Braces off - I hate my new teeth

[lizziebeth1028]

I had braces for 11 months for overcrowding (originally expected to have them for 18 months). Ortho did Interproximal reductions to bring teeth into alignment. When he started to talk about de-banding I told him on several occasions that my teeth looked flared/ overjet and my one front tooth still looked crooked. He said it was the ‘allusion of the braces’. So the braces came off last week and I’m so depressed. My teeth have an overjet that makes my smile uglier than it was before. 5 grand down the drain 😞. I pick up my retainers tomorrow and in the 6 days my teeth have been ‘naked’ they have already began shifting. I don’t know what, if anything can be done at this point. I just wish I had my old crooked smile back 😔. Has anyone had a similar experience? How have you dealt with it?

[assertives]

When you go back to your ortho to pick up your retainers, you can tell him about your concerns about the shifting and the overjet again and ask him to fix it. Especially since it's only been a week since the braces came off. I've seen people getting rebraced again to fix issues that come up after debracing.

Regarding the overjet, it seems like IPR was not enough. Did you have to get any extractions? If you have overcrowding and do not have enough space there may only be so much the braces can do to bring in your teeth. So you may have to manage your expectations a little on that. In any case, talk to your ortho and discuss with him what your options are.

[jwbraces]

If your teeth have been shifting already, then your retainers may not fit when you go in to get them. Make sure you try them on in the office. If the retainers do fit, then maybe consider wearing them a ton at first. I would also bring up your concerns to the ortho. It's hard to give an opinion on your teeth without pics, but I do have a similar-ish experience. I got a cosmetic crown for a "snaggletooth" about 5 years ago. I expected the crown to make that tooth look perfect and straight. Well it didn't, and I had a breakdown and regret it to this day. I did, however, get used to my new appearance over time, and I came realize that it wasn't perfect but was definitely an improvement. I finally decided to get braces to fix everything for good. Most people can't believe I even got braces as they thought my teeth were straight even though I was always self-conscious and felt like everyone noticed my crooked/crowded teeth. I can't even believe people thought my teeth were already straight! I think we are overly critical of ourselves often, and that is completely normal. It's possible that your teeth aren't perfect (hard to say without pics), but it's also possible your appearance is different to you and it could take time to get used to it (in the same way that I wanted my snaggletooth back which in hindsight is ridiculous). I also agree with the previous poster that maybe the ortho did all he could. Definitely share your concerns with your ortho, and post some pics here so we can give your our opinions.

[lizziebeth1028]

Thank you for your replies. The original plan was to have 2 teeth extracted - one from upper and one from lower. Got all the way into the chair on the scheduled extraction appt and the Ortho decided it wasn’t needed, My teeth had had so much movement with just 3 months with braces on he decided to go with just IPR. And it was all looking good for awhile. Until around 9 month adjustment appt when I told to him that I felt my teeth were flaring and protruding. He told me no - allusion of the braces, whatever. I have an appointment on September 8th to talk with him regarding my dissatisfaction. Not sure if anything can be done at this point. I maybe something I have to learn to live with. How do you post a picture? I’d love to get feedback.

[lizziebeth1028]

I’m not really on board for extractions at this point - interproximal reduction has already been done - I fear that along with extractions would ‘collapse’ my face in too much and age me. I’m 60!!...blessed with good genes and I can easily pass for 50 (that’s young right 😜). I think my only hope would be if there still is a little more ‘wiggle room’ for further IPR and rebracing for a bit longer. I mean seriously, ortho only had me in braces for 11 months and then they were like pay us in full and pushing me out the door with my new buck teeth 😔

[assertives]

I’m not really on board for extractions at this point - interproximal reduction has already been done - I fear that along with extractions would ‘collapse’ my face in too much and age me. I’m 60!!...blessed with good genes and I can easily pass for 50 (that’s young right ). I think my only hope would be if there still is a little more ‘wiggle room’ for further IPR and rebracing for a bit longer. I mean seriously, ortho only had me in braces for 11 months and then they were like pay us in full and pushing me out the door with my new buck teeth

You need to make at least 7 posts before you can start posting pictures. Alternatively, you can upload the picture on an image hosting site and then include the link to it in your post.

