Our lives are made up of a series of milestones, from learning to walk to leaving for college. These new adventures are an exciting part of our personal journey, but they can also leave you feeling a little overwhelmed. Orthodontic treatment is no different! Choosing to improve your oral health with braces or aligners is something to celebrate, but it can be scary, too, especially if you aren’t sure what to expect from the process. That’s why we’re taking a look at what you can expect during your first visit to our office!
Here at Stacy Wolf Orthodontics, it’s important to us that you feel confident in our care from the moment you reach out to us. After all, you’re trusting us with your smile! Our team works hard to provide all our patients with a rewarding and stress-free orthodontic journey, and that begins with your first visit to our Bayside NY office. This initial appointment is important, so let’s take a closer look at what you can expect from an orthodontic evaluation with Dr. Wolf.
A note on how we’re keeping our community healthy
Due to Covid-19, we’ve made some changes to the way our appointments work. Keeping our patients and staff healthy is our top priority, and we’ve put the following measures in place to provide a safe environment.
- Patients only, please! We are asking that only patients with an appointment enter the office at this time.
- We will text some pre-screening questions to you. Please answer them before you arrive.
- Be sure to brush your teeth at home before your appointment, as our toothbrushing station is currently closed.
- A mask or other face covering is required when entering the office.
- We have a curbside waiting area set up since our reception is closed. Please text when you arrive to check in and we’ll let you know when to enter the office.
- Be prepared to have your temperature screened at the door. We will also ask you to sanitize or wash your hands before entering.
- We are following social distancing guidelines in the office, with all patients six feet apart or more.
- If you are not feeling well or have been exposed to COVID-19, please reschedule for a later date when you are feeling better.
Our practice is committed to providing excellent orthodontic care safely. We’ve put a lot of time and effort into learning the best practices for orthodontic offices. Our current operating procedures meet or exceed all recommendations, and we thank you for complying with them! Your cooperation helps us keep our patients, staff, and community safe and healthy.
What happens during an orthodontic consultation?
You’ll be greeted warmly when you arrive at our Bayside office for your consultation. Knowing who will be by your side throughout the orthodontic process can help calm your nerves, so we’ll introduce you to some of our talented team members before we take some digital photographs of your mouth. We may also take some x-rays and impressions of your teeth to give us a better idea of your orthodontic needs.
There’s a reason you scheduled an orthodontic visit, and Dr. Wolf wants to hear more about it! Once you’ve met her and gone over all your concerns, she will perform a thorough examination of your teeth and jaw. The photographs, x-rays, impressions, and results of this exam form something called diagnostic records. These records provide us with detailed information on your jaw development or alignment. After she’s completed your exam, Dr. Wolf will let you know if she’s found any problems and what treatment options are available to you.
Understanding the orthodontic process
Informed patients make the best patients! We want to make sure you understand your diagnosis, treatment options, and any other details of the orthodontic process before we proceed. We never want you to feel as though we’re rushing you through your appointments—especially not the first one.
Your initial consultation will take about an hour, which gives us plenty of time to go over everything. Besides your examination, we’ll use this first visit to cover topics like:
- any oral issues you’re experiencing
- if treatment is needed immediately or if waiting is recommended
- what treatment options are available to correct the problem
- if any teeth will need to be removed
- an estimate of how long we expect your treatment to take
- the total investment required for treatment
- any payment or financing options we have available to you
Here at Stacy Wolf Orthodontics, we build every treatment plan around the patient’s unique needs, lifestyle, and goals. By customizing our approach in this way, we’re able to consistently produce exceptional results that our patients love.
Investing in the smile you’ve always wanted
Once you’ve gone over all your treatment options with Dr. Wolf and decided on the best one for your smile, we’ll walk you through the investment needed for your new smile. Because every patient has different needs, the total costs will always vary from case to case. You never have to worry about hidden fees with our practice! We’ll ensure you always understand exactly what to expect before we begin the active phase of your treatment.
We place the utmost importance on exceptional service that provides extraordinary value. We have a variety of affordable treatment options available for every budget, and offer flexible payments plans. We also participate with many insurance companies, including:
- Aetna DMO/PPO
- Empire Bluecross Blueshield
- Cigna
- DDS, Inc.
- Delta Dental
- Emblem/GHI
- Guardian
- Healthplex PPO
- Metlife
- Seledent
- SIDS/ASO
- United Concordia
- United Healthcare
Our team will work with you to maximize your insurance reimbursement for covered procedures.
What comes next?
Once all your questions and concerns have been addressed, we’ll set up a day and time for you to come back in and have your appliance fitted or placed. Depending on your treatment plan, you’ll be scheduled for follow-up visits every 6-8 weeks or so throughout the treatment process. During these visits, Dr. Wolf will check that your teeth are moving in a healthy way and on schedule. She may also adjust your appliance or replace the wire if you’re wearing braces.
Check-ups are an essential part of your orthodontic treatment and allow us to ensure your treatment plan is progressing as it should be. It’s important that you don’t miss them if at all possible! If you’re running late or unable to make an appointment, we simply ask that you let us know as soon as possible so we can reschedule you for another day.
Your best smile is waiting for you at Stacy Wolf Orthodontics
At Stacy Wolf Orthodontics, we’re committed to transforming your smile in a fun, creative, and exciting environment! We want you to feel like family from your first appointment, and take pride in developing relationships that last a lifetime while helping our patients achieve beautiful smiles.
We embrace science, art, and positivity to give you the best possible results in the shortest amount of time. We love to watch our patients grow and change along with their smiles. Dr. Wolf and our talented team are experienced, skilled, and excited to get you started on your own smile journey!
If you haven’t already scheduled your first visit with us, get in touch today to set up your FREE consultation with Dr. Wolf in our Bayside office.