Braces Off: Teeth Not Straight, what's the deal?

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#16 Post by **QueensNY** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:12 pm

I'm also sort of in a similar situation as you are (thread starter)

My ortho has hinted that I'd have braces much less than 2 years (currently at 14 months) and for the past 6 months he hasn't made any adjustments on my upper teeth even though it clearly had some crowding remaining.

But, I didn't say anything to question what he was doing (didn't want to seem disrespectful). He strictly concentrated on the lowers for the majority of the time. So I finally spoke up on my last visit to point out the crowding. He said the upper teeth weren't touched because they're already complete

Then he made an adjustment in a sort of pissed off way and said he'll check it out next time

All that time I thought he knew exactly what he was doing but I had to point out to him, the professional, what to do

What worries me also is during that same visit, he said the lowers we're just about complete and he put a thin wire to let the bone heal, but there's still some crowding remaining.

I guess the moral of the story is you have to speak up when you think something's going wrong or if the ortho's giving you the run-around. It's not that I dont think he did a good job, its just that its such a huge investment on so many levels-money wise, time, and especially mentally that you expect you get the best results that you can. My ortho has that "Im a smart a**" attitude so the way he acts is expected but from now on , especially now in the closing months, I'll be more crticial of what he does, whether he likes it or not.

#17 Post by **ItsGavinC** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:20 pm

The quality of those pictures, along with the glare from the lighting, makes it very difficult to determine if the final outcome was good or bad.

Nobody here, unless they have training, can make knowledgeable comments regarding your treatment. I'll be a dentist in another year, and I can't even make comments about the tx. There are *many* variables that go into ortho tx that simply cannot be shown from two photos.

Above all, if you are feeling poorly, then I'd contact that orthodontist. Try to pinpoint exactly what it is that you are unhappy with. You've paid for tx., and deserve good tx. It may be the case that you have received good tx., but part of the docs' job is to relay that to you in terms that you understand and to answer any questions you might have.

#18 Post by **bracesmom** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:38 pm

I'll add my 2 cents here for whatever it's worth. I think your teeth look nice, but I do see what you're talking about with them not being totally straight. You paid for straight teeth and if this was not achievable, it should have been communicated earlier on by your orthodontist. For them to imply they are just fine would not cut it for me. I suggest printing out this thread and showing it to your ortho if he isn't believing you.

Hope you get what you want. Take care.

#19 Post by **SJade40** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 9:25 am

Just to follow up on this thread....

I went to see another ortho (my 2nd, 2nd oppinion). He said the teeth are looking good. I have a class 1 occlusion...which is what its supposed to be. My ortho did a fine job.....so further ortho treatment isnt necessary.

In terms of the cosmetic issues with my teeth....he said some teeth were simply mishapen, and discolored, and that cosmetic alterations would fix that. So the same day, I went to the dentist...and he did some shaping....namely cutting down those canines significantly. And while the bottoms dont look perfect yet...they are MUCH better now. Those canines really messed up the entire bottoms...its quite amazing.

Additionally, my teeth are quite stained...and a cleaning is in order for next week, a long with a whitening in the near future.

After these particular procedures....I would like to post pictures again, and see what you guys think. I'm certain I'll be satisfied, as even now I'm MUCH more satisfied after the shaping.

It just would have been nice if the original ortho had said, "Ok, your teeth are POSITIONED perfectly now...however you need some cosmetic alterations to get the look you want." Rather than just..."Ok! looking good!"

Thanks for the support everyone.

#20 Post by **rockexrolloh** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 3:27 am

shinyam wrote:In any case, your ortho is not professional. He did not care about your concerns. He did not even hand you a mirror, maybe because he knew the results were not perfect. He even lied to you about the retainers fixing the problems, so that you would get off his case. One and a half years is on the early side of ending treatment. Maybe he just wanted to end treatment as soon as possible.

Sorry, but how is his ortho not professional? He did his job. Maybe he could've have done it better, but he did it. And one and a half years isnt necessarily early. It varys from person to person. My treatment time is only suppose to be 16 months.

