Metal Mouth Message Board

So, I got my braces off March 11th, almost a month ago. I was not, and still am not, satisfied with my teeth,at all. Besides the way my top teeth stick out, my bite is not symmetrical (the top and bottom teeth don't match up) and there is space in between one side of my bite. I spoke to my ortho when I got my retainer a few days after getting the braces off, and he said the only thing we could do to fix the teeth sticking out was pull two teeth. I decided not to go that route (yet), but as each day goes by, I hate my teeth more and more. They seem to be sticking out even more every day, and I wear my retainer ALWAYS, sometimes even when I'm eating. I have also begun to notice that my two bottom teeth are sticking out as well. I'm so mad! What should I do? Here is a picture of the space on one side of my bite, and I'll upload more photos later on of the asymmetry:


Yeah, I know it looks like I'm biting like that on purpose. I'm not though, that's my natural bite. The photo on the left is with a retainer, and the photo on the right is without.

If you're not happy with your ortho's advice, don't be afraid to get a 2nd (and/or 3rd) opinion on what else can be done. If they all say extractions are needed it's possibly something to consider but if not it's better to keep teeth if you possibly can.

I see what you mean, I wouldnt be happy either.

I agree with getting 2nd & 3rd opinions, especially when extracting teeth is concerned. I'm not saying it's never indicated, I just think it's best to be absolutely sure that's the best course of treatment for you. Once those teeth are gone, they can never be replaced. Im currently facing the reality that implants are the only way back to a healthy bite. I'm gutted but hopefully healthy bite will equal healthy body again. I can't tell you how much I regret not getting a second opinion on my extractions. It's best to be sure it's the right path before you go down it.

Seems odd that one side is so different to the other. Could it be that you have more wear on that side? I have wear on my teeth from my old (pre-ortho) bite, that once the teeth were straightened, made one side of my arches appear shorter than the other. Could this account for it? It's quite the gap though, I'd be seeking other opinions, even if the best outcome is that you understand why your teeth are the way they are.

Good luck, keep us posted

It's also possible (although take my guess with the proverbial internet-sized grain of salt) that your jawline is canted, and nothing short of surgery is going to fix that tilt.

sirwired wrote:It's also possible (although take my guess with the proverbial internet-sized grain of salt) that your jawline is canted, and nothing short of surgery is going to fix that tilt.

Does that mean my bite is "crooked" looking at it straight on?

It means that it looks canted (tilted up/down from right to left) based on the two grainy cell-phone photos. A full diagnostic photo series (the "grid" of eight photos you often see posted here) would show more. And certainly a set of impressions would tell an orthodontist more.

Here are some more photos:





In the third one, you can really see how much they stick out, including the bottom ones.
Oh gosh, the pictures are HUGE. How can I fix this?

Your bottom arch looks visually ok for now, but yes, your top arch needs some work. It is entirely possible that your upper arch is simply too small, and that nothing short of extractions and/or surgery will fix that. Perhaps you might be a candidate for palatal expansion (avoiding the extractions), but that'd be for an actual orthodontist to judge.

As you are finding out the hard way, there's a reason some cases simply require extractions: there are often long-term stability issues if an extraction case doesn't have the extractions done (or some other sort of work is done to make the arch big enough.) The wire on a retainer is nowhere near strong enough to prevent such movement since it is not bonded to the teeth like your brackets were.

It's disappointing, to say the least, if your orthodontist didn't discuss all this when devising your treatment plan.

I have the same overjet as you, on my left side I have 8 mm overjet and on my right side I have 4 mm. This was not something I had before braces but my teeth were so tight together then and my arch was like a Ω and when my ortho made it to a U I got this strange overjet.
The reason I got this is because I had 7 teeth on my left side and 6 teeth on the other side (the premolar on the right was extracted when I was young).

I extracted a premolar on the left side and we are moving my teeth back. In my case I can´t see any other options to fix this without extraction but it might be different in your case. Why not ask another ortho´s opinion? I would do that if it´s always on you mind.

Can take a picture later to show you if you want. It´s so funny to have this overjet because it´s so huge on one side but the other side is “ok” looks so strange! It´s "funny" now because I still have braces and know this will be fixed. It had not been funny if my treatment was finished and I still had it though...

Good luck! And yes, please keep us posted

From the front they look straight, but yea I see what you mean. I don't know where you started with your teeth journey but I would go to the ortho and asks "What gives?"

Thank you all so, so much for the information. To be honest, I'm angry at my orthodontist for NEVER discussing the overjet with me; I'm guessing he knew it was going to be like this, but he never spoke to me about it and the possibilities while I still had braces. Should I go to another orthodontist, or ask the one I received treatment from? I feel like if I do talk to my current one, it just won't get through to him. I don't want to get braces again and spend thousands of dollars

To pp Id like to see a picture. To op im no expert but I see what the pp posters meant when they said extraction looks like it would help. That would mean starting all over though.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?