I trick my ortho.

[SinOnYourLips]

If you want to second guess your orthodontist's treatment because you seem to feel that you have unlocked some sort of code for tooth movement, that is your choice. Flauting it here is clearly going to draw negative responses and possibly mis-direct newbies.

I am by no means, flaunting what I do or say I have unlocked some code. I am sharing my experience like many others on this site, and negative responses are only coming from people who misunderstand me.

I do believe my prtho is a highly trained professinoal, but after an incident in the beginig of my treatment, I decided to pay close attention to what is going on. I don't know if any of you remember reading it, but I posted a few months back saying my ortho told me I will most likely be getting 2 extractions. I PERSONALLy felt like I didn't need it, and I am NOT trained in orthodontics, but I DO have a large source of information where I can do research(the same WWW) and I have a braind of my own thatsays sometimes it's okay to double check. Well BECAUSE I asked my ortho to wait and try another method first, and by getting another doctor's opinin, I was able to save both of my teeth and do not need extractions anymore, instead I am close to the end.

So all I am trying to do in my posts, is promote ACTIVE involvement in your treatment so you are not blindly let to do whatever you are told regardless of how you feel about it.

Be more informed and involved is all I'm saying.


Seems like this thread got completely misconstruded and failed to promote the positive message I was trying to convey probably because I clearly didn't state my intentions in the first paragraph of this thread.
So sorries for that, but it's out now.


Thanks for the input, even the misunderstandings and negativity, but I blame inability to express thought and emotion clearly through the written words, was never great at expressive writting.

[Way Too Old For This]

Seems like this thread got completely misconstruded and failed to promote the positive message I was trying to convey

Cheating someone might not be the best thing to say if you are trying to promote positive messages.

[SinOnYourLips]

Seems like this thread got completely misconstruded and failed to promote the positive message I was trying to convey

Cheating someone might not be the best thing to say if you are trying to promote positive messages.

Ditto. I absolutely agree with you, bad choice of words on my part.

I shall change it then..............

[mogwai]

Brandyleigh35, in my case its slightly different. My treatment is 90% cosmetic, my arch and bite is right and it is not what's getting fixed. So in my case it's very much about WHAT it looks like.

Your treatment may be about the cosmetic appearance of your teeth, but I dont think that was the point Brandyleigh was making:

that it may appear that the mission has been accomplished from a visual stand point, but that there is still a lot going on under the surface, and that the bone growth to support the movement needs to happen also. He says if this doesn't happen then you risk your teeth returning to their previous location because there is no new bone in there to support them in the new location. ...Teeth do move at different rates, but overall bone growth is basically the same for most people and can't really be rushed.
Brandy

Your teeth still need time to adjust to their new position, create new bone to stabilise and support the movement. If you are going in as soon as you see the change, you may not be allowing enough time for your teeth to adjust. Just a thought. Maybe you should have a word with your ortho about this, not to tell him outright that you've been doing this, but just a high level discussion as to whether 'theoretically' its ok for treatment to be pushed along in this way.

[SinOnYourLips]

Meryaten, not at all. And by the way the ortho I was referring to in my first post, was a different doctor. He is NOT my reglar ortho but he saw me a few times. The ortho that is not too polite and social with me has been that way since day one, and this is why I staretd to dislike him, he was also the one who suggested I perhaps should remove 2 of my teeth and its the second opinion of the OTHER otho (The one I said I love) is who helped me save my teeth trying other methods. Thanks for the advice though, maybe I have to just make him listen to me and pay attention.


So maybe it's my faultfor stayig with an ortho I dislike as my primary one, and maybe this is the reason I mess with his formula of treatment, maybe it really is time for change.

mogwai, thanks for the input, I am definately considering what everyone said. =]

[KatK]

Thought I would stick my 2 cents in.

I was SOOOO tempted to do this when I was getting my pendulum out. I just wanted it OUT - O-U-T. So when my ortho told me, congrats, I acheived the space I needed, see you in 1.5 months to take it out, I was very confused and considering calling to reschedule. Then I remembered an assistant mentioning that I would need MORE space than what I would end up with because as soon as they take it out, there might be some relapsing.

