When you choose an orthodontist, you’re choosing someone you’ll visit regularly for the next year or two. Of course, treatment options, technology, and cost are important considerations, but there’s another factor worth thinking about too: Will the same orthodontist oversee your care from start to finish?
At a large corporate or multi-provider practice, it’s not uncommon to see a different doctor from one appointment to the next. At Fresh Orthodontics in Park Slope, we do things differently.
As an independently owned, boutique orthodontic practice, our orthodontist, Dr. Ankush Khanna, personally plans and monitors each patient’s treatment from the initial consultation through their final day with their appliance and beyond.
While seeing the same local orthodontist throughout treatment is nice for building a relationship, it can also have real advantages for your care, experience, and results.
Why Does Seeing the Same Orthodontist Throughout Treatment Matter?
Orthodontic treatment is a carefully planned, ongoing process.
Before treatment even begins, Dr. Khanna evaluates your teeth, bite, jaws, facial anatomy, and overall oral health. He uses those findings, along with digital treatment planning, to map out where and when each individual tooth should move and how the bite will come together.
But even the most precise plan sometimes needs to evolve. Teeth don’t always move exactly as predicted; kids and teens grow; a patient might not wear their elastics as consistently as prescribed; or Dr. Khanna may see an opportunity to fine-tune the smile as treatment moves forward.
When the same orthodontist is following your progress at every stage, they know the original plan, understand why specific decisions were made, and can recognize subtle changes over time. There’s no need to continually get a new provider up to speed, and nothing falls through the cracks.
Does Seeing a Local Orthodontist Make Treatment More Personal?
Absolutely. Fresh Orthodontics is a private orthodontic practice independently owned and operated by Dr. Khanna himself, the orthodontist who treats our patients.
That structure allows us to keep care personal. Dr. Khanna and our team get to know you and your family, understand your concerns and goals, and factor your individual needs into treatment.
Whether your teen is headed to sleep-away camp for eight weeks, you’re getting married and hoping to reach a certain treatment milestone before the big day, or your child is nervous about getting braces and needs some extra reassurance, we’ve got your back.
Having an ongoing relationship with your orthodontist makes it easier to communicate openly and plan ahead no matter what life has in store for you.
Does Seeing the Same Orthodontist Improve Treatment Consistency?
Consistency is especially important in orthodontics because every adjustment builds on what happened prior. In fact, braces and Spark™ Aligner treatment progress through several distinct stages.
Treatment typically starts with aligning and leveling, where the teeth are straightened and brought into their proper positions within the arches. From there, the focus shifts to correcting the bite (how the upper and lower teeth fit together).
Finally, during the finishing stage, final adjustments are made to fine-tune the appearance of your smile and optimize your occlusion (bite).
The whole time, Dr. Khanna is continually assessing your progress and determining what needs to happen next. This continuity of care helps him make more informed decisions about things like:
- Whether additional bite-correcting appliances are needed
- When to change braces wires
- How frequently to change to your next set of aligners
- If, when, and how long to wear elastics
- Whether attachments are needed with your aligners
- Whether treatment needs to be modified
- When the bite and smile are ready for the finishing stage
Ultimately, this consistency can lead to more predictable treatment and better results.
What Does a Private Orthodontist Offer That a Corporate Practice Might Not?
There’s nothing inherently wrong with going to a large group or corporate practice for orthodontic treatment, and there are excellent orthodontists who work in these settings.
But as we said, at a practice with multiple doctors or locations, you might see different providers throughout treatment. While each orthodontist can review your records, they haven’t watched your smile change firsthand.
Larger organizations may also have standardized systems, scheduling protocols, and practice-wide policies that influence how care is delivered. As a private practice orthodontist, Dr. Khanna has the autonomy to make clinical decisions based on what he believes will provide the best outcomes for his patients.
That independence also allows us to shape the entire patient experience around the people we serve, from the technology and treatment options we invest in to how we schedule appointments, communicate with families, and respond when you need us.
