Rockin' the Braces Again at 32

[HummerMan3]

I'm back! A few of you may remember me from 4 years ago when I had won a silent auction for what I thought was free orthodontic care, but turned out to be a discount on orthodontic care. At the time I entered the contest, it was more or less a spontaneous decision. In spite of the deep discount on treatment, I wasn't able to afford braces and decided to abandon the idea. The near-miss in scoring free braces eventually had me pondering the idea further. I discussed it with the wife, and she was supportive. After putting aside a small amount of money every month into a "braces fund" over the last few years, I'm able to go ahead with treatment!
I've set up 3 consultations with reputable orthodontists in the area. The first appointment was last week. Friendly doc & staff, nice office. He mentioned a crossbite and anterior open bite, two things I have been told about before. Treatment would be with metal self-ligating braces, top & bottom, for 18 months or so, at a total cost of $3000, and I could be fully braced as early as my next visit with him. One potentially negative aspect is that he seemed to brush off concerns about my open bite, suggesting that after closure of the open bite, things should stay put with a permanent retainer.
In truth, my teeth don't look that terribly crooked, but the two things I wanted to focus on were my tongue thrust and the open bite. I believe my tongue thrust to be at least part of the reason for the return of an open bite shortly after my braces were removed a dozen or so years ago. Any thoughts on relapsed open bites, permanent retainers, or other devices/therapies for tongue thrusting would be greatly appreciated!
I have the other two consultations next week. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted!
Kevin

[HummerMan3]

As I'm impatiently awaiting Tuesday's ortho consultation, I figured I would burn some time uploading teeth pics



As I said, not "terrible", but enough to drive me nuts when I look at my teeth in the mirror and when I try to eat anything like pizza or noodles, since my incisors don't touch.

[buffon85]

yes you have nice teeth and a nice smile!
they also look very white and clean!
but the open bite i think is a problem that if you can has to be solved, it must be very frustrating to not be able to touch the incisors! good luck with your journey! i don´t have experience with open bite but i am sure a search would help you!

[Jdizle]

My open bite is similar to yours I feel your pain. Def want it fixed. Good luck with ur consultations keep us updated

[HummerMan3]

Second orthodontic consultation this morning! This one was much more thorough than the first; I was there for over an hour. X-rays, pictures, impressions. This orthodontist has come highly recommended by many in my community, so I went into the visit with high expectations. He confirmed mild crowding and crossbite as was mentioned at my first orthodontic consultation, but spent significantly more time addressing the anterior open bite, overjet, and tongue thrust issues. He mentioned several possible options, including Invisalign, braces with TADs, myofunctional therapy, intraoral appliances, and even orthognathic surgery! He didn't commit too much to either, as he would like me to see the oral surgeon first. ...I definitely wasn't expecting to be an oral surgery candidate, but I'm motivated to do anything to stop my tongue thrust and get my teeth looking great again. That appointment is scheduled for May 26th.
Although it's a bit overwhelming, I left this office with a more favorable impression than my first ortho consult. I already have a 3rd consultation scheduled for this Friday; I figured I may as well keep that to get as many perspectives as possible.

My open bite is similar to yours I feel your pain. Def want it fixed. Good luck with ur consultations keep us updated

Thanks, jdizle. I looked at your thread and your ceramics look great. Does your orthodontist plan on using any appliances/therapies to fix your open bite?

[Jdizle]

Second orthodontic consultation this morning! This one was much more thorough than the first; I was there for over an hour. X-rays, pictures, impressions. This orthodontist has come highly recommended by many in my community, so I went into the visit with high expectations. He confirmed mild crowding and crossbite as was mentioned at my first orthodontic consultation, but spent significantly more time addressing the anterior open bite, overjet, and tongue thrust issues. He mentioned several possible options, including Invisalign, braces with TADs, myofunctional therapy, intraoral appliances, and even orthognathic surgery! He didn't commit too much to either, as he would like me to see the oral surgeon first. ...I definitely wasn't expecting to be an oral surgery candidate, but I'm motivated to do anything to stop my tongue thrust and get my teeth looking great again. That appointment is scheduled for May 26th.
Although it's a bit overwhelming, I left this office with a more favorable impression than my first ortho consult. I already have a 3rd consultation scheduled for this Friday; I figured I may as well keep that to get as many perspectives as possible.

My open bite is similar to yours I feel your pain. Def want it fixed. Good luck with ur consultations keep us updated

Thanks, jdizle. I looked at your thread and your ceramics look great. Does your orthodontist plan on using any appliances/therapies to fix your open bite?

