Diva Ortho

[ashesgap]

So went for an appointment with the new ortho today. I asked to talk to her before hand, mostly about the fact that I'm sick of braces, and want the tooth she messed up fixed. Anyways, when I told her my preferences for retainers she was kinda rude. I said, "I've read a lot about them and....." then she said, "well, I have a masters, so I know how to read the articles" She basically called me stupid. Which pissed me off, and made me stick to what I had decided even more. Prior to today I kinda liked her, now she's "diva ortho" and the sooner she's out of my face the better.
I'm pretty happy with my teeth, and my dentist agrees that I'm done once this tooth is pushed back in line. I'll get my implants in March, and I'm really hoping to have the braces off by then. We'll see.

[BracedSurgeryStudent]

Wow your orthodontist is RUDE. When I mentioned all the orthodontic facts to my orthodontist all she was, was shocked that I knew sooo much and said I was a very bright young lady. She sees potential in me as an orthodontist. Too bad I'm going to become a surgeon LOL. But she's cool with that. When I mentioned the types of retainers she just told me the pros and cons of both and I shared my knowledge with her and she totally agreed with me. That is really unfortunate in your situation. So sorry to hear that. I would say that if in 6 months she does not fix your tooth and get you done (if you back bite is perfect now), then you should probably get a second opinion because if she's prolonging that to get more money out of then it would be wrong on her part.

[vincent168]

Cool you must be a very intelligent student

[ashesgap]

Yep, she's my new ortho and I'm paying 200 a month. My previous ortho perfected my bite, months and months ago. Diva Ortho often comments on my perfect bite, and the fact that I've never needed and won't need rubber bands.
BSS you're ortho is a lot like my old ortho. He never talked down to me, or cut me off mid sentence. I've researched every step of braces, and know exactly how I want it to go. My old ortho also asked me if I was interested in working in the dental field.
I've already decided that I may have to cut off treatment before Diva Ortho thinks I'm done, and I'm ok with that.

[Marigold]

Wow, that ortho sounds rude. I hate when doctors get all defensive when we mention something we've read. They act like we're telling them what to do, when all we really want to do is understand our options. It's OUR money. If they spent more time explaining things maybe we wouldn't have to do our own research. Okay, soap box time over

[ashesgap]

Lucky for me my previous ortho and I had already talked about all my options and treatment. When I tried to tell Diva that I hadn't read published articles, but real people's opinions, she was already "laughing" about how she has a masters....blah blah. She also said she doesn't know anyone who likes Hawleys, including the 15 orthos she was with the night before AND her entire staff (who she pointed out can have whatever they want for free).
Oddly enough she was pretty nice with a teenager she was talking to after me, so I think she just dislikes being questioned by an adult, or anyone I'm sure.

[samsung]

Yeah that was kinda rude but can understand why they might get tired of back seat drivers. They've been doing this and studying it as a profession for years so that outweighs any research we might have done.
Shouldnt be with an orthodontist if you cant trust their judgement I dont think

[ashesgap]

The super awesome thing about being an adult is that I get to decide what happens to my body. And I don't feel bad about that one bit.

[BracedInNOLA]

Shouldnt be with an orthodontist if you cant trust their judgement I dont think

I was thinking something similar - but more on the lines of 'why are you going to this ortho if she's treating you like this'!

I am an intelligent person, and maybe I don't understand all the nuances of choice, but if you're not intelligent enough to EXPLAIN it to me, then how can I be sure you're actually intelligent enough to do the work! Explaining really does take another level of understanding, and if they can't explain it, maybe they don't understand it as well as they think they do.

Like I tell High school students considering engineering as a career - your communication skills are just as important as your technical skills, because if you can't TELL someone how brilliant your idea is, it doesn't do the world much good!

[ashesgap]

My previous ortho explained anything I needed, and I really appreciated that. I don't have the choice right now to go find a new new ortho, since I have weeks not months left. I almost wish I was seeing the other ortho in this practice, because he's older like my original ortho. But again, it's a little late for that.

[whiteswan]

It is so exciting that you are mere weeks away Ashes! I have been lurking on here (for lack of a better word) since you got your braces and it has taken me until now to actually finally go through with mine. Just think....I could be finished by now if I hadn't procrastinated. URG.

Anyway, my question is whether your ortho wants to give you essix retainers or permanent bonded. I think I will get getting invisalign retainers when I'm finished (as I am doing invisalign) but I am worried about covering my teeth at night forever due to increased risk of cavities. If your ortho is planning essix, maybe ask her about this aspect and use it as your springboard for hawley's.

[Sita]

I've encountered doctors like that. Mostly young ones who have just qualified and haven't the experience yet to realise that the human body doesn't always follow the textbooks. It's good you won't have to deal with her too much longer.

[ashesgap]

Whiteswan I did the same thing for a year, and was pretty ticked at myself for putting it off. I had been told before that we could just pull all my teeth together, and hearing from my old ortho that I'd need two fake teeth threw me off. In the end I just had to "suck it up" and do it. Luckily I've heard getting implants isn't horribly painful, so that's nice.
Diva Ortho wanted to give me a permanent on the bottoms and an Essix for the uppers. Since I don't want a permanent at all, we agreed that Essix upper and lower is no good, since it can interfere with the bite over time. My previous ortho and I agreed a while ago that an upper hawley was best for me, since I need the two fake teeth. So I gave in and agreed to an Essix for the lower and hawley upper. I told her if in six months, when I get the crowns put on, I hate the hawley we'll revisit retention. But I'm pretty sure I'll want to replace the lower Essix.
Good for you finally getting braces, time really does fly once they're on.