I'm just saying...

[stevenmilz]

OK, something's bothering me so I figured I'd ask my fellow easyWDW forum-ites, who seem to be fairly level-headed and mostly sane, for an opinion. My two kids (12 and 10) had an orthodontist appointment yesterday. They both have Herbst appliances (look them up if you're unfamiliar - they're quite a hunk of metal). Anyway, my wife is out-of-town for work and I was at work, so our 18-yr old nanny took the kids to their appointment. No problem as it was supposed to be fairly routine. Come to find out that the orthodontist (or more likely one of the techs) pulled two of my 10-yr-old's baby teeth. That in of itself isn't a huge issue - one of them needed to come out for sure because the adult tooth was pushing it all catawampus. What's bothering me is that they pulled the teeth without any consent. No one called me, or my wife, or even consulted with the nanny. They just pulled the teeth. Thoughts? Should I be perturbed about this? Should I call the office and ask "WTF" or just let it go?

[George]

OK, something's bothering me so I figured I'd ask my fellow easyWDW forum-ites, who seem to be fairly level-headed and mostly sane, for an opinion. My two kids (12 and 10) had an orthodontist appointment yesterday. They both have Herbst appliances (look them up if you're unfamiliar - they're quite a hunk of metal). Anyway, my wife is out-of-town for work and I was at work, so our 18-yr old nanny took the kids to their appointment. No problem as it was supposed to be fairly routine. Come to find out that the orthodontist (or more likely one of the techs) pulled two of my 10-yr-old's baby teeth. That in of itself isn't a huge issue - one of them needed to come out for sure because the adult tooth was pushing it all catawampus. What's bothering me is that they pulled the teeth without any consent. No one called me, or my wife, or even consulted with the nanny. They just pulled the teeth. Thoughts? Should I be perturbed about this? Should I call the office and ask "WTF" or just let it go?

Did they mention anything to the 18 year-old “guardian?” I don’t have kids, but it can’t be right to perform a non-emergency procedure, no matter how innocuous, without parental consent. I can ask Greg, who’s a physician, about the appropriateness of this.

[stevenmilz]

Did they mention anything to the 18 year-old “guardian?” I don’t have kids, but it can’t be right to perform a non-emergency procedure, no matter how innocuous, without parental consent. I can ask Greg, who’s a physician, about the appropriateness of this.

Nope. My 10-yr old daughter just strolled out when she was finished and showed the nanny where they had pulled two teeth.

[3dadknight]

I’m on my third kid with braces. Two of them have had various baby teeth pulled. The orthodontist had told us at the outset about the need to do so during the course of the braces. Is this one of those situations where they told you about it when they first explained how things would go, or was this something that they just figured out was needed and did it? If it was explained early on (and maybe forgotten) I wouldn’t be too perturbed. If it was something they just decided to do, I would have expected them to inform me (the parent) beforehand and would mention it at the next appointment. Basically, would you have said “no” to the tooth pulling if asked? If you would have ok’d it, there is no need to raise a big stink about it, but simply mention that you would want a phone call before any similar procedure. You never know how people will react if you come across as very upset. You might find that your choice of appointment times is not the most convenient in the future.

[3dadknight]

Oops. Double post.

[stevenmilz]

I’m on my third kid with braces. Two of them have had various baby teeth pulled. The orthodontist had told us at the outset about the need to do so during the course of the braces. Is this one of those situations where they told you about it when they first explained how things would go, or was this something that they just figured out was needed and did it? If it was explained early on (and maybe forgotten) I wouldn’t be too perturbed. If it was something they just decided to do, I would have expected them to inform me (the parent) beforehand and would mention it at the next appointment. Basically, would you have said “no” to the tooth pulling if asked? If you would have ok’d it, there is no need to raise a big stink about it, but simply mention that you would want a phone call before any similar procedure. You never know how people will react if you come across as very upset. You might find that your choice of appointment times is not the most convenient in the future.

