Metal Mouth Message Board

On Monday, I'm going for my full consultation with the ortho:

When I first saw him, he indicated that the whole process would take 30-36 months, I could probably get away without having surgery, and that metal would be better and faster than ceramics.

Now I've had all the photos and X-rays, he and my dentist have chatted, and, according to my dentist, the ortho is ready with several options, one of which will include surgery. At this time, I'm not inclined to have the surgery.

Are there any questions you wish you'd asked before you went in for the final step of getting the braces attached? Are there any questions I should be asking? I've learned a lot from this board about what to be expecting during the whole shebang, but I want to be sure I'm an informed consumer....BTW, I'm 59 years old....my dentist told me the other day that a 75-year-old in his practice just got braces.

I can't think of any questions that I should have asked that I didn't. Just wanted to wish you good luck. I'm 45 and in braces. Between you, me and the 75 year old, it just goes to show you braces aren't just for teenagers anymore!

I wish I would have been more aggressive when I asked what problems needed to be fixed. Not aggressive, but it seems like everyone on here knows exactly what their problems with their teeth are, and I only know the general. Overbite, overjet, and crowding. I know I'm going to require a retainer and I'll have to have those rubber bands on my teeth for awhile, but I am not sure of much else and the ortho seemed surprised when I asked about that at last consultation.

I think she's used to dealing with the 12-17 year olds who don't care what their problems are as long as they are fixed, hahaha. Plus many of her younger patients aren't paying for it so they don't care.

Well, I'm a little older and I'm paying for it myself, so I really want to know what's going on. So each time I go, I plan to ask what is next on the treatment step. Again, I wish I'd asked for more specifics earlier on, though.

If I were you, I would definitely ask for specifics, all of the options and which one he thinks would get the best results. He will most likely immediately tell you which one he prefers, but of course it is up to you and what you are comfortable with.

It's really funny, I thought I was way too old to be getting braces (I'm only 20!) before I found this site, and now I realize there is no such thing as 'too old' to have braces.

Hi Cactus

I don't know what type of surgery your Ortho is suggesting, but for me it's getting my impacted canines surgically exposed.

If I was doing this over again I think I would have had a consult with the Oral Surgeon before getting braces. From what I've been told and what I've read here they don't know ahead of time if a tooth is ankylosed or not. That is my fear, so I guess going to the Oral Surgeon ahead of time wouldn't answer that. But if I had gone at least I would know more about the position of the teeth, such as if they are high up in the pallet or not.

So, maybe if you get the Oral Surgeon consult ahead of the braces you would feel a little more at ease about your decision to get surgery or not.

That would be the only thing I would do differently, even though it probably wouldn't make much difference, but at least I wouldn't have worried about the upcomming surgery as much. My surgery consult is scheduled for March 14th, as my Ortho said I am now ready for the surgery. He was waiting till he got a very strong wire in so he could really pull on the canines. This Last week when they were putting in the upper wire they said that it was the strongest wire they ever use. I wasn't sure if I was going to be really sore or not, but not too sore, just a liitle sore on my molars for a couple of day.

Anyway, sorry I've been rambling on. Best of luck with your treatment, and let us know what you decide.

Take Care,
Shawnie

I'll never forget that on the day I got my braces on, my orthodontist made a comment along the lines of "you won't need to wear headgear." The thought of headgear had NEVER crossed my mind, and I don't know that I would've even pursued treatment if headgear was going to be a part of it! That comment of his really stuck with me as a "dodged the bullet" moment - so although your ortho would've hopefully told you if headgear was going to be part of your treatment plan, you might want to get confirmation one way or the other (if that matters to you). Also now, as I approach the final quarter of treatment, I'm wishing that I'd asked more about anticipated retainer plans upon completion.

Otherwise though, I've found that the approach jennandtonic mentioned works well. There's no way for an ortho to accurately predict the exact course your teeth will take (and there's no way I could remember it all two years down the road if he told me on day one!), so I just ask about upcoming steps at each visit. So I knew about a month in advance when power chains, elastics, and closing loops were coming my way, taking some of the anxiety of the unknown out of adjustment appointments without being faced with the whole list of things at once to worry about. And the baby steps have made the past year and a half fly by - my latest adjustment update was that I'm on my second-to-last archwire before my finishing wire!

Best of luck!

Cheers,
Erica

cactus wrote: he indicated that the whole process would take 30-36 months, I could probably get away without having surgery, .

I would ask specifics like "what if during treatment you feel that I would need surgery to correct my condition...will I be happy with the results at that point without the surgery?"

Make sure you understand exactly what the final outcome will be so that you can be happy.

Ask everything you can think of!!! If you forget your questions, ask him what kind of questions his other adult patients ask...

Honestly, ask him to explain everyting. Whenever I go there, my brain just freezes so I forget all my questions. I almost don't know anything about my treatment. I know I have a crossbite and some crowding of the lower teeth...but I know nothing about what bite type I have...whether I have an overjet, openbite etc... I know the very basic and it bothers me. I am hoping to be able to remember all the questions that I have so I can know a bit more about what is happenning on my 2nd adjustment.

So ask him everything that is on your mind...what are your options? Why would you choose a certain option over another...what exactly do you have...what kind of things he will use...etc...etc...

thanks for your responses....

Not much had changed from my initial consultation - still 30-36 months, full metal mouth, the price hasn't risen [thank goodness!!] - $6590 minus 5% for payment in full, covering everything, including the retainers and a year's worth of retainer visits after it's over. Surgery doen't appear to be absolutely necessary at this time - and, in all likelihood, unless I want to be in an advertisement for perfect teeth and jawline, won't be an option I'll sign on for. At the end, once they're off, I'll need restorative work on my upper and lower front teeth that have gotten worn down. If only a dental professional had clued me about the wearing down of those front teeth earlier....I'm trying not to look ahead to having the braces finally off, only to have funky looking worn-down teeth to mar the view.

Only new wrinkle is a few months of a bite plane [looks like a retainer without the wires] to keep some rear teeth apart so that they can all be braced successfully.

I'll be seeing a periodontist fairly soon to discover what needs to be done about some gums that are too low and a look at my bones.

Tomorrow I get my teeth cleaned. Next Monday, I go for the bite plane molding and paperwork; then the following Monday, uppers and lowers go on. Better go shopping for supplies, Advil, and good lip balm.

Good luck catcus. Sounds like you have a full schedule!