Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I'm a 25 year old girl living in the UK and about to get braces for my teeth, but I've been offered a number of different treatments and I'm confused about which to go for.

Firstly, let me give you a bit of info about my teeth as they are at the moment.
I had an accident when I was little that put my front teeth out of line. This has gotten worse over the years and become crowded. Before this I had a perfect smile

Here is a picture of my teeth as they are today:



As you can see, they're pretty wonky!

However, here are some important details:

The orthodontist at James Hull Associates has said that the rest of my teeth on the side are very well knit, and my lower set is pretty much perfectly aligned.
Here's the lower teeth:



(Beautiful isn't it! )

My problem is that I have seen two different orthodontists and both say different things. Here's my dilemma:

Othodontist 1:

Says said it's essential to remove two upper teeth to make room, and put me in full braces on the top and bottom teeth for a treatment that will take two years. He offered this at £3000 pounds.


Orthodontist 2:

Orthodontist 2 was also extremely professional (and gave me a thorough consultation), but said he didn't think the removal of teeth was necessary at all - just some teeth shaving to make room.
He said that really only the top set needed the brace, but he would recommend that if I also did the bottom set at the same time I might have slightly better overall results (but this sounded like an 'upsell' at the time.)
He said the treatment would only take 10-12 months for the upper set. His service was only £2800 for the upper set, but for both it's £3800.
He offered to allow me to have ceramic braces for no extra charge with either service.

Ortho 2 said I have a slight overjet, and this is due to being Asian, where often cases come up where two lower teeth haven't actually formed. He said removing teeth may not solve this problem, and that because my teeth were very nicely knit on the sides and bottom, removing teeth will shift them all and I might lose what's already very good.

So, now I'm confused!


Do I:

Take two years (which is horrible at 25) and lose two teeth for something that may be unnecessary and mess up the already good teeth.

Or:

Go and have the top set fixed in 10-12 months. If so, would anyone recommend regular braces over ceramic (given money makes no difference?)
Also, I'm not that rich, so £2800 for just the top set would be better for me, but I'm worried about the result being slightly better if I do both (but I'm also worried the clinic is just trying to make more money - he initially said he didn't think the bottom was necessary!).

Please help guys, I want to start my treatment fast and I'm wondering if anyone else had similar experiences with conflicting messages from orthodontists, and what you would recommend.

Really looking forward to talking with you, thanks so much for your help in advance!




(SOME MORE PICS:)

I'm an asian girl btw. Look at my funny wonky tooth:



I hate the front four teeth, but can you see how all the other teeth are actually okay?:





Here's my overjet. Ortho 2 said 8mm, but this will reduce after the brace. He said the reason for this is more to do with my missing bottom teeth, and that losing more teeth may not help necessarily:

Id go with ortho two.

I don't think theres a point of only getting braces on the top. If you don't get braces on the bottom you can't fix problems with your bite.

Id go with ortho two.

I don't think theres a point of only getting braces on the top. If you don't get braces on the bottom you can't fix problems with your bite.

Hi, thanks for your reply!

Right, so you think it's better to get both sets done? The only reason I hesitated was because (apart from cost) he did mention at first that he didn't think he'd need to touch my bottom set - then suddenly said "but maybe both would be better". It sounded like an upsell a little - I know they need to make as much as possible. It's just that if the bottom is okay, I'm not sure what to do - could you help me understand how the bottom set will be adjusted?

Many thanks!

(P.S. Would you recommend ceramic or full metal - my biggest concern is the final result, so I don't mind full metal if it is a better/quicker brace.)

You have very nice teeth. I would get both top and bottom braces. Teeth are like gears; they need to line up properly for your bite to be good. I'm not sure I'd trust an ortho who wouldn't recommend both top and bottom. I would not get teeth extracted if it can be avoided. Teeth shaving (also called IPR) is more conservative. Can you go for additional consults -- I think your case is a bit tricky because of your missing teeth. If several orthos give the same advice I'd trust that treatment plan. Look for an ortho who can do a good technical job and who can communicate well with you.

