Transferring mid-treatment

Transferring into Maple Ridge

Ask your current orthodontist for a transfer summary before you leave: the original treatment plan, records taken at the start, current wire sequence and appliance details, progress to date, remaining objectives, and the financial position on the account. Most practices provide this as a matter of course.

We will then examine you and take our own records. That is not duplication for its own sake — taking responsibility for a case means confirming where it currently stands and forming an independent view of what remains. Occasionally we conclude the remaining plan should differ from the original, and we will explain why rather than quietly changing course.

The fee for a transfer case covers the remaining treatment rather than a full course, and it is quoted after the assessment. Bracket systems differ between practices; sometimes the existing appliance is kept and sometimes it is replaced, and that decision is clinical.

Transferring out

Tell us as early as you can — ideally weeks before the move. We will prepare a full transfer package, and where possible plan the wire sequence so you leave at a stable point in treatment rather than mid-movement. Fees are reconciled to the work completed.

If you are between practices for a period, we will fit a retaining arrangement rather than leaving appliances working unsupervised.

Practical points

• Do not let a gap of months open between practices. Teeth do not pause.
• Insurance benefit usually follows the patient rather than the practice, but the instalment arrangement may need re-establishing with the new provider.
• Keep your records yourself as well as relying on the transfer. Digital files are easy to carry and occasionally save a repeat radiograph.
• Retainers made by a previous practice remain usable; bring them.