25 year old brace faced herbst wearer :-S

[allycat]

I think you may be a little crazy....lol! You are really brave to go out on a date for a meal with braces....I struggle going for meals with friends now and hate people watching me eat. I always feel I need to run off and go clean my teeth!

I live in England to! My jaw sounds similar to yours, I have quite a big overjet but it hasnt affected my profile. I have a 'click' in my jaw as well on the left side but it doesnt ever bother me. My ortho was keen for me to have the herbst as surgery is quite a drastic option....I'm not sure if you know but they cut your lower jaw in two places and move it forwards, putting metal plates in the gap so your jaw becomes larger. You need to have your jaw wired shut for 6 weeks or something whilst the bone heals and there is a possibility of permanently losing sensation to your lower lip (not so great for kissing!!!). thats not to mention the pain or how much your face swells up after the operation!! In comparison the herbst sounds much more acceptable!! And yeh I guess we wouldnt really want massive protruding chins!

Did you have problems with your bite before? I only ask cause my treatment is private, I didnt think you could get nhs treatment as an adult as its classed as cosmetic unless its actually causing you problems.

[allycat]

I have just seen a picture of the advance sync herbst.....looks so much better than the one im meant to be getting and much more discrete...i am definitely asking my ortho about this when I see him!!!!!!

[Squara square face]

I didn't originally realise I would be able to get it done on the NHS either. I went to see one private Ortho about just straightening my teeth and he referred me to the maxiofacial unit at hospital and because my jaw is not properly aligned the treatment is classed as medical not cosmetic. I have never had any problems with my jaw pain wise or clicking though. I have only ever had 4 teeth that touched (molars at back) but to me that felt normal as i knew no different. My overjet was 10 or 11mm so it was classed severe. I was quite clear with them that i had no pain and it caused no real trouble so I was pretty suprised too.

It doesn't quite seem fair that yours wasn't done the NHS way though. On the positive side at least it meant you could pick the non visable lingual braces over full metal damons and you probably get quicker appointments. It took a year for me to get started with the whole process.

Hope you have some luck asking about the advance sync herbst

[geestar]

Allycat, can I ask how successful your treatment was now that it's a few years since you last posted? I am in my thirties and considering a functional appliance, but not convinced there's any evidence it can work with adults. Basically, I'm looking to hear a success story!

[Ellabelle]

Hey geestar,
I'm 25 and getting a functional appliance as part of my treatment to correct my overbite/overjet. Mine is called a Liberty Bielle but it is essentially a herbst. There is such a difference in philosophies between different orthos on the topic of functional appliances for adults. One ortho I had a consult with said an appliance wouldn't do much with my "mature jaw". My FI are still joking about that term. I went with a different ortho who gave me the choice between two functional appliances for my treatment, a twin block (removable) or the fixed one I chose. I'm not sure when I will get it yet; I've had my top braces on 5 months and the bottom for two weeks, out of an estimated 2 year sentence. I will definitely update my story when I get it so you can stay posted. I'll be your guinea pig.

[anarchy45]

I refuse extractions or jaw surgery, so I am seeing a functional orthodontist instead. I think he wants to give me a twin block device, but I know I won't keep it in. I wonder if the herbst (or its variants) performs a similar function and my ortho would consider that instead of twin blocks... By the looks of it, a twin block appliance is 10x worse than a herbst - I would rather have a few pistons than a mouth full of plastic!

[geestar]

Yeah same here! I'm really worried about the effect on my speech. Check out the MARA appliance though. Seems a lot less noticeable than the Herbst with its piston!

[petertwickenham]

My herbst was installed three months ago, i found that putting a tiny bit of vaseline around the screw helps ease the sores, it's te threading of the screw that catch on your lips and if you fill it in, it really helps!