All Your Questions, Answered
Starting orthodontic treatment is an exciting milestone but can also come with many questions. From finances to logistics, here are the answers to our most frequently asked questions so you can feel confident moving forward with your treatment plan.
New Patients
Although you can always schedule a free in-person consultation with our team to get a quote, you also have the option to complete a virtual assessment to get a cost estimate for your treatment plan. After this online assessment, you’ll visit our office for diagnostic imaging to confirm your quote and get started! You can learn more about virtual assessments here.
Nope! We don’t require referrals, and your insurance doesn’t either. However, we do ask patients to get a cavity check to ensure that necessary dental treatment is completed before we put appliances or attachments on their teeth. You can move forward with the diagnostic records appointment before the dental check-up, but it’s important to have this confirmation before bonding day!
Kids and teens almost always require a full treatment plan, but some adult smiles can qualify for more limited treatment options focused on alignment of the front teeth. Compared with direct-to-consumer aligner brands, touch-up and targeted aligner treatment come with the added benefit of doctor supervision and better outcomes overall with costs that are comparable to direct-to-consumer prices.
Your custom aligner trays will arrive at our office about 6 weeks after your diagnostic records appointment. If you’re ready to start treatment at your initial consultation, we can speed up the process by taking your diagnostic records the same day (while also giving you the benefits of our Same Day Advantage promotion!)
The Treatment Process
Most patients experience some minor soreness or soft tissue discomfort following a bonding appointment, but these symptoms can be lessened with over-the-counter pain relievers or a warm salt water rinse. Patients might also experience speech adjustments, although these are temporary and will pass quickly.
To keep your treatment plan on track for success, you’ll need to wear your aligners for 22 hours per day. If elastics are part of your treatment plan, you’ll wear them for 22 hours per day as well. You should only remove them to eat and brush your teeth.
Missing appointments, repeated breakage, and inconsistent aligner and/or elastic wear can all contribute to longer treatment times. However, by scheduling appointments at regular intervals, avoiding foods that cause breakage, wearing elastics for 22 hours per day as recommended, and generally following Dr. Chamberlain’s instructions, you shouldn’t have to worry about extended treatment times.
Fortunately, breakage isn’t considered an orthodontic emergency, so as long as you follow through with a repair appointment, you’ll be good to go. It is essential, though, that you schedule a repair appointment as soon as possible rather than waiting until your next appointment to get your appliance fixed. Repair appointments require more time than regular appointments, and we can’t fix broken appliances without advance notice.
If you’ve lost or broken an aligner tray but have been wearing that aligner for at least 4 days, you can check to see if the next aligner fits, in which case you can move on to your next set of trays. If you have not reached the 4-day threshold or the next set of trays doesn’t fit, call our office as soon as possible to order a replacement. Keep in mind that Invisalign charges about $25/tray for replacements, so it's important to take care of the aligners you have stored at home.
Typically, we don’t remove your wires unless your dentist submits a special request, usually due to poor dental hygiene or restorative treatment. Should your dentist recommend this, you’ll need to schedule 2 appointments – an archwire removal appointment and an archwire reinsertion appointment – with our office within a 24-hour window so that undesirable tooth movement doesn’t occur. Note that this may require you to be seen at 2 different office locations. Remember, we can’t accommodate walk-in appointments, so it’s important that you call our office as far in advance as possible for us to help you prepare.
Scheduling
This answer depends on your treatment type. Braces patients can expect to visit us once every 4 to 6 weeks, InBrace patients every 8 to 10 weeks, and Invisalign patients every 8 to 12 weeks (with weekly at-home aligner tray changes). We also offer virtual visits for Invisalign patients who live further from the office, have busy schedules, or need extra TLC to keep treatment on track.
We understand that you have a busy schedule, which is why we offer flexible scheduling. Most appointments only require 30-45 minutes of your time, and CFO offers extended hours at least once a week that make it possible to schedule an appointment during your lunch break or after school or work. We are also open during many school holidays and breaks, which are excellent times to visit our office for longer appointments.
Ideally, you’ll book your appointments at your “home” office location for logistical reasons. This office is where your appliances or aligners are shipped to and stored, which makes for a more streamlined treatment experience overall. However, we can be flexible on your appointment location if needed.
