Depressed, frustrated, SAD with final results :(

Message

#1 Post by **pearls** » Mon May 04, 2009 10:38 pm

My debanding is in exaclty 2 weeks. In exactly 3 weeks I leave the country for 5 months.

I had my final adjustment today. I have not been happy with my teeth for the last few months, and since last adjustment I found out I was due for debanding I thought I better say something.

So today I asked my ortho to keep my braces on while I'm away so we can fix things up when I get back. He goes "Hmmm well lets have a look here, things should be fine". So he has a good look at my mouth, and tells me to bite together, bite together, bite together etc. All the time I'm biting together he puts pressure on my lower jaw to push it to one side while I bite together. So when I'm biting together it's fine, but without his hands it's not. So the ortho says, everything looks fine, there's no point in keeping them on for 5 months. I do not want them off! There are many things I find fault with, both aesthetically and functionally.

He did something different to the top wire, and didn't even CHANGE the bottom wire. So I go to him "Ummm one of my bottom teeth is crooked." I just about burst into tears when he didn't even notice the crooked tooth on the bottom. So he made a minor adjustment to the wire (thank God) and already within 3 hours it's in line.

I don't want to ramble, but I would like to ask for people's support and opinions. I know it might be a bit much to ask, but I've been crying all day and really need someone to talk to. I try talking to my friends and family, but they can't quite understand since none of them have braces.

I have taken lots of photos. So please have a look at them and tell me what you think.

MANY MANY MANY THANKS.

Pearls.

- The angle of my teeth currently.

- The angle of my teeth which is where I'd like them.

- This highlights how my upper left teeth seem to flare up, causing my bite to be lopsided. And I HATE my right upper canine. It is so high, it always hits my upper lateral

- Me trying to bite my front teeth together, the way I would do to bite my nails etc. I tried to tear the flesh of a mandarin the other day and just about had a panic attack when I realised I couldn't even bite it.

- Again trying to bite my front teeth together, this is functionally important for me, and I hate the way it is at the moment. My canines clash with eachother, and I have to slide my lower jaw to one side so I can make any contact at all with my front teeth.

- Upper jaw. My right lateral incisor is sitting further back than my left one. This really bothers me.

- You can see the uneven laterals here also.

- My bottom jaw. They all seem to be relatively even and straight from this angle.

- I hate the gap between my front tooth and lateral. I also hate how my front teeth jut out at such an angle compared to the rest of my teeth.

- This side looks better than my left side, but I still don't like how my front teeth jut out on such an angle.

I'm sorry I'm being so down and negative at the moment. But I am just so, so upset. I just miss my old teeth and I wish I never got braces

I just can't help but cry.

#2 Post by **hal2me** » Tue May 05, 2009 5:33 am

Hi Pearls,

I think your teeth look beautiful. If mine were only that straight! However, if you are not happy with the results, tell your ortho. You are the one who spent all the time and money on the braces.

It's really hard to wear braces as it is. If you are not happy, be upfront and honest with your ortho. Maybe it is just a few minor cosmentic things that can be fixed. Do not do anything you are not comfortable with. If you want to leave the braces on, tell your ortho.

I wish you all the best and hope things work out your way!

Take Care!

#3 Post by **Andromeda** » Tue May 05, 2009 7:01 am

Wow pearls we have many of the same issues!! I literally JUST posted pics in my braces story last week with those lines drawn in just like yours to show how my teeth slant to one side. And my one top lateral is further back than the other which is making it hit my lower tooth. My canines always clash together too bc they are so long! And I sooooooo agree with the whole trying to bite on the front teeth like for biting nails or to tear a piece of fruit - I can't do it! Its exactly how yours is where I have to shift a lot to one side to be able to do it at all and its not very functional.

I seriously can't believe how much there is in common! I am scheduled for debanding June 11 and I can only hope my ortho can fix them in time...

Maybe since you're going away for a while you could just do the whole removal and retainer thing and when you come back you could get more work done? It sounds like your ortho does not want to keep going with your case but make sure to be clear that you are very unhappy and will not accept the current results...

You should not have to pay him in full for an incomplete job so I definitely wouldn't settle. Since I too have most of your issues, I completely understand how you feel and these things really aren't that minor especially when you add them all up! Maybe I could live with one or two things but there are several that should be addressed.

