Orthotown March 2015 - (Page 16)

case presentation // feature by Blair Feldman, DMD, MS I'm frequently asked by orthodontic residents about important concerns that challenge them during their residency. They have questions about practice setups such as solo or group, individual or corporate. I also get clinical questions-how to regularly bond second molars without failure, traditional brackets vs. self-ligating, and direct-versus-indirect bonding. All of those questions are important and involve a discussion, not just a simple answer. Those discussions with residents, year after year, help me as much as the conversations help them (hopefully). But the question that doesn't often get asked, and the question that I challenge myself to answer is: "How do I best manage my patients' expectations of their potential orthodontic treatment and results?" Like the previous questions, there is no one simple answer. In my opinion, this is the underlying question that should resonate in orthodontists' minds throughout their entire professional career. Orthodontic treatment is popping up everywhere-in nearly every pedo ofﬁce (it seems) and in many general dental ofﬁces. Walmart is now offering dental services in its stores in Canada. Surely they are looking at "Walmart orthodontic treatment." You can even perform your own orthodontic treatment with services such as SmileCareClub. When I think about the fundamental difference between orthodontic treatments performed by an orthodontic specialist Fig. 1 versus treatment performed by a general dentist (or by yourself with a DIY kit), I think the most signiﬁcant difference comes down to two words-managing expectations. Beyond providing exceptional results, an orthodontic specialist should be able to use his or her additional education and experience to give potential patients a highly accurate description of what they can expect to achieve during treatment. This description could include an accurate depiction of results, timing, future dental work, and amount of discomfort. The range of treatment options should be vast since we are the specialists-the ones who hold the most knowledge and experience about orthodontic treatment. The case I'm showing here involves a 13-year-old boy. His most notable orthodontic concerns are CL3 molars, an apparent CL3 skeletal pattern, anterior crossbite, and dental midline deviation (Figs. 1, 1a & 1b). Spoiler alert-this is not a ﬁnished case. This boy came to our ofﬁce via the Smiles Change Lives (SCL) program. Through this program, we treat patients at no charge. Patients pay a small fee to SCL and ﬁll out applications to prove that they fall into the working-poor category and would otherwise be unable to afford orthodontics. Many times, the children submit a personal letter to the orthodontist explaining why orthodontic treatment will improve their lives. My team shares these letters, which are often passionate, honest and hopeful. They inspire us to continue treating these important cases. The patient's chief concern was that his bite made him look "funny" and he just wanted a "normal" bite like his friends. Unique to this patient's bite was the fact that, upon manipulation, he could place his anterior teeth edge to edge-meaning that this was potentially a pseudo crossbite of the anterior teeth. Fig. 1a 16 MARCH 2015 // orthotown.com Fig. 1b http://www.orthotown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown March 2015

Orthotown.com Highlights
Embrace Progress: From the Phone Book to the Internet Age: How Marketing Has Changed Over the Years
Industry News
HSD—A New Twist to CL2 Correction
Managing Expectations
Patient Engagement by the Numbers
What’s on Your Tray? Bonding and Retie Setup
Corporate Profile: Locking in Success with Unmatched Customer Service
Poll
Building Partnerships: How to Earn GP Referrals
New Products
Custom Mouthguards for Ortho Patients
The Strategic Value of Staff Training and Development
Lateral Open Bite
Ad Index

Orthotown March 2015