Office Experience

At the first visit to Dr. Robert “Ray” Caesar  or Dr. Tito Norris and Stone Oak Orthodontics, diagnostic records are made to determine the best course of treatment. Complete diagnostic records typically include a medical and dental history, clinical examination, photos of the patient’s face and teeth, and X-rays. This information is used to develop a custom treatment plan for each patient. After the doctor has evaluated your records, we discuss your treatment with you in detail, including the cost for your particular case. If your preference is to begin right away, we make every effort to start your treatment that same day.

The purpose of the initial exam is to answer:

• What sort of problem is present, if any?
• When is the proper time to begin treatment?
• What type of treatment is indicated?
• How long will treatment take?
• How much will the treatment cost?

The cost of treatment depends on the severity of the patient’s problem. The treatment coordinator will discuss fees and payment options, during the initial exam, if treatment is required. We have different payment plans to suit your budget and accept assignment from most insurance plans. We work hard to make orthodontics affordable.

Your investment includes:

• Orthodontic records, which consists of x-rays, study models, and a personalized growth study workup to determine your treatment objectives.
• Active treatment fee for both early treatment options and complete comprehensive treatment with braces or Invisalign includes all appliances, office visits, and procedures performed in the office. Appliances are durable and should last through the entire treatment period if the patient follows instructions. If appliances require replacement due to loss, breakage, misuse or failure to eliminate foods that cause damage, we reserve the right to charge an additional replacement fee.
• One set of final retainers for our comprehensive (Phase II) patients is provided upon completion of treatment. There is a replacement fee for each additional retainer that is lost or broken.

Your investment does not include:

• Work performed at other dental offices outside our orthodontic practice.
• If an accident or injury occurs during treatment which results in TMJ (Temporo-Mandibular-Joint) complications, additional orthodontics, orthognathic surgery, etc, a fee adjustment may be required to complete treatment under these unusual circumstances.

If you have insurance, we will help you to determine the coverage you have available. We ask that you assign your insurance benefit to us. The balance will be arranged for you to pay (see above).

Professional care is provided to you, our patient, and not to an insurance company. Thus, the insurance company is responsible to the patient and the patient is responsible to the doctor. We will help in every way we can in filing your claim and handling insurance questions from our office on your behalf.