Orthodontists in Beijing

May 16, 2008 8:50 PM

Does anyone have recommendations for an orthodontist in Beijing? Can treatment be started in China and continued in the U.S.?

I had braces when I was a teenager, but apparently since then I've developed something of an overbite...which has, in turn, left me with some roots partly exposed and oversensitivity in those teeth.

So now I'm thinking I really need to correct this problem before it gets worse.

1. Any recommendations for orthodontists in Beijing? Are they likely to be as good as the ones in the U.S.?

2. Is it possible to do invisalign in Beijing?

3. What happens if I move back to the U.S. in the course of my treatment--can any orthodontist continue my treatment from the U.S., including if I am doing invisalign treatment?

Thanks!

posted by monkey85 to Health & Fitness (3 answers total)

I dont have any personal experience with dental work in China, but when I was in Beijing a friend of mine (also from the States) had to go in for something, and she went to a pretty nice place, but given all that when she went in the dentist actually called in his colleagues to take a look at the astounding quality of the work she already had done back in cosmopolitan Indiana.

In short, you are not in a country with an incredibly developed dental care system as of yet, and you might be better served by coming back.
posted by BobbyDigital at 9:52 PM on May 16, 2008

I don't believe that you'll be able to continue an invisalign treatment with a different dentist - at least that's what I've been told by several different orthodontists when I was moving around a lot. I chose to wait until I knew I'd be in the same city for a while, just to be on the safe side. On their website you can search to see if there is a provider in your area.

The reason is that the entire treatment is planned out at the beginning and all the trays are made. Essentially the orthodontist takes the x-rays and impressions they've done on you, sends them off to the Invisalign company, who sends back the full set of trays, each of which you wear for two weeks. Which means that almost all the cost, for you and for your orthodontist, is at the beginning of treatment. It also means that most of the profit for your orthodontist is at the start, which is why they won't take on half-finished cases.
posted by vodkaboots at 5:25 AM on May 17, 2008

On the other hand, if you DON'T do Invisalign treatment, I think any orthodontist could pick up where your other one left off. I switched orthodontists in the middle of treatment and it wasn't a big deal in that the orthodontist involved didn't seem surprised to see someone who already had a mouth full of metal.

However, be prepared for the possibility that your new orthodontist will say "What the hell was that guy thinking??" and reverse a bunch of stuff that you just had done. This happened to me, and it was basically all I needed to convince me that orthodontics is a pretty inexact science.
posted by crinklebat at 8:16 PM on May 17, 2008