Many patients are uncertain how to navigate finding an orthodontist who meets their needs. Orthodontic treatment is a process that will take on average 1-3 years. You will need to make several visits to your orthodontist over that period for ongoing adjustments, in order to achieve the healthy and confident smile you desire.

Your first question should be; is the person I’m about to trust to fix my smile a REAL orthodontist? In recent times people who have no training or qualifications as orthodontist have been putting themselves out as orthodontists. (insert web link) Access to braces does not make someone an Orthodontist. Sometimes the facilities from which they operate can be a dead giveaway. If the services are being provided in someone’s home or if they offer to come to your home, that is a clear indication that you are not dealing with a qualified person. By having “treatment” in these locations you are placing yourself at tremendous risk! Their actions could lead to poor and unintended tooth movement resulting in tooth loss. You also put yourself at risk for infection, as these people have no facilities to sterilize the instruments they put in your mouth. An unsterilized instrument could transfer HIV, Hepatitis and other communicable diseases. In almost all cases where an unqualified person installs braces, the victim ends up losing their money and eventually still has to go to a REAL Orthodontist to get proper diagnosis and treatment. I have heard many horror stories from patients who have been duped!

Ask to see certificates (always prominently displayed in real orthodontists’ offices) as evidence of qualification. An orthodontist is a specialist dentist who has studied for an additional 2-3 years after qualifying as a dentist. Dental school training only does not qualify an individual to provide orthodontic services. Some dentists may provide basic treatment, however they should provide full disclosure if they are not specialists in this area. You may then make the decision to proceed or not.

Fashion Braces

There are some individuals who do not need braces, but will end up needing braces after choosing to wear “fashion braces” because these Fashion Braces practitioners have no idea how teeth move or how to adjust braces to get a desired result. This will lead to additional cost for real braces treatment, and your treatment could be more costly since the damage by the unqualified person has to be undone and then your smile has to be fixed.

There are many of these so-called providers offering services on Instagram and Facebook at low cost but, do you look for a discount heart or eye surgeon? Do you want someone who has watched surgery videos on YouTube to do surgery on you? No! Why then would you let a totally unqualified person into your mouth (entrance to your entire body)?

Think on these things before you put your money down and if you are uncertain, call the Dental Council of Jamaica to find out who are the registered orthodontists in Jamaica.