First Appointment

[kiwibug]

I had my first consultation yesterday....

After a lot of poking and prodding, lots of opening and closing, I'm still really unsure what to do.

I go back end of February for a records appointment. Then the ortho said he'll look at everything and discuss it with the other ortho at the practice. He said he'll probably consult with an oral surgeon too and then get me back in to discuss options.
I've gotten to the point where I can cope with the idea of orthodontics without stressing out too bad. The idea of surgery really creeps me out though, not sure I want to go through with any of it anymore! ahhhhhhh

[BracedSurgeryStudent]

Hey yeah consults can be pretty nerve wracking with all the options and it's even worse when they bring up the word "Surgery". I went without surgery, but my surgery was for an overbite. If the surgery is to expose an impacted tooth definately go for it. WOW! That's a long time to wait to go back to the orthodontist. The only reason why it took from June 30(last consult) to Sept 8(brace day) is because I had to get some consults with surgeons because I was trying to see what the surgeons thought about my case. But in the end the two surgeons and I decided that just braces could probably work on the 3mm overbite. I talked it over with my ortho and she said she was fine with it. We were going to try the herbst but braces and elastics it was.

[kiwibug]

Thanks. The surgery would be to bring my jaws into alignment. I don't remember all the details exactly, but something was said about 1 jaw being bigger than the other and that that's a huge part of what's causing me so much grief. So they can carry on without the surgery, but it won't have much use.
There's only 1 orthodontist in the area, so they're pretty booked up. That's why it takes so long between appointments. I'd much rather it be a lot less time, gives me too much time to worry and stew now

[alimorgan71]

I have my first consult later today and have no idea what to expect. What do they do?

[kiwibug]

Ali, absolutely nothing to worry about and this is coming from someone who doesn't cope well with any kind of medical or dental appointments. All they did was have a chat, then tip the chair back and have a look at what's going on. I go back end of Feb for a 2nd appointment where they'll do X-rays and suck. So honestly, nothing to worry about it was easy peasy

[BracedSurgeryStudent]

First Consultation is pretty easy peasy. What I did was sit in the dental chair in her private consultation office. The assistant came in and took pictures. The Ortho came in and I met her and we got to know each other a little bit. Then she examined my mouth and bite and function of my teeth by having me say things like "Sister Sarah" "Mississippi" and "Sea Shells". Then had me open up and bit down. Then she pulled up the pictures the assistant took when I got there and explained everything in a nutshell. SOME (note some not most) Orthodontists will do records the same day as mine did, since I travel three hours to see her. So what we did was X rays; Panoramic AND Cephalometric. Then the assistant had me go with her to the "impressions chair". it's near the open bay area but off to the side and no one gets their adjustments done in it. Its just for before and after. So then they Did bottom then top tray each were in for about five minutes untill it got hard and then they took them out. I had a bit of a tough time with the top tray because I can't breate out of my nose. But I got through it. That's pretty much how it went with me.

Yeah I was supposed to get that surgery too. My Upper jaw is really wide and larger than my lower jaw which is small to begin with. At first when I told my ortho that I wasn't really feeling getting surgery she requested that I at least GO for consults. The first surgeon was rude arrogant and just plain aweful and wanted to rip out the premolars and completely change my orthodontist's entire plan. Ok, I CLEARLY brought the folder with everything my orthodontist gave me including the three options of treatment in great detail. You think he read them or even acknowledged them? NOPE. So I was like NO not having it. So then the next lady read my ortho's plans and everything (her and my ortho are best friends outside of their professions). She said she really thinks that the only way to make the insurance company pay for it is to take teeth out and make it worse and I told her I really did not have the funds to do that. So then she said well if we don't then I don't feel comfortable making you loose all feeling in your jaws for the rest of your life because I honestly have faith in braces at this point and you may not even need a herbst appliance just some good old elastics through your whole treatment and you should be good. So she asked me what I wanted to do. Still have the surgery, because she would do it as long as I knew those dangerous risks. Or just go with the braces. She said she would talk to my orthodontist first and then get back to me. I told her not to bother but if she did still want to talk to her that is fine also. I told her that I think the smart thing here would be just to go braces and whatnot to do it or to see if that helps. She said that was perfectly fine because ultimately it was all up to me as long as my ortho was cool with it. I think I made the right choice because think about it. it woulda been a year from Sept 2011. I don't have health insusance now so I don't think I'll have any then, they would have pulled out my teeth making my overbite worse to the point that braces itself wouldn't even touch it and I would be soo self conscious I couldnt even bear it. I did not know at the time I wouldn't have health insurance when I went to my consults. So I told my orth last week. "Thank you for being cool with me not getting that surgery because now I have no health insruance." She said it was not a problem that we can try a whole sloo of things to get this overbite thing fixed. That is why we went with Damon braces. In plus she doesn't believe in Extractions so we should be good and we are.

I hope all works out for you.

[Ringworm139]

My first consult is coming up and I'm extremely nervous. I hate poking and prodding and I have a silly fear that the dr might say "Wow, what a mess. I can't help you. Pull them all and get dentures!" even though I know my teeth aren't that bad.

[EbonyQ]

The nervousness towards the first appointment, ah I remember it like it was yesterday. I had to wait 6 weeks for it so it was 6 weeks with lack of sleep, weight loss and stomach aches, but honestly it was nothing to be nervous for (if you read my journal you will see what I went through ). We just had a chat, x-rays and he took a small look inside my mouth to get an idea of what treatment I might need.

Nothing to be afraid of at all, it's easy peasy

Good luck!

[sirwired]

The first consult usually isn't that bad. Photographs, a few minutes of staring at your mouth, and then a chat about what you need and a cost estimate. (My case is too complicated, so all I had at the end of "consult" was "I need full records (i.e. impressions, a panorex, and cephalograms) to figure out what on earth I can do with your mouth." But most people will not have that problem.) In the US anyway, you can usually get a consult free of charge, so this is where you shop around.

Once you pick an orthodontist, your "records" appointment will typically involve:
1) Impressions: The office will put some goop in an arch-shaped tray and jam it against your teeth/gums until it sets. They'll use this to make "study models" so the ortho can make more precise decisions as to what to do.
2) Wax Bite: You'll bite into a wax "U" so the ortho knows how your two arches line up.
3) Panorex: You pinch a little bar between your teeth so your front teeth meet (if you have an over/underbite, it feels really unnatural) and an x-ray machine pans around your entire jawbone to make a picture that turns into a long strip.
4) Cephalograms: Front and side x-rays of your skull.
5) Extensive photos: Natural rest position, smile, profile, upper and lower arch.