At Nth Degree Orthodontics, we believe everyone deserves a healthy, beautiful smile! Our amazing team is dedicated to providing every family that walks in our doors with high-quality orthodontic treatment and our famous South Carolina hospitality to match it. While we work hard to ensure our orthodontic services are available to every family in the Upstate, we understand that not all families can afford orthodontic treatment for their children.
Our practice is excited to announce that we’re making every effort to bridge the gap for families in need! Through our partnership with the Donated Orthodontic Services (DOS) program, an extension of the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation (AAOF), we’re able to help children in low-income families achieve a much-desired beautiful, healthy smile.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Donated Orthodontic Services program with Nth Degree Orthodontics!
Tell me more!
Donated Orthodontic Services is an incredible program that’s highlighting and helping address the need of quality orthodontic care for families at or below the poverty level. Just like all our Nth Degree patients, we ask that all candidates be in good oral health which means brushing and flossing daily and attending their regular dental cleanings every 6 months. Why is this so important? Doing so gives our orthodontists a healthy foundation to build on with braces or clear aligner treatment, and helps us take your smile to the Nth Degree!
Through our partnership with the AAOF, our team of orthodontists are proud to use their expertise to help those in need achieve their dream smile, at no cost to you! But that’s not the only way we give back to our communities. In fact, every year we award eight $1,000 scholarships to local graduating high school seniors through our Nth Degree Orthodontics Health Science Scholarship. (Added up, that’s more than $150,000 to our community’s students!)
How do you qualify? Identifying DOS candidates!
The rules and qualifications for the Donated Orthodontic Services Program are created and enforced by the AAOF. Their mission is to identify and award candidates who would benefit the most from orthodontic treatment, focusing on dentally necessary cases. Let’s go over a few of the qualifications for the Donated Orthodontic Services program and how you can apply.
To qualify for the Donated Orthodontic Services program, your child must meet the following criteria:
- Be 18 years of age or younger
- Come from a household where the total family income is 200% of the poverty level or less (see the chart here for income amounts)
- Receives regular dental care and has good oral hygiene
- Currently not in orthodontic treatment or in between treatment phases
- Has not received previous orthodontic treatment
If you’ve checked yes for all these, your child may qualify as a candidate for the DOS program and we encourage you to apply now!
What does the DOS process look like?
Once you’ve submitted your application, the AAOF will review and select a qualified candidate once every quarter. (Usually in March – May or September – November, you can check the exact dates here.) Next the AAOF will select their candidate and reach out to our offices and the parent or guardian of the potential recipients. From there, it’s time to schedule your child’s initial exam with us.
Our experienced team will walk you through our new patient paperwork packet, snap a few diagnostic photos, and take some digital x-rays to get a clear picture of your child’s teeth and jaws. Once we’ve built a comprehensive digital file of your child’s orthodontic health, one of our highly-experienced orthodontists will perform a thorough oral examination and go over your child’s dental health history with you. From there, your orthodontist will review your child’s treatment plan, explain any additional orthodontic appliances they may need, and let you know which treatment they’d recommend (braces or clear aligners) for your child’s unique smile needs.
If you choose clear aligner treatment such as Invisalign® or Spark™, a member of our friendly team will take some dental impressions to send to the Invisalign or Ormco labs for your child’s custom clear aligners. Once they arrive, we’ll schedule an appointment for you to pick them up and go over their proper wear and care. Your orthodontist will also discuss if you’d prefer check-ins in office or virtual appointments via our Dental Monitoring App.
If your family chooses braces, we’ll schedule a second appointment so your child can get their Damon™ self-ligating braces placed! These are available in metal or clear ceramic and use “sliding door” technology to reduce friction during treatment for a more comfortable tooth movement journey than traditional braces.
Once your child’s treatment begins, our team will go over the braces dos and don’ts or how to care for your aligners and schedule their next follow-up appointment (which is about every 10 – 12 weeks). When you near the end of your treatment, our team will take more dental impressions to create your custom retainers and schedule any necessary follow up appointments (usually a 4 month post-treatment appointment). Then you’re off to a lifetime of healthy smiles!
Transforming lives, one smile at a time!
Orthodontic treatment is more than just straight teeth to us. With the help of the AAOF’s Donated Orthodontic Services Program, our orthodontists are able to do what they love for a family in need. Giving a child a healthy bite unlocks more than a confidence boost for the child and their family, but also improves your child’s oral health and overall quality of life. This program wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of AAOF donors and volunteers, our talented staff and orthodontists, and families like you who work hard to advocate for your child!
Have more questions about how you can get braces if you can’t afford them?
Nth Degree Orthodontics is proud to partner with the Donated Orthodontic Services Program to provide essential orthodontic care for families who otherwise couldn’t afford treatment. The transformative power of orthodontics can create more than just healthy smiles but brighter futures too!
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions.
Does your family meet the DOS qualifications? Apply now to start the process to take your child’s smile to the Nth Degree this year!