[lizziebeth1028]

Thank you! Here is link to pics -

https://imgur.com/gallery/G85p9wn

[pcspinheiro]

I also liked my smile with crooked teeth better... My former ortho was an idiot (sorry, can't sugar-coat that) and took me down an unnecessary and harmful treatment path, when I was so clear about my simple goals. That is, until I started reading about it and began putting my foot down on several things. In the end it could never work out because she was unable to understand basic things like the fact that you cannot move teeth if the force you're applying is lower than the friction between the brackets and the wire. I was so unhappy with her work that I debraced out of frustration and spite, (just to make her understand I was really fed up with her, since all our conversations never led anywhere), even though I do have to continue treatment somehow to try and fix some of her wrongdoings, which left me with TMJ issues, an ugly smile, a missing healthy tooth and lots of anger. I should have gotten IPR for my problem, like you did. And yes, my teeth would flare out a teeny tiny bit more, but I would have kept all my teeth, which I was mostly happy about. I was in braces for almost 2 years, over 1 1/2 years with a missing tooth that was wrongfully extracted. After the crowding was resolved this had taken only about 2mm or less of that space, so IPR would have been enough. Hate her for this. Hate having a missing healthy tooth and hate the thought of having to wear braces again. My teeth have ralapsed a bit in just one month, as I refused a retainer to maintain my ugly smile, and it has actually improved a little. Were it not for the ugly extraction gap and I wouldn't even bother anymore...

I actually think your teeth look OK, but maybe not on your face/smile as a whole?, which I cannot assess. If you are really unhappy you should definitely do something about it, as I suspect the outcome is not what you were led to believe it would be. And your ortho should be mad accountable for his work; if it's not OK he should pursue a new round of treatment and not charge you for a new set of braces, especially since he debraced you way before the estimated treatment time. You could use this argument in your favor: you said 18 months, you removed them too early and the job was not done, so you have to put them back.

best of luck!

[wendydong]

Hi pcspinheiro

what happened after your debraced before your treatment ends? Did you find another ortho to correct your bite? did your TMJ improve?

I gotten my braces for about 4.5 months now, and my bite is way way off.. And I am having TMJ symptoms everyday.

[pcspinheiro]

Hi wendydong,
I actually just came from a consult with a different ortho. I guess I have improved a little in my TMJ symptoms since debracing because my bite shifted and found an OK resting position that was not being allowed by holding my teeth with braces in the wrong positions. Today I just discussed my case and problems and I have a new appointment with an occlusion specialist (and the ortho) to try and see what could be done given my existing condition. This time I made it very clear what I wanted to accomplish (not that I didn't with the first ortho, but I made sure she understood it) and pointed out the problems with my previous ortho. This one too agrees that I should not have extracted teeth and that had I gone forward with both extractions the result would not have been OK at all, to put it mildly. She said that first premolar extractions in my case would have sunken my upper lip and cause my nose to look even bigger. Plus, it would not solve the problem of a trapped mandible (would have made it worse) and my smile would be (even more) ruined due to the need of also flaring the upper teeth a lot to accommodate for the lowers. This (together with other second opinions that refused to treat me) just proves that my previous ortho was a TOTAL idiot and did me wrong in every possible way, from day one, by not doing what I asked and instead pursuing her own, stupid agenda that caused way more problems than it solved.
The problem now is that this one says my case is very complicated due to the missing tooth (which I know) and the TMJ issues. After the consult with the occlusion specialist they will draw treatment scenarios, but I'm guessing just out of intuition that they will suggest an implant... I'm gutted from all of this...

Better luck to you and everyone else.

[dreamin2day]

honestly your teeth look really good and your bite seems fine! maybe the teeth just don't mix with your face or you just aren't used to it

[charliee]

so sad for you, after all the troubles of braces - I feel for you, just talk to your ortho and then the practice manager - good luck