Yeah, I guess I'm more taken off guard than upset. I find it a bit surprising, given the litigious society we live in today, that anybody treating a minor would do anything out of the ordinary without notifying the parent first. The orthodontist is highly regarded, even though they've already dorked up a number of things with our kids - and we're just a few months into this process. I just wanted some other folks' opinion. Thanks for the feedback!

[Momofpirates]

2 kids, 3 sets of braces. I would have thought they would have informed a parent before taking out the teeth as well. Our orthodontist talked with the parent quickly after each appointment just to update us on the progress, maybe 60-90 second conversation unless we had questions. At the end, he would say, "Next month, we will do X and Y".

I would probably mention it at the next appointment and ask that they put a note in the chart that you want to be notified before anything else except routine band/bracket change is done.

[magic1106]

OK, something's bothering me so I figured I'd ask my fellow easyWDW forum-ites, who seem to be fairly level-headed and mostly sane, for an opinion. My two kids (12 and 10) had an orthodontist appointment yesterday. They both have Herbst appliances (look them up if you're unfamiliar - they're quite a hunk of metal). Anyway, my wife is out-of-town for work and I was at work, so our 18-yr old nanny took the kids to their appointment. No problem as it was supposed to be fairly routine. Come to find out that the orthodontist (or more likely one of the techs) pulled two of my 10-yr-old's baby teeth. That in of itself isn't a huge issue - one of them needed to come out for sure because the adult tooth was pushing it all catawampus. What's bothering me is that they pulled the teeth without any consent. No one called me, or my wife, or even consulted with the nanny. They just pulled the teeth. Thoughts? Should I be perturbed about this? Should I call the office and ask "WTF" or just let it go?

[magic1106]

OK, something's bothering me so I figured I'd ask my fellow easyWDW forum-ites, who seem to be fairly level-headed and mostly sane, for an opinion. My two kids (12 and 10) had an orthodontist appointment yesterday. They both have Herbst appliances (look them up if you're unfamiliar - they're quite a hunk of metal). Anyway, my wife is out-of-town for work and I was at work, so our 18-yr old nanny took the kids to their appointment. No problem as it was supposed to be fairly routine. Come to find out that the orthodontist (or more likely one of the techs) pulled two of my 10-yr-old's baby teeth. That in of itself isn't a huge issue - one of them needed to come out for sure because the adult tooth was pushing it all catawampus. What's bothering me is that they pulled the teeth without any consent. No one called me, or my wife, or even consulted with the nanny. They just pulled the teeth. Thoughts? Should I be perturbed about this? Should I call the office and ask "WTF" or just let it go?

I’m assuming you have talked to your wife to verify she wasn’t aware of this being a possibility?

I wonder if the teeth removal is noted in the original work-up done. Something to notate that as a baby tooth becomes an interference/hinderance to the appliance, it would be removed as deemed necessary by the Dr. That would have been signed by you or your wife prior to the start of this whole procedure giving them prior permission to do so.

Not to say that they shouldn’t have given you a heads-up before doing this, just that they may have not needed your permission.

[Mrs Darling]

2 kids with braces, 1 had a tooth pulled. We were definitely informed it was a possibility up front and informed again when it was time. In your situation, I would be perturbed but I probably wouldn't say anything if my kid was not upset by it.

[Anne]

I'm a pediatrician and deal with these types of consent issues daily. Teens come in alone, younger kids are brought by grandparents or baby sitters. In my clinic we do no procedure (including vaccines) without informing a legal guardian and getting consent on that specific day. I'm not a lawyer and you are in a different state so I don't know the specifics of the law. But it's simply good patient care.

I would have a non-confrontational conversation about it with the orthodontist and let them know your expectations in future. I would not discuss the issue with office staff or anyone other than the provider. And if you do not feel comfortable with the conversation or listened to then I would consider changing to a different dr.who is a better fit. Your questions and concerns are completely reasonable.

[Alcachofa]

The orthodontist is highly regarded, even though they've already dorked up a number of things with our kids -

Uh, I'm not sure what dorked up means, but I'm guessing "messed up". Maybe the doctor shouldn't be highly regarded and you should start looking elsewhere. One "slip up" like the one you mentioned... OK. But something's been messed up several times now? No. Time to move on.