Anyway I really hope things work out for you. If you want, you should check out my braces story - I have the link below, and my newest pics have the slant photos.

#4 Post by **TumbleDryLow** » Tue May 05, 2009 11:04 am

Honestly I think you have beautiful teeth and I would not have noticed any of those flaws without you pointing them out. As adults, sometimes orthodontics does not grant us 100% perfection. That said, I would still want the doctor to spend some time with me and explain what is going on and why things are the way they are---even if they are not fixable---not just blow me off and tell me "everything looks fine". Call the office and see if they will schedule an appointment for you to sit down and speak to the doctor about your concerns. Many times doctors do not have time at adjustment appointments to adequately address concerns. Print out the pictures you've posted here and show him exactly what is wrong. He should be able to tell you if these things are correctable and what it will take to do so. Good luck.

#5 Post by **kimous** » Tue May 05, 2009 11:22 pm

you appear to have a CANT and your centre line looks abit off.

Im having similar problems with my teeth and i never had this problem before.

I am just as depressed and angry with my braces too. Im soo sick to death of telling them about the problems and they just brush it off as fine.

I cant bite my front teeth together like i use to and one side of my canine is lower then the other. I hate the way my teeth look and wish i never had them done.

the right side of my arch doesnt go over my left. Its very slight but its off and im really annoyed. I keep telling them there is some assymetry in the top arch and he keeps telling me that its symetrical. I show everyone and they tell me that the arch does look abit lopsided.

This is my second orthodontist im going to find myself another one that can see the problems i see. Tommorrow i will organise a second opinion i just want my original teeth back i wish i never went through this.

Tue May 05, 2009 11:34 pm

As others have stated on this post, I too, am having very similar problems as you. Part of me wishes I never would have got braces. I have had little bouts anxiety over this and I am really sick of obsessing over teeth. But I paid so much for these things and I want my moneys worth! I think your teeth look really good but I can see the little things you mentioned and of course you see things better since they are your own
teeth.
My front incisor and lateral jut out at an angle and that really hasn't been fixed in the two years I've had braces, even though I've mentioned this more times than I can remember . now my bite is all messed up-none of my molar touch.

In a competetive, customer service driven society shouldn't these orthos want us, as the consumer, to be totally happy with our results and take the time to listen and address our concerns? I don't know, I just feel they don't listen sometimes.

best of luck to you and agian I think your teeth look very nice, but only you know will make you happy in the long run and I would do whatever you need to do to make sure you are 100% satisfied, then at least you know you tried everything you possibly could.

#7 Post by **pearls** » Wed May 06, 2009 4:41 am

kimous wrote:you appear to have a CANT and your centre line looks abit off.

.

What's a CANT? I'm not quite sure what it stands for

Thanks everyone for your responses, they are really helping me. It's just a shame because I leave the country in 3 weeks, so won't really be able to have anything fixed before then. I'm scheduled to get them off in 2 weeks. It might just be my head playing with me, but I do think my teeth look ever so slightly better since my adjustment. Depending on how they look in 2 weeks, I'll probably just get them removed, and then if I'm not entirely happy with them when I get back, I'll pop them back on again (since my ortho did offer to "put some brackets on to fix any concerns".

When I think about it, it would be fantastic not to have braces on while I'm away. I'm sick of getting sores in my mouth and sick of having a slightly restricted diet. Heck, I'm going to America, I want to try as many lollies as I can!

I'll keep you updated.

Many thanks,
pearls

#8 Post by **Megan11** » Wed May 06, 2009 8:05 am

I think your teeth look great!
I don't understand why you are trying to have your upper and bottom front teeth touch in that picture...what is that showing?

I know because you have invested so much time and money you want to have everything 100% perfect but sometimes its just not possible.

People are saying I almost wish I never got braces, but in my mind you guys must of very much disliked your teeth to spend so much money to get them fixed in the first place. Now that I have braces its hard for me to remember how much I wanted to fix my teeth beforehand.

Like someone else said I would print the pictures above and take them into the ortho. Call before and tell them you need to add 5-10 minutes to your scheduled appointment. Be very blunt about it and say explain to me why there is a slant, explain to me why it cannot be fixed, etc...

