Metal Mouth Message Board

Ok i have been braced since July. 2 visits ago (about 10 weeks ago) i got my first set of powerchains...oww...but then i started to really like them, they started to close the gaps and make my teeth look really nice.

Then this past adjustment my ortho didnt put them on, she put on regular O's. and she said she was going to start with elastics but at the last minute changed her mind. and regularly i have adjustments every 4 weeks, this time is 6 weeks until my next one.

after only 2 days without powerchains i have this growing gap between my front teeth!! its soo embarasing, never there before!!

My ortho is always in a hurry and hardly actually does any of the work herself so it is very hard to ask her why she does what she does with my treatment.

Why would she "take a break" in my treatment when the power chains were really working?? it looks like my teeth are totally seperating back, and it bugs me!!

The only person who could give you the "real" answer to your question would be your ortho. The rest of us would just be speculating, as no two peoples' treatments seem to be the same. Maybe your ortho is just used to dealing with younger kids who don't care whats going on with their treatment. It never hurts to ask.

Oh wow, that would make me angry if my gaps started opening back up after having so much progress. I guess you could call and try to talk to the ortho but I'm not sure if that will do any good.

its just so difficult because my ortho is only there every other thursday, and she has 3 chairs full at once so she is bouncing back and forth telling her assistants what to do, they do it, she checks and then i leave. so i dont have time to ask questions really because when she is there her hands are in my mouth!! i ask the assistant sometimes but they dont really know much.

When i do ask her questions or try to show her something she almost seems annoyed. the staff is awesome but she is soo difficult. and at this point its not like i can just switch orthos.

hi Chr1ssy711

this is so wierd that you write this because I'm going through the same thing right now!! Last few appt's my teeth were straightening up and the gaps were closing...but now I have this clear looking powerchain on but the gaps are coming back and I now have a big fat space in between my front teeth-again. My orth is really busy-he is the only one who works on my mouth-but he won't answer my questions he has his assitants do it...Hopefully I can shed some light on this next Tues. when my next appt. is.

renee

I got my braces on April 8, 2005 - my estimate treatment time was 12 months, so they where suppose to come off sometime in April 2006. On January 30, I got elastics for the 1st time; 4 weeks later my teeth looked horrible. The elastics pulled my teeth forward, making all my top teeth flare up and the right canine is slightly crooked making the right side look different from the left, it was so ugly. Before the elastics, I thought I would be braces free on April because my teeth looked good and all my friends where telling me in December that my looked great also (I got braces on because I wanted to close some spaces). Anyway, I was miserable until my last appointment, which was on March 15; I tentavily point out some things I was not happy with when my Ortho made the comment on how well the elastics where working. I was happy when she said, don't worry, we will fix that! Anyway, since my 3/15 appointment I can see a great improvement on the flare (it's barely there), the crooked canine looks less crooked (maybe because my top are no flaring as much). My next appointment is May 5 (notice that my 12 months diagonis will come and gone, May 5 will make it 13 months)! I did not ask her when my braces where coming off because I did not want her to think I'm impatient to get them off and it's not done right. I want to be completely happy when these things come off, so I'm trying to practice patience. My entire 12 months, the assistants has done everything, I only see my Ortho for less then 5 minutes while she check my mouth and give the assistant directions; she don't even check the end result. Last appointment was the longest she spent with me; she cut out the new wire for my top teeth, but the assistant still put it on.

Chr1ssy711 wrote:its just so difficult because my ortho is only there every other thursday, and she has 3 chairs full at once so she is bouncing back and forth telling her assistants what to do, they do it, she checks and then i leave. so i dont have time to ask questions really because when she is there her hands are in my mouth!! i ask the assistant sometimes but they dont really know much.

When i do ask her questions or try to show her something she almost seems annoyed. the staff is awesome but she is soo difficult. and at this point its not like i can just switch orthos.

Chr1ssy711-

Did you sign a contract before you got braced. If so, review it carefully. Most orthos will put in their contract, and are expected to do so, that they are available for questions.

If there is anything in the contract that the ortho is not living up to, it may be time to have a discussion with her about "compliance" - she expects yours orthodontically and you expect hers in terms of what kind of service she will give. If she balks, then you can suggest that if she does not want to live to the terms of her contract she can refund your money in full and you will find another orthodontist.

I hate to get legal on people, but from what you've said she doesn't listen much so "breach of contract" may be enough to get her attention. Also, you could write the state board who regulates dentists and orthodontists and file a complaint. What I once did was wrote the letter, then sent it to the dentist saying I'd like to discuss it to avoid involvement of the board, and miraculously things resolved themself.

You deserve much better.