Metal Mouth Message Board

Ahh!!

I am so mad!
I don't know why I am paying big bucks to go to this Harvaard ortho. if who does *all* the work is the assistant! When she was done with everything he barelly looked at my mouth, said OK and walked away! Problem is... It is not OK!

I got Damon 3s last Monday.
I must confess that my teeth were kind of sore then, so I didn't attempt to floss... But today when I tried to floss... Surprise! I can't! The floss won't go in between my teeth! My teeth are literally glued together with the cement they used to glue the braces on! So I called the office and made an appointment to come in tomorrow, hopefully they will be able to "unglue" these teeth...

Am I the only one who is shocked that the assistant did all the ortho's job without supervision? Who put your braces on? Did anyone else ever had their teeth cemented together?

Thanks!

Gem,

I know that different ortho's work in different ways. My ortho back in the UK (when I was a young teen, about ten-twelve years ago now) did everything himself...my current ortho-to-be here in the US couldn't be more different! He has assistants who do everything, and like your ortho, he just checks in on his patients whilst the assistants are working.

I think there are pro's and con's to both styles, and its important to find an ortho (and/or assistants) that you are comfortable with. I've never heard of the teeth being cemented together, and its probably a good idea for you to pay a visit to the office and express your concerns and hopefully they'll be able to sort out the extra cement and make you feel more comfortable. Hope it goes well for you tomorrow!

The day i got my braces, I couldn't floss in between two of my teeth as well but after two days i had no problems...

as for your ortho and assistant, i strongly suggest you talk to them...you are paying for this so you have a voice...I 'm fortunate because my ortho does everything...he doesn't have an assistant as he believes that the doctor should do the whole treatment...but yeah, talk to them!

why I am paying big bucks to go to this Harvaard ortho. if who does *all* the work is the assistant!

Gemini, I'm not sure if I understood from your post which things were done by the ortho and which by the assistant, but it sounds like the assistant did most of it.

That would have really bothered me, and I just may have not even allowed it (but that is me), it's hard to say. I can tell you that one of the many questions that I asked of all of the four orthos that I consulted with is "who puts on the brackets?"

I would definitely have a talk with the treatment coordinator, if you don't feel comfortable addressing this situation with the ortho directly when you go back tomorrow.

I am so sorry that you did not have a good experience last week. I hope things are much more satisfactory from now on for you.

I have had the cement be between my teeth quite a few times after getting braces put back on or re-adjusted. It has gone away within a few weeks. I did tell my ortho about this and he said it was fine, but if it didnt go away by flossing to come back and he would fix it.

I too had some of my teeth stuck together and couldn't floss. I went back the next day and my Ortho said it was the glue and in time it would have
come off. I really like my Ortho and he removed the glue with a drill like tool. His assistant had tried to get it off first with an instrument like what they clean your teeth with, but she wasn't able to get it all off.

My Ortho has about four assistant, and yes they do do alot of the work. But he always finishes up with me, talks things over, and seems to personally do the detail stuff. His assistant put on my brackets. They were already placed in a plastic mold that they put on my teeth all at once. So the assistant didn't decide where they went , my Ortho had already done that, I think with the aid of the computer.

I too had some of my teeth stuck together and couldn't floss. I went back the next day and my Ortho said it was the glue and in time it would have
come off. I really like my Ortho and he removed the glue with a drill like tool. His assistant had tried to get it off first with an instrument like what they clean your teeth with, but she wasn't able to get it all off.

My Ortho has about four assistant, and yes they do do alot of the work. But he always finishes up with me, talks things over, and seems to personally do the detail stuff. His assistant put on my brackets. They were already placed in a plastic mold that they put on my teeth all at once. So the assistant didn't decide where they went , my Ortho had already done that, I think with the aid of the computer.

Thank you all for the replies!

I know, I just had a "cry baby" moment yesterday...
It may have something to do with not being able to eat very well...

Anyway, my appt is later this afternoon, so I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again!

Gemini,
I too think that not being able to eat properly or very well really makes you feel down. I would have to say its my main complaint. I just hope it gets better with time!!!

Several of my teeth were glued together after I got my brackets on. I just used a floss threader to get the floss underneath the glue between my teeth and worked it up and it broke that glue up really easily and quickly. It was such a relief after I did it. My poor teeth were trying to move but couldn't because of the glue.

All of my work is done by assistants and then the doc just checks. I think the assistants do a great job and I can communicate with them easier than the doctor. That's just my opinion, but I totally understand where you're coming from.

I tried getting it out with the floss but that didn't go too well.

I went back to the office today, hoping to talk to the ortho but... what a "surprise", he wasn't even there... No big deal I guess, today's assistant was OK and was able to answer some of my questions.

Back to the glued teeth subject, the assistant tried to get the glue out with the floss but that didn't work out. She ended up having to drill it out. Good news is that now I can floss, less one thing to worry about.

Yeee!