#21 Post by **nahky** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 4:19 am

rockexrolloh wrote:
shinyam wrote:In any case, your ortho is not professional. He did not care about your concerns. He did not even hand you a mirror, maybe because he knew the results were not perfect. He even lied to you about the retainers fixing the problems, so that you would get off his case. One and a half years is on the early side of ending treatment. Maybe he just wanted to end treatment as soon as possible.
Sorry, but how is his ortho not professional? He did his job. Maybe he could've have done it better, but he did it. And one and a half years isnt necessarily early. It varys from person to person. My treatment time is only suppose to be 16 months.

He could have communicated to Sjade40 instead of dismissing him and saying that the teeth are "just fine". Communication is vital.

#22 Post by **rockexrolloh** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 4:30 am

nahky wrote: He could have communicated to Sjade40 instead of dismissing him and saying that the teeth are "just fine". Communication is vital.

Sjade could've asked to look in a mirror and communicate with the orthodontist also.

#23 Post by **rockexrolloh** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 4:31 am

I'm not saying it's Sjade's fault or his orthodontist's fault. Neither of them communicated. But let's not bash the ortho here.

#24 Post by **paw655** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 5:33 am

Regardless of whether the ortho had a legal responsibility to advise the patient (sorry, forgot your name!) about outcomes, the issue has to do with customer satisfaction.

In orthodontics, or any other medical/dental procedure, we the patients are paying the provider for a service. As such, I do believe that the ortho has a modicum of responsibility to me to at least TRY to ensure customer satisfaction. As the author of the post wrote, if the ortho had simply explained that the position was as good as could get, that probably would have been enough for the author so they could take the next step on their own. However, if the ortho didn't even try to make sure the author was satisfied in the first place (i.e. no mirror), then I agree there is a problem.

For example, I doubt many of us would pay someone to clean our carpets, wall-to-wall, and be satisfied if the carpet cleaner left huge stains, and walked away. If, however, they took the time to discuss why the stains couldn't be removed, and demonstrated a good faith effort to remove them, that might make it understandable. But for the carpet cleaners to walk out the door with huge stains left on the carpet is unacceptable customer service.

Orthodontics is a product, like carpet cleaning, except the stakes are way higher.

#25 Post by **nahky** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:14 pm

paw655 wrote:Regardless of whether the ortho had a legal responsibility to advise the patient (sorry, forgot your name!) about outcomes, the issue has to do with customer satisfaction.

In orthodontics, or any other medical/dental procedure, we the patients are paying the provider for a service. As such, I do believe that the ortho has a modicum of responsibility to me to at least TRY to ensure customer satisfaction. As the author of the post wrote, if the ortho had simply explained that the position was as good as could get, that probably would have been enough for the author so they could take the next step on their own. However, if the ortho didn't even try to make sure the author was satisfied in the first place (i.e. no mirror), then I agree there is a problem.

For example, I doubt many of us would pay someone to clean our carpets, wall-to-wall, and be satisfied if the carpet cleaner left huge stains, and walked away. If, however, they took the time to discuss why the stains couldn't be removed, and demonstrated a good faith effort to remove them, that might make it understandable. But for the carpet cleaners to walk out the door with huge stains left on the carpet is unacceptable customer service.

Orthodontics is a product, like carpet cleaning, except the stakes are way higher.

I whole-heartedly agree...

#26 Post by **Mark01GT** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 4:53 pm

They look fine to me, I would kill to have such a nice smile - the only thing your ortho didn't do, was give you some bleaching trays. It looks like you replaced your teeth with corn on the cob.

#27 Post by **lianas** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:38 pm

I know you said you got a second opinion but i dont see how your teeth can be in a class 1 position if your teeth are not symetrical and your midlines are not lined up. I would ask your ortho for your before pictures and after pictures. I would also ask to see the molds that were made of the teeth after treatment. I dont know where you live but you can file a complaint with your state ortho society. They will review your file and look at your teeth. I had to bring my daughter to 3 opinions before I could get someone to acknowledge something was wrong and her bottom teeth all pushed back foward within 6mo of getting braces off. Orthos just like dentist wont say another did something wrong because they know you just got them off and they dont think theres any money in it anymore

#28 Post by **Flora2006** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:56 pm

Mark01GT wrote: the only thing your ortho didn't do, was give you some bleaching trays. It looks like you replaced your teeth with corn on the cob.

That's kind of rude!

#29 Post by **Flora2006** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:57 pm

I'm really glad you are liking your teeth more now that you got them shaped.