Does Going to a Boutique Orthodontic Practice Mean Giving Up Advanced Technology?
Not at all. Choosing a boutique orthodontic practice doesn’t mean getting old-school care. In fact, at Fresh Orthodontics, personalized care and digital technology go hand in hand.
Our modern, eco-friendly practice is fully digital. We use advanced technology, including digital scanning, 3D treatment planning, 3D printing, custom appliances, virtual check-ins, and other tools to make diagnosis and treatment more comfortable, efficient, and convenient.
Dr. Khanna also uses this technology to design a custom smile specifically for your facial anatomy, giving you the perfect balance of aesthetics, health, and function.
Why Is the Patient-Orthodontist Relationship Important?
Orthodontic treatment is unusual in healthcare because you see your provider pretty regularly over an extended period of time. For Dr. Khanna, the relationships that develop along the way are one of the reasons he became an orthodontist in the first place.
As a self-conscious teenager, Dr. Khanna underwent orthodontic treatment. Getting braces not only transformed his smile, but it also gave him the confidence to come out of his shell. Today, he wants his patients to experience that same sense of possibility.
That philosophy and commitment to building relationships extend beyond the treatment chair. Dr. Khanna and the Fresh Orthodontics team regularly give back by sponsoring local events and supporting programs at PS124, Brooklyn Tech, PS321, PS130, MS447, PS118, and Boerum Hill School.
We’re part of the community we serve, and we intend to be here for the long haul!
Can I Go to a Different Orthodontist During Treatment?
Yes, you can go to a different orthodontist during treatment. People transfer to a new practice for all sorts of reasons, such as moving to another city, experiencing a change in insurance or finances, or even deciding their current provider isn’t the right fit.
The new orthodontist will need to evaluate your current progress, review your records, and determine how they want to proceed. It’s important to keep in mind that orthodontists can have different treatment philosophies and use different appliances, techniques, or treatment systems.
In some situations, the new orthodontist may recommend modifications to the original treatment plan. There can also be financial considerations because fees paid to one practice don’t necessarily transfer to another.
So, can you switch orthodontists during treatment? Yes, but when you have the opportunity to pick the right provider from the beginning, it can make the experience more seamless and provide continuity of care.
How Do I Choose the Best Local Orthodontist for My Family?
Choosing the best local orthodontist means finding a doctor whose expertise, treatment philosophy, communication style, and approach to care align with what matters to you.
Before committing to treatment, consider asking:
- Are you a certified specialist in orthodontics?
- Who will create my treatment plan?
- Will that same orthodontist see me at my appointments?
- Who makes decisions if my treatment needs to change?
- Is the practice independently owned or part of a larger organization?
- What technology does the orthodontist use?
- How easy is it to reach the team with questions?
Credentials and technology matter, but so does trust. You’re entering a relationship that could last several years, so you should feel confident about the person guiding your treatment.
Why Do Brooklyn Families Choose Fresh Orthodontics?
Dr. Khanna founded Fresh Orthodontics to provide the kind of care he would want for himself and his own children: personalized, technologically advanced, relationship-driven, and genuinely enjoyable.
Eleven years later, that’s still what we’re here to do, and we’re proud of the experience we create. Our patients and neighbors agree, which is why Fresh Orthodontics has been voted Best Orthodontist in Brooklyn in the Ponce Bank Best of Brooklyn Awards for seven years in a row!
Looking for a Local Orthodontist in Brooklyn?
Whether you’re considering braces or Spark Aligners for yourself, exploring orthodontic treatment for your teen, or bringing your child in for their age 7 evaluation, we can help.
At Fresh Orthodontics in Park Slope, Dr. Khanna will oversee your care from start to finish. You’ll also have a friendly team who knows you and goes above and beyond to make treatment comfortable, convenient, and surprisingly fun.
Schedule a complimentary consultation with your local orthodontist in Park Slope today!
