Re: Orthodontist HELP!

[Guest guest]

We live in Virginia. My daughter will be 9 in April.

We are also having the same problems here. We have

seen the orthodontist several I mean several times. I

believe that he is stumped also. We have had a few

extractions done. He has consulted several other

ortho and we still seem to be at a stand still. We

have another appt. the end of this month, once again

to look and evaluate for possible more extractions.

We have taken her to see Dr. Bronsky in NY back in

August. We have asked this ortho to consult with him

and go by his treatment plan. He is familiar with

these cases and works with Dr. H. If nothing else

works around here we have considered the possibilty of

letting Dr. B do all the treatment. We travel to NY

every 3 months to see Dr. H and maybe could coordinate

visits with him. We'll just have to see. Any advice

from anyone would greatly be appreciated here on this

end also.

Angelia

Mom to (almost 9 RSS) and Hunter 5

--- pswmjp wrote:

>

> My son Jon is now 10 and I have really been putting

> off the

> orthodontist issues other than getting some ideas

> of the needs we

> will have. Now we have seen two orthodontists and

> neither of them

> feel qualified to do all the work necessary and they

> have suggested a

> craniofacial team. I have been trying to track down

> someone good but

> it's so difficult to know where to start. I would

> really appreciate

> some input from those of you who have started the

> process or been

> through it. I can't seem to figure out the starting

> point because it

> doesn't seem to be with the orthodontist. I can

> travel either to

> Chicago or Detroit if anybody has any experience

> with a team in either

> of those areas.

>

>

> Thanks,

>

> Pattie

>

>

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Pattie,

We have been in the same boat for over 2 years now. I took to 2

different

orthodontists on our dental plan, but neither felt they could help my son. They

both

suggested that he be treated in a clinical setting. Of course, my dental

insurance wouldn't

cover this, and neither would my medical insurance, despite the fact that the

reason they

could not treat him was due to the complications of RSS. Then I met Dr. Kirt

at

the convention in 2003. He referred me to some craniofacial programs he knew of

in

Florida. None of them were near me, but when I called one of them, I found out

there was

one only a few miles away from me. I don't understand how I didn't know about

this

before, as my son had been to so many doctors, clinics, etc., and nobody ever

told me

about this program. At the appointment in 10/03, we were seen by a team of

doctors of

many disciplines. The only thing I cared about was the orthodontic aspect, as I

felt we had

adequate treatment in all other areas. By the way, an evaluation at the

craniofacial clinic is

free, but if you have insurance, they will try to bill it for a few of the

providers such as

speech therapy, occupational therapy, etc. The orthodontic/dental team at the

craniofacia

clinic was from a nearby dental school. I would have taken to this

school myself,

but I was told that if we were referred to them through the craniofacial clinic,

the fees

would be greatly reduced. We were first able to get an appointment with the

dental school

in 1/04, and they recommedned that have all 7 of his remaining baby

teeth

extracted. I took him back to his regular dentist to have this done. Then, we

saw an

orthodontic resident along with her supervisor, and after much discussion, they

decided

they weren't going to do anything with at that time. I was extremely

upset,

because I had just followed their recommendations to have 7 teeth pulled, and

was

worried about losing space in his mouth for permanent teeth when he

already

had a severe overcrowding issue. I went back to my dentist, and she knew the

head of the

orthodontic team, who also had experience with craniofacial kids. I had

several

appointments with him in which I didn't feel that much got accomplished expcept

for x-

rays & impressions. All this time, I was told by the dental school that there

was no

agreement that they knew of with the craniofacial team for reduced fees or to

take a case

on a research basis for free. I was upset, because I had waited so long to get

treatment

going through all the steps I was told to go through. I was planning on aying

whatever

treatment cost somehow, but I kept insisting that there must be somebody ho is

familiar

with this policy. The head of the faculty practice checked into it for me &

finally said they

might be able to treat for free & use him as a research case. 's

case was

presented to the board in January & was approved for free treatment by the

orthodontic

team. He was assigned to a resident in orthodontics who is already a

pedodontist. We

went back to him last month, and they explained that he would need extensive

periodontic

work too, which would be very expensive if my insurance didn't cover it. I knew

I would

have problems with my insurance, and they decided would be better off

treated at

the same place for periodontics, so they could work together. They aksed the

head of

periodontics if they would be part of this research team for & they said

yes! We

have not been assigned a resident in that field yet, but as soon as we have one,

we will

schedule an appointment. So, I think we are at the point where we will start to

see some

real treatment soon, but it has been a long road with many appointments since

10/03.