Not yet just elastics but it will be a see how we go approach so fingers x

[jfriend33]

I would just be aware that sometimes orthognatic surgery can fix an open bite and the tongue will just rest where it should. But many times it does not and it's the resting position that causes problems.

What price were you quoted at the more thorough consultation if you don't mind me asking? Sounds like she or he knows what they are doing.

Check out orthotropics as well as possibly finding a SLP-CCC or COM (certified oral myologist). I am meeting with mine on Monday for a follow up. You can find many videos online as well. I'm not advocating you try to do that on your own but it was a huge help to preview what was to come.

Your teeth look great I don't envision many complications. Not an extreme case by any means. Just as long as they know how to use tads and the amount of force required. There is a learning curve at first for when drs begin placing their first few tads. In my experience the tad failure rate reduces significantly rather quickly.

I'd also add it's easier to retain intruded molars as opposed to dramatically extruded anterior teeth only with elastics. From just the force of biting down.

Good luck, thanks for commenting on my thread and I'm excited for your endeavor!

[HummerMan3]

Had my third ortho consultation today. He is a bit farther from my house than the other two, but on the plus side, he's the only one of the three open on Fridays, which works well with my schedule. Super-personable doctor, and nice facility. He actually called me yesterday evening to welcome me to the practice. The treatment plan is for top braces only (with an option to add lowers at no cost if we desire to later on), 2-4 TADs, and a TPA, total time 18-24 months, $3700. He was somewhat discouraging about being able to fix my tongue thrust; he mentioned putting brackets behind my front teeth, but to not expect a complete fix.
Even though I told the scheduler I'd need to discuss financials with the wife, they actually scheduled a tentative bracing day for June 10! (I wonder whether that's a marketing ploy they do with everyone?)
Overall, I like this doc, and I'll have to eventually decide between this practice and ortho #2. I won't have a treatment plan from ortho #2 until 2 weeks after my oral surgeon consult 5/26, so I'll need to push back ortho #3 bracing day until I have all the information at hand to compare.

I would just be aware that sometimes orthognatic surgery can fix an open bite and the tongue will just rest where it should. But many times it does not and it's the resting position that causes problems.

What price were you quoted at the more thorough consultation if you don't mind me asking? Sounds like she or he knows what they are doing.

Check out orthotropics as well as possibly finding a SLP-CCC or COM (certified oral myologist). I am meeting with mine on Monday for a follow up. You can find many videos online as well. I'm not advocating you try to do that on your own but it was a huge help to preview what was to come.

Your teeth look great I don't envision many complications. Not an extreme case by any means. Just as long as they know how to use tads and the amount of force required. There is a learning curve at first for when drs begin placing their first few tads. In my experience the tad failure rate reduces significantly rather quickly.

I'd also add it's easier to retain intruded molars as opposed to dramatically extruded anterior teeth only with elastics. From just the force of biting down.

Good luck, thanks for commenting on my thread and I'm excited for your endeavor!

No price quotes yet, because the treatment plan wasn't discussed in great detail (He's waiting for the oral surgeon to weigh in on things before sitting down and discussing specifics).
I will definitely need to research more into orthotropics. I'm a doctor of osteopathy myself, and the underlying tones of "alternative treatments" and "holistic care" seem to be shared by both of these fields.
And regarding myofunctional therapy, if there's anything that I have taken from reading your thread, it's that this is an absolutely essential component to solving any tongue thrust habit. I will certainly incorporate it into my treatment plan (hopefully with my orthodontist's blessing!)

[jfriend33]

Had my third ortho consultation today. He is a bit farther from my house than the other two, but on the plus side, he's the only one of the three open on Fridays, which works well with my schedule. Super-personable doctor, and nice facility. He actually called me yesterday evening to welcome me to the practice. The treatment plan is for top braces only (with an option to add lowers at no cost if we desire to later on), 2-4 TADs, and a TPA, total time 18-24 months, $3700. He was somewhat discouraging about being able to fix my tongue thrust; he mentioned putting brackets behind my front teeth, but to not expect a complete fix.
Even though I told the scheduler I'd need to discuss financials with the wife, they actually scheduled a tentative bracing day for June 10! (I wonder whether that's a marketing ploy they do with everyone?)
Overall, I like this doc, and I'll have to eventually decide between this practice and ortho #2. I won't have a treatment plan from ortho #2 until 2 weeks after my oral surgeon consult 5/26, so I'll need to push back ortho #3 bracing day until I have all the information at hand to compare.

I would just be aware that sometimes orthognatic surgery can fix an open bite and the tongue will just rest where it should. But many times it does not and it's the resting position that causes problems.

