The orthodontic clinic name doesn't show up in autocomplete, so for now I set an arbitrary clinic name and made it private. I'm posting this because there are cases like mine too, and I hope everyone is careful when choosing an orthodontic dental clinic. I'm still in the middle of orthodontic treatment, not finished, but because of the clinic's attitude, I regret choosing this clinic and keep thinking I wish I could turn back time.
1. I had a deep bite and a slightly protruding mouth, but it didn't cause any discomfort in daily life, so I wasn't dissatisfied with the protrusion or occlusion. I just wanted to fix the fact that my two front teeth stuck out like rabbit teeth, so I considered orthodontic treatment. As I said, my original appearance wasn't severe, and I wasn't unhappy with it. So I was worried whether it would be okay to take on risks like my philtrum looking longer, nasolabial folds, my mouth looking too sunken after orthodontic treatment instead, and whether the changed mouth line would suit my face, just to fix the two front teeth sticking out. But during the first consultation here, when I said I was worried about those things and didn't want my appearance to change, they said, 'If we do it without extraction, it won't change like that. That won't happen,' so I trusted them and decided to go ahead. But even now, while I'm only in the alignment stage, I can feel that my nasolabial folds, philtrum, and mouth line have changed in a way I don't like. So I said, 'It seems to be changing too much, unlike what I expected. I started orthodontic treatment because you said there would be no change,' and then their words changed to, 'People all change naturally. When we said it would barely change, this is what we meant from the beginning.'ㅎ
2. Honestly, one of the reasons I chose this clinic was that during the first consultation they were kind, communication seemed good when I expressed my opinions, and I thought they would listen well. But after they hurriedly put on the orthodontic appliance, they really had zero interest in the patient and became cold? Every time I go for monthly treatment, there is no explanation and no conversation, so I know nothing about how my orthodontic treatment is progressing. Even the fact that I'm in the alignment stage now, and all the knowledge about orthodontics, I found out by looking it up separately myself and by visiting other clinics during treatment. The doctor and the manager at the front desk are all truly unfriendly, and their attitude completely changed from the first consultation.
3. Also, both the doctor and the dental hygienist handle the patient's mouth really roughly. They have absolutely no carefulness. There was even a time when, while handling it roughly, my gum was slightly nicked and scraped by an instrument... but the bigger problem than that is, one time, when the dental hygienist was changing the wire, she pressed hard on my front tooth for several seconds. At the time, I was worried it might get pulled out like that, and after that, only that front tooth hurt so, so much. (Even now, it's not as bad as then, but it still throbs.) After that, for months, only that front tooth kept hurting as if it had become weaker, so I told the clinic several times. But before taking an X-ray and properly checking anything, they said things like, 'A tooth cannot hurt because it was pressed. Even during orthodontic treatment, force is applied to the teeth, so there can't be a problem. Also, everyone's teeth are naturally different, so some can be unusually sensitive and weak. It's because this front tooth is especially crooked' (even though the front tooth on the other side is more crooked) << they talked to me like this? Fine, it could be as the doctor says, but shouldn't they say things like that at least after taking an X-ray and sufficiently checking my condition? They only took an X-ray after I asked if there was any way to check whether there was still no problem. Of course, even after the X-ray, my distrust had already deepened because of those words, and they only said there was no problem, so I went elsewhere and got another X-ray too. At the other place, they did say that this much can happen during orthodontic treatment, but they also said that front tooth definitely looked weaker and painful? Isn't there a huge difference in trust between just saying there is no problem and explaining it like that...?ㅋㅋ It really made me wonder if they care only about avoiding responsibility, to the point that they can't even give this level of explanation to a patient.
4. When I asked whether too much interproximal reduction had been done because the area where they did it was sensitive, they said it probably wasn't because of the interproximal reduction and must be another issue, and that when they did the interproximal reduction, they told me to raise my hand if it felt sensitive, but didn't I not raise it then? That's what they said ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I mean, during that brief moment when they were grinding away with the interproximal reduction, the patient might not have sensed it properly and may not have raised their hand. From the very day of the interproximal reduction, that area felt sensitive when cold air hit it, and at the next monthly treatment too, I said that only that area had been sensitive since the interproximal reduction, but they said that;
The doctor is extremely defensive, avoids things before checking properly and treating them properly, and constantly shifts blame onto the patient or the teeth. All I can think is that if a problem happens here, I would feel so wronged. It's also really stressful that they subtly slip out of things by taking advantage of the fact that the patient doesn't have orthodontic knowledge. Since I'm a patient at this clinic, it's natural to tell the doctor if something is uncomfortable. I'm not trying to blame them unconditionally; I need an explanation. But the moment I say something hurts here or feels sensitive, they start avoiding responsibility. There were many other moments besides what I wrote here that upset me, but I'll stop here.
The cost is definitely not cheap either, and I'm going to monthly treatments while feeling really stressed and anxious. Even though this place has a specialist with over 20 years of experience, it's like this, so you really have to be careful with orthodontic treatmentㅜㅜ I still have at least one year left, and I just hope the painful areas recover and that the orthodontic treatment ends safely without any major problems.