Proximity is *so* important for orthodontics. Wires break and you need to pop in with very short notice. So this might mean that you would need to take you kid to Virginia if something happens on a day your friend is there.

I don’t like to mix friends/ family and business so I would welcome an excuse to bow out.

A friend of ours recently became a realtor. We would absolutely never use this person even though good friends. I dread when it’s time to sell our house….I have no idea if there is an expectation there or not….

Anonymous wrote:Oh wow. Not the OP but I'm glad I clicked this thread. About to embark on this with my teen and have the reverse problem. We live in DC and almost all the recommendations we've gotten have been out in the burbs! I had no idea visits were so frequent. Yikes.

Where are you in DC? You might be able to get some recs here.

Definitely go to the one that is more convenient, unless friend is giving you a very large discount. With all those appointments, go with what will be easier!

If you are worried about offending the friend, I doubt that is an issue at all. My husband is a dentist and certainly does not expect friends to see him- most do not- due to proximity/convenience, insurance reasons, or already having a longtime dentist they are happy with.

Anonymous wrote:If there’s a chance that one of your younger kids will get braces before your oldest is finished seeing the orthodontist, it’s all the more beneficial to have the orthodontist closer. I have twins in braces and sometimes one needs a longer appointment than the other so I can’t schedule them both after school. They’re both going every 8* weeks and one of them grinds her teeth in her sleep and has damaged brackets and needed multiple emergency appointments. I would hate additional driving and paying for parking.

*I meant every 6 weeks. They say 6-8 weeks, but always schedule 6 weeks out.

If there’s a chance that one of your younger kids will get braces before your oldest is finished seeing the orthodontist, it’s all the more beneficial to have the orthodontist closer. I have twins in braces and sometimes one needs a longer appointment than the other so I can’t schedule them both after school. They’re both going every 8 weeks and one of them grinds her teeth in her sleep and has damaged brackets and needed multiple emergency appointments. I would hate additional driving and paying for parking.

Anonymous wrote:Oh wow. Not the OP but I'm glad I clicked this thread. About to embark on this with my teen and have the reverse problem. We live in DC and almost all the recommendations we've gotten have been out in the burbs! I had no idea visits were so frequent. Yikes.

It depends on the orthodontist. Some over schedule themselves with too many patients so you go every 6-8 weeks. A good ortho will see you every 4-5 weeks. However, sometimes the brackets pop off or the wire breaks or is causing pain and needs to be adjusted. In the past year we've had 4-5 emergency appointments and sometimes they will just combine the regular appointment/adjustment with the emergency so we don't have to come back in a week or so.

Go to someone close.

Oh wow. Not the OP but I'm glad I clicked this thread. About to embark on this with my teen and have the reverse problem. We live in DC and almost all the recommendations we've gotten have been out in the burbs! I had no idea visits were so frequent. Yikes.