Payment Plans
Chamberlain Family Orthodontics charges based on case complexity, not treatment type. This gives us the opportunity to recommend the most effective course of treatment without compromising on your case goals, lifestyle, or unique needs.
The responsible party is the decision-maker during treatment, so financial responsibility can’t be shared. However, we do allow patients to have multiple payment methods on file with the understanding that if one of these additional options defaults, the responsible party will pay the balance.
This depends on your payment plan. If you choose the Same-Day Advantage plan, the first half of the initial payment is due within 24 hours of your consultation to lock in the promotion. For all other payment plans, the initial payment is due on the day of your diagnostic records appointment, and the next installment is due on the 1st or 15th of the following month.
You are welcome to pay in cash as long as we receive the payment at least 48 hours before the autopayment date. Note that cash payments must be delivered in person during business hours. Be sure to call ahead to see which location we’re at!
No, but we offer many of the same (or better) advantages as Care Credit, like 0% in-house financing, no credit checks, no penalties for early payments, initial payments as low as $250, and average monthly payments between $140 and $170.
Yes. Your payment plan and treatment schedule are completely separate, so even if you miss an appointment, you’re still responsible for the monthly payment until your account balance is paid off.
Benefits & Insurance
While you can use FSA benefits, we recommend you use them for lump sum payments rather than monthly autopayments. This ensures you maximize your benefits while avoiding processing fees and the hassle of ongoing reimbursement requests.
Because filing monthly claims is a heavy responsibility, our team of insurance specialists takes care of this for you. We’ll submit PPO claims on your behalf, which means your insurance benefits will be deducted from the total treatment cost, thereby lowering your monthly payments. We’ll also take care of preauthorizations, work-in-progress claims, disputes, and appeals so that you don’t have to.
Insurance companies typically pay out the sum of your total benefits in monthly installments similar to your own payment plan. This means that if you lose coverage, you’ll be responsible for the balance that your insurance company has not yet paid. If you’re in the process of changing insurance companies, we can submit a work-in-progress claim so that your new insurance plan can take over payments as quickly as possible and reimburse you on the back end. You can learn more about how orthodontic insurance works here.
The Retention Phase
After active treatment is over, you’ll need to wear your retainers full-time for approximately 1 year. But don’t worry – Chamberlain Family Orthodontics offers clear Vivera retainers by Invisalign so you can show off your straight smile during the retention phase. When the year is up, you’ll continue wearing your retainers at “nighttime for lifetime” to maintain your beautiful treatment results.
Imagine using the same toothbrush for years on end – sounds gross, right? You need to replace your toothbrush every so often, and the same is true for your retainers. We recommend replacing Vivera retainers every 2 to 4 years. The most affordable way to purchase replacement retainers is to take advantage of our Retainer Back-Up Plan, which includes either 1 or 3 extra backup retainers that can be purchased just before the appliance removal appointment.
We typically don’t offer fixed retainer options because they are prone to plaque buildup, and only patients who have exhibited excellent oral hygiene throughout treatment will qualify. Dr. Chamberlain prefers our full-coverage Vivera retainers by Invisalign, which are highly esthetic and cover both the top and bottom teeth without risking your oral hygiene. (Dr. A wears hers every night!)
Teeth are more susceptible to movement within the 1 year of appliance removal but can move in as little as a couple of weeks for some patients, even for those who have been out of braces or aligners for years.
Nope! We can meet with you to take diagnostic records and determine the best retainer type for your needs before ordering you a new retainer, whether you worked with us for your active treatment or not!
Other Common Questions
It’s helpful for us to have the most up-to-date health information for many reasons. For example, new allergies can affect the materials we use, metabolic conditions may affect the rate of tooth movement, and pregnancy affects our ability to take X-rays. Updated forms are also chances to let us know if you are expecting a lapse in insurance coverage or if you are changing policies, which can help us maximize your benefits and prepare for these financial adjustments.
Most patients have their wisdom teeth extracted in their late teens to early twenties. After your diagnostic records appointment, Dr. Chamberlain will provide you with a referral if you need to get your wisdom teeth removed during treatment. However, most patients can have their wisdom teeth extracted when their treatment is complete.
Any other questions?
We’re happy to help. Call our office, and we’ll be happy to find the answers to all your treatment questions.