If you have ever sat in a medical office nodding along to something you only half followed, you already know why this matters.
Orthodontics is not a one-visit transaction. It is eighteen months to three years of decisions — which appliance, what it costs, what happens if something breaks, how long to wear a retainer afterwards. Those conversations are exactly where a language gap does real damage, because the consequences arrive months later.
Our office is on 58th Street, just off 8th Avenue in Sunset Park. We work in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Where it actually matters
Not the small talk. Four specific places:
Understanding the plan before you agree to it. You should be able to ask why this treatment and not the other one, and follow the answer. Consent that isn’t understood isn’t really consent.
The money. Insurance benefit, what is included, what a payment plan means over two years. Nobody should be signing up to a multi-year commitment they had to guess at. Our financial information page covers it in English; in the office we will go through it in whichever language you prefer.
Instructions you take home. Which foods break brackets. How many hours a day an aligner has to be in. What to do at 9pm when a wire is poking. Instructions half-understood are instructions half-followed, and treatment slows down.
Telling us something is wrong. This is the one people underestimate. A patient who cannot easily describe discomfort often waits — and a small problem becomes a longer appointment.
For parents who have been translating
A lot of families here manage this by bringing a bilingual teenager to interpret. It works, and we are always happy to see it.
But it puts a child in the position of relaying clinical information about their own treatment, and of being the one who has to explain cost to a parent. If you would rather speak to the doctor directly, you can here — and the person explaining will be the same person doing the treatment.
A small practice, not a chain
Worth saying because it compounds with the language point.
This is deliberately a small, low-volume practice. Dr. Fung founded it and has practised since 2007; Dr. Grace Chung works alongside her. Both are board-certified orthodontists — a voluntary credential most orthodontists never sit for.
Dr. Fung is the Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking doctor here, so if language is the reason you’re reading this, she is who you want. Ask for her when you call.
At a larger chain you may see a different provider each visit, and board certification is uncommon. That is a structural difference, not a criticism — but it means both continuity and credentials are things you have to look for.
Practical details
- Address: 738 58th Street, #1 FL, Brooklyn, NY 11220 — between 7th and 8th Avenues
- Phone: (212) 966-9628
- Languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese
- Hours: seven days a week, which helps if weekdays are difficult
We also have a Chinese-language page covering the practice, and our new patient form is in English and Chinese.
Beyond Sunset Park, our patients come from across Brooklyn and from Manhattan, the Lower East Side, Chinatown, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island.
What to expect first time
An initial consultation: we review your history, examine your teeth with X-rays, work out whether treatment is needed at all, and explain the options and the cost. Nothing is decided that day, and there is no pressure to book anything.
If the answer is that nothing needs doing yet — which it often is for younger children — we will tell you that.
Call us on (212) 966-9628 or request an appointment. Tell us which language you would prefer and we will make sure the right person is there.
