecredit.com. You can be approved in minutes by calling CareCredit 1-800-365-8295 or apply online.

Insurance and Flex Plans

We accept most major insurance plans. We will be happy to verify and explain your orthodontic benefits to you. Please be prepared to give us the name of your dental insurance company and a phone number so that we may contact them to verify your benefits. We will also need the insured's name, the name of their employer, their social security number and date of birth. As a courtesy to our patients, we will file your insurance for you, as long as we are provided with the information needed.

Flex plans allow you to pay for orthodontic treatment with pretax dollars, guaranteeing you savings according to your tax bracket. Since you know what the cost of treatment will be, you can use this to your advantage without the fear of losing the money you place in your flex plan if you do not use it by the end of the year. Our staff will be happy to work with you to maximize this important benefit.

Appointments

We utilize the latest orthodontic technology that allows us to have appointments at intervals of six to twelve weeks. What this means for you is that your adjustments are active longer, with less discomfort, allowing you to spend less time at your visits and more time enjoying life. We are still able to obtain our goal of completing treatment as quickly as possible so you are not in braces for a long time. Frequency of regularly scheduled visits has no relation to fee or length of treatment. For the convenience of our patients, we schedule our shortest appointments before or after school, but some of our appointments are during school or work hours.

Patients are seen by appointment only. Please call our office and find a time to visit us that will work with your schedule.

Patient Forms

Please help us be prepared for your first appointment by viewing and completing our patient forms.