What price were you quoted at the more thorough consultation if you don't mind me asking? Sounds like she or he knows what they are doing.

Check out orthotropics as well as possibly finding a SLP-CCC or COM (certified oral myologist). I am meeting with mine on Monday for a follow up. You can find many videos online as well. I'm not advocating you try to do that on your own but it was a huge help to preview what was to come.

Your teeth look great I don't envision many complications. Not an extreme case by any means. Just as long as they know how to use tads and the amount of force required. There is a learning curve at first for when drs begin placing their first few tads. In my experience the tad failure rate reduces significantly rather quickly.

I'd also add it's easier to retain intruded molars as opposed to dramatically extruded anterior teeth only with elastics. From just the force of biting down.

Good luck, thanks for commenting on my thread and I'm excited for your endeavor!

No price quotes yet, because the treatment plan wasn't discussed in great detail (He's waiting for the oral surgeon to weigh in on things before sitting down and discussing specifics).
I will definitely need to research more into orthotropics. I'm a doctor of osteopathy myself, and the underlying tones of "alternative treatments" and "holistic care" seem to be shared by both of these fields.
And regarding myofunctional therapy, if there's anything that I have taken from reading your thread, it's that this is an absolutely essential component to solving any tongue thrust habit. I will certainly incorporate it into my treatment plan (hopefully with my orthodontist's blessing!)

That is an amazing price to pay for private practice. I would inquire how many pts he/she has successfully treated with tads /anterior open bites. Also be up front and say worst case scenario if I do relapse, would you retreat me and at what cost. Hopefully they are good at fabricating appliances, specifically TPA because they really need to be precise otherwise they break easily IME.

The whole "not a complete fix thing" may bother you but at least it's honest.

[oldfart]

You can get retainers with tongue guards to help keep a closed anterior open bite from relapsing.

[HummerMan3]

Haven't posted an update in a little while, because I didn't have much news to share. I had my oral surgeon consult 2 weeks ago. He recommended not single, but double jaw surgery followed by 6 weeks of splinting. I wasn't exactly surprised, as surgeons are typically going to push a surgical option over non-surgical. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit skeptical of the need for surgery. We're talking a 2mm open bite, not 8. I did ask about TADs for molar intrusion, but he dismissed them pretty quickly, stating the results were too unstable.
Fast-forward to part 2 of my consultation with ortho #2 today, and he agrees that surgery is too invasive all things considered. His proposed treatment plan is 18 months top & bottom braces, TADs with a TPA to anchor the molars, and "cleats" behind the upper and lower front teeth to help correct my tongue thrust. Total cost minus the TADs is $4250; more expensive than the other two orthos, but still well within my budget. I feel most comfortable with this orthodontist and treatment plan, so I'm going to go with him.
Everything goes in July 6th! I have to get a cavity filled before then, which I'm doing on June 22nd. So excited to have a date, and it's just 4 weeks away, at that!

You can get retainers with tongue guards to help keep a closed anterior open bite from relapsing.

Yes, I have seen this mentioned in other posts on here. I will have to remember to ask my orthodontist about this when the time comes.

[HummerMan3]

3 weeks until braces! I feel like a little kid counting down the days until Christmas. This post isn't so much of an update as it is just me wanting to talk braces (I feel like I'm already driving the wife nuts with talking about them so much lol)
The biggest news is that I had to push back my brace date to July 18th because the original date wasn't going to work well for my employer. Although I'm frustrated with the delay, the new date is actually better for me as it is in the middle of a 2 week long vacation, allowing me time to get used to them.
Spacers now go on July 7th. They're also fitting the TPA at that time. Does that mean I'll leave the office with the TPA in my mouth, or are they taking impressions/measurements to place it when the braces go on?
With all this extra time before braces, I wonder whether I should contact the oral surgeon to get an appointment to have the TADs placed. I'd like to have them placed as close to the start of treatment as possible, as I'm told molar intrusion is the rate-limiting step to my treatment time. Is it possible to get TADs placed before the braces?

[HummerMan3]

Just got them on! Feels very weird. I sort of knew what to expect after the first go around, but the TPA and the tongue tamers are new to me. Speech is a challenge, particularly S's. I thought I was going to serrate my tongue to pieces when eating lunch! Anyways, here's the new pictures. Sorry for the poor quality!

[NeilH]

Congratulations on getting started! I'm sure the first few weeks are going to feel a little strange but you will soon get used to your new braces. Good luck.

[tillybrace]

we got braces at the same time, looking forward to following your story.