Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi all,

So I had my braces removed last week and I am very unhappy with the bite, it is way off on both sides. Please see pics:

https://ibb.co/geH6v9
https://ibb.co/hdGVoU

I went to get my retainer yesterday and brought it up, my orthodontist said that this happens sometimes and is what they call 'bounce back'....is he having me on?? Is that a thing? The bite was like this the day he took them off, nothing has changed and I currently have zero trust in him.

He said 'let them settle' and come back in 12 weeks for a different retainer which can attach elastics to correct it.

Is this the right advice / course of action? Feeling very frustrated.

Thank you in advance.

I think there is an orthodontist who is still occasionally active on this board. His username is DrJasonKTam. Perhaps you could private message him to ask him. You can find his username from the "daily braces change" video post. That post is a pinned post in this forum. Alternately, you could also get a second opinion from another orthodontist in your area.

Thank you, very helpful - I will contact him!

If anyone else has any insights into this too, they would be most gratefully received

Hi Ruby,
Your ortho sounds like he's got a little Teflon syndrome going one where nothing sticks...it's just bounces back.

I wonder if you should do a more formal consult with another oral surgeon who could provide a more customized recommendation for your case?

Another option is to go to the RealSelf Ask Doctor forum as you might get multiple responses. I never personally used the board to pose questions but others appear to do so.
The link is https://www.realself.com/braces/answers/orthodontist

It is possible for the teeth to stay aligned but the bite to change, even with retainers. It is possible for the bite to "settle" in, as the teeth can move in a vertical direction, even with retainers. Furthermore, if your braces were removed last week, the teeth definitely shift if not held in retainers for a week. It may take some time for the teeth to be pushed back using retainers, to the final position just before your braces were removed.

All of that being said, it's unfortunate that you've gotten to the point where you feel frustrated and have lost trust in your orthodontist. A lot of this may have to go much further back to make sure you both understood the goals of the treatment and any possible limitations.

Assuming that you had the opportunity to ask questions during the time with braces on and had some input before your braces came off, is this something that was brought up before? It is too late now, but for anyone else reading, it is probably a good idea to have this discussion and confirm what will happen during your care, rather than appliances are removed. At this stage, I would either decide to trust the orthodontist and see what happens, consider that your results may stay like this, or seek treatment with another orthodontist, after speaking with your own.

Hope this is helpful and best of luck!

Hi there, thanks for your reply, really appreciate your input.

The lack of trust is mainly due to the fact that the bite was like that when the braces were taken off, those pictures were actually taken on the day they were removed. I wasn't aware the bite wasn't correct until they were taken off but I think he should have known that.

I have been looking over my original contract and the outcome that was agreed was to "correct malocclusion" which certainly hasn't been done!