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will the teeth move back with braces off and no retainers?

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:00 am
by xyz2008
I know I asked this before. And Maryaten gave me a good answerthat their could be three possibilities: 1) move back 2) stay 3) move to a different position. I am wondering in general, what is the outcome? Anybody had this experience?

I want to know this because my teeth was messed up by my ortho. My tongue is constricted by the slightly tipping upper moloars and narrowed(lopsided) lower arch, and my bite is completely off. I have an overjet of about 8mm and was planning on a teeth extraction as per the initial treatment plan. But all my 2nd opinion orthos do not think I should proceed that. Some suggested jaw surgery which I am not going to do. So, right now all I want to is to alleviate the tongue constriction and get the bite corrected. I will live with the overject all my life.

I am going to use this ortho to hopefully correct the issue. However, he is not sure if it would be successful or not. He seems to be only willing to move my lower molars. Since this is going to cost me another $$$, I am just wondering what would happen if I simply get all my braces off with no retainers? I know for sure that my front teeth would protrude again. What about the back teeth? Would they move back?

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:25 am
by badbite
I am just wondering, Did your first ortho suggest jaw surgery? Maybe your teeth are messed up because there is no other way to fix them properly.

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 11:02 am
by ohmyjaw
I am sorry to hear that your treatment is not going well.

When you say your bite is "completely off", what exactly do you mean? How is it "off"?

I think it would be difficult to find an ortho who is willing to do what you are asking for - leave you with an 8mm overjet for the rest of your life? If I were you, I would find a new ortho and get things fixed properly.

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:06 pm
by xyz2008
badbite,

My first ortho suggested "jaw surgery" plus "teeth extraction" for a "less ideal" result THAN the pure "teeth extraction" option which accordint to him, would give me a "near ideal" result.

Some other orthodontists are also against me having the jaw surgery, because my upper lip is so full, I guess it would make me look like a monkey :-)

xyz2008

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:14 pm
by xyz2008
ohmyjaw,

The "completely off" is the word from one of my 2nd opinion orthodontists. As far as I am concerned, two months after the 1st ortho's brace adjustment, I am still not able to chew properly and still eat the softest food.

The compromise solution was actually proposed by the 2nd orthodontist. My case is complex with four front teeth in crown (result of my stupid ten-year-ago "instant orthodontics"). He read the xRay, and determined that there are root resorptions. So, he said, if we proceed with teeth extraction, I may end up losing my front teeth, or we may have to stop at a point that I stil have space unclosed resulting from extraction. he is quite a reputable orthodontist, so I am hoping that the compromise would work.

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:47 pm
by ohmyjaw
What about doing some IPR? Less drastic than extractions, could it help?

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:00 pm
by xyz2008
What is IPR?

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:59 am
by xyz2008
Thanks Maryaten. It is so interesting that no orthodontist has ever bring this up to me. Their treatment plans were either teeth extraction or lower jaw surgery. I guess my overjet was too much for IPR to work. On the other hand, after going through the first orthodontist ordeal, I am very conservative about doing anything on my teeth that could potentially narrow my arch. Right now I am spending so much more to get the arch expanded a litte bit.

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:42 am
by amysouth1016
I had the exact thing happen to me actually. I had braces when I was in high school and didn't wear my retainer, and now here I am, 27 yrs old and getting braces for the SECOND TIME! My front teeth protruded again and my back teeth somehow moved inward. Basically the arch in my teeth goes in towards the back. My bite too is COMPLETELY out of whack. I do not suggest not wearing your retainer...you'll end up right back where you were before braces if not worse! At least, that was my experience.

Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:45 pm
by xyz2008
Thanks amysouth1016, when you said "my back teeth somehow moved inward", do you mean your arch becomes narrower? Was your arch narrower before your first orthodontic work?

My biggest problem is that my arch before orthodontic work was broader and I want it back. The new orthodontist just started to work on it, and it seems to be making small progress. However, at this point, my tongue is still feeling pain due to the constriction caused by the narrowed arch.