Pattie, if you haven't gotten anything done by the convention, I would ask Dr.

to

point you in the right direction by recommending a craniofacial program or an

orthodintist

with experience in this in your area. Sorry this post was so long!

Kim C.

> My son Jon is now 10 and I have really been putting off the

> orthodontist issues other than getting some ideas of the needs we

> will have. Now we have seen two orthodontists and neither of them

> feel qualified to do all the work necessary and they have suggested a

> craniofacial team. I have been trying to track down someone good but

> it's so difficult to know where to start. I would really appreciate

> some input from those of you who have started the process or been

> through it. I can't seem to figure out the starting point because it

> doesn't seem to be with the orthodontist. I can travel either to

> Chicago or Detroit if anybody has any experience with a team in either

> of those areas.

>

>

> Thanks,

>

> Pattie

[Guest guest]

Angelia,

Well at least I don't feel alone. We were going to make an

appointment with Dr. Bronsky but the initial visits to start treatment

were three appointments all placed about a week apart. Since we live

in Michigan it just didn't seem possible. Let me know if you get

started anywhere and I will let you know if we make any progress.

Pattie

> >

> > My son Jon is now 10 and I have really been putting

> > off the

> > orthodontist issues other than getting some ideas

> > of the needs we

> > will have. Now we have seen two orthodontists and

> > neither of them

> > feel qualified to do all the work necessary and they

> > have suggested a

> > craniofacial team. I have been trying to track down

> > someone good but

> > it's so difficult to know where to start. I would

> > really appreciate

> > some input from those of you who have started the

> > process or been

> > through it. I can't seem to figure out the starting

> > point because it

> > doesn't seem to be with the orthodontist. I can

> > travel either to

> > Chicago or Detroit if anybody has any experience

> > with a team in either

> > of those areas.

> >

> >

> > Thanks,

> >

> > Pattie

> >

> >

> >

> >

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks Kim,

I have spoken with Dr. and he was the one that told me about

craniofacial teams, I'm just having trouble finding how to make

appointments with one. My dentist tells me how great University of

Michigan's Dental school is but then he doesn't know anyone there that

I can call. I guess I will just have to start at the bottom of the

ladder and see if I can work myself up to the correct team! It's just

so frustrating!

Thanks for your help.

Pattie

>

> Pattie,

>

> We have been in the same boat for over 2 years now. I took

to 2 different

> orthodontists on our dental plan, but neither felt they could help

my son. They both

> suggested that he be treated in a clinical setting. Of course, my

dental insurance wouldn't

> cover this, and neither would my medical insurance, despite the fact

that the reason they

> could not treat him was due to the complications of RSS. Then I met

Dr. Kirt at

> the convention in 2003. He referred me to some craniofacial

programs he knew of in

> Florida. None of them were near me, but when I called one of them,

I found out there was

> one only a few miles away from me. I don't understand how I didn't

know about this

> before, as my son had been to so many doctors, clinics, etc., and

nobody ever told me

> about this program. At the appointment in 10/03, we were seen by a

team of doctors of

> many disciplines. The only thing I cared about was the orthodontic

aspect, as I felt we had

> adequate treatment in all other areas. By the way, an evaluation at

the craniofacial clinic is

> free, but if you have insurance, they will try to bill it for a few

of the providers such as

> speech therapy, occupational therapy, etc. The orthodontic/dental

team at the craniofacia

> clinic was from a nearby dental school. I would have taken

to this school myself,

> but I was told that if we were referred to them through the

craniofacial clinic, the fees

> would be greatly reduced. We were first able to get an appointment

with the dental school

> in 1/04, and they recommedned that have all 7 of his

remaining baby teeth

> extracted. I took him back to his regular dentist to have this

done. Then, we saw an

> orthodontic resident along with her supervisor, and after much

discussion, they decided

> they weren't going to do anything with at that time. I was

extremely upset,

> because I had just followed their recommendations to have 7 teeth

pulled, and was

> worried about losing space in his mouth for permanent teeth

when he already

> had a severe overcrowding issue. I went back to my dentist, and she

knew the head of the

> orthodontic team, who also had experience with craniofacial kids.

