In order to obtain our goal of running on schedule for you, patients are seen on an appointment basis only. Since many of our patients are of school age, it is impossible for us to see everyone after school hours. We do take into account both work and school schedules; however, it will be necessary to schedule some of your visits between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. We will make every attempt to keep these appointments to a minimum and ask for your cooperation and understanding in this matter. If the patient is a student, these appointments are easy to arrange during study periods, lunchtime or recess. While in orthodontic treatment, a patient must be seen every 7-12 weeks for routine adjustment appointments. Before and after work/school times are reserved for appliance checks and regular adjustments since we can accommodate many patients for these short appointments. Therefore, longer appointments to place appliances and repair appointments are scheduled during school and work hours. If you have several questions or want to come at a quieter time, we suggest an appointment between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
There is no charge for an initial orthodontic examination when the doctor does a visual exam only. Our office does this as a courtesy.
In some cases, it is necessary to have a panoramic X-ray before the nature of the problem can be determined. There is no charge for this X-ray if the doctor needs it to enhance diagnosis unless it is transferred out of our office.
If you have orthodontic benefits with your insurance carrier, please bring the information with you to your initial visit.
We work hard to minimize emergencies with your help. Should you have broken bands or brackets, please call us. We will see you at the earliest possible time. In general, repairs of this nature should be done within one week of the breakage occurring. Please do not just drop by the office to have your appliances fixed. Remember that we work on an appointment basis only.
Repairs of broken or poking wires can often be handled in the afternoon. Repairs of broken or loose brackets are only scheduled in the morning. At a repair appointment, repairs ONLY will be made. Please keep your normally scheduled appointment for your routine adjustment. The doctor and staff will not have as much time to spend with you at repair appointments. Keep in mind that we will do what we can to repair your appliances and eliminate any discomfort you may be having. If, for some reason, our repair appointments are filled or if you can only come in the afternoon, we may find it necessary to schedule you to come in to alleviate the discomfort and then make a separate appointment for the actual repair.
Please call as soon as possible if there is any unusual discomfort.
We need to know in advance if you are coming to a routine adjustment appointment with something broken in order to have time set aside to repair it. If you arrive without notifying us in advance, we may have to reschedule the appliance repair, even if you have a regular appointment.
There are very few true orthodontic emergencies. Poking wires, loose braces and bands are not true emergencies and must be scheduled to be repaired during regular office hours. If any REAL emergency develops after hours involving an accident or trauma, please call the office, and the recording will direct you to call Dr. Korch’s cell phone.
Our office reserves the right to charge a fee for excessive breakage of appliances. Nothing we place in the mouth is indestructible. Our office uses state-of-the-art bonding agents and appliances. Once the appliances are bonded to the teeth, they are considered fixed or permanent until we take them out. The bonding is 99.5% hardened when you leave the office. Within 24 hours, the bonding fully sets the remaining .5%. Breakage of appliances in excess of three times after the initial 24 hours will result in an additional fee of $45 per incidence of breakage.
We appreciate your effort to be on time for every appointment; therefore, we resolve to do our best to be on time as well. Your prompt arrival will allow us to use all the time we have reserved for you – for adjustments, instructions and questions. If we are running behind, it is because we are giving every patient our best effort, as we will do for you when your adjustment is being done.
Late arrivals will need to be rescheduled if absolutely necessary, especially if you are more than 10 minutes late for your appointment.
Notice of at least 24 hours or more for an appointment change is greatly appreciated.
Failed appointments are the patient’s or parent’s responsibility to reschedule.
Please be aware that missing appointments will definitely increase treatment times and delay the date of the removal of the appliances.
Keep in mind that late afternoon appointments fill up many weeks in advance. Missed appointments in these time frames will need to be rescheduled for midday in order to routinely monitor your tooth movement. To wait several weeks for another attractive appointment to be available is not good treatment. Every effort should be made to keep original appointments.
Our office reserves the right to charge for no shows if adequate advance notice is not given.
Tooth brushing is always available at the office prior to an appointment. Clean teeth and appliances are essential to good oral health. Poor oral hygiene results in permanent scarring to tooth enamel. We educate our patients in how to prevent this during treatment. For this reason, we give an oral hygiene “grade” to all of our patients at each appointment.
1. For the health and consideration of our doctor and staff and other well patients, please do not come to the office if you are seriously sick or under the care of a doctor for an acute illness.
We will give you the earliest appointment available in the event of cancellation due to illness.
We reserve the right to reappoint patients at our discretion when we feel their illness may cause exposure to other patients in open treatment areas.
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