December 2015 I got my braces put on for the second time. I really just wanted the one side of my mouth with the higher set canine to come down. Two years later, that area STILL needs work.
I made the mistake of initially selecting my general dentist to do my orthodontic treatment. His assistant applied self-lighting braces and a bite plate on my upper jaw. He said the bite plate would help close the open bite where the canine was raised.
I had the bite plate on for about two months. A month after it was removed he had his assistant put Turbo Bites on the back of my two front teeth. He removed those toward the end of my treatment with him.
After going there for about six months, I really started to question whether he knew what he was doing. He never referenced the progress recorded in my chart and would say “let’s do this or that” and the assistant would say, “we already did that and you had us stop at the last visit” and he would simply say “never mind”.. I also developed a really foul odor in my mouth that I could also taste!
I complained and begged for them to figure out what was going on. They gave me a list of things to try:
- Floss
- Brush
- Proxa Brush
- WaterPik
All of that I was already doing. So he then suggested:
- WaterPik with water and baking soda
- Gargle with salt water
That didn’t help, so then he suggested:
- Get an extra cleaning done
I had that done and the hygienist said she barely scraped anything off and it’s clear I’m doing a very thorough job with caring for my teeth.
At this time I was pregnant and really self-conscious about the odor and the dentist removed one of my molar bands, which smelled putrid... I assume that was the source of the stench but there were still three more bands he left on. He said I could basically get over it or I could remove my braces while I was pregnant (he attributed the odor to my pregnancy) and resume treatment later. He would charge $20-$25 per bracket to remove!!
At that point I decided to find another orthodontist, a real one, and found a much better office. Looking back, I still don’t think this orthodontist really would have done a satisfactory job had I finished my treatment there.
He up removing the three remaining molar bands amd sanding down some left behind cement from the Turbo Bites. He only put replacement brackets on my upper back molars.
I didn’t see him very often or for very long. Appointments were generally every two months. He would reconfigure my elastics and rarely changed my wires. Progress seemed to be taking place, but very slowly.
I ended up seeing him from the middle of 2016 until January 2017. I moved overseas so I had to find yet another orthodontist- this time in a different country.
The first office I went to was recommended but the language barrier just wasn’t going to work for me. The orthodontist also wanted to remove my self-lighting braces and put on whatever he used.
In February 2017, I ended up finding a really nice office with staff that speaks excellent English in a larger city and started care there in March.
After my consult, where I had X-rays and molds, they told me I could be done in about six months if I kept my brackets as they were. They suggested a longer treatment plan, though, offering to add brackets to the molars that the previous orthodontist had removed and not put anything back on in their place! I could tell the molars DID need to be shifted, so I opted for the longer and more thorough plan. After all, I didn’t want to end up in braces in the future... for the third time! They estimated the longer plan would be about 10 months.
I started seeing one orthodontist there... but a couple months ago he left. A female replaced him and I feel like she is paying much closer attention to the fine details and finally started moving things along.
She changes wires more often (my bottom wire had only been changed once in the 1.75 years I have had them on, up until I saw her)... she doesn’t speak English but from the way she communicates with her assistant, I can tell she notices the imperfections I’m worried about and is working to correct them. She’s changed my elastic configurations a few times as well.
I’m now at about 9 months of being seen at this office and while I do see improvement, I still see a lot of room for more improvement.
I feel like I need gum contouring, lip repositioning, and occlusal cant correction. But I think if the occlusal cant was corrected, the first two things wouldn’t be necessary.
I was initially told 12-18 months for treatment. I’m now at 2 years. I feel like I am going to be in braces forever because the stuff that is bothering me has not been fixed yet. I don’t know how long it will take to fix the problems. I have an appointment coming up next weekend and hope to get some answers.
My Second Time in Braces Story
Moderator: bbsadmin
-
Adultbraceface
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 5:42 am
Re: My Second Time in Braces Story
December 2015 I got my braces put on for the second time. I really just wanted the one side of my mouth with the higher set canine to come down. Two years later, that area STILL needs work.
