Best Upper East Side Orthodontist for Kids Near Dalton School
Best Upper East Side Orthodontist for Kids Near Dalton School
Hi,
Are you a parent in the Upper East Side looking for the best orthodontic care for your child or yourself, but feeling exhausted by large, “assembly-line” practices where you rarely see the actual doctor? Or, you can’t make appointments when you need one because they are never “available”?
Walk into many orthodontic offices across New York City and you’ll encounter a model that operates something like a production line. The orthodontist conducts the initial consultation, creates the treatment plan, and then in practice hands off the day-to-day appointments to assistants or associate doctors who do the actual clinical work: placing brackets, making adjustments, checking wire progress, monitoring Invisalign trays.
“I personally place every bracket, adjust every wire, and oversee every Invisalign case – from the first scan to the final refinement.”
– Dr. Helen Choi, Board-Certified Orthodontist, Upper East Side NYC
One-on-one orthodontic care
Orthodontic treatment involves hundreds of small clinical decisions compounding over months or years.
The position of a bracket by even a millimeter affects the final tooth position. The timing of a wire change influences how efficiently the teeth move and whether there’s unnecessary discomfort.
In a delegation model, these micro-decisions get made by the doctor and assistants trained to follow the instructions. However, there’s a risk of miscommunication and different levels of training among assistants. In a one-on-one model, they’re made by the specialist you chose.
Carefully and precisely placed brackets (braces) means less “emergencies” -breakages leading to fewer visits and shorter treatment time.
| Category | Typical NYC Practice | Dr. Choi’s Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Who treats your child or you | Often rotating associates | Dr. Choi, every visit |
| Bracket placement | Frequently by assistants | Dr. Choi personally |
| Education & Training | Varies widely | UCSF + Penn Ortho, MS |
| Board certification | Not required | Board-certified |
| Case continuity | Can shift between providers | Single provider, start to finish |
| Office environment | High-volume, fast-paced | Unhurried, private, personal care, UES |
Designed for the Busy Upper East Side Lifestyle
We are very conveniently located just a short walk or drive easy from the major schools in UES. This proximity allows you to fit world-class orthodontic care into your child’s afternoon routine without the stress of a long Manhattan commute.
Board-Certified Orthodontist NYC (UCSF & UPenn)
Dr. Choi’s Credentials:
- University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine – Orthodontics and Master of Science in Oral Biology.
One of the most prestigious orthodontic residency programs in North America.
- University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) – Doctor of Dental Surgery. Consistently ranked a top-3 dental school in the United States.
- Board-Certified Orthodontist -A distinction earned by fewer than 30% of practicing orthodontists, requiring high standard of treatment quality results as well as in depth knowledge of orthodontics with clinical examination beyond licensure.
- Dual-location practice – Upper East Side and NoMad, serving children, teens, and adults throughout Manhattan.
Who I Treat: Children, Teens, and Adults on the Upper East Side
In my Upper East Side practice, I care for patients of all ages-from growing children and self-conscious teens to adults seeking refined, confident smiles. Every stage of life brings different orthodontic needs, and I tailor each treatment to fit the individual, not just the smile.
I treat all my patients as my close friends and family. My passion is to become an orthodontist who is a good friend to you all, who you want to see and meet often!
What I Treat: Early Interceptive (Phase I) Orthodontics, Ideal Jaw Growth Guidance, Expanders, Airway Orthodontics, Braces, Invisalign, InSmile Braces for Young Children, Teens, and Adults on the Upper East Side
Case 1 – Single-Tooth Crossbite
Her upper lateral incisor was completely trapped behind her lower teeth. Before we could move it, we had to create space — then progressively guide it forward about 1cm. That takes time, which is why Invisalign treatment ran about two years.
The crossbite is corrected but look at what else changed: her smile is significantly wider, the dark corners are gone and more upper teeth are visible upon smiling. An aesthetic smile shows upper teeth.
Invisalign · ~2 years · Single-tooth crossbite correction
Case 2 – Broken Retainer, Fixed in 6 Months
I see many patients who had their first orthodontic treatment, usually braces but also with Invisalign, at an early age with relapse – the fixed retainers behind her teeth had broken, her front teeth flared forward, and started shifting. Six months of Invisalign retracted and leveled the upper front teeth, and the smile width difference is immediate -her dark corridors towards the back have completely been filled.
At the end of treatment, I replaced her retainers with new ones precisely fitted to her corrected alignment – more secure, easier to keep clean, and far less likely to fail again. Retention is the last step of treatment, but it’s also the most important one.
Invisalign · 6 months · Relapse correction + fixed retainer replacement
Where is Dr. Choi’s Upper East Side orthodontic office located?
Address: 115 E 61st St. 15th Floor. NY 10065
The Upper East Side practice is conveniently located for families throughout the UES, Lenox Hill, Carnegie Hill, and Yorkville areas.
