The Braces Journey
Braces

The Braces Journey

By May 29, 2018 No Comments

The “initial consultation” appointment

Your visit is on us! This 20-minute consultation is FREE. No strings, no obligations – this applies to our Epsom and Takapuna clinics.

We will use this time to have a chat to see if orthodontics is right for you. This is a meet-and-greet appointment where you will also see whether we are the team you’d like to work with to get you the results you want. At this initial appointment, we will also give you an idea of how we can help, the estimated treatment time and the financial commitment involved…Still, with no obligation.

There is no single set fee for orthodontic treatment: every person’s face, jaws, bite, and teeth are unique. We customise our treatment to give our patients options and the very best results. For a general idea of treatment fees before seeing us, please see our Cost of Braces section

The “records” and “consultation” appointments

At this appointment, we will proceed to take digital records: photos (extra-oral and intra-oral), a 3D-scan of your teeth, as well as x-ray radiographs of your teeth and jaws. This appointment usually takes 20 to 30 minutes, and we have all the digital facilities on-site at the Takapuna, Epsom and Howick clinics.

From these records, our orthodontists customise a detailed treatment plan for each case, and a follow-up appointment is made. This is the “consultation” appointment. During this visit, every aspect of the proposed treatment plan will be discussed. Importantly, the problems will be highlighted, the risks and limitations of orthodontic treatment explained, and any possible alternative options will also be discussed. An estimate of the overall treatment time as well as all costs specific to the treatment along with payment plans will be provided.

The cost for these two appointments is $520.

At times, significant planning beyond the norm or extensive correspondence with other practitioners will be required. The cost can increase to $820.

The “bond-up” appointment – braces/aligner day!

This visit is where we fit your braces on. The appointment will take approximately 1 hour and you will walk out with some brand new appliances! Please read our braces section to get an idea of what it is like to have braces.

* For Invisalign patients, this visit will be used to take 3D scans or high-accuracy models of your teeth to send to the USA for the aligners to be made. It usually takes 8 weeks to get the aligners back.

The 6-8 weekly “adjustment” appointments

Technology has allowed us to use super flexible wires that work for a long time in the mouth. Therefore, our typical adjustment visits are booked every 6, 8 or 10 weeks during the course of the treatment. Don’t forget, if the wires are not adjusted or changed, they do not work…so, make sure you always know when your next adjustment appointment is going to be.

So that we are efficient with your treatment, and that we stick to our estimated overall treatment time, it is very important that you keep to your appointments and look after your braces. Breakages and missed appointments are the main reasons for orthodontic treatment taking longer than predicted.

So, let’s work together at getting you the smile you want! If you need to change an appointment, give us as much notice as possible so that we can rearrange your appointment without impacting our other patients’ appointments.

“Emergency” appointments

Braces are not attached to teeth using Superglue! We use a composite glue that is strong enough to keep the brackets on the teeth (to move the teeth around with the wires), but that is also easy enough to take off the brackets at the end of treatment. This means that eating or biting the wrong things will loosen the brackets or aligner attachments from the teeth.

Accidents do happen though, and so if a bracket or attachment comes off, please use your phone to take a photo of what is loose and email it to us so we can arrange to have it replaced. The cost of an emergency visit or a broken brace repair is $120 per bracket (individual brace).

The “de-bond” appointment

It’s time to get your appliances de-bonded from your teeth.

It takes under 1 minute to clip your braces or attachments off! However, more time is needed to clean and polish your teeth, take photos, x-ray radiographs and a final 3D-scan of your teeth. Finally, we need to get you fixed wire retainers and removable retainer aligners or plates to hold the teeth in their final position.

Poor compliance with retainer wear means the teeth are guaranteed to move! So, please take retainer wear seriously and please follow our instructions with regards to compliance.

Just like our skin wrinkles and our hair greys with age, teeth move with time. The retainers help restrict this movement and we encourage all our patients who want to minimise the natural drifting of teeth, to wear their retainers at night, long-term.

A simple message here – WEAR YOUR RETAINERS and look after them – night time for a lifetime!

The “retention recall” appointments

Let’s catch up! Orthodontic retention recall appointments are made at 3-, 6-, 12- and 24- months after your braces have been removed. During these appointments, we will catch up and take a look at your teeth, making sure everything is going the way it is supposed to. The fact that you have had orthodontic treatment does not mean your teeth will never ever move again… This is why your retainers are so important to wear.

