Frequently Asked Questions

Why should you choose Cuozzo Orthodontics?

  • Why should you choose Cuozzo Orthodontics for your orthodontic care? First, we have the education, the experience and the expertise. Secondly, we also have generations of straight teeth. My family has been in this business since 1931, in the state of New Jersey. We actually have three generations of people providing beautiful smiles throughout the state. We have also established a team in our office that’s going to provide an unbelievable experience for you. Here at our office, we’re going to focus on you and focus on your time to make sure that we’re running efficiently and effectively, providing orthodontic care that’s going to give you the best result in the least amount of time.

    Thank you for visiting Cuozzo Orthodontics. If you’d like more information, please visit our website at 4straightteeth.com. You can also give the office a call. Thank you.

Why should you see an Orthodontic Specialist?

  • Why do you choose an orthodontist for your care? Education, experience, and expertise. These are the three things that you're going to get in our office. Education. We've gone to three years of school past dental school to become the experts in what we do. This is what we do every single day. You want to go to the people who do what they do, not somebody who says, yeah, I can do that. There's a big difference. Every single day we're aligning people's teeth, getting them to fit together the proper way, getting them to function and smile, the best smile they possibly can. Thank you for visiting Cuozzo Orthodontics. If you'd like more information, please visit our website at 4straightteeth.com. You can also give the office a call. Thank you.

Do braces hurt?

  • A lot of people ask, do braces hurt? Actually, when we put the braces on, it’s very comfortable. Nothing’s really painful. There is no anesthetic, there’s no bleeding, anything like that to be afraid of. The next day or two, yes, your teeth will be a little sore. It’s no different than if you haven’t exercised for a while and you try and go out and run a mile. Well, the next day your legs hurt and things are a little sore. Braces are the same thing. Your teeth are going to be a little sore for two or three days. Nothing that Motrin or Tylenol can’t handle. Take your Motrin or Tylenol, stay on a soft diet for the first two or three days and you’ll be fine. Thank you for visiting Cuozzo Orthodontics. If you’d like more information, please visit our website 4straightteeth.com. You can also give the office a call. Thank you.

Should athletes wear mouthguards with braces?

  • So for our athletes out there, they often ask, “Do we need to wear a mouth guard during our sports when we’re wearing braces?” The answer is yes. Now typically, you can’t use a boil and bite mouth guard, you need to wear a generic one because it’s going to allow your teeth to shift back and forth throughout the course of treatment. Super important that you wear a mouth guard to protect both your gums and your teeth to avoid any emergencies.

    Thanks for tuning into our videos today. If you have any other questions, please feel free to visit our website at 4straightteeth.com or give the office a call. We’d be more than happy to walk you through any questions that you may have.4straightteeth.com

Why is my treatment time 2 years?

  • So everybody is different, but your average treatment time is going to be about twenty-four months or two years, give or take a few months. The initial stages of orthodontic treatment involve lining the teeth up, so while your teeth may appear very straight after the first six months or so, there may still be underlying orthodontic issues that need to be fixed. And remember, orthodontics takes time. We want to move teeth gently so that we’re not causing any excess discomfort, damage to the teeth, or adverse treatment results. Thanks for tuning into our videos today. If you have any other questions, please feel free to visit our website at 4straightteeth.com or give the office a call. We’d be more than happy to walk you through any questions that you may have.

How long are braces on for?

  • So how long are braces on for? The average length of orthodontic treatment is about 24 months, give or take a few months. That's going to vary depending on the complexity of the case and the compliance of the patient. So as long as you're coming to all your appointments, not breaking brackets by eating what you're supposed to and wearing your elastics as desired, you should finish within that 24-month period.

    Thanks for tuning into our videos today. If you have any other questions, please feel free to visit our website at 4straightteeth.com or give the office a call. We'd be more than happy to walk you through any questions that you may have.

What do the color ties do?

  • So colored ties in orthodontics, what are they? Well, actually, the brace itself is really just something to hold the wire. So when the brace is sitting like this, the wire will then sit into the brace, and the color tie is what actually holds the wire in the brace. So there's three parts to a brace. There's the brace, the wire, and the color tie. So the colored ties are changed each time you come into the office because they will absorb the saliva and they will lose their elasticity. Just like if you take a rubber band and you stretch it over something and leave it there for a while, eventually it will not go back to its original shape. So the rubber bands activate the wires into the brace and it holds the wire in the brace. Thank you for visiting Cuozzo Orthodontics. If you'd like more information, please visit our website at 4straightteeth.com. You can also give the office a call. Thank you.

Why reties and adjustments are scheduled?

  • So why do we schedule reties and adjustments every six to eight weeks? During the course of orthodontic treatment, we need to have successive visits every six to eight weeks to make sure that the treatment is progressing according to plan. At these visits, we'll also assess the oral hygiene to make sure your mouth is staying healthy. We're going to change the wires, tighten your rubber bands, and make sure everything is proceeding according to plan, so that you can get the right outcome in the appropriate amount of time.