This kind of reminds me of my old habit of self diagnosing myself with all kinds of diseases after researching them on the internet. Even though I would have many of the symptoms for a vast array of scary problems, it usually ended up just being a sore throat or a stomach ache at the end of the day. While things can look one way, sometimes you need the background and experience to determine if they really are that way.

ok, i have the sense that i am rambling. My point is, perhaps you should stop this nasty habit or here's a thought - tell your ORTHO you feel your results are acomplished faster and find out his rational for making you wait longer.

[lea72104]

While I don't do this same thing, I can understand you point Sin.... I too sometimes see changes that the ortho had talked about earlier than expected. I try to schedule my appointments when he says to which is usually about 4 weeks. When i get to the assistant sometimes they don't have 4 weeks that will work for me and i end up doing 3 or 5 or even sometimes 6. My job doesn't give out my schedule too far in advance so it's difficult for me to make appointments in advance. I don't intentionally do it, but sometimes i do end up coming in in 3 weeks or less because of scheduling or to get my brackets fixed or what have you. While I am not condoning this, i understand that for some people...it just happens. I am very very proactive in my treatment and understand that things happen that I cannot see. My ortho even said last time i was there that my teeth have moved incredibly quickly since the beginning of my treatment ( he had not seen my teeth since the 3rd month or so, i see 3 diff orthos in the same office but recently decided to stick with the one, Dr. Rapp because he's the most easy to communicate with.)

Just a word of caution, you might want to discuss this with your ortho..he may have reasoning that you may not be aware of. Ask questions and explain to him that you just want to know what's going on. If he is doing his job (patient to doctor-wise, not just fixing teeth) then he'll be appreciative and proud that you're being pro-active in your treatment and be more likely to understand why you want to come in earlier and if that's the right solution.

Not trying to be mean or rude or anything that can be misconstrued over the internet, just my two cents.

Good luck with you treatment and keep us posted!!!

Sheleah

[katmc_tx]

Well my assistand had acutally mentioned to me a couple of times if I noticed a certain space closed or whatever we were working on was "done" I could call in and see if I could get in earlier.

Sin I agree with what you are saying as far as every one is different and therefore has different experiences. I was more than happy to give my ortho a call when things progressed faster then my next appt time.

My braces are now off and everything is great!!!

Good luck with your treatment Sin!!!!

[SinOnYourLips]

had another adjustment today, with the ortho I actually like! Ands funny story.....but first, the replies to you all:

KatK, I'm with you on this one, next time I see my primary ortho I will tell him staright out, because I know he MUST also notice how fast the movement in my teeth really is. Thanks! =]

Meryaten, yea I know, I wish I had that other ortho the whole time, I actually saw him today instead of my mean primary one, and got a funny story.

lea72104, thanks for the advice and no misconstrusion (if that's a word ) taken! I'm pretty sure my ortho already notice how proactive I am too in my treatment so it won't be a surprise to him when I tell him this. I guess if he is having a good day next time I see him he can be more udnerstanding.

katmc_tx, thats awesome! I'm glad thingsworked out, and now I shall get more patience and hopefully get through the rest of this treatment stress-free.


Now the funny story, for those who's interested =].
So I come into the office today, for my adjustment and the ortho I like was there instead of my primary ortho. As I get in a chair he asks me how I'm doing and how everything is with my teeth (which my other ortho NEVER does) so I reply that I think my right tooth is already straight and has fully moved into alignment, and it's time for a spring on the other side. To this the ortho kinda smiles and says "well...lets see" So he takes a good look and after a few mins of examening he tells me "You know, you're right. We are done with your right side and can do the spring now". As he is putting everything in he tells me how I have good analytical skills if I'm so aware of what's going on and tells me he needs an assistant like me. At first I thought he was being sarcastic so I tell him "I'm sorry but I'm a medical student so I am taught to think, analyze and research" and thats when he tells me he's not kidding and he's serious. Then he starts asking me if I have a good eye-hand coordination and then goes on to ask me if I want to work there because they are looking for assistants and he could use someone like me..................................

Anyway, of course I politely denied since it's not what I do and I already have a good paying job in my field of education. Just thought it was funny...

That's all, thans everyone again for replies and non-judgemental constructive criticism!