5 brackets falling out on the first day!?? 2 more the next?

[pineapple]

Hi guys,

I'm about to join the full braced club pretty soon, but I'm having a lot of doubts as to whether I chose the right orthrodontist or not.

Just last week, my orthodontist bonded all the brackets to my teeth and she basically told me that she wasn't going to insert the wire until I get one of my lateral incisors extracted next week tuesday.

My biggest issue right now is that right from day one, five of the brackets on my teeth had already detached themselves. And this was when I was being really careful with them too.

The next day, another two came off (one while I was sleeping, the other while drinking soup).

All of this is making me extremely nervous and doubtful of my orthodontist's ability. In the future it's going to take me 40 dollars an appointment just to fix a broken bracket and I don't want to do it if its not my fault. Right now, I've been told to just hold on to the brackets and to have them when I go in for my next appointment the day after the extraction.

What do you guys think? Is it normal for this to happen? How I should I bring this issue up with them?

I'm getting some major warning signs here and I'm scared to have risk all my money and even one of my lateral incisors (I was told that I didn't need extractions until I signed the contract) on an orthodontist that might not be as capable as she first seemed.

[catfish]

I can understand why you're uneasy. It's normal to lose a bracket, but 7 so soon seems a bit much. I'd definitely ask her why this is happening. And if she expects you to pay for it. My ortho has a charge for fixing these things that he applies at his discretion. He's never charged me. He says the fee is an incentive to get parents to keep their kids from doing things they shouldn't that mess up their braces. But when something goes wrong when you're doing things right, he doesn't charge.

Did you get consults from more than one ortho? I'm a big believer in listening to my intuition. If I were in your shoes and didn't get satisfactory answers from your ortho, I'd be seeking another opinion.

I'm sorry you have to deal with this uncertainty. Agreeing to orthodontia is really such a leap of faith in the first place, it doesn't help to have something shake your confidence right off the bat.

Hang in there! We're here to offer support!

[dojo]

I had Damon for 7 months and NO bracket fell. I know it's normal for them sometimes to detach, but to have 7 fall in just 2 days is WAY TOO MUCH. I think she didn't bond them correctly to the tooth, it's impossible to have them fall like apples from the tree. And losing them in sleep is VERY dangerous since you could choke with them.

I think a chat with the orthodontist is a good idea. And make sure you tell her you are NOT gonna pay for bracket reattachment if she's so clumsy. It's not normal to have to pay because she's doing a bad job. having 1-2 fall might be almost OK, but 7 is unacceptable.

Maybe you can get to an ortho who's not asking for separate payments for the work and the device. In my case the Damon treatment was 1500 Euro. Everything done to me gets into this payment. The braces, the archwires, the attaching of the braces, the cleaning of the teeth, even the retainer. It's better to pay for a set price and get all in it, then get a cheaper price for the braces and then pay way too much for all the services.

Keep us posted and best of luck

[Miss Smiley]

It may have been a bad batch of bonding material or it may have been that the environment in your mouth was too damp while they were attaching the brackets. I would definitely have a talk with your orthodontist but I would not accuse him/her of doing inadequate work. Just have a talk and let them know that this issue of many brackets falling off worries you and that you were not doing anything. Then bring up the issue of being charged for brackets that have fallen off.

I have had more than what is allowed for broken brackets and have not been charged. I agree with Catfish, that my orthodontist uses it as a rule for parents to keep an eye on their kids as well.

[iBorg]

I had bad luck with ceramic brackets but not THAT bad.
I think now is a good time to ask why this is happening. If she can't answer, you need to listen to your intuition and question if this is the right direction. It is possible that something in your enamel isn't working with the bonding material or its a bad batch of bonding agent. Either way this is not a good way to start. If they are popping out without any pressure on them from wires and elastics, this is raising a red flag they you MUST deal with prior to moving forward. I truly don't think you've received adequate care.

Mike

[GiovanntiLawing]

Honestly, I would get that checked out! He should't charge you though for that IF you were doing everything correctly! Ive heard of a few brackets popping off, but Ive never heard of 7 falling off. Thats a little bit much.

Be sure not to TELL the ORTHO if you were doing something you were not suppose to...OR he may just charge you.

Good Luck!

[jaswi]

I'm more interested in what is wrong with your lateral incisor that it needs to be pulled? That is not the type of tooth you would usually pull for braces, unless it is a bad peg lateral or something.

[pineapple]

hey guys,

Thanks for all the replies! So, after reading all your posts, I decided to give the orthodontist's office one more call (I had called two times previously before), BUT this time I insisted on speaking to the orthodontist herself.

Luckily for me, the orthodontist was free at that moment and she came on the phone to speak with me right away. I explained to her that the falling brackets had me really concerned and I was wondering how that happened and that I wouldn't want to keep on paying for repair appointments in the future if they were to keep on falling out.

She basically told me pretty much what you guys told me is that it could've either been my bite or it could've been that the bonding material was bad or both. If it's the bonding agent, then she told me she'll switch to another one to see if it's more compatible with my enamel.

She told me not to worry about paying for the repair appointments because she reserves those for the kids that come in with bubble gum stuck on their teeth. ::phew::

What got me really concerned was that my extraction was coming up soon and I didn't want to get one of front teeth pulled and live with a gap on the front for a year if I wasn't confident in her skill and technique, but I feel a lot better now that I've talked to her so at least I have an idea of what went wrong and how's she's going to fix it.

And to answer jaswi's question, yes, I do have a bad peg lateral on one side and am missing a lateral incisor on the other side. And apparently, due to its unique and somewhat odd shape (talon's cusp?), I can't get it bonded either. So removal was the best option for me.

Thanks for all the help guys, it really helped me come up with the right questions that I wanted to ask my orthodontist. I was getting more nervous with every bracket that fell off, but now I feel ready to take that leap of faith and join the braceface club

P.S. my eighth one just fell out while I was drinking water. lol, my Ortho is definitely going to have her hands full for my next appointment.

[Bracefacegal]

An eighth bracket fell off?

It's definitely got to be the bonding agent that is bad. That's unreal!

[mary.]

Just wanted to pass along a little pat on the back to you for handling this in such a mature way. Your call to the Orthodontist sounds like it went well. Good for you for holding your ground. Something obviously went wrong, but it could have nothing at all to do with skill. I'm sure your confidence will be restored. While they could fix it anytime, it's good thing that it happened now before any further work is done. I would actually ask about the other brackets that have not fallen off yet and see if they should try to remove them and start fresh.

This forum is always full of great support and advice, so don't hesitate to post other questions that come up. Best wishes with your treatments.

[Kerry]

did actualy use glue or mistakenly use toothpaste lol

probably didnt mix the cement properly , sounds very wrong tho

[Miss Smiley]

Pineapple. glad to hear your orthodontist was willing to take the time to explain everything to you. It seems like the best way to approach something/someone is not to be accusational and pointing fingers. Good choice and sounds like all is well!