    Thanks for tuning into our videos today. If you have any other questions, please feel free to visit our website at 4straightteeth.com or give the office a call. We'd be more than happy to walk you through any questions that you may have.

How long will I have to wear elastics?

  • So how long will you have to wear elastics for? Everybody is different, and how long you have to wear elastics will depend on your treatment goals and the desired bite that we need to achieve. Typically, when you start your elastics, it will be at least six to eight months into treatment, so don't worry. We'll give you time to get used to the braces first. When we prescribe you your rubber bands, we're going to ask that you wear them as close to 24/7 as possible, taking them out only to eat and brush and switching them two to three times a day, typically around mealtime. Thanks for tuning into our videos today. If you have any other questions, please feel free to visit our website at 4straightteeth.com or give the office a call. We'd be more than happy to walk you through any questions that you may have.

How long do I need to wear my retainers?

  • So how long do you need to wear your retainers every night? The short answer is, as long as you want to keep your teeth straight. I tend to subscribe to the saying, “Nighttime for lifetime.” What we mean by that is, like everything else in your body, things are going to change over time, including your teeth. If you don’t wear your retainers your teeth are going to shift. The only way that we can guarantee that your teeth are going to stay straight is if you wear your retainers every night.

    Thanks for tuning into our videos today. If you have any other questions please feel free to visit our website at 4straightteeth.com or give the office a call. We’d be more than happy to walk you through any questions that you may have.

What do Elastics Do?

  • So a lot of people ask, why do we have to wear elastics or rubber bands with braces? What they do is they coordinate the top and bottom teeth together so that the teeth will fit just like a zipper when you look from the side. So if you have an overbite like this where your top teeth are in front of the bottom, you’ll wear a rubber band from the top to the bottom and pull the top teeth back and the bottom jaw forward. You can do the exact same thing if you have an underbite where your top teeth are inside the bottom. You can wear rubber bands from the top to the bottom to pull the bottom jaw in and the top jaw forward. Thank you for visiting Cuozzo Orthodontics. If you’d like more information, please visit our website at 4straightteeth.com. You can also give the office a call. Thank you.

Do you know if a patient is wearing their elastics?

  • So how do we know if somebody's wearing their rubber bands or their elastics the way they're supposed to? When they come in, there's a couple of key factors that we can tell whether or not somebody's wearing their elastics. First, when we ask them to put them on, they're supposed to be wearing them 24 hours a day, seven days a week, they look at me, and they say they don't have any with them, and they just came straight from school. Chances are pretty good they're not wearing their rubber bands as instructed.

    The other thing is if we ask them and they've been wearing rubber bands for two or three months, we ask them to put them on, and they don't know how to put them on, or they have to go up to the mirror and put them on, chances are pretty good they're not wearing the rubber bands as instructed. So when you're given the elastics or your child's given the elastics, they're to be worn 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That means that they should have them on at all times. Thank you for visiting Cuozzo Orthodontics. If you'd like more information, please visit our website at, 4straightteeth.com. You can also give the office a call. Thank you.

What is the right age to start treatment?

  • All right. One of the biggest questions a lot of people ask is, when is the right age to start your orthodontic treatment? The American Association of Orthodontics recommends an evaluation at the age of seven. That does not mean that every 7-year-old needs to start braces. Actually, as a matter of fact, a lot of the seven or eight year olds in our office really don't need anything other than for us to monitor their treatment and monitor the eruption of their baby teeth in order to start at the right time. Orthodontic treatment started at the right time, usually finishes at the right time if we have compliance from the child. So should you see an orthodontist at the age of seven, yes. Do you need braces at the age of seven? The majority of kids don't. Thank you for visiting Cuozzo orthodontics. If you'd like more information, please visit our website at 4straightteeth.com. You can also give the office a call. Thank you.

What food should you avoid during treatment?

  • So what kinds of food are we looking to avoid during orthodontic treatment? Anything hard, sticky, or chewy. So we want to avoid gum, Tootsie rolls, caramel, anything sticky like that, that could cause a pokey wire. We also want to avoid the hard foods. If you’re eating something with a bone, make sure you cut it off. If you’re eating a harder fruit like an apple, please cut it up into pieces. We want to avoid hard, sticky, or chewy foods so we can save you some time and prevent any emergency appointments on off hours.

    Thanks for tuning into our videos today. If you have any other questions, please feel free to visit our website at 4straightteeth.com or give the office a call. We’d be more than happy to walk you through any questions that you may have.

Who is Luna the dog?

  • So, Luna is a year and a half old black lab who is actually trained to be my diabetic alert dog. So, she'll know if my sugar is too high or sugar is too low, and she'll alert me to tell me that I need to adjust it. The amazing thing is that we've also found that she's an amazing companion dog for some of the patients that come in and maybe are timid or afraid, as soon as they see Luna, they want her to come over and sit next to them and they'll pat her, and Luna will just put them at ease. They actually look forward to come in and see Luna. So Luna, not only is my service dog, she now doubles as an emotional support dog in the office. Thank you for visiting Cuozzo Orthodontics. If you'd like more information, please visit our website at 4straightteeth.com. You can also give the office a call. Thank you.

