Orthodontic Clinic at Tufts University Dental Care Center

Your first visit as a new patient is a 60-minute consultation. Our expert faculty and resident-dentist teams assess your bite, review your medical history, and outline the treatment process, including explaining options to meet your needs. 

Please bring recent X-rays from your dentist, if available, to assist with your evaluation. 

We take comprehensive orthodontic records to provide a detailed treatment plan. Orthodontic records are more comprehensive than standard dental records, but we may be able to use existing orthodontic records taken within the past 6 months. These typically include photographs of your face and teeth, side-view X-ray of your head and a panoramic X-ray of your teeth, and digital scans of your teeth. These records allow us to thoroughly evaluate your jawbone, teeth, and oral health, ensuring your treatment plan is personalized. Insurance companies often require these records for prior authorization of orthodontic treatment. 

If time permits, we collect these records during your initial visit. In some cases, pre-authorization from your insurance may be required to take orthodontic records before we proceed. 

Consultations are free for all existing Tufts University Dental Care Center patients.

Before your second appointment, our team will thoroughly review your orthodontic records—including photographs, side-view X-ray of your head and a panoramic X-ray of your teeth, and scans of your teeth—and create a detailed treatment plan tailored to you. We carefully evaluate your jawbone, teeth, and overall oral health to ensure your treatment is appropriate. 

At your treatment consultation, we review your personalized plan, answer your questions, discuss costs, and submit paperwork to your insurance for prior authorization, if needed. The consultation typically takes 60 minutes or less. 

Treatment begins at the next appointment, once insurance approval and deposit payment are complete. In some cases, we may be able to start treatment on the same day as your consultation; please check with your faculty and resident-dentist team to see if this is possible for you.

Payment is required before or on the day treatment begins. This applies to co-payments, co-insurance, or full payment for patients without insurance.

Our fees are significantly lower than those at most private practices, making us an excellent option for patients without insurance or for those who want to maximize their insurance benefits.

No, a referral is not required for our Orthodontic Clinic.

After becoming a patient at Tufts University Dental Care Center, you can enjoy priority referrals to our specialty clinics, if needed.

We accept the following insurances: 

• Blue Cross Blue Shield MA and RI
• Cigna
• Commonwealth Care Alliance
• DentaQuest
• Delta Dental (Delta Dental of Massachusetts requires prior-approval before starting orthodontic treatment.)
• MassHealth (MassHealth only covers orthodontic care for patients under the age of 21 pending prior-approval.)
• Senior Whole Health
• Tufts Health Unify Plan

If you have another insurance not listed above, you can "self pay."

Upon completion of each dental procedure, and after you have made payment in full, we will provide you a claim form which you can submit to your insurance provider for reimbursement.

Learn more about insurance and billing.

We treat patients of all ages, with early intervention for children as young as 8 years of age.

We welcome transfer patients. If your orthodontic records are not available or over six months old, we may need to take new records and develop a treatment plan specifically for you. In some cases, we may need to remove your current braces and place new ones to continue your care. 

Please note that we reserve the right to decline transfer patients in certain situations, which we will explain during your initial consultation.

We are unable to offer free care. We do not offer a "sliding-scale" pricing. As a teaching facility, we are committed to offering dental care at lower cost than a typical private practice.

We offer initial consultations at no cost for current Tufts University Dental Care Center patients.

Yes, if you or your family member need assistance in a non-English language, we offer interpreters at no personal cost to you. Some commonly spoken languages are:

• Arabic
• Brazilian Portuguese
• Cambodian
• Cantonese
• European Portuguese
• French
• Haitian Creole
• Korean
• Mandarin
• Pashto
• Russian
• Spanish
• Toishanese
• Vietnamese

Learn more about our language assistance services.

Our Orthodontic Clinic is open Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Clinic hours vary by specialty, with some offering extended hours during certain days of the week.