URGENT HELP I GOT SCAMMED

[secondtimewithbraces]

Hi, when i was younger i had 4 teeths taken out and then had braces for maybe 1 and half years, after i took them of teeth were literally PERFECT in terms of bite alignment, my midlines met. teeth where placed nicely and it looked good in all angles, couple years down the line i grew 3 new teeth and teeth started shifting and after 2 years stoped wearing my retainer regularly and teeth shifted more bottom ones became crowded top front third teeth went back.. and my bite is off only left molars meet when i bite and my midlines are of by 1.5mm.

so 19 now nearly 20 and i paid again £3200 for braces again thinking im going to go back to how my teeth use to be....... little did i know 5 months into the treatment my braces are "6 month smiles" where not all teeth have brackets and only the front teeth get moved.

So i was confused because my NEW PRIVATE orthodontist before i got my braces told me he would be able to get my bite fixed and correct my midlines which are off... and i expected him to do that since i knew i had braces before and it was possible... well 4 months into the treatment i asked about my midline ... he was like "ohh midliness are very hard to fix but hell try" and i am still thinking why did he say he would fix my bite since clearly 6 months braces do not fix the back teeth and my bite issue is in the back teeth?


not only that he thinned my lower teeth so much just so he can fix the crowding and now it looks small compared to my upper teeth and also my teeth are not even strait and its nearly 6 months into my treatment and hes asking "is there anything else you would like to do to your teeth" how could he even ask me that if my teeth are clearly not even and strait yet...

and the top teeth now look more goofy because the front two teeth have been pushed forward and the two teeth next to it curve backwards.

i just feel like ive been scamed of my money i paid £3200 to make my teeth look worse then it did

i do not know how to talk to him i feel i am to far into my treatment to make any changes

[secondtimewithbraces]

i just want some ideas on what i should do i feel traped also when i mentioned to my orhtodontist that i want my bite to get fixed he just brushed it of and said "ohh your bite is fine" LIKE WHAT THE HELL I PAID £3200!!!!! SO I COULD FIX MY BITE AND CORRECT MY MIDLINE... and after i pay for my braces and 3 months down the line you say "oh midlines are dificult to acheive and ohh my bite is fine" its like he completly forgot why i wanted braces and on top of that my teeth still dont even look good i look more goofy now when i smile

[Lovespain5]

i just want some ideas on what i should do i feel traped also when i mentioned to my orhtodontist that i want my bite to get fixed he just brushed it of and said "ohh your bite is fine" LIKE WHAT THE HELL I PAID £3200!!!!! SO I COULD FIX MY BITE AND CORRECT MY MIDLINE... and after i pay for my braces and 3 months down the line you say "oh midlines are dificult to acheive and ohh my bite is fine" its like he completly forgot why i wanted braces and on top of that my teeth still dont even look good i look more goofy now when i smile

Often, some side effects appear during the orthodontic treatment but are completly corrected at the end.
But if you disagree your orthodontist, take an appointment with another one.
Soory, I can't answer you with more precisions. Hope other forum users will answer you too.

[secondtimewithbraces]

[quote="Lovespain5"][quote="secondtimewithbraces"]i just want some ideas on what i should do i feel traped also when i mentioned to my orhtodontist that i want my bite to get fixed he just brushed it of and said "ohh your bite is fine" LIKE WHAT THE HELL I PAID £3200!!!!! SO I COULD FIX MY BITE AND CORRECT MY MIDLINE... and after i pay for my braces and 3 months down the line you say "oh midlines are dificult to acheive and ohh my bite is fine" its like he completly forgot why i wanted braces and on top of that my teeth still dont even look good i look more goofy now when i smile[/quote]

Often, some side effects appear during the orthodontic treatment but are completly corrected at the end.
But if you disagree your orthodontist, take an appointment with another one.
Soory, I can't answer you with more precisions. Hope other forum users will answer you too.[/quote]


i would have taken it with another orthodontist but i cant splash out another £3200 to restart my treatment .. wish i could just transfer to another dental practice and they would just take over free of charge... thanks for your input though

[verso]

It sounds like you and your orthodontist had a haphazard sort of gentleman's agreement where expectations were anything but clear. If you failed to get anything in writing, like a treatment plan, then you might have to take it on the chin and chalk this one up as an expensive lesson.