Any minor changes after your braces are removed are due to the natural process of aging and maturing, both of which happen, regardless if you have had orthodontic treatment in the past or not.

Dr. Adriana Perez

BDS (Ven/Esp) | MDS-Orth (Arg)
 
Dr. Adriana Perez grew up in Caracas, Venezuela. She is one of the registered specialist orthodontist working at Shakespeare Orthodontics in Auckland.

 

In 2008, Adriana graduated with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery from Santa Maria University in Caracas, Venezuela. After graduation, she worked in Venezuela in private practice, at the Orthopaedic Children’s Hospital (Dentistry/Orthodontics unit), and as a lecturer in the National Experimental University of the Armed Forces.

In the year 2011, Adriana moved to Argentina to specialise, gaining the Specialist Orthodontist degree from the University of Buenos Aires in 2013. While in Argentina, she worked as a part-time lecturer at the Orthodontics Department in the University of Buenos Aires, private practice, and at the Craniofacial Unit in the Paediatric Hospital Garrahan, looking after cleft lip new-born, children, and adolescent patients.

Adriana is a Spanish speaker. On her spare time she likes going to the beach, travelling, socialising with friends, playing video games, cooking, and going to the gym.

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Orthodontist Adriana Perez

Dr. Azza Al-Ani

BDS | DClinDent | MRACDS-Orth | MOrthRCSEd

Dr Azza Al-Ani, grew up in Christchurch, is a registered specialist orthodontist working at Shakespeare Orthodontics in Auckland. You can find her at one of the clinics in the city, or at their Takapuna clinic on the North Shore. 

In 2009, Azza graduated with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery with Credit from the University of Otago.

She worked as a dental house surgeon at Auckland, Greenlane and Middlemore Hospitals; and as a dental officer at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital.

In 2012, she completed the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (RACDS) primary examinations.

Before commencing her specialist training, she held a part-time Professional Practice Fellow position at the Faculty of Dentistry, while working as a dentist in private practice.

In 2016, Azza graduated from the University of Otago with a Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Orthodontics. She passed examinations to gain memberships into the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

She is also certified with the Australasian Orthodontic Board, and is a member of the New Zealand Association of Orthodontists, and the New Zealand Dental Association.

Azza’s area of research interest is hypodontia.
She has presented about this topic at the European Orthodontic Society Congress, and at the International Association Dental Research ANZ Scientific Meeting, and has been involved in the publication of numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Outside of work, Azza loves spending time with her son and Mo (her husband), socialising with family and friends, overseas travel, and tries to keep up with Mo mountain biking.

Dr. Mo Al-Dujaili

BDS | DClinDent | MRACDS-Orth | MOrthRCSEd

 

Mo is a Specialist Orthodontist. He grew up in both New Zealand and Australia.

After completing a year in Health Sciences, and later physiotherapy, he qualified as a dentist in New Zealand. He spent the next four years working alongside his father in Sydney where he practised general dentistry. Mo then returned to Dunedin to specialise, gaining his specialist degree – Clinical Doctorate in Orthodontics from the University of Otago.

During the three years of specialist training, Mo had the privilege of learning from the best. The combined clinical and academic acumen of professors, doctors and staff provided an invaluable experience.

Meanwhile, Mo published and presented significant research and clinical cases at both national and international forums, including the International Association of Dental Research, the Australasian Begg Society of Orthodontics, the European Orthodontic Society and the New Zealand Dental Association conference.

A firm believer in maintaining high clinical standards, Mo successfully completed further examinations to become affiliated with the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh) and the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (Sydney).

Mo is currently a part time senior lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, a Fellow of the World Federation of Orthodontists and also holds professional memberships with the New Zealand Association of Orthodontists, the New Zealand Dental Association and American Association of Orthodontists.

He has also been involved in the supervising and lecturing of students at the Auckland University of Technology.

Outside of work, Mo enjoys the precious time with his young family and the outdoors. He especially loves mountain biking, running, fishing, diving and, in winter, snowboarding.

Traveling along with his best friend and wife (Azza) around the world has also been a big part of Mo’s life. Mo is primarily based in Shakespeare Orthodontic’s city clinics and on the North Shore.

 
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