Imagine Orthodontics

Complaint response to ***.We have worked with the *** family for several years, previous to July it was my understanding that we had a good relationship with them and have enjoyed having them as patientsLauren completed her treatment on 8/25/and we have not seen her since that time
Treatment followed our outlined plan with the only issues being poor oral hygiene and elastic wear*** completed her 1st stage of orthodontic treatment on 2/24/and we have not seen her since, all 1st stage treatment was completed as outlined in her treatment planThings in our relationship must have been acceptable up until February of this year, as this is when *** started his full set of braces at our office and new consent forms were signedI am sorry that things have changed since thenWe are happy to reach a settlement within the framework as stated below.Responses (Complaints are in red with a response to each)We have had trouble with Dr B***'s office in the past yearWith scheduling, either they schedule appointments and then don't have a record of it when we arrive for the appointmentThis has happened on three separate occassions.I apologize for any issues they have experienced with schedulingWe have hundreds of patients and have not had any issues with any other patients on this issueAppointments are usually scheduled weeks in advance and reminder calls are done for each appointment*** and *** have been seen for all appointments on their charts and have been seen at the correct interval of 8-weeks, we have not seen either of them since July 2017. Service problems include taking braces off without notifying usMy son came out of the appointment without bracesAt the next scheduled appointment, they put them back onIt is very inconsistant care.Notification is always given on the appointment prior to the one braces are removed as this requires a separate type of appointmentThe patient in question here is ***, who our plan included a stage treatmentLimited braces were removed on 9/11/We then saw *** for separate recall appointmentsFull braces then began on 2/24/*** was notified of each stage as a treatment consent form and financial agreement were signed by her on the day that each stage of treatment beganCare has been consistent as shown by our charting and as planed and outlined at the time of our treatment consultation.As a separate case, my son has been wearing bands day and night for the past 5+ months to correct his underbite. I am grateful *** has been wearing his elastics recentlyOn our appointments previous to July, he had indicated to us that he had not been wearing themWe have indicators for elastic wear1) Bite correction 2) tooth mobility 3) spaces opening around the teeth were the elastics are attached 4) hooks being bent back where elastics are attached and 5) elastics on when the patient comes in for an appointmentNone of these have been present when *** has come in for his appointmentsIf he is wearing them now that is great, on our July appointment we needed just 2mm more correction, so by wearing them he should be there by now.They told us that our son has tremendous calcification on his teeth from the braces and recommended one more month of bands and then if they don't work, to remove the braces due to the amount of time he has had the braces on. Decalcification is not caused by the braces, it is due to a lack of brushing and poor oral hygieneWe have discussed this with *** on each appointment, and also had this issue with LaurenI agree completely with DrJ***'s office that the braces should be removed soonWe last saw *** in July, and my goal at that time was to go or more appointments to try for the 2mm of bite correction, then remove the braces with or without that correction. In addition, we were told that this type of treatment should never take over years, and that the tx was not conssitant with current treatment plans. I spoke to DrSpencer J***, the other orthodontist in questionHe indicated that these statements were never made to *** *** and are not correctHe indicated there office encouraged *** to return with *** to our office to complete his treatment and have his braces removed.Upon trying to schedule an appointment with DrB***'s office for a follow up, we were told that the only time to remove braces was 8-My son has honors classes in school and leaving for hours is extremely difficult. This statement is correctI have been in practice years and we have never scheduled this type of appointment after school hoursThis is a 1-1/to hour appointment and is done between 8-I spoke to DrJ***'s office and they also do not remove braces after school hoursThis is a common schedule for these long appointments, I do not know an orthodontist that does the removal appointment after school hoursMaybe they could come at a time he is not in a honors class. They are not willing to make an appointment for him when he is off of school for Thanksgiving vacation or upcoming holiday times when he is out of town. This statement is correct, I cannot remove braces when I am out of town, or when we do not have this type of appointment available. The treatment for all of my children has been inconssitant, has not followed treatment plans. This statement is incorrect, our charting for each of her children shows consistent care through all stages of treatment, following our treatment plan as discussed in the consultationIn the case of *** his treatment time has been been longer than initially planed due to the stated reasons aboveThere has been no additional charges for this extended treatment time, and there is no benefit for us in keeping braces on longer than needed. Finally, we withdraw our other children and moved to another orthodontist, and requested a followup on payment services in 10/We have not recieved any finacial follow up.We are happy to follow up on all payments*** has a $balance due to pay off his accountIf they choose to go to another orthodontist to have the braces removed we will refund $If they come to us then this balance is dueIn ***'s orthodontic fees $is the amount we charge for the braces removal*** currently has an amount due for treatment through July which we will gladly wave