How does Luna help with patients?

  • We had a young little girl come in who had been to another office and was scared, and I asked her, do you like dogs? And she said, yeah, I really do. So I said, let me introduce you to Luna. So we brought Luna out, took her over to her, and now they’ve become like best friends. She comes in to look for where Luna is, wants to pet her and say hello to her, and Luna will come sit next to her and put her mind at ease. It also acts as a distraction factor for the child, so they’re not nervous as to what we’re doing.

    Thank you for visiting Cuozzo Orthodontics. If you’d like more information, please visit our website at 4straightteeth.com. You can also give the office a call. Thank you.

What happens if I lose/change my insurance coverage during active treatment? Can I use a new insurance plan if I change employment?

  • Don’t worry, you can still continue treatment if your insurance situation changes unexpectedly. We handle these scenarios on a case-to-case basis. It would depend on what your current insurance has paid towards the treatment at the time of termination. If the insurance company paid what we originally estimated – there will be no change in your payment arrangement. If there is an unpaid insurance balance and you know that there will not be a new insurance carrier in the future, that unpaid balance will be due from you. If your current employer changed carriers during treatment, whether or not there is an outstanding insurance balance, we will verify that the new insurance has orthodontic coverage and allows for takeover claims, then we will bill for the remaining months of treatment. If your plan is terminated due to a change in employment and there is new insurance, we will need to verify that the treatment in progress is covered under the new plan. If the treatment in progress is covered, we will bill them for the remaining months of treatment. Any additional benefits will be applied to the unpaid insurance balance or towards your personal share.

Can I use my insurance benefit as my initial payment? How does my insurance benefit get applied to my treatment cost?

  • Unfortunately, you would not be able use your insurance benefit as your initial payment. Most all insurance plans will not pay their benefits up front. We allow approximately 4 weeks for them to process initial claims. Once the initial claim is processed, they take advantage of the patient being in treatment for approximately 2 years and they release the remaining benefits over the course of the treatment time. At the Diagnostic Records appointment, we will review the financial contract, which reflects your insurance benefit. Your initial payment will stay the same as listed on our quote and the insurance benefit is applied to the monthly payments.

Can I use two insurance plans? How do you determine Primary or Secondary?

  • You can use two insurance plans, but first, we will need to determine who is primary and who is secondary. Normally, the birth rule is used to determine this. The subscriber whose birthday is the first in the calendar year will be primary. For example: A married couple has two plans, mom’s birthday is January, and dad’s birthday is May, mom will be primary and dad will be secondary. Once this is determined we will verify the secondary plan to see how that plan pays out as secondary. The best-case scenario would be they pay their benefits as “standard” coordination. With standard coordination, you can use both benefits. If they have a “non-duplication” clause as secondary, unfortunately, they will only pay the difference if their benefit is higher than the primary plan, but if their plan’s benefit is the same or lower, they will not pay anything as secondary. There are many other scenarios that determine primary and secondary such as divorce situations, step-parent coverage, or legal guardianship. We can discuss these with you in the office.

Which insurance plans are in-network at Cuozzo? Can I go out-of-network with my insurance?

  • We are in-network with Delta and Cigna PPO plans but we work with all other plans that allow out-of-network benefits. We will verify your insurance plan and review your benefits prior to starting treatment. Since each plan is dictated by the employer providing the plan, there may be some cases where going out of network isn’t an option.

Which insurance carrier is the best? What is covered?

  • I get this question a lot…there isn’t one carrier that is better than another – every plan is based on your employer’s selections.

    For example: We might both have Delta of NJ plans, but my employer plan allows $1000.00 to be paid towards orthodontics with no age restrictions, while your employer has chosen to allow $2000.00 for orthodontics with an age restriction of 19.

    Each plan is unique to its employer. If your employer gives you different plans to choose from, my recommendation would be to compare how much your premiums will cost over a two-year period compared to what the lifetime maximum would be for each plan. Reason being, most all insurance companies do not pay their orthodontic benefit up front, they will pay small payments to us over the length of the treatment either monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. You’ll need to keep your plan active throughout treatment.

Testimonials

From my first visit here at Cuozzo, my experience has been nothing but wonderful. Everybody's professional. They care about you. They ask you how you feel, whether you're in any discomfort. It's just been great.

From the moment I arrived, which I was a little nervous about in the first place, they were really friendly. They greeted me by name. I didn't wait. I felt much better. I went in, Dr. Cuozzo went over my treatment plan. He sat down with the computer and he showed me pictures of people with similar situations and had examples for me of people my age. They were very transparent with all the costs involved and offered payment plans if I needed it.

To me, one of the most important things is that like they know you. You walk in the door, "Hi, Jeanine, have a seat. They'll be with you in a second." And then they sit down, they ask you questions, and it is very personal. At every appointment, I felt like Dr. Cuozzo took a personal interest in my treatment. And he is such a great orthodontist. He is highly respected in the community.

So at Cuozzo Orthodontics, I didn't feel like just the patient. I felt like family.

- Jeanine Stark