I just got my braces off last week, but I'm not happy.

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#1 Post by **Che1sea** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 7:55 am

Do you think I could get them put back on without having to pay for the braces again? I mean, that would be horrible since I already paid once. I feel bad because I told them I was happy with my smile, and they were making a big deal asking me if I liked it. This is because I wasn't happy with what the ortho did originally to my teeth. I wish I could go to another ortho, but I can't because I don't have the money to spend on braces again.

My ortho doesn't seem to want to move my teeth how I want them because that isn't the way they are "supposed to be." But everyone's face and teeth are different! It doesn't look good or work for everyone!

#2 Post by **Steph in Sac** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 8:46 am

Without specifics, I am only guessing at your situation. I don't mean to minimize your feelings, but it seems many of us fall victim to nit-picking. If you see some of the recent postings with pictures, people have great teeth, but they notice the tiniest imperfection and it's magnified to them.

The thing to remember about ortho's is they are concerned with your bite and the asthetics. What you want may not be the best for your teeth or your bite and may cause problems long term.

As for getting them back on without paying, I'm sure there will be some kind of fee--as there should be for their time in putting them back on. I'm sure it won't be the $5,000 (or whatever) you paid for them because you won't need them for the length of time you just had them for.

#3 Post by **Che1sea** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 9:41 am

I don't like my smile because my front teeth hardly show!

#4 Post by **macgirl4ever** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:37 am

Perhaps you should look towards surgical solutions. Last month I had a frenectomy that broadened my smile as well as increased it's height. It was simple, in office, and done under local aesthetic. If the piece of tissue that connects your upper lip to your gum is long and is preventing you from having the smile you want, this may help. It can't hurt to ask your dentist/ortho about it.

#5 Post by **Che1sea** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:50 am

I actually asked about a frenectomy when I went to a consultation with another ortho, but he said it wouldn't help. I'm not sure if he understood what I was asking, though. The middle of my lip droops down, and covers some of my 2 front teeth. It is kind of hard for me to lift that part up high. Did you have that problem?

#6 Post by **macgirl4ever** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:51 pm

Unfortunately, no. Before the frenectomy, none of my gum showed when I smiled, now some of my gum shows. The center of my lip did not nor does it seem to droop obstructing my teeth but my upper lip is more free giving me more movement of my upper lip to smile wider and taller. I thought that perhaps your lip might do that because the tissue that connects it to the gum is too tight. I'm not a dentist much less an oral surgeon but it seemed to make sense. I didn't have the frenectomy done to correct the way I smiled, I had to have it done because of a diastema. The wider/taller smile was just an unknown added plus to having it done.

#7 Post by **Che1sea** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:26 pm

Yeah, that's what I thought a frenectomy would do...make my lip be able to move more freely. Maybe I'll ask my ortho or my dentist about it.

#8 Post by **Annie2009** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 10:22 am

Hello

I sympathise...I had my brace removed today and I'm not completely happy with the result. I only had minor problems (rotated lower canines) and was entirely happy with my top teeth prior to braces. Now the bottom teeth are great but I don't like much about the top ones now, and they're the ones on show

Everyone thought I was mad for getting braces in the first place, as had 'good' teeth on the whole and I'm beginning to think that they might have been right (especially after my traumatic de-band problems with stuck-fast ceramic brackets!).

I'm just hoping that in time I will get used to the new look. I do trust my orthodontist, and feel that I probably have the best result I could have (without going down the veneers route). I have rather rounded teeth which don't fit together neatly for that square edged Hollywood smile! The whole process of having braces makes you focus on your teeth in such complete detail. It's bound to make us hyper-critical, it certainly has made me that way.

Now to get used to the retainers...took me 20 minutes to get them out so I could have a coffee

Really hope that you (and I!) feel happier about our teeth in time.

All best wishes

Ann

#9 Post by **Che1sea** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 10:27 am

Thanks! Yeah, I think I just have to get used to them.

#10 Post by **Annie2009** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 1:56 pm

I have also discovered after wrestling my retainers out for a 2nd time, that my teeth look better naked than in the retainer (essix), which seems to emphasise the minor defects which draw my eye everytime I glance at my teeth

Onwards and upwards!

#11 Post by **Che1sea** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:01 pm

I actually have Hawley retainers, so that isn't a problem.

#12 Post by **Snowglobe32** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 6:14 pm

Che1sea wrote:I don't like my smile because my front teeth hardly show!

Is this something that can be fixed with braces? Have you thought about bonding or veneers to make the teeth look longer?

#13 Post by **Che1sea** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:40 pm

I have no idea if it can be fixed with braces...I mean there is only so much that the teeth can be pulled down. I have looked into bonding and veneers, but my dentist, who is a cosmetic dentist also, said I shouldn't get either done because my natural teeth are so nice. He said they would ruin my teeth.