Depressed, frustrated, SAD with final results :(

Message

#16 Post by **Skylark** » Fri May 08, 2009 11:30 am

Hiya,

I totally sypathise with those of you on this post who feel that your ortho doesn't have time for you.

My ortho usually deals with children and I feel that he doesn't have time for my questions. They make me feel like I worry too much (which is prob true) but I have paid loads for this and am not happy with results (lapse due to tongue thrusting - have just posted). My ortho is kind, honest and did a good job, but I feel things are not fully explained on an adult level despite my questions. I dread going because they seem to view my questions as an annoyance and politely push me out the door.

I think that braces are so commonplace for orthos that sometimes they don't understand the difficulties involved, especially for adults, and therefore sometimes don't take questions seriously. It is not easy having braces as an adult and I am totally sick of thinking about my teeth!

Keep us posted Pearls - your teeth look great but I totally understand that you know them very well and if they don't feel right then you need to tell him.

#17 Post by **tazzle** » Fri May 08, 2009 11:50 am

I just think we need to choose our battles wisely and hopefully, in the end, will win the war

such wise words

#18 Post by **rachel08** » Fri May 08, 2009 9:43 pm

Hello there...
I just wanted to say your teeth look great. I know you mentioned you did not like the gap between your centeral and lateral, this could just be a size or shape discrepancy of your lateral. I know my upper left lateral is shaped a little different from my upper right and it looks a little off but I know its a shape issue. If its truly a gap then a power chain should be able to correct the gap and it should be closed before your Orthodontist considers removing your braces. Speak up, dont let him take them off !!
Espeically if you feel like your bite is off. Your bite is the most important part of braces, if its off it will cause extra wear on your teeth. Maybe everything will be in correct postion by your deband appt? Are you wearing elastics?

Tue May 12, 2009 10:54 am

Andromeda wrote:
Megan11 wrote: Be very blunt about it and say explain to me why there is a slant, explain to me why it cannot be fixed, etc...
Yea sometimes you have to be blunt. Last time I talked to my ortho tho, I asked a question about why I was wearing the elastics in a particular way and he sorta yelled at me He said something like "Look, you've just got to get over it and let me do my job!" in a tone and using hand gestures that showed he was very frustrated with me and my questions. I didn't know what to say. Its like he can only take one or two questions and after that he just gets sick of it. I try to ask the assistants whenever possible bc they are usually nicer but sometimes they just don't know the answers...

I am dealing with the same thing! Why do the orthodontists act like you shouldn't be able to ask questions? UGH soo frustrating!!!

#20 Post by **Andromeda** » Tue May 12, 2009 12:17 pm

Yea I don't get it. My orthos website as well as the binder full of info for patients they have in their lobby both say that they welcome and even encourage our questions and participation in our own treatment but they don't act that way.

#21 Post by **Blake24** » Tue May 12, 2009 12:42 pm

Hey Pearls,

I think you are being a little too hard on yourself. Your teeth look beautiful! It's amazing how at first we want braces to fix the teeth we have lived with our entire lives, but once we get the braces and start to notice the vast improvements, we still want more. I remember before I got braces all I really wanted was to close the gaps and correct my bite. When I got my braces, I noticed that there was soo much more that can be done with my teeth, and I started to get frustrated when those changes weren't occurring. Now it seems like I look in the mirror every day wondering why one tooth hasn't shifted a half of a centimeter haha! The truth of the matter is that not everyone will have the 100% perfect teeth. My ortho told me to begin with that one of my lateral incisors will never be in line with my other incisor because it is physically smaller than the other one. If I want to make that one incisor symmetrical to the other, I am going to have to get a porcelain veneer. That sucks because we pay sooo much for the braces only to have results short of the perfect smile. My outlook is that the teeth look soooo much better after than when they started....you are the only one that will notice a slight slant in your teeth...to everyone else they will be perfect!!

Blake