I made the mistake of initially selecting my general dentist to do my orthodontic treatment. His assistant applied self-lighting braces and a bite plate on my upper jaw. He said the bite plate would help close the open bite where the canine was raised.
I had the bite plate on for about two months. A month after it was removed he had his assistant put Turbo Bites on the back of my two front teeth. He removed those toward the end of my treatment with him.
After going there for about six months, I really started to question whether he knew what he was doing. He never referenced the progress recorded in my chart and would say “let’s do this or that” and the assistant would say, “we already did that and you had us stop at the last visit” and he would simply say “never mind”.. I also developed a really foul odor in my mouth that I could also taste!
I complained and begged for them to figure out what was going on. They gave me a list of things to try:
- Floss
- Brush
- Proxa Brush
- WaterPik
All of that I was already doing. So he then suggested:
- WaterPik with water and baking soda
- Gargle with salt water
That didn’t help, so then he suggested:
- Get an extra cleaning done
I had that done and the hygienist said she barely scraped anything off and it’s clear I’m doing a very thorough job with caring for my teeth.
At this time I was pregnant and really self-conscious about the odor and the dentist removed one of my molar bands, which smelled putrid... I assume that was the source of the stench but there were still three more bands he left on. He said I could basically get over it or I could remove my braces while I was pregnant (he attributed the odor to my pregnancy) and resume treatment later. He would charge $20-$25 per bracket to remove!!
At that point I decided to find another orthodontist, a real one, and found a much better office. Looking back, I still don’t think this orthodontist really would have done a satisfactory job had I finished my treatment there.
He up removing the three remaining molar bands amd sanding down some left behind cement from the Turbo Bites. He only put replacement brackets on my upper back molars.
I didn’t see him very often or for very long. Appointments were generally every two months. He would reconfigure my elastics and rarely changed my wires. Progress seemed to be taking place, but very slowly.
I ended up seeing him from the middle of 2016 until January 2017. I moved overseas so I had to find yet another orthodontist- this time in a different country.
The first office I went to was recommended but the language barrier just wasn’t going to work for me. The orthodontist also wanted to remove my self-lighting braces and put on whatever he used.
In February 2017, I ended up finding a really nice office with staff that speaks excellent English in a larger city and started care there in March.
After my consult, where I had X-rays and molds, they told me I could be done in about six months if I kept my brackets as they were. They suggested a longer treatment plan, though, offering to add brackets to the molars that the previous orthodontist had removed and not put anything back on in their place! I could tell the molars DID need to be shifted, so I opted for the longer and more thorough plan. After all, I didn’t want to end up in braces in the future... for the third time! They estimated the longer plan would be about 10 months.
I started seeing one orthodontist there... but a couple months ago he left. A female replaced him and I feel like she is paying much closer attention to the fine details and finally started moving things along.
She changes wires more often (my bottom wire had only been changed once in the 1.75 years I have had them on, up until I saw her)... she doesn’t speak English but from the way she communicates with her assistant, I can tell she notices the imperfections I’m worried about and is working to correct them. She’s changed my elastic configurations a few times as well.
I’m now at about 9 months of being seen at this office and while I do see improvement, I still see a lot of room for more improvement.
I feel like I need gum contouring, lip repositioning, and occlusal cant correction. But I think if the occlusal cant was corrected, the first two things wouldn’t be necessary.
I was initially told 12-18 months for treatment. I’m now at 2 years. I feel like I am going to be in braces forever because the stuff that is bothering me has not been fixed yet. I don’t know how long it will take to fix the problems. I have an appointment coming up next weekend and hope to get some answers.
Here is a before and 1 3/4 year later picture. Do you notice any changes? I’ll be sure to post more progress pictures with more angles of my teeth.
