First consultation with ortho -- questions

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#16 Post by **Attagirl2** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:44 pm

Hi Banana and WOW is right. Let me shed a little light on my progress in Damon 3's:

1. I love them. The only problem I had with them popping off were the ones that were glued onto my gold crowns - I have all four first molars as gold crowns. Three of them managed to popp off twice due to my eating things that were to hard, so I had them banded. No problems since.
2. I have had tremendous trouble with the doors not opening - I manage to make a lot of tartar and it gets into the brackets and keeps the doors from opening. They always tried to open them with a "pick" like instrument. This last time, the orthodontist himself opened them with a new tool that I had never seen before. It was like a pair of wide, but thin sissors. He just went along each bracket and popped each one open without any effort! (Just the visit before last I had to have the lowers replaced with Smart Clips because of the doors). Had he had this tool, I may not have had to have them replaced.
3. My arch has widened and my teeth are not just "tilted" out. Granted, my molars and premolars tilted in slightly to begin with, but the whole area that the teeth are attach too has wideden too - or at least that is what appears to have happened.
4. My bite was crooked - the left side of my lower teeth drop away on and angle. It has levelled out some and the doctor is going to finish bringing them up with elastics starting at my next visit.
5. I think the doctor made since about your speech problem. My mother was telling me that when my older brother was born, the doctors clipped something in his mouth because the doctor said he would have trouble talking later if he didn't have more range of motion... Sorry, I don't know what it was. BTW, I am 52...
6. My Orthodontist just started his own orthodontic journey and it is in DAMON 3's!

I just wanted to you get some positive and negative on the Damon situation from a wearer - not just what the Doctor said.

Good luck in whatever decision you make.

#17 Post by **dr.j** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 2:17 pm

As an interested orthodontist I would say that looking at your pics they 4th guy you saw seems the most realistic. No one wants extractions or surgery but sometimes in these cases after 2 years of braces the treatment plan can come "full circle" on you. I'd be very skeptical of non-extraction and arch expansion in your case. The teeth are just being tipped and are quite unstable. I'd get another opinion or 2.

dr.j

#18 Post by **Banana1214** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 4:14 pm

Thanks, Dr. J. If using braces without extractions can cause the teeth to tilt out and come out of the bone, shouldn't this doctor have known that? Why would she suggest something potentially harmful? And do you have any comment on the tongue tie thing? I know you can't see my mouth, but maybe you've had some experience with this?

Also, do you ever remove just one tooth? I'm afraid that would make me look unbalanced or something. I was told by the first orthodontist I saw that if I extracted, I'd get a sunken look to my face, and I guess I assume if you took a tooth from one side and not the other, my cheeks wouldn't match. Does that make sense? I also have what I feel is a rather prominent nose and I'm afraid taking teeth out would make it look bigger somehow. Any thoughts on that?

I guess I'll do a couple more consults after Christmas. Yuck. I'm tired of this; I want to get started. But I've waited 23 years, I guess I can wait a few more weeks if it will save me problems later.

Thank you!

#19 Post by **dr.j** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:57 pm

I do not think the other ortho would do anything knowingly harmful. But "dental" expansion is not supported in the literature as being stable. If you are acceptant of indefinite/lifetime retention you may be ok. Asymmetric extractions are a compromise and do bring things out of balance in favor of a stable dentition.
What patient would not want non-extraction, non-surgery, just-braces- and-be-perfect treatment? You could consider starting off non-ex non sugery and if you do not like how things are going with your bite later in treatment you can have the treatment plan modified.
Some of us lose patients every day by recommending an invasive treatment as opposed to full Damon braces and abracadabra somehow your going to have a Julia Roberts smile (ok I got carried away there....). Just know this, placing full braces and lining up the teeth with a series of wires is not what orthodontists learn in school. Anyone can straighten teeth, can they make them fit? Ask your ortho's how your teeth are going to fit with ther plan(s). How do the intend to get your bite asymmetry to fit in a good occlusion?

dr.j