This orthodontic treatment FAQ collects the frequently asked questions about orthodontic treatment that the Odessa and Midland offices are asked most, with the answers the doctors give in the chair. If yours is not here, call: Odessa (432) 333-7105, Midland (432) 682-1222.
Is the initial orthodontic consultation free?
Yes. New patient consultations are complimentary at both offices. The examination, the treatment plan and the fee quote cost nothing, whether or not you decide to go ahead, and there is no obligation attached to any of it.
The visit takes about an hour and ends with a written plan and a fee. Same-day starts are available for patients who want them. What happens at that visit is set out in full on its own page.
Why are you closed on Fridays?
Both offices run Monday through Thursday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. That is a four-day week, and in a basin where a lot of people work rotations it is worth knowing before you book rather than after.
The schedule is designed around it. Adjustment visits fall 4 to 8 weeks apart rather than weekly, so a year of treatment means fewer than a dozen visits. Siblings can be booked back to back so one trip covers both children. A treatment start can be timed to a week you are home. And some progress checks can be replaced by a remote scan from your phone. Tell the office what your work pattern looks like and the plan gets built around it.
Do I still need to see my regular dentist during treatment?
Yes, and it matters more during treatment than before it. Braces create places for plaque to collect, so keep your six-month checkups and cleanings going throughout. Reznik Orthodontics treats the alignment; your dentist treats the teeth and gums, and the two run in parallel.
Does orthodontic treatment hurt?
Not in the way most people expect. Fitting braces does not hurt. What follows is three to five days of general soreness while the teeth begin to move, and a week or two while the lips and cheeks toughen up against the brackets. Ordinary pain relief and orthodontic wax handle both.
Adjustments produce a milder version of the same thing for a day or so. Aligners feel tight for the first day of each new set. Anything sharp, sudden or severe is not normal and is a reason to call. See emergency care.
Do you accept my dental insurance?
Reznik Orthodontics is not in-network with any insurance plan. The office accepts most PPO plans, bills your carrier directly, and takes assignment of benefits wherever your plan permits, so the insurance money comes to the practice and you pay the balance. Where a plan will not assign benefits, the office files the claim so you are reimbursed directly.
Your benefits are verified before treatment starts. Bring your insurance details to the consultation and you will know where you stand that day. Full detail, including HSA and FSA, is on the cost and financing page.
What happens if I miss an appointment?
Call as soon as you know. Appointments are usually booked 4 to 8 weeks ahead and the schedule fills, so a missed visit can be harder to replace than it sounds, and a long gap between adjustments slows treatment down.
Cancellations are best kept for genuine emergencies for exactly that reason. If something has come up, the office would far rather move you than lose the slot entirely.
Do you see patients from outside Odessa and Midland?
Yes. The Odessa office serves West Odessa, Gardendale, Goldsmith and Andrews. The Midland office serves Greenwood and Stanton.
Both offices belong to one practice and share one record, so patients who move across the basin mid-treatment switch offices rather than starting over. Patients who move into the area part-way through treatment elsewhere are also welcome; see complex cases and retreatment.
Will teeth need to be removed?
Sometimes, and less often than patients expect. Crowding can frequently be corrected by expanding the arch rather than by extracting teeth, and in many cases removal is avoided altogether.
Whether it applies to you depends on how much space is missing, on the shape of your jaws, and on whether you are still growing. If extraction is recommended, you will be told why, what the alternative would cost you in result, and what happens if you decline.
How long will treatment take?
Most orthodontic treatment runs between 12 and 24 months. A small correction can be considerably shorter and a complex bite longer, and you will be given an estimate for your own case at the consultation rather than an average.
What moves that estimate is mostly outside the practice’s control: how far the teeth have to move, how your biology responds, and whether instructions get followed at home. Broken appliances and missed appointments are the two most common reasons a case runs past its estimate. Rubber bands worn inconsistently are the third.
Can I still play sport or a wind instrument?
Yes to both. Anyone playing a contact sport should be wearing a mouthguard over their braces, and one is provided as part of treatment, so tell the office what you play rather than buying one off a rack.
Wind instrument players notice a difference for a week or two while the embouchure adapts to the brackets. Wax over the front teeth helps in the early days and it settles. Neither is a reason to delay treatment.
Do you treat adults, or only children and teenagers?
Both, at both offices. Roughly one in five orthodontic patients in the United States is over 21, according to the American Association of Orthodontists, and adult cases here range from minor crowding to full bite correction.
There is no upper age limit, because tooth movement does not depend on growth. What matters is the health of the gums and the bone supporting the teeth. See adult orthodontics.
Still have a question?
Call the Odessa office at (432) 333-7105 or the Midland office at (432) 682-1222, or request an appointment online.
Dr. Megan Reznik and Dr. Derek Reznik are each a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics. No referral is needed to be seen, and the first visit costs nothing.