Metal Mouth Message Board

I had braces for about four years during high school. While many problems with my bite were fixed, I still have a large overjet. I can put the tip of my index finger in between my bottom and front teeth when my mouth is closed.

There are several reasons for this. The orthodontist told me to have my wisdom teeth extracted, but I didn't do it. It sounded painful. I was given elastics to wear, and while they weren't so bad by themselves, if I relaxed my muscles, my lower jaw would slide forward and my teeth would lock together, which was unbearable. I was also given headgear, but I couldn't deal with it. I am a side sleeper and can't fall asleep on my back (even if I want to). I'm really a poor sleeper in general and all of these little things, not just the headgear, made my life miserable. Which is why I failed at braces.

Eventually, the orthodontist decided that my bite was satisfactory enough that my teeth wouldn't wear down prematurely, although I still have this large overjet. I don't care about cosmetic appearance. So I don't think about it. But they never did feel right.

It's over a decade later and I'm an adult now. An oral surgeon told the only way to ever correct my overbite is with surgery. $35,000 surgery. And I need to do it because blah blah blah. An orthodontist who gave me a free consultation said I don't need surgery, but I do need headgear. I won't wear headgear. It's not an option for me. Why can't I find a doctor who uses some new technology that makes all of this easier? They all want me to wear headgear.

Should I keep trying to fix my teeth, or just ignore them? They seem fine, other than not fitting together all that well. If I did get braces again, it can't involve unaffordable surgery or torture appliances. I'm thinking I should leave braces in the failure column and just move on. What do you think?

If it doesn't cost you too much, I'd recommend getting a few more opinions from board certified orthodontists. That way, you can hopefully identify a pattern - for example, if 3 out of 4 recommend a certain type of treatment (e.g. surgery) then you can be relatively confident that that's the 'right' treatment path to go down. Of course, whether you choose to go down that path is then up to you, but the more informed you are the better.

If you don't care about cosmetic appearance, and your bite isn't giving you any issues, then hey, maybe there's no need for any treatment. But a very good question to ask your ortho/s is whether they can see your bite causing you problems down the track. In that case it would be good to get it fixed now.

I'm very surprised headgear is still used to be honest, I don't blame you for not being keen on it!

[quote="braceasaurus"]If it doesn't cost you too much, I'd recommend getting a few more opinions from board certified orthodontists. That way, you can hopefully identify a pattern - for example, if 3 out of 4 recommend a certain type of treatment (e.g. surgery) then you can be relatively confident that that's the 'right' treatment path to go down. Of course, whether you choose to go down that path is then up to you, but the more informed you are the better.

If you don't care about cosmetic appearance, and your bite isn't giving you any issues, then hey, maybe there's no need for any treatment. But a very good question to ask your ortho/s is whether they can see your bite causing you problems down the track. In that case it would be good to get it fixed now.

I'm very surprised headgear is still used to be honest, I don't blame you for not being keen on it![/quote]

Thanks for the reply. What do orthodontists use these days instead of headgear?

I forgot to add, is there any way I can find out which doctors use modern treatment methods, so I don't waste my time getting a consultation by someone who wants to put me in headgear? If I called all the offices in the phone book, just as an example, is there some kind of system of type of practice that I should ask for?

Also, sorry for the formatting in the above post. It was supposed to be quoted.

passport wrote:I forgot to add, is there any way I can find out which doctors use modern treatment methods, so I don't waste my time getting a consultation by someone who wants to put me in headgear? If I called all the offices in the phone book, just as an example, is there some kind of system of type of practice that I should ask for?

Also, sorry for the formatting in the above post. It was supposed to be quoted.

Maybe see which of them have websites and read about the technology they use, I find that medical and dental websites usually have sections dedicated to the new technology they use, and Orthodontists website is much the same.

[quote="passport"][quote="braceasaurus"]If it doesn't cost you too much, I'd recommend getting a few more opinions from board certified orthodontists. That way, you can hopefully identify a pattern - for example, if 3 out of 4 recommend a certain type of treatment (e.g. surgery) then you can be relatively confident that that's the 'right' treatment path to go down. Of course, whether you choose to go down that path is then up to you, but the more informed you are the better.

If you don't care about cosmetic appearance, and your bite isn't giving you any issues, then hey, maybe there's no need for any treatment. But a very good question to ask your ortho/s is whether they can see your bite causing you problems down the track. In that case it would be good to get it fixed now.

I'm very surprised headgear is still used to be honest, I don't blame you for not being keen on it![/quote]

Thanks for the reply. What do orthodontists use these days instead of headgear?[/quote]



That appliance is called FORSUS
http://www.avaorthodontics.com/appliances#Forsus