Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey there. My name is Courtney and I've come a very long way in the past couple of years. I used to not care about the way I cared for my teeth and in turn I ended up with horrible cavities on my front teeth that were really embarassing. I decided in my sophmore year of college to start fixing my teeth. So I got those 6 teeth in front on top fixed first. I had huge cavities on my canines and my two front teeth that were beginning to turn brown. I took good care of my teeth so they didn't break to the point of being unfixable. Plus I had cavities on EVERY tooth in my mouth. Well not every one of them but most of them. Plus two wisdom teeth were coming in so that's what prompted me to go get them checked out. So i went. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I thought when i went that they'd have to pull all of my teeth. But turns out they didn't. And fast forward a year and half later and getting a bunch of fillings and 2 wisdom teeth and broken molar pulled, here I am with a cavity free mouth. I'm keeping up with my regular cleanings and flossing religiously and staying away from soda.
I feel proud that I got all of that done but I want to get braces now. So I went to a consult at the orthodontist about 2 weeks ago. I was very disappointed about what I heard. I have to have jaw surgery to correct my deformed narrow upper arch. Instead of it being a U shape it's a V shape. It's annoying at times because my teeth get in the way of my tongue. I'm going to have to live with this for another 2 years because right now I don't have insurance and I'm a poor college student. I want to just avoid surgery at all costs but I know since I'm an adult now that surgery would give me the best results and if I'm going to do this I want to do it right. Right now my teeth don't look that bad. I have bucked teeth but at least they are symmetrical and don't stick out too badly.
Anyways I just wanted to tell you guys my story. I may not be updating this too much since it'll be two years until I start my orthodontic journey but I wanted to make a story anyways .

Hi courtney, that's great that you've sorted your dental problems and are maintaining a regular oral hygiene regimen.

I started out with a V-shaped upper arch which is now U-shaped. I am not doing surgery. I'm also not suggesting that this may be OK for you, but it would be a good idea to get some more opinions from other orthos.

Yeah. If in the future I can't afford that surgery I'm going to have to say no to it. I've only gotten one consult. I need to get more. But right now i think I am going to forget about. I graduate college in about a year so i can worry about it then. I've heard that surgery costs a bunch and I the reason I'd be doing it is for cosmetic reasons and minor discomfort so I know if I have insurance they won't cover it.

But I'll look into that. Thanks for the encouragement because I REALLY don't want surgery.

Definately get a few more opinions. Thanks to the folks on this message board, I went to more than one consultation. Turns out this isn't such a bad idea, because it seems just about every orthodontist is going to have a different approach to the issues at hand. I wouldn't have known any better. Out of the 3 that I saw, I have no doubt that they are all qualified at what they do, not to mention nice people. But if I hadn't gotten more consults, I wouldn't know that I could have good results without extractions (we'll see how that works out though, I guess). There is still a chance you may not need surgery.

Definitely keep taking good care of your teeth and you'll be able to move forward eventually. I dunno how much fun wearing dentures later on would be.... (though my Gramma has some really nice looking fake teeth. ) I think we all want our real teeth to look nice and function for as long as possible.

Hey guys. I'm back after 3 years. I went to another orthodontist in my new town that I moved to. He told me that we could try with just braces and see where it goes. I am going for the records in a couple of weeks so I won't know for sure what all he recommends for my treatment plan but he did say it was possible to just do braces. Now I have insurance so I can afford it.
I read reviews of the orthodontist that I found on google and every person who posted on there gave him and his partner a perfect score so I may have luck with them.
I am really excited about pursuing my braces journey.
I will get my braces in August possibly, when I have the money for the down payment for my new grill.
I really enjoy reading everyone's stories. It takes the anxiety away.
Oh and I decided not to ever get jaw surgery. It's not right for me. I am comfortable with how my face is and if I have to live with a narrow upper arch that's ok with me. I am happy with my decision.

Sounds like you have a good approach in the making. Looks like there is plenty of room for improvement with braces only. Yay on being able and ready to take the next steps!