[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/pmcd1rtqp][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/150x1 ... cd1rtq.png[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/pnfRb0Iep][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/150x1 ... fRb0Ie.png[/IMG][/URL]
I made the mistake of initially selecting my general dentist to do my orthodontic treatment. His assistant applied self-lighting braces and a bite plate on my upper jaw. He said the bite plate would help close the open bite where the canine was raised.
I had the bite plate on for about two months. A month after it was removed he had his assistant put Turbo Bites on the back of my two front teeth. He removed those toward the end of my treatment with him.
After going there for about six months, I really started to question whether he knew what he was doing. He never referenced the progress recorded in my chart and would say “let’s do this or that” and the assistant would say, “we already did that and you had us stop at the last visit” and he would simply say “never mind”.. I also developed a really foul odor in my mouth that I could also taste!
I complained and begged for them to figure out what was going on. They gave me a list of things to try:
- Floss
- Brush
- Proxa Brush
- WaterPik
All of that I was already doing. So he then suggested:
- WaterPik with water and baking soda
- Gargle with salt water
That didn’t help, so then he suggested:
- Get an extra cleaning done
I had that done and the hygienist said she barely scraped anything off and it’s clear I’m doing a very thorough job with caring for my teeth.
At this time I was pregnant and really self-conscious about the odor and the dentist removed one of my molar bands, which smelled putrid... I assume that was the source of the stench but there were still three more bands he left on. He said I could basically get over it or I could remove my braces while I was pregnant (he attributed the odor to my pregnancy) and resume treatment later. He would charge $20-$25 per bracket to remove!!
At that point I decided to find another orthodontist, a real one, and found a much better office. Looking back, I still don’t think this orthodontist really would have done a satisfactory job had I finished my treatment there.
He up removing the three remaining molar bands amd sanding down some left behind cement from the Turbo Bites. He only put replacement brackets on my upper back molars.
I didn’t see him very often or for very long. Appointments were generally every two months. He would reconfigure my elastics and rarely changed my wires. Progress seemed to be taking place, but very slowly.
I ended up seeing him from the middle of 2016 until January 2017. I moved overseas so I had to find yet another orthodontist- this time in a different country.
The first office I went to was recommended but the language barrier just wasn’t going to work for me. The orthodontist also wanted to remove my self-lighting braces and put on whatever he used.
In February 2017, I ended up finding a really nice office with staff that speaks excellent English in a larger city and started care there in March.
After my consult, where I had X-rays and molds, they told me I could be done in about six months if I kept my brackets as they were. They suggested a longer treatment plan, though, offering to add brackets to the molars that the previous orthodontist had removed and not put anything back on in their place! I could tell the molars DID need to be shifted, so I opted for the longer and more thorough plan. After all, I didn’t want to end up in braces in the future... for the third time! They estimated the longer plan would be about 10 months.
I started seeing one orthodontist there... but a couple months ago he left. A female replaced him and I feel like she is paying much closer attention to the fine details and finally started moving things along.
She changes wires more often (my bottom wire had only been changed once in the 1.75 years I have had them on, up until I saw her)... she doesn’t speak English but from the way she communicates with her assistant, I can tell she notices the imperfections I’m worried about and is working to correct them. She’s changed my elastic configurations a few times as well.
I’m now at about 9 months of being seen at this office and while I do see improvement, I still see a lot of room for more improvement.
I feel like I need gum contouring, lip repositioning, and occlusal cant correction. But I think if the occlusal cant was corrected, the first two things wouldn’t be necessary.
I was initially told 12-18 months for treatment. I’m now at 2 years. I feel like I am going to be in braces forever because the stuff that is bothering me has not been fixed yet. I don’t know how long it will take to fix the problems. I have an appointment coming up next weekend and hope to get some answers.
Here is a before and 1 3/4 year later picture. Do you notice any changes? I’ll be sure to post more progress pictures with more angles of my teeth.
[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/pmcd1rtqp][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/150x1 ... cd1rtq.png[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/pnfRb0Iep][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/150x1 ... fRb0Ie.png[/IMG][/URL]
-
Adultbraceface
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 5:42 am
Re: My Second Time in Braces Story
December 2015 I got my braces put on for the second time. I really just wanted the one side of my mouth with the higher set canine to come down. Two years later, that area STILL needs work.