Regarding type of brackets, the metal ones seem to be easier for the orthos to work with and may move your teeth a bit faster. The advantages of ceramics are all cosmetic.

Ortho 2 definitely. Save your teeth!

Good luck. They will look fab when finished

ortho two , slenderizing the teeth works great , no pain an save those teeth

Hey guys, thankyou so much for the help! Okay, so now one of my big questions is answered, I'm going to take your advice and go for ortho 2 and save my good teeth!

He also is a very good communicator, I found he was really professional in the consultation and had lots of clear information.

So now I'm unsure about price. £3800 will be so tough to afford... The thing is I can't speak to him again unless I book another consultation which is £155.

Because he simply gave me a choice to do just the top, or if I wanted, to do both sets - but he really didn't make it obvious that doing the bottom set was too important.

But if you guys can help me understand why it's better to do both, I'll scrape the money together.

Starzz: thanks for your advice, I think that I will get the regular metal braces instead of ceramic (even though they're free) just because the faster they come off the better.

Thankyou again guys!

Hey, minkyming. Here's my two cents: I'd pick ortho 2 and I'd get bottom braces. Starzz said it best, that teeth are like gears that need to be properly align to ensure proper function. In my case, I ONLY got braces to address the top arch, as the lower arch was perfect. But my ortho pointed out that, with my near edge-to-edge bite, my upper arch would intersect with my lower arch once straightened. That seemed to make sense, so I agreed to have lower arch braces installed.

But your case is different from mine, of course. Regarding the removal of teeth, you don't seem to have teeth nearly crowded enough to justify (to me, at least) extractions. I must stress that this is an ENTIRELY UNPROFESSIONAL opinion though. Nothing against extractions, but it seems that once your upper arch is widened to match your lower arch, the arches will be just fine. Before your accident, your mouth contained all your teeth just fine, so why wouldn't they again? But perhaps ortho 1 wanted to extract two upper teeth to ensure stability after braces removal.

Hey,

Even though I totally agree with the previous opinions, I'm just stressing the fact that most people at AW are not ortho's, and I would, if I were not 100% certain, definately get a 3rd. opinion. Just my opinion

Good luck!

i would get a third opinion too if you can. but you should defo get top and bottom the overall result will be fantastic, and with them all moving together your bite will be 100% corrected as apose to 90 95% plus if you only get your top done you may find your self picking out things you dont like with the bottom and wishing you had got them done too. i was only going to get my top set fixed but he said my over bite will never be 100% corrected and my two front teeth would have a tendency to move back. and i am sooo happy i got both the progress so far is far more superior to what i would of had without the bottom brace and its ALL about the end result

I would go with Ortho 2, like the others are suggesting. You seem to like this one better because of better communication skills, which is very important - you need to be comfortable with who you choose.

I have some followup questions, though. If you got both top and bottom, would the time be the same? Can you just have the top to start with, and decide on the bottom at a slightly later time?

Hi guys. Okay, I'm going to go back and see Ortho 2 this Thursday, and decide right then and there what will happen. I'm definitely going with the treatment and 99% sure I will be doing both top and bottom braces based on all of your help.

I can't really afford the 3rd opinion - the UK is expensive, it would be another £100 or more.

blueeyedboy - in the meeting on Thursday I will discuss my options with the Ortho, if he recommends just going with both straight away, I will probably go for that - whatever is best!

Thanks to everyone for all the help so far, it's been really valuable.

I've seen many sets of teeth on this forum much worse than yours that responded very well to braces. Within a fw months, you'll begin to see some incredible good changes!

You don't want to extract teeth unless it's unavoidable, so I agree about going with Ortho 2's suggestions. He's not trying to upsell you with brackets on the bottom: it's the best way to ensure that everything lines up properly in the end.

Best of luck and keep us posted on your journey!