Your First Orthodontic Visit in Northbrook, IL

Your first orthodontic visit at Janzen & Chwa Orthodontics takes about 45 to 60 minutes. We review your dental and medical history, examine your teeth and bite, take X-rays and a digital scan where needed, and explain what we find in a one-to-one conversation. You leave with a diagnosis, treatment options and a written estimate. The visit is complimentary and no referral from a dentist is required.

Nobody’s favorite way to spend an hour is at a specialist’s office finding out what is wrong. So the first visit here is built around clarity: what is actually happening in your mouth, what could be done about it, what it would cost, and what would happen if you did nothing at all. You are not asked to decide anything on the day.

Can You Go Straight to an Orthodontist?

Yes. You do not need a referral from your dentist to see an orthodontist, and you never have.

Plenty of patients come to us directly after noticing crowding, a gap that is widening, or a bite that has started to feel wrong. Plenty of others come because their dentist suggested it, which is also fine. Either way we coordinate with your dentist once you are a patient, and you continue seeing them for cleanings and checkups throughout.

If your dental plan happens to require a referral for benefits purposes, that is an insurance rule rather than a clinical one, and our team will tell you at your visit whether yours does.

What Happens at the Appointment

Check in and history. We review your dental and medical history, including any medications, and ask what brought you in and what you would like to change.

The examination. A thorough look at your teeth, your bite and how the jaws relate to each other.

Records. Where needed, X-rays and a digital scan of your teeth. The scan replaces the putty impression trays, so there is nothing to swallow and no gagging. Our technology page explains how that works.

The conversation. Dr. Kyint Chwa or Dr. Evan Chwa will explain what they found in plain language, with you and your family in the room, and lay out the realistic options. If more than one approach would work, you will hear all of them, including the trade-offs.

The numbers. Our treatment coordinator goes through the fee, verifies your dental insurance benefit, and works out the monthly figure with you. You take that home in writing.

What to Bring

Your dental insurance information, a list of any medications, and any recent X-rays if another office has taken them within the last year. For a child, bring the name of your family dentist. And bring your questions, written down if it helps, because people forget them the moment they are in the chair.

What Happens After the First Visit

If treatment is recommended, the next step is a records appointment, though we can often collect records during the first visit if time allows. Records typically include photographs, a digital scan or study models, panoramic and cephalometric X-rays, and the doctor’s analysis of all of it.

Your doctor then presents the finished treatment plan at your next appointment. Once you approve it, we schedule the appointment where your braces or appliances go on. That visit generally runs 30 to 60 minutes.

After that, you come in every six to eight weeks for adjustments. Life happens, so if you’re running late or need to move an appointment, call us and we will work it out.

What Your Treatment Fee Includes

Included in your fee:

  • Orthodontic records, including X-rays, scans and growth analysis
  • Active treatment, whether braces, aligners or appliances
  • All scheduled office visits and procedures
  • Repair and emergency visits
  • One set of retainers at the end of comprehensive treatment

Not included:

  • Dental work done at another office
  • Adjustments needed after an accident or a jaw joint problem
  • Replacement appliances or retainers after a loss or breakage
  • Jaw surgery, if a case requires it

Our guide to what braces cost explains what moves the number, and our payment plans page covers the monthly side.

Office Hours and Getting Here

We are at 1220 Meadow Rd, Suite 300, Northbrook, IL 60062, just off Lake Cook Road, with free parking at the building.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Saturday from 8:00 am to noon. Closed Wednesday and Sunday.

We keep to time, which means we ask patients to arrive on time too. Every appointment is scheduled for the work it needs plus a few minutes for your questions.

Frequently Asked Questions About Your First Visit

Arrive a few minutes early, bring your insurance details and medication list, and think beforehand about what specifically bothers you. “My bottom teeth have crowded up in the last few years” gives us much more to work with than “they look a bit crooked.

About 45 to 60 minutes. That allows time for the history, the exam, any imaging, and a proper conversation about options and costs without anyone feeling rushed.

Sometimes, if the doctor determines you are ready and the schedule allows. More often we take records first and place appliances at a separate appointment, so you have time to review the plan before starting.

That is a completely normal outcome and it costs you nothing. Many children who come in at seven or eight are not ready, and they join our no-fee monitoring program. Adults often take the estimate home and come back months later. Nobody is pressured on the day.

Book Your First Visit

Complimentary, no referral needed, and no obligation. Call or text (847) 272-0600 or request an appointment online, and we will confirm a time that works around school or work.