Braces to correct an open bite

[SunshineRay]

Annnnna! You have your braces off?

[Anna5]

To Sunshineray and all my dear friends here on this forum,

I am not debraced yet. I went to the ortho office for debracing. Then the assistant who was going to debrace me asked: are you happy with your teeth now? Are you sure you want to get debraced now? Once you are debraced, it will be all done and nothing will change anymore. Then I had to cry and said I still often feel bad about my teeth and jaw, that I am very grateful for the great changes the braces have made, but that, honestly, I am not not 100% happy but that the ortho said that these things I am not happy about cannot be fixed, so that I should accept this. Since my ortho was on holidays, the assistant didn't want to debrace me before me first talking to my ortho again when he is back from holidays. I have an appointment on the 16 th of September now, not for a debrace but for a talk.

I feel a bit sad that I am still in braces, but on the other side, I think it was not my time yet to be debraced. I was not emotionally ready for this. Maybe another talk to my ortho will help and a talk to my psychologist to learn to embrace my imperfections, I hope so....

Thank you all for your loving support!

[NeilH]

Hi Anna, I think your teeth are looking great now. If you take a look at the photos you posted on page one, the difference between then and now is amazing and I'm sure you must be delighted that such super progress has been made so quickly. I believe things happen for a reason and the fact your orthodontist was on holiday the day you were due to be de-braced has worked in your favour. It gives you more time to consider what else you think can be realistically achieved with braces and more time for your orthodontist to maybe make the final corrections you are looking for.

Going for a talking appointment in September is a good next step, I'm sure we all feel that we are on an orthodontic production line with things happening to us as patients at a faster pace than we, as people, can perhaps handle. I'm a pretty optimistic kind of person and if you read my post recently, you would have seen that I had a bit of a wobble when it was discussed that I would likely be finished early in the New Year. This to me was not good news, how could they be finished in seven months when it's already been fourteen months and there is still so much to do? And I guess this is where you are at now? Not wanting to finish the journey until you feel you have reached your destination is a perfectly valid reaction. Do you and your orthodontist share the same view on where the end of your journey lies? Maybe it's worth getting this established first as it could very well be that they feel you are there now hence the scheduling of the de-bracing appointment.

I'm sure you will have a really positive chat in September and between now and when you do get de-braced will continue to see improvements to what is already a really lovely smile.

[Anna5]

Thank you very much for your loving words, Neilh. I hope for a good talk with my ortho, although I am almost 100% sure that he says that there is nothing he can do for me anymore.

I had a talk with my psychologist (because I have severe self esteem issues), and he said I had best thrust my ortho and get my braces off as soon as possible. And then after a few months evaluate whether I am happy or not, and if not, then go for more treatment (surgery if neccessary). Maybe that is a good advise?

[newbite]

I had a talk with my psychologist (because I have severe self esteem issues), and he said I had best thrust my ortho and get my braces off as soon as possible. And then after a few months evaluate whether I am happy or not, and if not, then go for more treatment (surgery if neccessary). Maybe that is a good advise?

That's interesting advice, certainly. I personally don't like the open-endedness of it, since for me it would be easier to accept my feelings and move on if I knew (or told myself) that surgery wasn't an option. Is surgery a financial option, even?

Also keep in mind that the surgery can change how your face looks, which could make you feel worse in the long run and is not easily fixed unless you keep having cosmetic surgery (which can be a slippery slope if you already struggle with self esteem-- there will always be something you think could be changed). When I was looking into upper jaw surgery, where they bring your upper jaw forward, I read that it makes people's noses look bigger and wider and oh my gosh that is the LAST thing I need!!! If I were to have that done I would also need a nose job and maybe a chin reduction and that's just wayyyy too much to deal with when I just want a healthy bite (and not look worse)

If I were you, I would first make sure my bite was 100% healthy and functionally well-aligned. Then I would focus on retention of my new bite and work on my negative feelings. Self esteem doesn't come from how you look, but how you feel about yourself. Even if you did go through surgery you could still feel bad about yourself because your feelings might come from somewhere deeper.

I also want to reiterate that your teeth look AMAZING. I know that might be hard for you to see but to everyone else your teeth look straight, white, well-balanced, healthy, and beautiful!

[Anna5]

Thank you very much for your kind message, newbite. I think my low self esteem comes from how my teeth/jaw look, I still feel a bit 'deformed' in my face, while others think it is not (obvious). I wish I could see what you see, the beauty in my smile even though it is not perfect. You truly don't think my smile looks canted, assymmetrical and narrow?
You are right that I should work on my self esteem issues, that in the end it doesn't really matter how I look. People love me, see beyond my teeth into my heart and value me for the person I am. I wish I could see myself this way too.....
For me, surgery might be an option financially (it depends on how much the surgery cost but I have quite some savings), so that it is not the problem. But my husband is against it, I have a small child to care for, and there are of course the health risks of surgery and the risk that I will still not totally happy after surgery and get on the slippery slope to want more cosmetic surgery as you say....

[SunshineRay]

I wish you could find peace. When is your ortho appt?

[Anna5]

Thank you Sunshineray. I will see my ortho on the 16th of September.

[bracesjack]

When I first started treatment, I too declined surgery. My ortho stated that he would not be able to completely fix my bite but maybe just make some aesthetic improvements and straighten out my teeth. I am currently 6 months in treatment and I still have a large open bite. I'm nervous of what my results will be and constantly think if I should have just gone through with surgery. However your story and the changes that have been made to your bite so far gives me courage and I'm excited to what my end results will be. Hope everything goes well w/ your next ortho visit and i look forward to seeing your new smile.

[Anna5]

Thank you very much for your reply, bracesjack. I hope you will get a good result without surgery. Don´t worry about your bite now, you are only 6 months in and often things get worse before they get better. I am already looking forward to seeing the changes in your smile. Good luck!

[lydime]

Anna, you are looking great!

[Anna5]

Thank you so much, Lydime! I just wish I could see this myself as well....

[Anna5]

I talked to my ortho yesterday and he really thinks my teeth/bite are fine now and that I should get debraced. Surgery is no longer an option in his opinion and he thinks that everyone in the dental field will share his opinion (which might be true because I had a couple of second opinions and they all advised against surgery).

So I will get debraced on the 23 th of October, both excited and anxious for this moment!

[SunshineRay]

Yay! I hope you love your smile when the braces come off!!

[Anna5]

Thank you, Sunshineray, for your kind message and always loving support towards me!