Metal Mouth Message Board

Has anyone else been debanded with a midline that was still off? I am nearing the end of my treatment and my ortho talked to me about my midline and how it wouldn't line up without extensive surgery/possible appliance. I have been in elastics for 7 months. I am happy with my bite and my teeth. I am worried when the braces come off however that the "off" midline is going to be obvious. What are your opinions? Am I worrying for no reason?? TIA!

My midline is only slightly off but to be honest it doesn't bother me.. Like Karen says I don't smile with my teeth closed shut and I rarely walk around bearing all gnashers top and bottom..

To be honest with you, I only found out what a midline was all about when I started ortho treatment!

I don't really care about my midline either (It is about 1/2 a tooth off center), but my Ortho really does! My midline is the last thing needing to be fixed, so I want it to hurry up and move, already! LOL...

brandee, was your midline off before you started your orthodontic treatment ?

And when you say that it's off, are you talking about midline of uppers not matching midline of lowers ? Or the total combined midline not being centered relative to your lip/nose/chin etc ?

By how much is it off?

It probably isn't going to be that noticeable. Mine is fixed now (I am one of the "extensive surgery" cases!) When it was off, the one things that I noticed was how my upper canines seemed to be in different spots - one was closer to center and the other was a bit further to the side. I have really pointy canines so I guess that's why it seemed more noticeable.

LOL Denise ! Priorities are important. I'm symmetry obsessed to midline is probably my #2 priority, alignment being #1 and occlusion being #3. None needing to be perfect btw, I would settle for my current midline (see avatar).

Thanks everyone for the encouraging words! I never noticed my midline before treatment because I had a severe deep bite. Its probably only about half a tooth off. I am thrilled beyond reason about my bite correction so I will be satisfied with the results!!

My midline was corrected quite easily with a diagonal elastic from top incisor to the bottom on the other side. I was about 3/4 of a tooth off and now it's just a hair over (110%) of what it is supposed to be.

Any chance you could ask about this? My guess is that there is a reason why your ortho has not done this. It may mess something else up in your bite and it's not worth it.

I, personally, like the idea of a dead on midline. It is very true that no one else will notice, but I do!

Can you post a picture?

After being debanded in April 2007 (41 months braced), my lower midline is somewhat off. Like you, I had never noticed before because of a severe deep bite. When I was first braced, my uppers completely covered my lower braces.

The improvement in my bite has been quite dramatic and having my midline off does not bother me. No one will ever notice as far as I'm concerned.

I have something called a Bolton discrepancy which refers to the size/number of teeth being too big for the the size of the lower arch.

I've had one of my lower front teeth removed as part of my treatment so I won't have a lower midline. I agree with the other responses in that I won't be that bothered about the midline as I don't think many people will notice it.

However, if you think your midline is an important issue, chat it over with your ortho and get a good understanding of what "fixing" it will mean and whether it's really necessary.

Regards

Mike

Hi notbob1

How long did it take for your midline to move into place ?

I only ask because i started treatment today to correct my midline . My lower midline is off a couple of MM's and using elastics just like you.

Thanks so very much

Blue

NotBob1 wrote:My midline was corrected quite easily with a diagonal elastic from top incisor to the bottom on the other side. I was about 3/4 of a tooth off and now it's just a hair over (110%) of what it is supposed to be.

Any chance you could ask about this? My guess is that there is a reason why your ortho has not done this. It may mess something else up in your bite and it's not worth it.

I, personally, like the idea of a dead on midline. It is very true that no one else will notice, but I do!

Can you post a picture?

Hi!

I am due to get my braces off in about 3 weeks, and my midline is still slightly off. I am the only one who notices it, though, other than my ortho. He says that it may not be exact simply because of the nature of my teeth etc. It's not that much off... enough to bug me, but I am a perfectionist, so there ya go. lol.

If it's your lower teeth that are off center then you will NEVER notice it.My oral Surgeon said that he has never been able to see who's midline is off unless he has them sitting on the chair and asks them to open their mouth and bite down. He says he's been surprised that some people even with missing bottom tooth like mine cant be seen unless I pull my lips apart and show someone. At first my only priority is having the "straight teeth" Now that my top are straight, there's still some adjustments to be made so I can have a good occlusion . For those that don't think that a good bite is that important should see me trying to chew ! lol I can chew almost anything but I have to think about where I put the food,how small to cut my food with a knife.... I will be thrilled when my top molars fit nicely on my lower molars. I know this is important to you but my dentist told me that aligned teeth and a decent bite is the most important thing that midlines being off a little will not cause serious problems.
I know you notice your midline off because their your teeth. After I got braces I actually had some people asking me why I got braces for! I had severe,severe crowding of the uppers and lowers . Talk to your ortho if this is bothering you a lot. If surgery is the only option then you will have to decide if it's bothering you that much.Do you have pictures?

Gennel