The never ending story of Clo's braces

Message

Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:19 pm

OMG. You're a trooper!! I was reading from the start and thought to myself: " Damn, she has a very nice smile"....Then I read and read and read and seen those huge springs and wondered: "What in the hell is going on here?"

You are determined to get your smile corrected and I like that!! I wish you the best of luck.

I hope someone is able to get you the smile that you hope for!

I've never ever ever heard of anything like this!

Good Luck!!

#17 Post by **Unhappy teeth** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:43 am

WOW! I agree with everyone else, I hope you find a solution. Good luck with it

#18 Post by **Clo** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:46 pm

Yes, I knew when I wrote "to be continued", that the next episode would come
rather early, but that it would be so early, I did not expect that.

Last week just after getting the molar intrusion system, I posted already in the
Metal Mouth Forum about my doubts concerning those springs. I wrote this :

You know I had some doubts about those springs. And these are just the most
essential part of all the hardware. They must intrude my molars. I had a quick
look when my ortho went away for a sec when she was placing them. I saw they
are from American Orthodontics. So, I downloaded their product catalog and
saw that the springs I have are in fact indeed Jasper Jumpers. The RMI springs
that I should have had are another product of them. Now, these Jasper Jumpers
are intended to be used in a stretched way, to for example push the lower jaw
forward, like a Herbst does. So, I thought, no wonder the sleeves break. They
are not intended to be bent 180 degrees like that. It would also explain why
they do not exert the right force. I felt almost dizzy when I realized I probably
have the wrong springs in my mouth. To make matters worse, my ortho told
me she will stop almost completely doing ortho work there and start some
studying. She will only work on Mondays from time to time and will be almost
completely unreachable. Indeed, I mailed her of course, to no avail up to now.
Isn't this highly frustrating.

I did eventually get a reply after some time. Of course, I am wrong all the way,
my ortho told me. I mailed her back that either way, there is no intrusion force
at all. I wonder what she will reply, especially after what happened yesterday.

Question :

what does happen when one bends a spring in a way that is not intended to do
so ? It ... breaks. Indeed, that's just what happened yesterday. It just snapped
in two. Do I need more proof that these springs are not the right ones ...

#19 Post by **Clo** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 12:10 am

Oh, I wanted to thank each and everyone for posting those nice words !

Thanks Lisa65, jenny101101, sparkles, bracedagain, real2, GiovanntiLawing
and Unhappy teeth.

Do you wish you had never started treatment in the first place ?

Yes, that idea crossed my mind ..... once or twice. Nah, a lot more than that.
But what can I do. I started and fully had faith in my first ortho. Back then I
did not know so much about orthodontics. It is just when things went wrong
that I started doing some research on the net. Now, I do have a pretty good
idea why things went wrong. Now I probably am a ... not that easy patient.

Who's footing the bill with all the failed attempts ?

I am

Now having a third ortho, and having like a third treatment ... and
so paying a third time. Yes, this is getting ridiculously expensive.

#20 Post by **mygrill** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 2:03 am

I'm sorry you have had such a bad experience. I hope that you finally find a treatment plan that works. You hang in there;)

#21 Post by **Clo** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 5:34 am

And to answer the 1 million dollar question : what did happen with the other spring ?

Well ... the right one ... broke too today.
So, here I am again totally ... springless.

Sun Aug 17, 2008 12:04 pm

Maybe third time is the charm!

I hope all of this gets better!!

#23 Post by **shan*rock** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 6:50 am

Hi Clo! I wanted to check out your story because I just got TADs (temporary anchorage devices, mini-screws, pins) whatever you want to call them and had remembered you mentioning that you had them. I was shocked to read how much you have been through. Congrats for sticking through it, I don't know if I could.

My TADS are on the top between my back molars and they are tearing up my cheeks so bad. I just got them yesterday, so I'm just wondering how long this will last. Will my cheeks eventually get used to them. They seem slightly swollen, but not too bad. I have titanium springs going from the anchors to my incisors. Ah, the things we go through for nice teeth.

#24 Post by **noreen** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 4:52 pm

Best of luck!

#25 Post by **catfish** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:39 pm

Wow, what a story of disappointments! I can't understand why none of your orthos have been able figure out how to help you. I really hope you can find a solution very soon. Good luck with this, and keep us posted! I'm looking forward to the post where you say "things are getting better!"

#26 Post by **TheGreatDebater** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 1:15 pm

Wow! I'm surprised you kept going with all the treatments despite the failures. But your teeth are really well-shaped, and your smile is going to look really good once your bite gets sorted out!

#27 Post by **flesh-was-sweet** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 2:02 pm

Reading your entries, I'm amazed at your determination, not many people would've had the guts to stick this out! I wish you all the very best for the future, and to a speedy solution!

#28 Post by **Clo** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 9:51 am

Hi all,

first, many thanks for the nice wishes. It means a lot to me ! It gives me a
lot of courage to go on.

Next episode :

I had another adjustment. All my things, papers, impressions and so on all
were there already when I stepped into the chair. I saw them there in some
little bag. The right springs ! At least the start of this was good. I was given
other archwires first. My idea was to see this as a new and fresh start and
therefor wanted a color for the ligs that I never had before. I choose green :

It is not yet clear to me if that looks nice or not. I hope they will not attract
too much attention. Oh well, I'll see. Then she installed the new springs. It
was immediately obvious to me they're indeed different from the ones I had
before. So I can only hope things will work better now. That these really can
intrude my back teeth and close my open bite. And then it got scary. I asked
what to do if they break again. Well, my ortho said, you know this is the last
option and I could clearly "read" between the lines that within that option
these springs are the last ones. So, if they do not exert the right force, or do
not intrude well, or break, then she gives up. On that bombshell, I was ready
to go. Only 24 hours later, I feel the force decreasing already. I really feel like
walking on the cutting edge of a knife ...

#29 Post by **KARESS** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 9:11 pm

wow i would have given up a long time ago.

#30 Post by **lionfish** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 9:31 pm

wow i would have given up a long time ago.

Unhelpful comment.

Think before you shoot. Especially someone who has had such challenging times with ortho, and would give you nothing but support.