Tips for Scheduling your Orthodontic Appointments

During the summer it was easy to get a 3pm appointment... now that school is back in session those appointments are like gold so here's the inside scoop to help you out.

Most of your appointments will be relatively short, about 30 minutes. That's why our schedule is set up to have the longer, more involved appointments during school hours, reserving the before and after school times for the shorter easier appointments. That way we can accommodate as many patients as possible during the most desirable times. It also allows us to focus on your more involved appointments during a quieter time.

Even with all this careful planning we still can't always get you in after school. That's why we ask you to rotate every other appointment between school time and non-school time hours. That way everyone gets their fair share. And since most of your appointments will be six to eight weeks apart you should normally only miss school about once every three months.

Here are a few tips...

1. Bring your calendar with you to your appointments and schedule your next appointment as you leave. The longer you wait to schedule, the fewer choices you will have of available appointments.
2. When you do have to take your turn at school time appointments, rotate them around so you don't always miss the same class.
3. Our lunch hour changes so it's possible we could have an available appointment during your lunch hour.
4. We work a lot of the minor holidays, so that may be an option for you. Just don't plan a ski trip and forget about us.
5. Keep an eye on your school calendar and take advantage of days you'll be getting off early.
6. Please don't miss your appointments. This will extend your treatment time and we know you want to get your braces off as soon as possible.

You may be asking "what if I have a bracket come off or a wire poking". We do reserve time for these types of appointments during the less busy school hours.

One last item we thought you would like to know... the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees adopted a policy that considers a medical absence as an approved/excused absence if the student completes the make-up work. To see the entire policy visit http://www.washoe.k12.nv.us/school-sites/corbett-es/attendance-policy

We know your schedule is busy so we hope this information has been helpful.