Anyone get a second opinion after getting braces?

[Candyland]

I have had braces for 2 1/2 years now and I am just not happy with how my teeth are coming along. My Ortho seems to think I am close to the end but I don't feel like what they are doing with my teeth right now is moving things in the right direction. When I close the only thing that touches are my top front teeth to the lower brackets. I worry that he can't figure out how to fix this because he just keeps trying different things and now it is causing my once straight teeth to rotate out of position, so now not only does my bite not line up, but he is undoing all the work of getting my teeth straight. I would really like to get another opinion from another office. My treatment is already paid for, I don't know if they would refund any if I decided to go somewhere else. Has anyone else ever changed Orthos during their treatment? If you have did you have to pay for the full cost of treatment again? And did your first Ortho refund any of your money?

[Candyland]

I went to my regular dentist today to get her opinion on the state of my teeth. It was not good news She said one of my canines has been moved down too far and is rotated inward, the only teeth that come together when I bite are my very back molars (sorry I don't know the proper names for anything), and several molars on the bottom arch are rotated inward toward my tongue. According to my Ortho, all that is left is to close a small space between two molars in the back and they are taking everything off. I didn't feel this was right so I am glad I spoke with my dentist about it. She called another Ortho that she really respects while I was there and set up a consult for me to see him next week. I'm nervous to see what he thinks, not to mention what more treatment will cost me. Ugh, this is so frustrating!

[NeilH]

Good luck with your appointment with a second ortho. I'm sure you will find this useful and maybe provide an insight into what else can be done. It sounds like your dentist has been really helpful in facilitating this so well done to them for helping you out. I presume fees paid are outcome based so if you are not happy and can get evidence that a problem can be resolved differently surely your existing ortho will understand this? Do you have a standards body who could offer you advice? Good luck.

[Candyland]

Just got done with my consultation with the new ortho. He is awesome! They took pictures and put everything up on a screen and showed me the different outcomes they can achieve. He also did a lot of measuring of my teeth and bite. None of this had been done before at my other ortho's office. I know people on here all the time talk about millimeters of space/overbite, and I always wondered how they knew the measurements. Well it turns out that good orthos measure those kinds of things! I am so upset that I have been going to a subpar ortho this whole time and didn't know any better. More news to me, I am missing a lower incisor (I was born without one), and this has been the cause of all my bite problems. My ortho has never even mentioned that before. I REALLY want to just give up on my current ortho and switch to this new one, if it weren't for the financial ramifications I would switch today. The new ortho asked if he could call my current ortho and discuss my treatment with him to see if it is possible he could still correct the problem. I wonder how that conversation will go, hopefully everyone will act like professionals. He said ideally, for financial reasons, I should try to get the ortho that I have already paid in full to correct my bite. I go to see them tomorrow and see what he has to say. Ugh, this is emotionally exhausting.

On a side note, has anyone else ever felt guilty for spending so much money on their teeth? I am married so both of our incomes go together, and I feel selfish sometimes spending so much of our money on treatment for my teeth. My husband has never, ever said anything to make me feel this way. Just wondering if anyone else has ever felt like this.

[leelou905]

Hello, I'm really sorry that you're having such a difficult time with your current ortho. I'm glad that you got a second opinion though, hopefully it will result into something positive.
I can only sympathise with you.

My partner paid for my treatment, and I feel very guilty that he's done this for me but also very ecstactic as I've always needed to sort my teeth out since a teenager.
He never mentions it though, I just feel like I need to make it up to him.

I hope your discussion goes well with your ortho tomorrow, please update us.
Fingers crossed for you.

[Candyland]

This week has been a whirlwind. I met with my Ortho today and I think things went pretty well. He sat down and actually asked me what I don't like about my teeth. He has never asked my opinion before! We went over all the issues I have and what I believe needs to be corrected. He assured me that he will do everything he can to get my teeth as perfect as he can, and he won't take the braces off until I am completely happy with my teeth. I think this is the best outcome I could have hoped for with the situation I am in. I really couldn't afford to spend more money on another Ortho, so I'm glad things seem to be back on track with my current Ortho.

[Candyland]

I wanted to post another update after several appointments this week. Things have been progressing very slowly. I had a space open between my lower incisors about 4 months ago that had never been there before. It has been really stubborn and doesn't want to close. My ortho has only looked at my teeth once of the last 5 visits Tooth #4 (on the top right side) has been sensitive to pressure lately, and something started to crumble off it about a month ago. I had the ortho assistant look at it and she said she couldn't see anything wrong with it. When it started hurting last week I made an apt with my regular dentist to check things out. There was good news and bad news. Good news, the crumbling was just some bonding material that had gotten onto the wrong place and was breaking off. Bad news, since the tooth was sensitive they did and x-ray and I have significant root resorption in that tooth. It is very disheartening to learn that after all this, I may one day loose that tooth. I didn't ask her to x-ray the rest at today's visit so I don't know if there is more resorption in other areas. After the appointment I called my ortho's office to get an apt next week for impressions so they can order the retainers and I can get these braces off asap. I've been doing reading online and most sites suggest that an ortho should x-ray your teeth at least annually to monitor for signs of resorption. Sadly, mine has never done this.

[JanieO]

New member here wanting to say, "Hang in there!" Sounds pretty discouraging and I'm sure these ongoing complications aren't exactly decreasing your concerns about how much of a bite this is taking out of your family's budget. If it's any help, just know that, by taking care of things now, you're probably saving a ton of money that you'd have to spend later after things had deteriorated much further. I'll be 65 in less than a month and am looking at a comprehensive tx plan that's going to run me close to 30K. My team includes my dentist, a prosthodontist, a periodontist and an orthodontist. At any rate, please keep us posted and know that we're rooting for you.

[Candyland]

I went today for my impressions. They weren't bad at all, just some tugging and a lot of stuff stuck around the brackets. I am getting a THIS COMPANY DOES NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE ON THIS WEBSITE. PLEASE REPORT TO ADMINISTRATOR. Hawley for the top and a wrap around standard Hawley for the bottom. As usual, the ortho didn't bother looking at my teeth, or speaking to me at all at my appointment. I think he is being very unprofessional, he knows he messed up, and instead of trying to rectify the situation, he hides. Ugh, I am beyond frustrated!

[Lorianne]

That is really too bad about your Ortho being so inattentive and incompetent! I hope you are at least partially okay with the turnout.