depressing, boring treatment.

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#1 Post by **payoki** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 3:16 pm

many of you talk about power chain and jaw surgery and extraction fears and all different kinds of gadget(?) that your ortho use to correct your teeth. Mine does nothing.
From the very first adjustment, I wear same elastics and during the monthly adjustment, he somtimes cuts the wire short or puts in a thicker wire but nothing unusual.
I have a mild case of overjet so I didn't have any extractions but I did have a molar missing so my very last molar is very tilted and yet my ortho does not use anything special to correct this, just one elastic on each side and I'm not seeing much improvment either and with all that constant pulling from elastic my overjet is still the same but my tilted molar has gotten worst.
My bite do not meet at all!
I see many of you with incredible results in shorter time than I've been in braces( 13months) I took some before and after pictures and when I make comparison....I see no improvement. My progress is depressing me and I think my ortho is not a very competent doctor. I go to a large orthodontic center where there are many doctors hired by the company and they work on regular salary. I think small offices ran by the owner/ doctor is more reliable because they value their reputation...

#2 Post by **bbsadmin** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 3:44 pm

Perhaps you should call the office and arrange for a private consultation with your main orthodontist so you can address your concerns quietly in his office.

Sometimes treatment can be rather humdrum, especially if things are moving slowly in your mouth. Maybe there has been some sort of progress in the 13 months that you don't realize. Would you want to post your photos here so we can see them?

If indeed you think that your ortho is not doing an optimal job for you, would you be able to switch to another ortho in the same office?

#3 Post by **jcdamon3** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 4:54 pm

If he is putting in thicker wires then you are most likely making progress. I don't have any drama with my treatment either. No jaw surgery, no extractions, no appliances other than the braces themselves, and I couldn't be happier. I didn't want any of that other stuff. I go in about every six weeks now and I wire gets changed and that is about it. I have no idea if I will ever need elastics. I hope not.

Does your ortho show you before and after pictures? My ortho shows me every time. My changes were not going to be huge from the beginning because my issues are mostly with the back teeth. So I don't see major changes at all. I do know things are moving along though because of the thicker wires. I think I have one or two more wires to go on top and two or three on the bottom. That doesn't mean of course that I will be getting my braces off in two-three adjustments. It could take longer than that.

This is a slow and boring process. It really sucks. I wish braces were faster, but they aren't.

I would ask the ortho if you are on track to get your braces off in the two years that he estimated. That will really help you know how you are or are not moving along. Also have him pull out your before pictures. Sometimes it will surprise you!

#4 Post by **lionfish** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 6:29 pm

I'm with jcdamon3. All I have to deal with are the braces, wire changes, powerchains and - coming up - elastics. I didn't have extractions and chose the non-surgical option. Things are changeing, but it's slow. I'm trying to be philosophical about it.

#5 Post by **paulosportz** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 7:34 pm

i guess standing in the mirror several minutes everyday hoping to see some change is uselss then

=//

#6 Post by **jcdamon3** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 7:52 pm

I still stand in front of the mirror. Kind of like watching a car rust. But it eventually does change. That's why you have to see your before pics once in awhile or you won't see a thing.

#7 Post by **Clo** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:04 am

Hi Payoki,

I have the deepest respect for what you are telling here. Because I
experienced about the same. I do not know if you read posts of me before.
But I started as a moderate difficult case. Gaps between lowers, crowded
uppers and a class 2 bite (overjet of 6 mm). Everytime I went for an
adjustment, my issues hardly improved, but my bite got worse. I read
here too about all those 'gadgets' they use to correct things. And all I
got was .... another wire from time to time and .... yet another elastic
configuration. First, you think they know what they do, you have
confidence. But like you, after 1 year I realised things were going very
badly. Maybe you saw posts of me here about a terrible open bite I got,
and a collapsed lower arch. Anyway, I just phoned to another ortho to have
a simple consultation. I thought, what the heck. Or he tells me everything
is ok, so no harm done, or he tells me it is not ok. I do not want to scare
you, but for me, it was the second that was true. It seemed I was treated
extremely badly. He told me he was quite scared himself when he told
me to bite down and saw how bad and open my bite was. He so to speak
dropped everything and started a treatment right away. My point is,
you may very well be right that your ortho is not a good one. There are
bad plumbers and builders out there, why not bad orthos. I am sure
there are orthos who should be prohibited to practise any longer. I really
really hope yours is not one of them. But giving you a bad bite and a
tilted molar does not look promising. Oh dear, I hope you are not
stepping into my footsteps. Because I have to be much longer in braces
because of what I experienced. And they took away part of my molars
to close my bite and now I even wear headgear and I fear I still haven't
seen the end of it.
So, that's why I wrote this first sentence. I so understand about your
frustration. Maybe you could also try to see another ortho to only see
if things are going ok. Maybe someone you know or your regular dentist
knows a good ortho ...
I wish you the very best Payoki. Please, let us know how this turns out !

#8 Post by **missing_tooth** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:51 pm

I know that some things come in time. I have tilted molar like you do. Here is my understanding of what will happen. After my impacted cainin starts to come down, I will then have my lower braces put on. Then I will get a rubber band to tilt that molar back into position.

Just remember somethings take time. I was told it would take around 9 months to bring my impacted tooth down.

- Missing Tooth -

#9 Post by **payoki** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 1:54 pm

thank you for your supporting notes. I studied every single one of em!

#10 Post by **Chris** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 5:00 pm

Tilted molar here too..when there are no teeth in front of it, its difficult to correct I understand. Elastics from Canine to that Molar made it tilt more here too. I wonder what he'll try next.

Missing Tooth---what is your ortho going to do to UPRIGHT the molar?

I still think a button on the inside and an elastic to the upper outside would do it. **someone hand me the ortho tools**

#11 Post by **Joanna20** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 3:02 pm

Hey, I've started my journey a while ago and I've had so many problems!
Don't let yourself down! Remain calm and talk to your ortho. Tell him how you feel, I'm sure he will understand do something about it. If you think there's no way he will give you the smile you want than, as a last resource change orthos, but make sure you have great references concerning the new one!
I truly wish you the best of luck,
Joanna

PS- Remain positive! ALWAYS!

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depressing, boring treatment.

depressing, boring treatment.

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