Questions about brackets, orthos, and costs

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#1 Post by **mmaynard** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 6:30 pm

Hello all!!

First I wanted to say hello and how helpful this forum has been. I've read a lot of posts here and found out tons of useful information. This forum and all of you guys and gals are great! Can you guys please share your opinions and thoughts about the 2 orthos? I think both are excellent and would trust both.

My teeth aren't too bad but from I heard, I have the following:
* Excessive spacing of both upper and lower teeth
* upper back teeth bite too far ahead of the lower on the right side (class 2?)
* Some of the upper side teeth bite on the inside of the lower teeth on the left side.
* A few rotated teeth.

Now my recommendations:
Ortho 1:
* Standard brackets top and bottom - 18 months
* Bands (and spacers for a week) on both bottom molars due to a crown and large filling
* Elastics on the right side 4-5 months
* Appointments 4-6 weeks apart
* Hawley (I think that's right) retainer
* Cost $4950

Ortho 2:
* Damon brackets 18-20 months. Top first, then bottom at the 2nd appointment (only does Damon brackets).
* Bond the brackets to the molars and use bands if they have issues
* Elastics on the right side 6 months
* Appointments 11 weeks apart
* Hawley(?) retainer and a invisalign looking retainer (I get both and can wear the one I feel more comfortable in)
* Cost $5800

So it's a decent price difference. Ortho 2 says the damons are faster, less painful, smaller and require fewer appointments. Really I think that's why ortho 2 costs more. But they both said about 18 months.

What do you all think? If you had to choose and liked both, what would you do? I find so much mixed info on Damons and don't mind if it takes longer or shorter. Also I'm probably just getting metal on top/bottom (no clear). Any opinions are welcome. =)

#2 Post by **jjjmac** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:27 pm

Personally, I'd go with the first option. #1 - it's cheaper, #2 - more appointments. Why is the second one so much more when he gives about half as many appointments?

My appointments are generally about 6 weeks apart, sometimes 4. I can't imagine going 11 weeks between appointments. Granted, it would be nice to have one less appointment on my schedule. But I find that I'm really ready to go back by the 6 week mark - mostly because, by then, at least one wire is starting to poke pretty bad from my teeth having moved. I can gob wax on it for a week or so until the appointment, but if I had to wait longer, I'd have to drop by to get it clipped anyway.

As far as the Damon brackets go... smaller would be nicer but the bottom line is that it's still going to be noticeable that you have braces and you're still probably going to feel self conscious either way.

I also couldn't understand from your post, in regards to the molars and brackets and bands - if you have a crown and a large filling, the bracket should be going on a band and not on the crown?

#3 Post by **mmaynard** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:57 pm

Yeah good points. I'm not sure why #2 is more. That's the price they go with.

The 11 weeks would be nice but I'm wondering if that's too infrequent for the orthodontist to be checking on things.

The smaller brackets I think would be more about comfort than others noticing but I guess they will all feel huge right?

Sorry about the poor wording. Ortho 2 said they would put a bracket right on the molar with the crown and the molar with the filling. Ortho 1 said they would put bands on those molars and attach the brackets to those.

I guess is there any reason Damon's would be worth the extra money? Hard to justify I guess.

#4 Post by **starzz** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 6:20 pm

The good news is your case is not too difficult and you had consensus in the overall treatment approach from both. Consider things like office location, hours, busyness, did they take time to answer all your questions, level of customer service, options for payment plans / discount for paying in full, and bottom line which ortho do you trust most. The extra retainer is costing $850 if all else is equal. I have self-ligating brackets and my first couple appointments were spread further out 8-10 wks but now they are 4-6 wks. #1 is more using tried and trusted technology a bit old school and no frills, while #2 is embracing new technology. If you can avoid molar bands you miss a week of painful spacers but there's a fair chance the bracket might fall off one of your molars and you end up needing the band anyway.

#5 Post by **mmaynard** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 7:23 pm

Yeah I'm fortunate they both seem so close on treatment plans. Ortho 1 is located 5 minutes from my work and Ortho 2 is about 5 minutes from my house so I lucked out there also.

I think you're comment about tried and true vs new is very accurate. More for me to think about. It's interesting your appointments became closer together.

Good point about the bands. I've got a very large filling there and it might need a band in the end anyway. Thanks a lot for your comments.

Does anyone think 18 or 18-20 seems like a reasonable assessment? I'm 31 years old so I'm wondering if that affects it some.

#6 Post by **starzz** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:01 pm

I think 18 mo is about average (or that's what they tell most adults because no one will sing up for longer, LOL). Some move slower, some move faster and it can be hard to estimate. I think you are correct that teeth tend to move slower with increasing age. Also longer roots (which are really great for the health of the tooth) may take longer to move. They told me 16-18 months and I'm not done yet but all you can do is be patient!! Another thought is self-ligating braces are recommended for crowding. You said you have gaps, so regular old braces with ligatures ought to be fine. Just my opinions as a well-informed patient.

#7 Post by **ScottR** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:02 pm

Personally I go with ortho #1. Really.

#8 Post by **mmaynard** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:14 pm

Thanks for the advice. I asked and one will do the full records and a detailed plan for free and other for a small fee so I'm going to have the records done up this week and meet back with both in a couple of weeks to get all the details. I'll keep a lot of your suggestions in mind - thanks so much for the input and if I questions, I know where to come !