I just don’t understand our collective obsession and unwillingness to changes when it comes to a couple things:
- Why do people have to see a dentist every 6 months and why won’t orthodontists start a case if the patient has not?
- Why do orthodontists refuse to look in a patient’s mouth and decide if that patient’s oral health is good enough to start orthodontic treatment?
If a new patient shows up and has poor oral hygiene or caries or periodontal disease then don’t start orthodontic treatment without a trip to the dentist first. But if a patient shows up, has healthy teeth and gums along with the absence of disease then make a decision and start treatment no matter how long it’s been since they’ve had a cleaning. I don’t get my teeth cleaned every six months and I’m betting most of you don’t either. Clean, healthy teeth and gums are self evident, you’re a dentist and the patient wants orthodontic treatment. What’s the issue here other than tradition and some nebulous, over-inflated fear of “liability”?
It’s time to change and act logically instead of doing things the way we always have just because…