Your First Visit
Our greatest goal is to give you the healthy, straight, beautiful smile that you’ve always wanted. We understand that you have many choices when picking an orthodontist in the St. Louis area, choosing to receive orthodontic care is a big decision. Our practice will work with you every step of the way to make sure that your orthodontic care is as comfortable, convenient, and rewarding as possible. We’ll use the latest technology, offering a variety of safe and gentle treatment options, giving you the customized, individual care that you deserve.
Smiles Start With Free Consultations
Your complimentary consultation will give you the opportunity to meet our team, as well as, learn more about orthodontics, receive a complete initial exam, and find out which treatment options will best meet your needs. During your complimentary consultation, our orthodontists will:
- Review your dental and medical history forms.
- Provide a complete oral exam, with X-rays and photos to determine if treatment is necessary.
- Help you create a customized treatment plan.
- Discuss all financial information, insurance options, and payment plans.
During your complimentary consultation, we will explain everything that you will need to know about your orthodontic treatment so that you can choose what’s best for you — no strings attached.
If you do choose to receive orthodontic treatment, you will need to schedule your first appointment. Your first appointment is when we will place your new orthodontic appliance. Typically, this appointment is a little more than one hour, and then you’re on your way toward your new smile!
Scheduling Appointments
Visiting the orthodontist every 4–8 weeks is an important part of your orthodontic treatment. Regular checkups last between 20–40 minutes. Our practice will work with you to make sure that your appointments are scheduled around your busy schedule; so, you will spend less time in the dental chair, and more time enjoying the things you love to do.
We understand that “life happens,” so if you’re running late or need to reschedule, please let us know, and we will do everything we can to accommodate you. When you’re ready to schedule your first appointment, contact our team and we’ll be happy to help you get started!
Patient Forms
To save time on your first visit with us, please take a moment to fill out our patient form. For new or existing patients click to fill in relevant patient information and medical/dental history. If you have any questions, please let our team know.
Patient Rewards
We love to reward our patients for all their hard work throughout treatment. Every patient has the ability to earn these points at each appointment. Some different ways you can are: Brushing your teeth properly, not breaking anything (lets us know you are following the food list), wearing your elastics 24/7, making morning appointments, getting A’s and B’s on your report cards, making your dental hygiene appointments regularly and more! There are also plenty of contests and promotions throughout the year that involve giving cool prizes away. When you reach a certain number of points you can redeem them for gift cards, mini iPads, custom Nike shoes, and more!
Financial Info
The cost of your orthodontic treatment will vary, depending on your individual needs and treatment plan. Our staff will discuss the cost of your treatment and each available payment plan option with you, so you can make the best choice for yourself and your smile. We will work with you to create a payment plan that fits your budget, and you will know what to expect before beginning treatment.
Affordable Payment Plans
Your smile is yours forever, and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to receive the best orthodontic care whenever you need it.
- Our practice accepts most major credit cards and insurance plans.
- If you have insurance that covers any portion of your orthodontic treatment, our office staff is always available to help you with insurance claims and paperwork.
Please let us know if you have any questions about your insurance coverage or ideas about how we can make your entire orthodontic experience a pleasant one.
We believe that finances should never be an obstacle to achieving the smile you deserve! We offer various payment plans and will work closely with you to find an arrangement that fits your budget. We proudly offer the following financing and payment options:
- In-House, Interest-Free Financing — Let us customize a payment plan that works for you! An initial fee is due at the beginning of treatment and the remaining balance is divided into interest-free monthly payments.
- Family Discount — We offer discounts for families with multiple patients starting treatment together! NOTE: This only applies to immediate family members. *Some restrictions apply.
- Health Savings Accounts (HSA)
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
- We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, debit cards, personal checks, and cash. In addition, we can set up an automated monthly payment option if desired to make it more convenient to get your bill paid on time.
Insurance
So you have orthodontic insurance and want to improve your smile? Rest assured, you’ve come to the right place! We believe that everyone should have access to orthodontic care, and for this reason, we accept numerous orthodontic insurance plans and PPO discounted rates. As an in-network/preferred provider for most of the major insurance companies, we are committed to helping you maximize your insurance benefits!
Care Instructions
Now that you have gotten your braces, it’s important that you know how to best care for them and your teeth during treatment. Taking proper care of your braces will ensure a more seamless treatment experience and overall better oral health.
For more information on brushing and flossing, foods to avoid, common appliance issues, and more, check out our braces care video.
Now that you’ve made the exciting decision to move forward with Invisalign aligners, it’s important to know how to properly wear and care for them. For more information about your aligners and treatment, check out our Invisalign care video. Remember, with your 100% effort, we can deliver 100% excellent results!
While we want everyone to have an easy and worry-free experience with braces, we understand that accidents happen! That includes problems with your braces, such as missing, broken, or loose pieces of the appliances. For common problems with braces, and how to fix them, check out our video from Dr. Otto.
We know that new appliances can take some getting used to. Check out our video on expander instructions for information on how to care for the appliances, how to regularly adjust your expander, and more!
Emergency Care
True orthodontic emergencies are very rare, but when they do occur we are available to you. As a general rule, you should call the office when you experience severe pain or when you have a painful appliance problem that you can’t take care of yourself. We’ll be able to schedule an appointment to resolve the problem.
You might be surprised to learn that you may be able to temporarily solve many problems yourself until you schedule an appointment with our office. When working with your appliances, you need to know the names of the parts of your appliances so you are able to identify what part is broken or out of place. After alleviating your discomfort, it is very important that you still call our office as soon as possible to schedule a time to repair the problem.
You might be surprised to learn that you may be able to temporarily solve many problems yourself until you schedule an appointment with our office. When working with your appliances, you need to know the names of the parts of your appliances so you are able to identify what part is broken or out of place. After alleviating your discomfort, it is very important that you still call our office as soon as possible to schedule a time to repair the problem. Allowing your appliance to remain damaged for an extended period of time may result in disruptions in your treatment plan.