Metal Mouth Message Board

Next week I will be faced with the tough decision of continuing my orthodontic treatment or not, and I need a bit of feedback to help me with this decision.

The problems I have are: 3mm Overjet or Overbite (not sure which one), and two of my front teeth turned a bit inwards. I am 17.

My ortho's plan involves using an Rapid palatal expander to widen my top jaw, and then a forsus spring to bring my lower jaw forward. This part takes approximately 6-8 months. Then after all is complete, I will get braces to make my teeth straight.


I'm the type of person who likes to eat >.> and over the past few days with RPE and forsus the only thing I've been able to consume has been soup. I know that it does get better but at this point, it's been hell :[

Face changes - I really have no idea at this point, and my orthodontist did not mention much about aesthetics, but being a teenager, I am naturally concerned about how my face will look after all this.

My face is fairly long, but at the same time pretty wide as well. I guess I can conclude that my face is decently shaped, so thinning it/widening it/making it longer would not look very good. I do not want my face to look bigger than it already does. The ortho said something like put your bottom teeth forward and that's what you will look like, but I do not really want that change. It makes my face seem much longer >_>.

So yeah, I hope that some of you could give me some feedback on what I should do, especially the face changes I could expect since I don't want to spend so much money fixing my teeth while ruining other parts of my face x.x. I am hoping that this could somehow make my face seem smaller, but I can't really see how. I mean...rapid palatal expander sounds like its going to expand my jaw, stretching my nose and stuff >.>. I'm actually considering just getting braces to make my teeth straight, but the doctor said that will make my overbite even more prominent..so I really have no idea what I should do.

Take it from a 41 year old in braces (also had an expander), DO IT NOW!!!
In retrospect, if I had the means when I was younger, I would have done this in a heartbeat. You are still very young you have the rest of your life to live with a great smile. I'm sure the facial changes are not going to be that significant that you need to worry about them. I can't believe more haven't responded to this as this is a mostly adult forum. DO IT NOW!!! And even more important than your decision to move forward...........WEAR YOU RETAINERS, it's the single most important thing you can do to for your results to last! GOOD LUCK!

You should continue treatment for multiple reasons:
- people with straight teeth and a good bite get to keep their teeth much longer than people with crooked teeth who get cavities, gum problems, TMJ problems;
- you should not worry about minor changes that "might" appear on your face, I am pretty sure that the benefits of having straight, healthy teeth outweigh the changes that "might" appear on your face;
- I had a palatal expander, and my face has actually improved, I think that my face looks better at 28 than it did at 18...so you should take in consideration the fact that some good changes might happen;
- Why would you give up treatment based on some fears that you have? Try to see the POSITIVE side of orthodontics.
My last advice to you is to ask your orthodontist to give you one appliance at a time, so you can get used with it, and only after you get used with it should he give you a new one...just tell him to give you time to adjust.
Good luck in whatever you decide to do!!!

I know it all sounds horrible now, but in the end you will see that it was all worth it

It's better to get everything done now with proper retention than in the future where you may have a lot more financial responsibility.

I really don't know anything about the appliances you have but I just wanted to say, that I wish you luck with whatever decision you choose.

I think it is great that you are taking the time to research your decision and really think about what to do.

Does your ortho have any other patients who have the appliances you have that you can speak with?

Good luck!

Aoi,

I might as well break it to ya now. Your face -- and the rest of you -- is most likely going to be bigger and different looking when you get older.

I would continue with your treatment now if I was you especially if the work you're having done has been suggested by at least a few specialists.

That said, be prepared to follow up with wearing your retainer, etc or really why bother.

I totally hear you about food. I'm like, "Hmmm, do I really want to eat that turkey sandwich when I'm then going to spend 15 minutes cleaning my brackets?" instead of last week I'd be "Turkey sandwich yum! Where's the tea?" I would be happy to lose five pounds or so, I'm happy about that cos I think it's gonna happen.

Thanks for the encouragement peoples! I decided that I will continue the treatment because it will probably pay off in the future. It is a concern about nutrition though...but my mouth is definitely adapting to the changes and I visualize myself eating almost normally very soon! Not too glad to hear that I will lose weight however, I am far too skinny for my height! (Around 178-180cm and weigh only 130 pounds :[.

Protein powder in yummy smoothies and shakes!

Good luck to you~

You can also try ENSURE or BOOST protein shakes, they come in different flavors and they have lots of nutrition and calories.

Aoi wrote:Next week I will be faced with the tough decision of continuing my orthodontic treatment or not, and I need a bit of feedback to help me with this decision.