I know it's not what you want to hear, but if it makes you feel any better, my father had a foundation poured and a cabin built for him by a crooked contractor who agreed to doing work with a handshake and a smile, refusing to write anything down. Needless to say, most of the work never got done, and the work that did get done was terribly shoddy. It cost my father tens of thousands of dollars and ~10 years taking this guy to court and getting all of the work done over again.

[secondtimewithbraces]

[quote="verso"]It sounds like you and your orthodontist had a haphazard sort of gentleman's agreement where expectations were anything but clear. If you failed to get anything in writing, like a treatment plan, then you might have to take it on the chin and chalk this one up as an expensive lesson.

I know it's not what you want to hear, but if it makes you feel any better, my father had a foundation poured and a cabin built for him by a crooked contractor who agreed to doing work with a handshake and a smile, refusing to write anything down. Needless to say, most of the work never got done, and the work that did get done was terribly shoddy. It cost my father tens of thousands of dollars and ~10 years taking this guy to court and getting all of the work done over again.[/quote]

I remember signing some papers but i dont even know what they were i cant even remember i think it had something to do with payment,

and the fact that it cost £3200 is not the problem its the fact that my single mum who works hard to provide for me and look after me BORROWED money of her friend just to help pay for this treatment is what kills me inside... i feel like i am in dept and i have to pay back my mum (she does not know whats happened she thinks my treatment is going fine) honestly if it was my money i would have took it on the chin ...

now i cant even get braces for the Third time because my mum will think she just wasted £3200 on nothing.

i was looking into braces behind the teeth

[verso]

^ It's your mother's money? Yikes!

As the son of a hard-working single mother myself, I can imagine how upset you must be. Hmmm...

The only thing that I can really suggest is you go back over the paperwork, see what you've signed, and speak with your orthodontist.

If it were me, and I felt as though I had been mislead and taken advantage of, even scammed, I'd probably sit down with my orthodontist and tell him straight-up that I want one of two things: teeth that are fixed properly as agreed upon, or my money back. If he resisted, I'd serve him. But that's me, and that would be only if I truly felt wronged.

[BracesGuy]

Are you with a specialist orthodontist or a dentist? As a lot of dentists offer Six Month Smiles. An orthodontist will have several years specialist training after qualifying as a dentist. So correcting some matters may be beyond some dentists' sphere of expertise.

If he did tell you he would fix your bite and midline and this has not been addressed you could have an argument. Perhaps you can consult with another orthodontist (a specialist) and get their opinion on your bite and midline. If they agree work needs to be done then you discuss this with your current practitioner.

In relation to your other point, bear in mind braces behind the teeth tend to cost a lot more.

[sirwired]

Errrr... yeah, it's pretty hard to correct a bite with six-month smiles. You can haul teeth into a nice pretty line in six months, but the rotations necessary for most bite corrections take longer. Six-month smiles is nothing more than plain, regular, braces that are removed after six months. (And "training" for 6 mo. smiles consists of a weekend of seminars... as opposed to several years of supervised clinical training.)

[djspeece]

First, let's figure out what the facts of the matter are. I'm on your side and I can understand why you are upset. Are you of age to sign a legally binding contract? I'm not sure what British law requires, but you may have a legal "out" if your contract is non-binding (note -- I am not an attorney.) Let's assume the contract is valid. Hopefully by now you have read your contract -- what does it say about expected outcomes, risks, and so forth? As verso inquired, are you dealing with a fully qualified orthodontist, or a general dentist? In any event I'd suggest you have a heart-to-heart discussion to explore the source of your confusion and the apparent disconnect between your expectation and the treatment plan. I would strongly recommend you avoid using words like "scammed" if you want any hope of a satisfactory resolution. There's two sides to every story as you know. The contract you signed is the starting point. Perhaps you can terminate treatment, and get a partial refund. Best of luck to you.

