29 August 2008

Recommend an orthodontist

| Ibu
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Our dental therapist recommends we have our 7 year old seen to by an orthodontist.

I fear this is going to be the start of a very expensive journey.

Any recommendations on who to see?

Or your own experiences are very welcomed.

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After alot of research on the various orthodontists in canberra, the best of the best is Supersmile orthodontists. They have Drs Michael Hyde and Ray Te Moananui, they are the two most qualified orthodontists in canberra. Dr Peter Wong recommended our family go and see them and we have been very happy with them and the staff. They are very professional and do not put braces on unnecessarily. Other orthodontists in canberra have been known to put braces on too early.

I would highly recommend Dr. Spiro Pazios from Manuka Smiles. I had fantastic results and exceeded my expectations of what orthodontic treatment is all about. I was under the impression that it would be a very painful and long process from what ive heard from friends. Dr. Pazios however was very very gentle and caring which is important because i am very sensitive. The new office in Manuka is absoloutely amazing and is one of the best clinics i have seen for not just orthodontics, but general health care itself. I have been led to believe that Dr Pazios is actually one of the highest trained orthodontists in canberra along with his staff, his qualifications are recognised world wide. After me and my family shopping around, we have also found that Dr Pazios is not the cheapest but is certainly affordable and by no means the most expensive.

I’m sure someone with his qualifications would be albe to help you to decide on weather or not to treat your kid.

oh and btw… a tv in the roof doesnt make a good orthodontist. and also be careful and be sure to see an actual orthodontist and not a pretend dentist.

cheers

MRJ said :

Garth Brice at Woden and Tuggernong is fantastic. I’ve been with him for 5 years and I couldn’t be happier. He is very kind and understanding, even when I turn up with breakages. He doesn’t charge for breakages unless it happens reguarly, which shouldn’t be a problem with proper care. Definately go to him for orthodontic care.

I’d second Dr Brice, he was my orthodontist some 5+ years ago, he’s very good. Get the private health care most definately, my parents would have gone broke without it!

S4anta said :

Avoid a certain R.Pedley. My family still has a fatwah out on him

Chicken feet are in the mail.

Garth Brice at Woden and Tuggernong is fantastic. I’ve been with him for 5 years and I couldn’t be happier. He is very kind and understanding, even when I turn up with breakages. He doesn’t charge for breakages unless it happens reguarly, which shouldn’t be a problem with proper care. Definately go to him for orthodontic care.

popgoescanberra7:20 pm 29 Aug 08

Can also recommend Dr Fricker. Nice sunny surgery, friendly staff. He’s a quiet bloke but happy to answer your questions and knows his stuff.

Thank you so much for your replies. I have no idea what treatment he may need. We were advised to have his uneven (adult) teeth assessed by an othodontist, and the earlier, even before he loses all his baby teeth, the better. It is more a case of monitoring the situation with a long term view to appropiate treatment. Actually several of the orthodontists web sites also mention the benifits of an early assessment. We don’t have dental cover so the longer the time we have to save the better!

Under all circumstances avoid Dr Stephen Tin. Worst orthodontist ever! I had braces on for 4 years with him and when my mum sat him down to find out what was happening and why things were taking so long, he got up and walked out. We then went to another orthodontist who said I needed a new set of braces and that I ahd another 2 years of work to be done. It was a nightmare. Dr Tin also did not believe in wearing gloves while working on your teeth (and when you are a 16 year old in the chair, you hardly have enough guts to say anything) and if his teeth are anything to go by, you wouldn’t pay him a cent.

I have had business dealings with Dr. Michael Hyde and I can strongly recommend him and his friendly staff. And from what I have heard from his patients as well, a friendly professional and expert service.

I second the recommendation for Michael Hyde. I saw him for my braces and it was always an easy, mostly painless experience. He had TV’s in the roof so you could watch them while in the chair and Nintendo 64’s in the waiting room as I recall. Always very friendly and funny and the reception staff were great. He was in the colonial Mutual builing in civic back then – couldn’t tell you where he is now. Nor how much he cost…

We also had a fantastic experience with Dr Hyde when one of my daughters needed orthodentic work. I can recommend him without reservation, but do agree that seven is probably too young to begin the work. If so, it will give you a chance to save up in the meantime. It really makes such a difference and is such a worthwhile thing to do.

My brother and I both attended Dr Michael Hyde’s surgery which is located in University Avenue in the city. I believe he may also have a practice out at Queanbeyan – they both go under the name Supersmile Orthodontist (see http://www.supersmile.com.au for more info). I can speak from experience when I say that all of the staff at his surgery as well as Dr Hyde work with an amazing level of professionalism and always made us feel welcome. I recall they were always open about billing and seemed to be quite understanding if payment schedules needed to be adjusted or whatnot. They would also be happy to fit my brother and I in for after-school appointment as well as emergency ‘oh no, my retainer broke!’ appointments. We are both really satisfied with how our smiles have turned out and would recommend him to anyone. We both saw him for what may seem like an extensive period (around 10 years) but required a fair amount of work prior to receiving our braces. My brother needed an overbite fixed and I had problems with my adult teeth replacing baby teeth. I’m not sure what other information you may be looking for but I’m happy to answer any further questions you may have from a patients perspective. I hope this might help a little!

We had $$$ problems with Pazios as he was taking over from a Melbourne ortho. We resolved them to our mutual satisfaction, and would probably go back there if and when our other children need them.

Private Health Insurance is paying about 30% of the bill, though…

Without a doubt the best in the businss is Spiro Pazios at Manuka Smiles. He is exceptional – very caring and gentle. And they have great payment plans.

When picking an orthodontist, make sure they’ve got the right ideas for efficiency and they’re plan isn’t to drag it out over the kids life (usually can be discussed in the first meeting). I have friends who had braces on for 6+ years because they’re ortho just wanted to ‘put them on’ in order to make money. In my case the orthodontist advised us to wait a year and a half until adult teeth had developed and then go from there.

Just to add on Whatsup’s note – they can also give ‘plates’ and ‘expanders’ to change the shape of the jaw in order for the teeth to grow properly. Also some teeth may be removed if they’re going to affect other teeths growth.

Having had lots of orthodontic work done in my early teens I can highly recommend Dr Graham Shaw, who previously owned the Charnwood practice but I believe now has a practice at Hawker shops.

Private Health insurance would be useful, but I think you’ll find that if you got it now as well as waiting periods, once you made a claim on orthodontic work they would go to your dentist to ensure that it was not a preexisting condition.

for clarification, not all orthodontic work means braces, and you can start orthodontic work on someone who doesn’t yet have all their adult teeth through. They may need jaw expanders or any other number of things.

I got my first set of braces on when I was 11, at which time all but two of my baby teeth had come out, they came out not long afterwards.

toriness said :

Why on earth would you put braces on a child before all their adult teeth have come through! Total waste of money!

Orthodontists do more than braces, an example is that sometimes they can put spacers in to prevent the need for braces in the future. It can save money.

A family fatwah … love it!

*hehe*

Gosh, you get some good ideas on RiotACT!!

Why on earth would you put braces on a child before all their adult teeth have come through! Total waste of money!

Avoid a certain R.Pedley. My family still has a fatwah out on him

Private health insurance, GO GO GO NOW NOW NOW!

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