Ortho using old stuff?

Message

#1 Post by **Julie5** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 6:44 am

Ok, so I've been doing Invisalign for what seems like forever, and decided after years of treatment and refinements to go see an orthodontist. Searched around a bit and found one in my area that does lingual braces as I knew I was probably going to want those if I had to have them.

Had my consultation and he does linguals, but has not done them in about 4 years due to so many patients with tongue issues and patients wanting to switch back to regular braces somewhere into treatment. He sort of quit offering them I guess you could say but when I brought it up today, he said he would do them for me if I really wanted. He said to me "I've got a stock pile of lingual braces back there, I just don't use them because they tear your tongue up and people are generally harder to deal with when they have them behind the teeth".

He showed me some braces, and some linguals, but my question is, have there been advancements in the technology in lingual braces? Like perhaps in size or something? I'm worried that he is using old braces and that maybe there are smaller ones, or different ones than he has now. By the way, I am not talking about ibraces. Just the lingual ones that the orthodontist has complete control over with no lab outside involved.

Thanks in advance,

Julie

Also, I posted this on another forum as well so sorry if anyone is a member there and is reading this twice

#2 Post by LB » Wed Aug 05, 2009 12:13 pm

My advice would be to find some more orthodontists and see if they offer iBraces. I think I'd be quite nervous to go with an orthodontist who hadn't done linguals for such a long time.

Also, I have a friend who has some older style lingual braces like the ones you describe and she has had a lot more problems with speech. I have the iBraces and really don't have any major issues (not after the first month or two anyway) - they are excellent.

#3 Post by **Julie5** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 12:25 pm

Thanks,

Here's another question. How do you feel about having iBraces done by a dentist instead of an ortho? The only place within a 2 hour radius of my home is a dentist who the office swears trained under an ortho for years and only does ortho cases now in their office of 3 dentists. I originally used a dentist for Invisalign and regret that some now, although I'm seeing now after talking to ortho's that this problem I have probably would not have been any different with an ortho.

I agree though, iBraces seem to be the way to go....

Julie

#4 Post by LB » Wed Aug 05, 2009 1:24 pm

It's hard to say as I go to an orthodontist. Might be an idea to ask your dentist's office if they can put you in touch with other patients who have had lingual braces there and get their feedback - if they are any good they won't have a problem with that. It's so important to have confidence in whoever you choose to go to.

#5 Post by **finnball** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:58 am

Lingual brackets are supposed to be custom manufactured. They take a mold of your teeth and send them to a lab where each bracket is custom made for each tooth. That's part of the reason they're so expensive.

I think you should find someone else, and I definitely think you should go with someone who is board-certified in orthodontics.

#6 Post by **Ruby Tuesday** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 11:34 pm

Lingual brackets are supposed to be custom manufactured.

No, that's not right - that is only true for some brands. It seems that the brand the original poster had been offered do not require custom manufacture. Some brands do, some don't. STB's are not custom made, and to answer the original question. Yes, I believe that there have been advancements in the last few years, such as self ligation.

I would be a bit concerned about his negativity surrounding lingual work and his long lingual hiatus though. Good luck, it is a big decision.