[secondtimewithbraces]

[quote="BracesGuy"]Are you with a specialist orthodontist or a dentist? As a lot of dentists offer Six Month Smiles. An orthodontist will have several years specialist training after qualifying as a dentist. So correcting some matters may be beyond some dentists' sphere of expertise.

If he did tell you he would fix your bite and midline and this has not been addressed you could have an argument. Perhaps you can consult with another orthodontist (a specialist) and get their opinion on your bite and midline. If they agree work needs to be done then you discuss this with your current practitioner.

In relation to your other point, bear in mind braces behind the teeth tend to cost a lot more.[/quote]



after looking on their website it seems as though it must be a dentist but they word it in a way that can confuse you ... they say they offer "general orthodontics and cosmetic services" worst of all i looked at the prices on their website for the 6 months smiles the price on the website says £1800 i was charged £3200.

NOTHING on the website offers any braces for the whole mouth to fix bite problems etc so it must be a dentist...

DAMN i defo got ripped of man

[secondtimewithbraces]

[quote="sirwired"]Errrr... yeah, it's pretty hard to correct a bite with six-month smiles. You can haul teeth into a nice pretty line in six months, but the rotations necessary for most bite corrections take longer. Six-month smiles is nothing more than plain, regular, braces that are removed after six months. (And "training" for 6 mo. smiles consists of a weekend of seminars... as opposed to several years of supervised clinical training.)[/quote]


well that sucks i really wish i actually asked my mum if they are professional orthodontist and thought this through

[secondtimewithbraces]

[quote="djspeece"]First, let's figure out what the facts of the matter are. I'm on your side and I can understand why you are upset. Are you of age to sign a legally binding contract? I'm not sure what British law requires, but you may have a legal "out" if your contract is non-binding (note -- I am not an attorney.) Let's assume the contract is valid. Hopefully by now you have read your contract -- what does it say about expected outcomes, risks, and so forth? As verso inquired, are you dealing with a fully qualified orthodontist, or a general dentist? In any event I'd suggest you have a heart-to-heart discussion to explore the source of your confusion and the apparent disconnect between your expectation and the treatment plan. I would strongly recommend you avoid using words like "scammed" if you want any hope of a satisfactory resolution. There's two sides to every story as you know. The contract you signed is the starting point. Perhaps you can terminate treatment, and get a partial refund. Best of luck to you.[/quote]

after looking on their website it seems as though it is a general dentist because they do not have options or pictures of people who had braces on all their teeth, they just have invisalign and 6 months smiles and inman aligner... all focusing on just cosmetic appearance of the front teeth.

There is no way this dentist can fix my bite even if i asked because it seems as if thats not what they do... i looked on the website it says £1800 for 6 months smiles and i was charge £3200.

i do not know anything regaurding the contract as my mum paid for it and signed what ever she signed im 19 nearly 20. i tried to ask him about my midlines he just said theyre difficult and then i asked about my bite he said dont worry about it its fine... even though before getting braces he said he would FIX my bite.. then after i pay tell me its fine and nothing needs to be done . seriously disapointed

[Braces47]

Check the language on their website. If it says a firm number, which is lower than your cost, rather than a range or something like "starting at", in the US, you could have a claim for false advertising. Not sure what British law would say but you might want to look into a possible false advertising claim. When you talk to your ortho/dentist regarding the treatment, I would ask why you're being charged double what it says on his/her website. Maybe you can, at the least, talk them down in price for your treatment and get some sort of a refund.

[SingleJawMelb]

Your mum signed your contract?