need to make a decision: damon or conventional

[smile21]

hello all, I'm 21 and i've decided to get braces. I already had 2 ortho consultations, and the treatment type, cost and time of each is different. both orthos seem pretty nice and of cos i trust them to do the thing that they do best. still, i need to make my decision, so i'd like to get a second opinion.

I have crowded upper and lower teeth, a couple deep tooth fillings(the tooth colored ones) and i'm having a tooth filling redone tmr.

ortho 1 recommends the damon braces, with 18 months treatment time, at $5100, says it includes everything I'd need. he no longer employ the conventional braces at his practice.
ortho 2 offers the conventional braces, with 23 months treatment time, at $4600, also includes everything i'd need, adjustment interval is every 6weeks.
both says i don't need extractions.

if you were me, which one would you choose?

[mariahfromchicago]

The bracket doesn't matter. Which orthodontist do you trust more?

[Sunny]

Mariah is right ... the bracket you choose won't affect your treatment or outcome, as it's about the skill of your ortho and the archwires that move your teeth.

It's great you've found two ortho's you would feel good to be treated by, so I guess your decision needs to be based on cost and somewhat on time. Remembering that time is only an estimate, as your teeth may move faster or slower than expected.

Good luck, but it sounds like you're be happy with whatever choice you make!

[bobo]

If both orthos are nice, you better rank " time", "money", " the looking of the brace"...
Give them a rank..then you will know which one to go for.....

If I were you, I will get the damon one because time is the biggest issue for me and personally I like new technology...LoL..

[Sunny]

Bobo the damon brand is not new technology ... not even close. As you'll read in may places, damon is a brand that is marketed agressively, but without a skilful ortho using archwires to oversee the movement of your teeth correctly, it won't matter what brand the bracket is.

Also time ... this is only an estimate and when it's as close as these two ortho's are estimating, it's not going to help much with the decision.

I agree that ranking each factor is possibly the only way to do this, but again there's not a lot to rank, when you're looking at two ortho's that are both close with treatment recommendations and have the personality you'd like to be treated by.

Maybe 'outside' factors could be taken into consideration ... distance to the offices, parking, hours of business (eg some people prefer weekend appointments when they're employed) etc. I guess another factor to think about, is why the possibly shorter treatment is also the most expensive ... what are you going to be getting for the extra investment?

This will be a tough one!

[Zoso]

I agree with what Sunny says.

You could also ask both if they have pictures they can show you of the end results from cases that were similar to yours.

[smilez4me]

I would go on recommendations of past clients if you know anyone that use either ortho. Sunny is correct in there is not much rank. If you went with convential 5 month time wise I think it flies. If you went with Damon the money factor isnt that much more. Therefore I would seek further and inquire why the first Ortho no longer uses convential. I have Damons and love them personally as I didnt want to be bothered with the ligs and I also went with them for other reasons but neither reason were Time or price.

Its all down to the ortho and how skilled they are. Its also with whom and what you feel most comfortable with.