Getting your procedure written down

[angeamber]

Hello everyone!

So, after a long discussion with my boyfriend's parents about my orthodontic procedure at 21, my boyfriend's father, who is a lobbyist, suggested that I get a written transcript of everything my orthodontist wants to accomplish and the success rate of the procedure.

I am now extremely nervous as he said that my impacted canine will most probably not come down as expected, thus I should be prepared, IF, and big IF, my tooth actually is ankylosed and my orthodontist decides to take another route despite the promised, supposedly highly successful one.

What do you all think about this?

I am a lot more nervous than I was yesterday and I have only exposed and started my treatment a week ago. Two more years of this?! Will I go crazy?

[assertives]

What is the purpose of getting a transcript written down if you don't mind me asking?

I think the thing with treatment plans is, they can be quite dynamic. Different people respond differently to the same treatment, so I would say some deviation from the initial plan is kind of to be expected. It may get changed accordingly to how your body responds to it. I think you may be able to get a general idea of what your ortho proposes to do for your case, but expect it to change here and there depending on how your teeth responds.

Regarding your boyfriend's father's comments, I personally would take what he says with a pinch of salt. Unless he is also an orthodontist or dentist who has seen his fair share of patients to be able to speak from experience what he has seen in his years of practice or even researches that he may have participated in. Also, even if he was a dental professional, he was not the one who took your xrays and your study molds and did your treatment planning, so while he may be well-meaning, listening too much to what he says would only make you start doubting the expertise of your ortho and make your anxiety worse.

I think some amount of anxiety is normal, I too had a lot of anxiety prior to getting braced, but it really does get better, and before you know it, braces have become a part of you that you no longer think about it, so hang in there, it's early days yet. All the best in your journey!

[djspeece]

I think assertives has it right. Is the father also a lawyer? (refraining from smart-a$$ comment). My main concern was to ensure that my orthodontist was board-certified. While this does not guarantee a successful outcome, it tells me that he took the extra steps to demonstrate his ability. As an RN I look for the same thing in the physicians I visit. For orthodontists, I was more interested in the number of cases he treated, the ages, similar cases to mine, what alternative approaches are available and what are the risks and benefits (e.g., having an implant to fill a gap vs. braces), and of course his ability to communicate and to establish rapport with me. A big plus for me was his dry sense of humor.
Anxiety is completely normal and I would be more surprised if you had none! Here's how things work for me: after the initial consultations and exams, I am very excited to get started and visualize this sparkling smile and the ladies fawning over me. I look at the posters in the ortho's office, all the happy carefree people with braces (note to self: why do they seem to have perfect teeth already?). And then a few days before it sinks in and i wonder what the heck I have signed up for, what was i thinking, can I get out of my contract by pleading temporary insanity?
And now two years after debracing, yes, i am glad i did it and am here to cheer you and the others on . Best of luck to you!

[angeamber]

Hello both,

Sorry for the late reply. I had typed something up and then lost the whole text, so here we go again!

My boyfriend's father suggested getting everything written down so that if somewhere goes sour with the procedure (given that my tooth does not come down) that I have information to bring them to court. Something that I did not explain was that, I had three different routes to chose from for my procedure:

1) Expose the canine and pull down with the gold chain, remove 4 first molars and close the gaps with braces.

2) Remove the canine, leave my smile the way it is and reshape my first molar

3) Remove my canine, straighten teeth and get an implant.

Now, choice 2 sounded dumb to me, as why would I go through hell when nothing was bothering me in the first place. Option 3 was way too expensive, so I went with option 1 which was like, hell with it. Let's just do it! Being said, if my canine is too stubborn to come down, then I automatically fall into option 2 or 3, which I did not want from the get go. So, he suggested that if things do not work out, then I can fight. Personally, I find that there is no worth in "fighting" for a case because of orthodontics, because I took a conscious decision and was aware that the procedure might have to change.

My boyfriend's father is definitely not an orthodontist or a dentist - nor is he a lawyer. He has had bad experiences with dentists though and does not trust them anymore. Maybe he is generalizing, but the comment shook me and made me very nervous being in the first steps of my treatment, as you mentioned @assertives. @djspeece As I am doing my treatment with my university, the student practitioners accompanied by their orthodontist professors are doing my treatment. The student I have is already a dentist and already has 5 years of experience - he is quite young - and is now specializing in orthodontics. His professor, who has my case, accompanies him during all procedures, he is young as well, but is very well renown where I am from. I do agree I was skeptical, but was very well reassured before beginning the procedures.

@djspeece I am so happy for you getting debraced! I am dreaming of that moment to come for me already, despite having just started. I am getting quite used to everything even a week after my procedure. Hopefully, everything goes great. Thank you so much for your encouragement.

Being said, in the end, I disregarded my boyfriend's father's comment and just went on with my life. My procedure has only started and I need to stop thinking of the "what-ifs" as they will drive me insane. I think he got me questioning my decision in a period of anxiety considering everything was happening so fast.

Thank you both!

[djspeece]

Good plan. Best of luck to you!