They're off and I'm not happy

[ditsy]

Pictures below. I had a brace to pull in an impacted canine.The staining will be sorted in the next couple weeks and it was only my top teeth braced but can you see why I'm not too sure about what has happened?

[BlondeCam]

Oh no, yes I can see why you're not happy. Have you talked to the doc? Were you in traditional braces?

[ditsy]

Yeh just traditional ones. I hoped that I would get used to them over the next week but right now I feel really quite sad and disappointed. I said to before they took them off I wasn't sure if they were ready and she just looked and said "yeh I think they're fine". I will talk to her about it next week though. Xx

[geeky1978]

It does look like you would have needed some class II elastics to close out the overjet. I had something similar (worse actually - 11mm overjet) was pretty much reduced to 0mm with archwire hooks and elastics.

Unfortunately it's a bit late to request this as would need to rebond the brackets again.

[ditsy]

That's what I thought too geeky1978, I honestly thought they would take one look at it and suggest metal on the bottom teeth to pull it back with elastic, or at least straighten the bite and I really lack knowledge in all of this stuff! She was insistent that the brace was coming off. I said I didn't think it was ready but she looked from about 5 foot away and said "They look fine"? No measurements taken, no checking my bite. She just took them straight off.
I have told her about my concerns about my bite since July, I have photos which show how completely out of shape my teeth became. Before this process I had a slight over jet and slanted over bite. Now it is far worse than before. I understand the adult canine is larger than the previous milk tooth but I don't understand how they can be pleased with this as an end result.
My treatment was done on the NHS, I consider myself to be extremely lucky and I'm so grateful that I was accepted as a patient but I am really unhappy with this as an end result. I will try and find some clear pictures of my teeth before the brace.

[ditsy]

Not the greatest image but my teeth before the canine was pulled down and the brace

[geeky1978]

Your teeth look good before and after. Although, my guess is the NHS only provided treatment based on the health of the impacted tooth so didn't make provisions for the overjet?

Either way, they could have easily finished the oclussal (or at least reduced the overjet) if they placed molar tubes on the bottom molars and then did the class 2 elastics. It probably would have only added a few months to the overall treatment time.

Might be worth going back and complain, show them the before and after and the overjet was increased during the treatment?

[ditsy]

Yes, I agree. I see them on Monday, I think I'll take along someone to support and as an extra ear to hear what I am told the solution will or will not be.
I am booked in for a consultation with my dentist in a couple weeks (to correct the staining on the canine) so if the orthodontist doesn't agree with what I'm seeing I will also ask the dentist their opinion and if they can refer me to another ortho to have a look.
I really cannot fault my orthodontist, she has been amazing all the way through but I am feeling disheartened by the end result and I really feel that even if I now have to pay for the correction of my bite I need to consider it as I'm so unhappy with the result. I always liked my teeth, they were never perfect and the only bug was the canine. I was told it was beneficial to me and the health of my teeth for it to be removed.
It's so difficult, it's almost an obsession now. I want them to be perfect. But they're not, and maybe they cannot be perfect. But I would of appreciated being told why no more could be done rather than steamrolling and taking the brace off without listening to my concerns.

[geeky1978]

I really wouldn't stress about it at all. You've got perfectly straight teeth a great smile. So on the positive side this wouldn't take long to improve things since the alignment is completed.

If you are set on getting the overjet reduced, I would get a range of options if the current ortho is unwilling to do it.. You really don't want extractions and you would need to know the full plan. What type of elastics and how they would use them.

It maybe that they would want to bracket the lower teeth so they can move them forward slightly.

[jem]

Hi Ditsy,

I think it is very disappointing that an NHS orthodontist would leave your teeth as they are. Even if they started with the limited brief of sorting out your impacted canine, surely they are under a duty to ensure that you have a good occlusion of your teeth at the end of your treatment even if that means the treatment has to be more extensive than originally planned. I would not be prepared to end my treatment with such a significant overjet. I think it would be a good idea to consult another orthodontist to finish off your treatment properly. Most will offer payment plans.

Good luck

[ditsy]

Thank you for the positive replies. I'm relieved that it's not just "in my head" and that there is a noticeable problem that needs solving.
I also spoke to my sister-in-law earlier, she is a dental nurse and she said she was surprised they took them off so quickly without correcting the overjet. She has reassured me that if the orthodontist refuses to help and if my dentist will not refer me then her surgery will. She doesn't think it will be a problem to get a referral due to the amount of overjet and said when the teeth settle the overjet is likely to increase rather than get better.
There is a local orthodontist who is highly recommend to me by many people so I will ask if I may go there as long as no surgery is involved this time. Xxx

[ditsy]

Little update here on the overjet situation.
So I went in to get my retainer a couple weeks ago, voiced my concern and was told "your teeth always did stick out a bit and it wasn't in your plan to fix your bottom teeth". She was pretty eager to get me out of there as quickly as possible.
So my next step was visiting my dentist due to getting the canine tooth filled where the discolouration is. I brought up in conversation about the brace and the overjet and luckily he has experience in orthodontics and seemed pretty certain they should at least attempt to fix it. He said if this amount of overjet was to be the final outcome this should of been made very clear from the begining of treatment. I said as it was two years ago I really couldn't remember if they had mentioned it or not his response was "you would certainly of remembered them telling you about this if they had of explained it like they should of before starting the treatment". His advice was to write to the hospital directly about my disappointment and that they teeth now do not function as they should which was not an issue before they started treatment. He said it is likely that I will need extractions to fix the overjet.
I asked in his opinion was it worth getting fixed and he said without doubt it should be fixed and the extractions should not put me off.
So currently waiting for a response from the hospital. I'm quite a nervous person and I'm a bit scared about seeing the reply, I hate making complaints and I don't want to annoy her, I worded the letter very carefully. I just want it fixed xx

[djspeece]

Congratulations on making the move to write the letter -- it sounds like you are getting great advice from your dentist, and the plan proposed makes sense. Best of luck to you!

[Welshrarebit]

I agree. The treatment may have been on the NHS and you were fortunate to be accepted BUT it should have been made clear what the end result was going to be. Fine, she wants to say that she has treated the problem identified (impacted tooth) but what professional orthodontist takes off braces when there is a clear overjet that could be easily treated? You have been done a disservice and you are right to complain and seek redress. Good luck!

[Rebeccasmells]

NHS - rolls eyes.

Would it be worth also seeing an ortho to get it done out of pocket? Just so you have options in the short/long term?