This is the place to post general questions and comments about all areas of orthodontic treatment. Before you post a question, use the forum's SEARCH tool to see if your question has already been answered!
New Members: YOU MUST MAKE A POST WITHIN 24 HOURS OF REGISTERING OR YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED. In other words, don't sign up unless you plan to actively participate in the message board immediately. This is necessary to keep out spammers and lurkers with bad intentions. Of course, you can read most forums on the board without registering.
DO NOT POST FULL-FACE PHOTOS or personal contact information on this website. We have had problems with people re-posting members' photos on fetish websites. Please only post photos of your teeth, not your whole face. Keep your email and your personal information private. Thank you.
Noodle1 wrote:My ortho has good teeth, i think it's important to install confidence when you arrive. It's almost like a really good advertisement, an ortho with bad teeth would make me start to wonder.
Thank you all for your replies
As Noodle1 said - an Ortho with good teeth would install confidence about his work. The 1st ortho i saw had teeth more crooked than mine!!!
As i mentioned i've not yet met an ortho. who i feel comfortable with and whom i have confidence in so let the search continue.........
Not everyone is annoyed at not having straight teeth....and some people may think it's not worth to go through with braces at an older age. Others may think it's vain to spend so much money if the need for braces is only cosmetic. Some people are just happy and confident as they are.....I don't see how an orthodontist can be judged by his/her own teeth. As I wrote before, my ortho doesn't have perfect teeth, but he is really good and knows what he's doing and he's quick about it, so anything painful doesn't last a second! The first ortho I consulted had perfect teeth but I didn't feel comfortable with him.
...and an ortho with good teeth to me means he has been to a good orthodontist not that he/she is a good orthodontist
If I were you I wouldn't look at the ortho's teeth, I'd just go with the ortho I feel comfortable with.
I think most of us know that having straight teeth doesn't automatically make one a great orthodontist. And that having great skin doens't automatically make one a great dermatologist. However, at the same time, I once went to a get a facial at a spa, and this lady was telling me I needed to get this specific treatment to treat my blemishes, and that she gets it every few months, and guess what--she had horrible skin. Do you think that I got that treatment? Hell no! LOL!
So yeah, it's definitely something that affects many of us. The professional telling you to get something, should practice what he preaches AND with effective results. They are their best advertisement.
I agree with VA5, it DOES make a difference to see that a professional practices what they preach. However, I can tell you that when I get a manicure or pedicure or I get my hair highlighted, often the person doing it doesn't seem to take care of their nails or they need a haircut. I know that sounds bad but I've heard from a lot of people that if they do nails all day, they never seem to get their own done, if they do hair all day, they never seem to get theirs done, if they give massages or facials all day, they never seem to get one. I also know if *I* worked in one of those professions, I would be making frequent 'appts' with my coworkers to do my nails, my hair, and to get facials and massages lol. We'd probably trade.
My dentist actually doesn't have super straight teeth, but he takes good care of them. My ortho has nice teeth, I'm sure he probably had braces at some point - but my dentist is super young and my ortho is a bit older. To give a comparison, I'm 36 and I'm prob almost a decade older than my dentist, but my ortho is probably a decade or more older than me lol. The RDH I used to see at my old dental practice had gorgeous teeth, but I think she likely had braces and professional whitening plus she probably had professional cleanings more often - as well as using a rotodent and water pik and all sorts of other products she recommended I buy.
When choosing a professional, I pay attention to how they treat me AND how they treat themselves, so if they are friendly and informative and provide options and don't try to coerce or backhand me into anything - AND they seem to care about themselves and how they present to the public as well as their staff, they get a thumbs up more often than someone who seems to care little to nothing about how they appear to potential clients/patients.
My ortho has nice teeth and is rather handsome. We have been going to his office for almost 8 years and he has the same staff with beautiful teeth. The assistant that works on me is the now debraced but was in braces at the time she worked on my son.
My ortho's daughter just started dental school the day I got braced. I imagine she is s beauty with straight teeth!
I'd never go to a dentist or orthodontist that had bad teeth..... BUT I have a bit of an obsession with good teeth. Teeth are the first think I notice on people.
i've actually never noticed! Im sure he does though as I prob would have noticed if he had crooked teeth. His assistant has perfect teeth though I have noticed her, probably as she is about my age (29) and it's slightly embarrasing!
Uppers: August 13th, 2009 (no spacers)
Lowers: October 13th, 2009 (following one extraction October 9th, 2009) with elastics
Sentence:18-24 months
Hoping for an early release (good behavior)
Sounds like lots of peoples orthos are good looking! Mine's a female and she has fantasic teeth. All the assistants and receptionists have great teeth too. I think it would be really offputting if they didnt have nice teeth. Its like a plastic surgeon having a crooked nose...
My ortho has an absolutely gorgeous smile and she has encouraged all of her team (dental nurse, hygienist, receptionist etc) into braces too. So very soon everyone in the department will have beautiful teeth!
My ortho had braces just a few years ago according to my sister. In his generation, parents didn't pay for braces on kids with slightly crooked teeth, and people didn't practice orthodontics on adults much (considered a waste of money).
I wouldn't consider his teeth because he couldn't straighten his own teeth. I considered his skill. The work that he had done on his assistant's teeth was excellent.
My ortho has gorgeous teeth, too. I wouldn't be put off if they weren't perfect, but it's cool to see that he takes care of them and practices what he preaches!
My ortho had braces when I started my treatment with her; she's moved on to retainers now and I'm jealous! Her assistant has braces too. I find it very heartening, because when they tell you what to do/expect during your treatment, they're speaking from personal as well as professional experience.
Oh, and my dentist (at the same practice) keeps talking about getting braces but she's been putting it off for ages!