The problems I have are: 3mm Overjet or Overbite (not sure which one), and two of my front teeth turned a bit inwards. I am 17.

My ortho's plan involves using an Rapid palatal expander to widen my top jaw, and then a forsus spring to bring my lower jaw forward. This part takes approximately 6-8 months. Then after all is complete, I will get braces to make my teeth straight.


I'm the type of person who likes to eat >.> and over the past few days with RPE and forsus the only thing I've been able to consume has been soup. I know that it does get better but at this point, it's been hell :[

Face changes - I really have no idea at this point, and my orthodontist did not mention much about aesthetics, but being a teenager, I am naturally concerned about how my face will look after all this.

My face is fairly long, but at the same time pretty wide as well. I guess I can conclude that my face is decently shaped, so thinning it/widening it/making it longer would not look very good. I do not want my face to look bigger than it already does. The ortho said something like put your bottom teeth forward and that's what you will look like, but I do not really want that change. It makes my face seem much longer >_>.

So yeah, I hope that some of you could give me some feedback on what I should do, especially the face changes I could expect since I don't want to spend so much money fixing my teeth while ruining other parts of my face x.x. I am hoping that this could somehow make my face seem smaller, but I can't really see how. I mean...rapid palatal expander sounds like its going to expand my jaw, stretching my nose and stuff >.>. I'm actually considering just getting braces to make my teeth straight, but the doctor said that will make my overbite even more prominent..so I really have no idea what I should do.

I have no doubt the small facial changes that will occur will be of benefit. Just take a look at some jaw surgery before and after pictures. Not once will you find any case where a person looks worse afterwards. Now while your changes won't be as drastic as a surgical change, it can mirror those changes in a smaller degree.

Now you say your face is fairly long...but wide as well. You are contradicting yourself because you cannot be both wide and long, as each refers to two concepts that oppose each other. Being "long faced" means your face is longer vertically than it is wider. Being "short faced" is the opposite and the same as what you refer to as being "wide" and means the face is shorter compared to the horizontal dimension. If your face is both long and wide then I guess you would be trying to say you just have a really big head....

Either way, when your ortho said imagine yourself with your jaw forward he was sort of correct in imitating the changes. However, when you said it made your face longer, that is actually a change that will not occur. When you put your jaw forward now, undoubtedly you will need to also open your jaw (otherwise your incisors run into each other) to do so. This is why it appears longer, since you are opening your mouth at the same time. However, when reducing your overjet, your bite is not going to move in the vertical dimension, it is simply moving forward. So while the forward movement you imitated is correct, you will not have the vertical change associated as well.

A better way to look at the change is viewing from the side profile and ignoring the vertical change in your chin position, it is simply the horizontal position that will change. Overjets are usually characterized by the appearance of a recessive jaw or lack of chin. Correction of such will enhance the appearance of the chin and jaw.

However I have seen some people who, despite their overjets, actually had good facial proportions (maybe because they had an overly strong chin/jaw to begin with and it was balanced out with the overjet). If thats the case, then care should be taken so you don't end up with an overly projecting jaw.

There are a lot of considerations within orthodontic treatment and while it would be nice to have no adjustment period or discomfort with treatment, it is an unfortunate "transient" part of it. It may be difficult to imagine, but virtually all people who get braces and appliances to start have a tough time, but are extremely happy about sticking with the process. In time, you will definitely be able to eat and chew so that you don't have to stick to your soup diet :).

The appliance sounds like it is supposed to bring your lower jaw forward in a horizontal direction, because of a deficient lower jaw relative to the upper jaw. This is certainly going to provide an positive aesthetic benefit.

As for the RPE, the amount of widening is going to depend on the number of turns required. Keep in mind that there is only about 1mm of expansion for every 4-5 turns. Most of the expansion is used to help free the upper jaw for the required movements.

Also, although you overjet is currently 3mm, the fact that your upper teeth are retroclined inwards means that your overjet will be much more pronounced if teeth are aligned without addressing the position of the jaws.

At age 17, it is important to understand that the window of opportunity to correct the position of the lower jaw, and expand the upper jaw without surgery is not large. Therefore, your decision to forgo treatment at this time may result in the inability to provide full correction without surgical intervention in the future (something we all would avoid if possible!).

Speak to your orthodontist if you have any additional questions. As with the rest of the posts in this thread, it is probably a good idea to follow along with the advice of your carefully chosen professional. This forum is a great support group for orthodontic patients such as yourself :). Good luck!