Is this normal?!

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#1 Post by **NKovaci88** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 2:55 pm

Well...I'm annoyed at the moment, and I need to vent.

About a month ago, I went in for my adjustment. Everything was going fine...until my ortho's assistant was putting on new ligs and my FRONT bracket popped off. So I assumed they would immediately glue it back on. However, the ortho comes by and says "Hm, you don't need it for now." To which I sort of gave a o_O look. But I'm in ceramics, so it wasn't that noticeable. I was going to put up a fight, but I thought...whatever.

So I went in for my next appointment a couple of days ago. They tell me they're going to put it back on. HOWEVER...they apparantely LOST the bracket, and instead they put on what looks to me like a self-litigating bracket (Damon?).

I had to wait until I got home to get a better look at it -- and it just doesn't look right. I have this one bracket in the very front that stands out as whiter than the rest (not to mention smaller and slightly more metallic)...where as the rest are just regular ceramics. The assistant told me "not to worry about it"...but it's all I've been able to think about.

Is this normal? Should I request to have it replaced with a regular ceramic? Woud it even be possible? I'm pretty annoyed by this, but I feel like they aren't going to do anything about it. I almost feel relieved they didn't replace it with a metal bracket...

#2 Post by **NKovaci88** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 12:23 am

Meryaten wrote: However, my feeling is that if you are uncomfortable about how this looks, you should feel able to express this to your ortho, and hopefully they would respect your wish to have a consistent set of brackets on your anterior teeth.

I agree, and I'm going to make an issue of it at my next appointment. They've been anything but consistent with my braces...from leaving another bracket off for several months, to now this.

Here's a pic:

And it looks even worse in person, IMO.

Thanks for your response, though!

#3 Post by **TheNewEmperor** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 12:44 am

Get in there and get them to change it, your agreement with them was for ceramics and the rest are ceramics so naturally you want them to match. It's important to you and you need to stand your ground instead of them fobbing you off like this.

#4 Post by **PuppySmiles** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 12:18 am

It doesn't look so bad in the pic. Probably nobody will notice; I wouldn't have unless I knew what to look for.

But it is important for us to feel good about our braces, and if it's an issue for you, then it should be an issue your orthodontist takes seriously!

#5 Post by **switchblades** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 4:55 am

While it looks okay to me, I know for a fact it would drive me nuts and make me self-conscious. You're paying big bucks, the least they can do is fix your braces so they match!

#6 Post by **jennielee81** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 5:30 pm

It would bug the crap out of me as well. She says, "don't worry about it." but it's NOT IN HER MOUTH!

If it bothers you I would tell them to either replace the other central bracket with a similar one to make it symetrical or change the new one out for one like the others.

#7 Post by **NKovaci88** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:30 pm

Thanks for the replies. Well, when I went in for my last adjustment I brought it up with my ortho., and she said she'll replace it next time. . .

HOWEVER, the more I look at the self-litigating bracket they put on, the more I like it. It's smaller, there's no ligature so it doesn't stain, and I regret not asking if I could have the rest of my ceramics (there's only 5 of them anyway) replaced with self-litigating ones. Do you think this is too much to ask for?

A question: Are the clear self-litigating brackets stronger than the regular ceramics? I really don't feel like continuing on with my old ceramics because they break off all of the time anyway.

#8 Post by **LCARA** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 12:52 am

I'm wondering if they put the self-ligating bracket because they are less prone to breaking off?

#9 Post by **switchblades** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:50 am

NKovaci88 wrote:HOWEVER, the more I look at the self-litigating bracket they put on, the more I like it. It's smaller, there's no ligature so it doesn't stain, and I regret not asking if I could have the rest of my ceramics (there's only 5 of them anyway) replaced with self-litigating ones. Do you think this is too much to ask for? .

I think, theyre in your mouth and if you're more comfortable it can't hurt to ask, but it could drastically change your treatment, both in technique and timeline. Also, self-ligating are more expensive (from what I've heard), so it may be too late to go down that road.