Good Luck! I hope he'll be able to fix those problem for you!

#9 Post by **Andromeda** » Wed May 06, 2009 8:18 am

Megan11 wrote: Be very blunt about it and say explain to me why there is a slant, explain to me why it cannot be fixed, etc...

Yea sometimes you have to be blunt. Last time I talked to my ortho tho, I asked a question about why I was wearing the elastics in a particular way and he sorta yelled at me

He said something like "Look, you've just got to get over it and let me do my job!" in a tone and using hand gestures that showed he was very frustrated with me and my questions. I didn't know what to say. Its like he can only take one or two questions and after that he just gets sick of it. I try to ask the assistants whenever possible bc they are usually nicer but sometimes they just don't know the answers...

#10 Post by **damon2's** » Thu May 07, 2009 8:32 am

Hi pearls, i agree with TumbleDryLow, and i also think your teeth look very good! i can't make my top front teeth touch the bottoms, no matter how hard i try... but to me thats a good thing so i don't wear them down anymore (also good so i cant bite my nails anymore, lol). i had a class II overbite and overjet, and my top front teeth tilted inward badly. one of my main reasons for getting braces was to get the top fronts to tilt out nicely (or jut out like you said). i really like the way your top fronts angle out, i think they look great!!!! Smile

#11 Post by **delilah** » Thu May 07, 2009 4:53 pm

Do you have any before images to post? I understand your frustrations in wanting things to be just so, but wondering what path you traveled to get where you are now.

Best,
Del

#12 Post by **totalwise** » Thu May 07, 2009 7:46 pm

take the pictures and show your ortho...

he may see the light, and correct it

or he may tell you your worries are unfounded and your pictures are wrong

or he may tell you there's nothing he can do about it and nobodies arches are ever 100% perfect

Whatever happens at least you'll be happy knowing that you did everything you could to correct the problem, and didn't suffer in silence and accept the status quo.

Like others have said your your teeth look great, but we don't always want to settle for just great we sometimes want perfect teeth..

Sometimes you just have to accept that there will be some flaws though.. and over time you'll accept and move on.

#13 Post by **totalwise** » Thu May 07, 2009 7:56 pm

I had a problem where the roots of my upper right canine was almost entirely sticking of my gums. I felt like if I bit something hard the roots of my canine would pop out.

It was a really bizarre problem, and the scary thing was I thought he'd get round to fixing it eventually, but never mentioned yet. It was only when I raised the issue with him while he discussed removed my braces in the next few appointments that I got his attention on it, and he bent the archwire on that canine area so the roots pop back into the gums..

So.. I know orthodontists are meant be me experts and are meant to know a lot more than you [and I argued with someone on here about this a long time ago].. I guess sometimes they can get too into their routines and "forget" that some cases need special attention. Perhaps... Not accusing all orthos, just in my experience I'm wondering had I not pointed out the problem would he had ever addressed it..

#14 Post by **pearls** » Fri May 08, 2009 4:23 am

delilah wrote:Do you have any before images to post? I understand your frustrations in wanting things to be just so, but wondering what path you traveled to get where you are now.

Best,
Del

Yes, if you click on the 'www' at the bottom of my posts I have my story there, and there are pictures from before, and after nearly every adjustment.

And thanks totalwise and damon2's. My teeth do look great I suppose, but not nearly as perfect as I was hoping. I shall have a chat to my ortho in the next few days.

#15 Post by **Andromeda** » Fri May 08, 2009 7:19 am

I see several comments on how we can't always get perfect results and I do agree, however, when that is the case I think the ortho should explain clearly as soon as s/he realizes what can't be fixed and why. And the thing is, many of the issues here seem like things that CAN be fixed or at least improved upon if the ortho would just try. Im just saying that while we shouldn't expect perfection or for our teeth to turn out like someone elses teeth that we like more, we should still get the best results possible for our individual case.

I am having many of the same issues with my teeth as pearls is, and there are some (like my midline being off) that I don't mind and know it might not be fixable. There are others (like the slant/CANT of my upper teeth where the bite is more closed and tight on my left side) that I know can be fixed and won't be pleased if it isn't addressed.

I just think we need to choose our battles wisely and hopefully, in the end, will win the war