Another stupid newbie question.

[Ziggy]

Okay. I've had my first appointment with the ortho. He took a bunch of measurements and told me to leave myself 3+ hours for getting my braces next Thursday. My question is: is there any chance he will get me in the chair and only put spacers in having me come back? Or, would he have told me that on my initial visit?

Thanks again.

[newbite]

It's possible, you could call them to find out. Did he tell you what your treatment plan is? If not, I would make sure they go over that with you BEFORE getting the braces on. Preferably not at the same appointment in case there's some aspect of it you need to consider before committing.

Transparency is very important (to me, anyway--some people don't want to know, but it sounds like you do!).

[Ziggy]

He went over everything and never mentioned spacers. I know exactly what he wants to do although I don't completely understand the mechanics of it all. The model he showed me had no bands on the molers. Just clear brackets and wires. I guess I'm wondering if they know this stuff when they first examine you, or if there are often surprises when they start working. Seems weird he'd have me carve out 3+ hours to jam some spacers in there. As you can tell this is all very new to me.

[jem]

Many orthodontic patients don't have molar bands these days. Large brackets are bonded onto the molars instead. I believe that is particularly common with Damon braces. If no molar bands are to be fitted, there will be no need for spacers.

Good luck with your braces,

Jem

[NeilH]

Three hours is a very long time. I would have thought around an hour is average unless they also want to take records at this appointment (in which case, how have they undertaken the treatment planning?). Getting brackets on all teeth is pretty normal these days so I wouldn't be overly worried by this unless they decide to band / bracket the back teeth later. Good luck.

[oldfart]

Get a treatment plan before starting. That way you are not surprised and if there is something you don't want done, you can discuss it beforehand.

[oldfart]

Also, did you check other orthos? Five different ones can give you five different treatment plans at five different costs.

[Ziggy]

Thanks for all the replies. Here's the deal: I have a lot of tooth wear. My bottom front teeth are hitting and wearing a ledge on the inside of my front teeth, not to mention my bottom front teeth now look like chisels. I really like my dentist a lot, and he said he can't do much without my seeing an ortho to move the teeth around a bit. The original plan was for the ortho to create some space allowing my dentist to do some cosmetic work. My dentist recommended the ortho. I live in a small, expensive resort town in Colorado. Nothing here is cheap, so shopping around isn't going to do me much good, and my quote is on the high side of rest-of-the-county normal. My dentist recommended this guy, and since I trust my dentist, and have a good gut feeling about the ortho, I'm going to go forward with this guy.

He spent a long time with me during my first visit, and explained how he could move my back teeth to stop my front teeth from hitting incorrectly, and close up the gaps in my front teeth at the same time. This would correct my bite without a lot of crowns, which my dentist doesn't want to do (porcelain against enamel ain't good). So, unless I want a Hollywood smile, I get a much better smile AND a corrected bite all at the same time. Being a tech guy I want to understand everything, but I still don't get how he will make my back teeth longer. I was a little nervous as he was explaining everything.

I also tend to look everything up on the net, which in this case is bringing up more questions than answers and explains why I'm now on this forum. I guess if I need spacers to install bands that's the way it is, but maybe he's not thinking bands. Spacers and bands got put in my head after researching this stuff on the net.

As with most things in my life I'm overthinking this whole process, but I am looking forward to watching how this progresses over time. I'll definitely bring a list of questions to ask before he starts. Should be quite an adventure at 68.

Still welcoming all thoughts and I'll keep you posted. Maybe I'll write a blog, "Old Fart Gets Braces."

[Prometheus]

Ziggy, some of this stuff is a bit mysterious initially but you will figure it out as you go along. The back teeth will naturally extrude if they are kept from touching each other. I have things called "bite turbos" cemented to the back of my upper two central incisors. These hold my bite open, and indeed after 11 months the back teeth have begun to touch once again. Amazing. The wires and eventually rubber bands will add to the process. Initially I did not get bands on my molars. Brackets were placed on all teeth up to and including the 1st molars. I'm now in the process of getting bands on the 2nd and possibly the 3rd molars (wisdom teeth). It is a fairly common approach to hook up the back teeth only after some movement has occurred with the front ones. I'm a few months shy of 60, and I've learned on here from others and by personal experience that for our age group things usually move slower than we would hope, so you just have to settle in for the ride.

[oldfart]

Hey, I'm OldFart Come up with another name!!

I understand overthinking and researching everything. I definitely did that also.

Okay, with the two of you in this thread I should rename myself to NotAsOldAsU2RFart. (Am only 49)

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[Ziggy]

Prometheus,

Good post! I just looked up "bite turbos" and my brain is starting to make sense of all this now. Thank you.

[Ziggy]

Hey, I'm OldFart Come up with another name!!

I understand overthinking and researching everything. I definitely did that also.

Okay, with the two of you in this thread I should rename myself to NotAsOldAsU2RFart. (Am only 49)

of

No problem. I'll stick with Ziggy and you can still be OldFart. How about if I'm OlderFart?

[oldfart]

Hey, I'm OldFart Come up with another name!!

I understand overthinking and researching everything. I definitely did that also.

Okay, with the two of you in this thread I should rename myself to NotAsOldAsU2RFart. (Am only 49)

of

No problem. I'll stick with Ziggy and you can still be OldFart. How about if I'm OlderFart?

That works.