I had several

> appointments with him in which I didn't feel that much got

accomplished expcept for x-

> rays & impressions. All this time, I was told by the dental school

that there was no

> agreement that they knew of with the craniofacial team for reduced

fees or to take a case

> on a research basis for free. I was upset, because I had waited so

long to get treatment

> going through all the steps I was told to go through. I was

planning on aying whatever

> treatment cost somehow, but I kept insisting that there must be

somebody ho is familiar

> with this policy. The head of the faculty practice checked into it

for me & finally said they

> might be able to treat for free & use him as a research

case. 's case was

> presented to the board in January & was approved for free treatment

by the orthodontic

> team. He was assigned to a resident in orthodontics who is already

a pedodontist. We

> went back to him last month, and they explained that he would need

extensive periodontic

> work too, which would be very expensive if my insurance didn't cover

it. I knew I would

> have problems with my insurance, and they decided would be

better off treated at

> the same place for periodontics, so they could work together. They

aksed the head of

> periodontics if they would be part of this research team for

& they said yes! We

> have not been assigned a resident in that field yet, but as soon as

we have one, we will

> schedule an appointment. So, I think we are at the point where we

will start to see some

> real treatment soon, but it has been a long road with many

appointments since 10/03.

> Pattie, if you haven't gotten anything done by the convention, I

would ask Dr. to

> point you in the right direction by recommending a craniofacial

program or an orthodintist

> with experience in this in your area. Sorry this post was so long!

>

> Kim C.

>

>

>

>

>

> > My son Jon is now 10 and I have really been putting off the

> > orthodontist issues other than getting some ideas of the needs we

> > will have. Now we have seen two orthodontists and neither of them

> > feel qualified to do all the work necessary and they have suggested a

> > craniofacial team. I have been trying to track down someone good but

> > it's so difficult to know where to start. I would really appreciate

> > some input from those of you who have started the process or been

> > through it. I can't seem to figure out the starting point because it

> > doesn't seem to be with the orthodontist. I can travel either to

> > Chicago or Detroit if anybody has any experience with a team in either

> > of those areas.

> >

> >

> > Thanks,

> >

> > Pattie

[Guest guest]

Hi Pattie,

Charissa was referred to a craniofacial team for evaluation when she

was 8 years old, initially because of her short palate & nasally

speech. At that time, the craniofacial evaluations here in Alaska

were coordinated by the state program that assists children with

special medical needs (some states used to call them " handicapped

childrens' programs " .) She had surgery to correct the palate

problems and at the next crainofacial clinic they recommended

starting orthodontics. We liked he ped. dentist and orthodontist

that participated in the clinic, and they communicated well with each

other, so we choose to use them. At the time Charissa's diagnosis

was RSS (she was 15 years old before we learned it was something

else). As it turned out, she saw the orthodontist at least once a

month for nearly 10 years, and a state assistance program ended up

covering all orthodontic treatment. It was approved because I had

the RSS pamphlet that listed physical characteristics, and because

the teeth and jaw problems were in the list, so they accepted this as

proof that her dental issues were actually medical issues. We did

have to pay for her ped. dentist appointments, but we had dental

insurance that covered part of it, and the dentist wrote off a *lot*

of the other bills.

Our ped dentist couldn't believe what a mess Charissa's mouth was

before treatment, and during treatment he took a pano x-ray every 6

months, just so he could compare them & say " She is still a mess, but

look how bad she was, and look how far she has come! " I believe that

the reason Charissa has a great smile today is that both the ped

dentist and the orthodontist had the passion to do a little research

and tackle an extremely difficult case. They both worked on kids

with alot of complex problems, like cleft palate, and seemed to enjoy

the challenge. I hope you can find the same caliber of people in your

area!

in Alaska

>

> My son Jon is now 10 and I have really been putting off the

> orthodontist issues other than getting some ideas of the needs we

> will have. Now we have seen two orthodontists and neither of them

> feel qualified to do all the work necessary and they have suggested

a

> craniofacial team. I have been trying to track down someone good

but

> it's so difficult to know where to start. I would really appreciate

> some input from those of you who have started the process or been

> through it. I can't seem to figure out the starting point because

it

> doesn't seem to be with the orthodontist. I can travel either to

> Chicago or Detroit if anybody has any experience with a team in

either

> of those areas.

>

>

> Thanks,

>

> Pattie