Ortho treatment exacerbated gummy smile and strained chin

[Voxpotens]

Hello!

Im 49 years old and 3 years ago started my ortho treatment to improve gummy smile, lip incompetence, facial balance, breathing and stop teeth grinding. Still have braces on but really hate the way my face and smile looks. The changes have made my concerns worse, not better! Im so upset, that is all i can think about. I spent 6k and three years on my life on something that made me look worse and became the biggest regret of my life.

I was wondering if the results can be reverted. i wasnt that unhappy with my teeth to begin with and if i knew this would be the final result i would have never done it! I just wish i could put it back the way it was and get my money back, but i guess that is never gonna happen. Im very scientifically trained but have no idea when it comes to ortho mechanics. So im jot sure what needs to be done in order to revert these results. There have been no extractions of any teeth for the ortho treatment. Can anyone shed some light or hope? I. Could post before and afters, but i dont know how to.

Thanks!

[SingleJawMelb]

I think you haven't made enough posts to post a picture.

Have you spoken to your ortho about this? Assuming you see an ortho and not a general dentist.

[Voxpotens]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, he is a well-known orthodontist. I have talked to him but he is not agreeing or not admitting he agrees that my face was disimproved with the tratment. The teeth look straighter, but that is not what i went to him for. And of course i do not understand anything about what teeth/jaw movements causes what, so i dont know what to ask him to do to try and ammeliorate the situation. He hasn't exactly expressed how much effort he is trying to put forth to help me be happy with my result, but he thanked me for going to him first to try and discuss it.

I will try and see i i can upload my photos into a server and paste the link here. It will be near to impossible to try and describe my situation without visuals. I appreciate any help and suggestions! :)

[Voxpotens]

Finally posted enough to be able to attach images!
So, frontal images. Notice the little amount of chin strain on the before image and the exacerbation of the current

[Voxpotens]

GUMMY SMILE
So, I know my teeth werent straight, but I didnt care. I had a much more attractive smile shape. My full smile would show all the way to the back teeth! But now the changed shape of my upper arch, the teeth in the back no longer show. Plus my smile just seems narrower and I have that piano keyboard look, which I dont really care for.

Also, please keep in mind I went to the ortho to fix minor lip incompetency and slight gummy smile and both got exacerbated.

I did a lot of reading and there is one ortho only treatment for gummy smile, which is the front teeth intrusion via TADs. But I am now afraid of trying to fix it and making a bigger mess. It seems to me that my ortho would know to communicate with me and acknowledge that both of my requests were not being addressed. I happened to notice and bring it up to him. He keeps defending that my smile is better and suggesting further procedures which I do not want to go through, such as laser gum and jaw surgery. The expectation is that the ortho treatment would fix both issues. So, needless to say, I am extremely upset

[Voxpotens]

PROFILE

[testimony777]

I don't have any advice for you; I just wanted to voice my shock that your ortho is claiming not to see the things you are concerned about. Has he seen the pictures you posted?

[Lovespain5]

Thanks for sharing pictures.
What I see is the following evolution : you initially had lip strain, a slightly narrow smile and little crowding. After the treatment, you show a wide smile but also a more important lip strain, which is more obvious not only in your profile photo but in your face photo too. You also achieve a smaller nasolabial angle, which indicates that your upper teeth had been moved forward.
Probably you have been treated with Damon or other self-ligating braces?
This type of braces used to push forward upper front teeth are not recommanded if you suffer from bimax protrusion and/or lip incompetence, which would become more severe.
I myself received orthodontic treatment (I'm debraced now) for bimax protrusion and lip incompetence. I was treated with a removal of my 4 first premolars to end with these and to get well-balanced facial features and a straight profile. My teeth had been retracted on both the arches and I achieve a smaller mouth and a more important nasolabial angle. I close my mouth properly now and my strain had disappeared completly. But your protrusion and your lip incompetence are less severe than what I initially had. So I can't say if removing 4 bicuspids is the best solution to reverse your strain.

[Voxpotens]

I don't have any advice for you; I just wanted to voice my shock that your ortho is claiming not to see the things you are concerned about. Has he seen the pictures you posted?

Thank you for yout reply.
Yes! Not only hes seen it, his staff took them! Its outrageous, yeah? And to think i didnt even care about the slight crookedness! I went there to fix the lip incompetency and it ended up worse!

[Voxpotens]

Probably you have been treated with Damon or other self-ligating braces?
This type of braces used to push forward upper front teeth are not recommanded if you suffer from bimax protrusion and/or lip incompetence, which would become more severe.
.

Thank you. Yes, Damon. I had no idea they were contraindicated for my dentofacial type. Thank you for the tip. im deeply upset about this and am trying to get educated and ready to fight this guy. Have no idea if he can backtrack what he did. I wish i could just get my old face, smile and money back. I dont even know if i have any recourse whatsoever. Its just sad that he gets to charge 6k and get away with leaving me looking like this.

[Lovespain5]

Probably you have been treated with Damon or other self-ligating braces?
This type of braces used to push forward upper front teeth are not recommanded if you suffer from bimax protrusion and/or lip incompetence, which would become more severe.
.

Thank you. Yes, Damon. I had no idea they were contraindicated for my dentofacial type. Thank you for the tip. im deeply upset about this and am trying to get educated and ready to fight this guy. Have no idea if he can backtrack what he did. I wish i could just get my old face, smile and money back. I dont even know if i have any recourse whatsoever. Its just sad that he gets to charge 6k and get away with leaving me looking like this.

Hope all will be OK for you. Ask the orthodontist to reverse the Damon effects, maybe with 4 extractions or no. Can't say if it's the best solution for you as your lip incompetence isn't severe. And don't hesitate ask another advice too. Even if the treatment will become longer, it's important to end with the lip strain.

[Voxpotens]

Thank you, lovespain5! I really appreciate the tip and well thoughts!

[testimony777]

I don't have any advice for you; I just wanted to voice my shock that your ortho is claiming not to see the things you are concerned about. Has he seen the pictures you posted?

Thank you for yout reply.
Yes! Not only hes seen it, his staff took them! Its outrageous, yeah? And to think i didnt even care about the slight crookedness! I went there to fix the lip incompetency and it ended up worse!

That truly is outrageous! I am really sorry you are going through this; I hope everything works out for you.

[sandiego88]

Do you think any of the lip strain is because of the brackets? I have some lip strain with my braces, but I definitely think it's partially because I have a small mouth and they take up so much space. I asked my ortho and he said the same thing. I can tell though that my strain has improved over the course of having braces. It's less hard now to close my lips than when I first started. I also have Damon braces but my teeth have not been "pushed forward." For the front teeth to have gone forward, something needs to go backward.

I can tell that your smile is more gummy. perhaps the top front teeth can still be intruded by putting bends in the wire? My lower front teeth were intruded because my bite was too deep.

[Voxpotens]

Do you think any of the lip strain is because of the brackets? I have some lip strain with my braces, but I definitely think it's partially because I have a small mouth and they take up so much space. I asked my ortho and he said the same thing. I can tell though that my strain has improved over the course of having braces. It's less hard now to close my lips than when I first started. I also have Damon braces but my teeth have not been "pushed forward." For the front teeth to have gone forward, something needs to go backward.

I can tell that your smile is more gummy. perhaps the top front teeth can still be intruded by putting bends in the wire? My lower front teeth were intruded because my bite was too deep.

Thank you for your reply. Perhaps a little bit is due to the braces. I have pics from a year ago and there is a quite a bit less strain on the chin, so I am thinking whatever movement that happened is causing the exacerbation of the strain.