open bite progress after 7 months

[Anna5]

I think I tried to eat with elastics once and then gave up after that.

Now I have other elastics (on the side of my mouth) and I mostly eat fine with them!

[Anna5]

Here are some pictures of my latest progress. I am 14 months in treatment now.
I do see progress and I am happy about this, but I am still worried about my midline that is very much off center, my canted smile and my narrow upper jaw, although the crossbite has been corrected well.
Even though the ortho and surgeon think I don't surgery, I still often think, would I not need surgery to get my bite good enough, to be proud of my smile? Or do you think the cant and off midline can be fixed with braces? Or is it not that bad that I should just live with it? I hope it can be fixed, because I admit I am still not so happy about my teeth, my teeth still makes me insecure which I am sad about. Or am I obessing too much????
Your honest opinions are very welcome!

[parapian]

Still can't see anything. :(

But I sometimes feel the same. And then I think about all the risks that surgery brings with it, and I think I'd rather have everything fixed with braces. I'm giving my orthodontist the benefit of the doubt for now and hope that he is honest enough to refer me to a surgeon if necessary.

[parapian]

Ah, finally!!!

Yes, I agree, if I were you I would push the orthodontist to fix that midline! Not that it looks bad or anything, but it could cause problems later--and, heck, if you're going to go through all this pain and trouble (and money), you might as well get it all fixed.

[Anna5]

Thanks for your opinion, parapian. I will definitely address my concerns to my ortho. Do you really think an off center midline can cause problems in the future? I always thought midline is merely cosmetic....

I am glad that you can see pictures now!!!

I also hope for the very best for you. I hope and pray all our issues can be solves without surgery and that one day we can be very proud of our smiles! Do you also have the problem that you are self conscious about your smile, that you don't like how your smile looks, or are you doing your treatment more just for functional reasons?

[parapian]

I don't know, from what I understood any serious misalignment can cause a whole host of medical problems (including receding gum lines, wear and tear, etc.). And aesthetically it obviously causes some misbalance in the face, but that doesn't necessarily have to be unattractive. Still, if you're self-conscious about the misbalance, I'd get it fixed. I'm also getting my cross bite fixed, which I know is also causing misbalance in my face/profile.

As for my reasons, I'm doing it for medical, functional, and aesthetic reasons. My bigger problem was my speech, which has radically improved. I used to have a lisp, which I tried to cover up by twisting my tongue in every direction and now I don't have to go through all that trouble anymore. It's still not perfect, but there's definite improvement and makes speaking so much easier for me (especially when there are one too many s's and z's in a row ).

[Anna5]

Hello Parapian,

Thanks for your reply. I hope my ortho will be willing to discuss this with me. The last time he said my teeth/bite was perfect, but I definitely disagree....
That is good that you are going to get your crossbite fixed. How do you get it fixed? Do you need another expander or just braces for this? From your pictures I think your crossbite is not very obvious
What is your honest opinion about my teeth, apart from my midline? Do you think my narrow jaw/ the cant in my smile is very obvious?
Would you yourself be willing to go through surgery to get all your issues fixed if it would be necessary or would you be happy with a compromise? I think you already made a massive improvement and I think you will be fine without surgery. I am very happy that your speech improved so much!
What is your plan- that you will just try to fix everything without surgery and if this doesn't succeed go for surgery?

[oldfart]

Parapian. I don't see a thread for you, so going to Hijack Annas. Your teeth are looking great. That Elastic combination would drive me nuts, but your going to have a great smile when you are done.

Anna: Your teeth look great with the exception of the midline. If someone is just talking to you I doubt anyone would notice. But looking at your original pre braces photo you can see it is off then. And if it has been this long and it hasn't been addressed yet, i would be a bit upset at your ortho. This is where it goes back to the original treatment plan. Was the midline brought up as something that the ortho was going to address?

"Would you yourself be willing to go through surgery to get all your issues fixed if it would be necessary or would you be happy with a compromise?"

I am also going to answer this one, as I am a surgery candidate for my posterior open bite. It was fixed before by braces and only about half the distance was retained, and working on it again. I chose not to do surgery, as it is not a cosmetic thing. And going into treatment this time I was told that even if we did get it closed orthodontically there is no guarantee it will stay closed as its not an area that is easily retained. So my compromise will be fix the mandatory things, and try to fix some of the other things. But my ortho at the beginning told me exactly what items could definitely be fixed, and what other items may be possible, but not promised.

[parapian]

Hey Anna,

The cross bite (which keeps shifting with every other movement--and I think that's why the orthodontist is waiting until the very end to fix it) should be fixed with elastics and I think your orthodontist should be able to fix your midline with elastics, too. It seems to me that it's just a matter of shifting your teeth. Then again, I'm not a professional, but this video might help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrIuitOT7EI

I also had a friend who recently had her midline shifted with elastics alone. Hers was pretty much like yours.

Your teeth otherwise look perfectly aligned. I don't see a cant in your smile from the pictures you posted, but if you see it in the mirror or full pictures of your face, then there probably is a cant! Besides, even if it's not noticeable to the blind eye, your midline should be in the middle of your face and your orthodontist should know this! My perspective is: if you're not happy with it, then you have to speak up, and especially when it can be fixed without surgery.

[parapian]

Thanks, oldfart (can't help but laugh at that one!)! I'm hanging in there!

[oldfart]

"My perspective is: if you're not happy with it, then you have to speak up, and especially when it can be fixed without surgery."

Agree. Have learned to always ask questions. You are the one paying for the service, always know exactly what you will be getting.

[Bikerchick85]

Wow, Anna! Your teeth look AMAZING!!!!
As far as the midline goes, I don't think it would look "off" if that one upper central incisor wasn't longer than the other. Just my opinion...
I think I would be totally pleased with the results you're going to have. I have a cant as well but I'm not concerned much with it. Who knows what it take to correct. I think when my teeth are leveled off at the end of treatment it won't be noticeable to anyone but me.
I do agree with parapian in regards to speaking up about whatever is bothering you. Because YOU may be the only one who notices it!

[Anna5]

Hello all,

Thanks for all your replies, oldfart, parapian and Bickerchick. I will definitely speak up to my ortho. The problem is that I feel he is not always honest towards me. He thinks my midine is not really off, but it definitely is! I have been in midline elastics for 3 months, but it didn't help much, so I am not too optimistic about my ortho being able to fix my midline.
My ortho didn't tell me at the beginning of my treatment whether he would be able to fix my midline or not. Problem is that he didn't make any promises, 'just see how far we can come' was his attitude.
He also doesn't give me any guarantee that my bite will stay closed, 'we just have to see and check in the future'. I find this quite annoying. I don't have the feeling he takes my worries seriously, which stresses me out a bit.
But I will stand up and speak to him!

[oldfart]

"He also doesn't give me any guarantee that my bite will stay closed,"

That is common, as i had the same thing. Retainers are good for horizontal retention, but they suck for vertical retention.

[Anna5]

"He also doesn't give me any guarantee that my bite will stay closed,"

That is common, as i had the same thing. Retainers are good for horizontal retention, but they suck for vertical retention.

Than all we can do is just hope and pray that our bites stay closed.....
I know that the retention of fixed open bites is a problem, even when they are fixed with surgery.