Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey guys. I got my braces off in March/May, but ever since I haven't been 100% satisfied with my bottom front teeth and the way they're positioned. Top teeth are great, bite is great, but I still notice small imperfections when I scrutinize my bottom teeth in the mirror. Today, I finally got the courage to schedule a consult with another orthodontist... Hopefully this one will be more of a perfectionist than my current ortho. My appointment is next Tuesday morning.

Did anyone else go back for more work shortly after braces were removed?

Wow you are brave! I just got my braces off and... never again!!! I wonder if you could get a quick course of Invisalign for just the bottom?

I had invisalign for a year several years ago. I now have full brackets on my bottom teeth and will do for the next twelve months or so. I completely understand the desire to have teeth that meet your expectations and it's difficult to convey the displeasure with something like a smile that you don't think is quite right. That being said, I think newbite might have a great idea with a potential invisalign treatment.

Yeah, that's very good advice. I would definitely prefer a short course of Invisalign over more braces! The ortho office called back yesterday and said that the ortho wants more time to talk with me at the consult, so we moved it to December 8. I'm very encouraged by that! I feel like my current ortho is all about quantity over quality, which has been very disappointing.

Here's a picture. I Know it's minor, but you can clearly see that the front teeth aren't properly aligned. I raised this concern with my orthodontist back in August, and his response was that the teeth look the same as they did when my braces were removed. So hellooo, obviously they weren't perfect then, either.

I see your lower left lateral is a little rotated. Did you just notice that now or before the permanent retainer went on? I believe that some teeth do shift after even in full time retention. Would love to hear what your consult will have to say.

Hi, it's certainly worth pursuing and looks like it could be easily corrected. Is there sufficient space to rotate that tooth or will you need some IPR to create enough room? It might not appear like an issue to some, including your previous ortho, but if it bothers you, find someone who shares your attention to detail and give it a go.

I raised my concerns with my current orthodontist yesterday, and he said I should start wearing my bottom Essix retainer full-time and see if that moves the bottom teeth back into place. (I had been given a Essix retainer to wear just at night to keep my molars in their place as spaces had opened up after de-bracing.) I'm not confident this will work, because the retainer doesn't feel tight like it would if teeth had moved from where they were at de-bracing. I'm also concerned that my bottom teeth are at different heights -- my bottom left teeth sit higher than my bottom right teeth -- but he didn't seem willing or able to offer a solution for that.

I've reached the conclusion that my current ortho rushed me through treatment and didn't take the time to ensure that everything was perfect before de-bracing. And that's really frustrating. I think at this point, it would be best for another orthodontist to re-treat my bottom teeth. I don't care if this requires a couple more months of braces -- in fact, I would rather have that if it means I can FINALLY be happy with my bottom arch.

Thank you for posting the nice clear pic of the retainer band. I've got to have one on my top teeth and really couldn't visualise it clearly. It's set my mind at rest a bit!

And, I do so hope that you can get sorted soon. Your teeth look lovely to me but, if you're not happy, that's all that matters.

T xx

Glad this was helpful! My "bar" is actually probably bigger than what others have.

It's more seeing how it's attached. Looks more sturdy than I'd feared! Well, I find out next week...

Txx

Is your permanent retainer bonded to each of your lower teeth it sits behind? It doesn't really look like it from the photo...mine is attached to each tooth with a blob of cement.

Hey y'all, I had my consult with the new orthodontist today, and I feel so much better now! She said my bite was great but suggested some finishing and detailing work that we could do to fix minor cosmetic issues. She agreed that my bottom front teeth could use some minor adjustments, and she also suggested a bit of filing to smooth and even the edges of my top front teeth -- which I hadn't even thought of, but she said that would really improve the overall aesthetic.

I'm a perfect candidate for Invisalign at this point, but I know full well that I wouldn't well that I wouldn't keep the aligner in for 20-22 hours per day. I also think that braces can do fine tuning and detailing better than Invisalign, and the orthodontist agreed.

So I've decided to go with traditional metal brackets, and my orthodontist estimated 6 months. She doesn't want to mess with my nice bite, so she's not doing brackets on the last 2 molars on each side. We're leaving the top arch as is, so I'll just continue to wear my top retainer at night.

I go in for an X-ray and pictures on Dec. 3. The cost will be $1,415, $695 down and $120/month for 6 months. I don't know what I was expecting cost-wise, but this seems VERY reasonable to me.

I'm sooo happy with this decision to switch orthodontists and re-treat. This ortho is so much more thorough and patient-focused than the guy I see now.

Oh! Forgot to add that this will be the round #3 of braces -- High school, adult braces #1, and now adult braces #2.

But you know what.... I don't even care!!! I'm just thrilled that I'll finally have the results I wanted all along.

That's great news and so going to be worth it in the long run. As for cost, this seems very reasonable and your choice of conventional brackets seems the most sensible given the control this gives your ortho to get the refinements just right. Good luck.