I made the mistake of initially selecting my general dentist to do my orthodontic treatment. His assistant applied self-lighting braces and a bite plate on my upper jaw. He said the bite plate would help close the open bite where the canine was raised.
I had the bite plate on for about two months. A month after it was removed he had his assistant put Turbo Bites on the back of my two front teeth. He removed those toward the end of my treatment with him.
After going there for about six months, I really started to question whether he knew what he was doing. He never referenced the progress recorded in my chart and would say “let’s do this or that” and the assistant would say, “we already did that and you had us stop at the last visit” and he would simply say “never mind”.. I also developed a really foul odor in my mouth that I could also taste!
I complained and begged for them to figure out what was going on. They gave me a list of things to try:
- Floss
- Brush
- Proxa Brush
- WaterPik
All of that I was already doing. So he then suggested:
- WaterPik with water and baking soda
- Gargle with salt water
That didn’t help, so then he suggested:
- Get an extra cleaning done
I had that done and the hygienist said she barely scraped anything off and it’s clear I’m doing a very thorough job with caring for my teeth.
At this time I was pregnant and really self-conscious about the odor and the dentist removed one of my molar bands, which smelled putrid... I assume that was the source of the stench but there were still three more bands he left on. He said I could basically get over it or I could remove my braces while I was pregnant (he attributed the odor to my pregnancy) and resume treatment later. He would charge $20-$25 per bracket to remove!!
At that point I decided to find another orthodontist, a real one, and found a much better office. Looking back, I still don’t think this orthodontist really would have done a satisfactory job had I finished my treatment there.
He up removing the three remaining molar bands amd sanding down some left behind cement from the Turbo Bites. He only put replacement brackets on my upper back molars.
I didn’t see him very often or for very long. Appointments were generally every two months. He would reconfigure my elastics and rarely changed my wires. Progress seemed to be taking place, but very slowly.
I ended up seeing him from the middle of 2016 until January 2017. I moved overseas so I had to find yet another orthodontist- this time in a different country.
The first office I went to was recommended but the language barrier just wasn’t going to work for me. The orthodontist also wanted to remove my self-lighting braces and put on whatever he used.
In February 2017, I ended up finding a really nice office with staff that speaks excellent English in a larger city and started care there in March.
After my consult, where I had X-rays and molds, they told me I could be done in about six months if I kept my brackets as they were. They suggested a longer treatment plan, though, offering to add brackets to the molars that the previous orthodontist had removed and not put anything back on in their place! I could tell the molars DID need to be shifted, so I opted for the longer and more thorough plan. After all, I didn’t want to end up in braces in the future... for the third time! They estimated the longer plan would be about 10 months.
I started seeing one orthodontist there... but a couple months ago he left. A female replaced him and I feel like she is paying much closer attention to the fine details and finally started moving things along.
She changes wires more often (my bottom wire had only been changed once in the 1.75 years I have had them on, up until I saw her)... she doesn’t speak English but from the way she communicates with her assistant, I can tell she notices the imperfections I’m worried about and is working to correct them. She’s changed my elastic configurations a few times as well.
I’m now at about 9 months of being seen at this office and while I do see improvement, I still see a lot of room for more improvement.
I feel like I need gum contouring, lip repositioning, and occlusal cant correction. But I think if the occlusal cant was corrected, the first two things wouldn’t be necessary.
I was initially told 12-18 months for treatment. I’m now at 2 years. I feel like I am going to be in braces forever because the stuff that is bothering me has not been fixed yet. I don’t know how long it will take to fix the problems. I have an appointment coming up next weekend and hope to get some answers.
Here is a before and 1 3/4 year later picture. Do you notice any changes? I’ll be sure to post more progress pictures with more angles of my teeth.
https://imageshack.com/i/pmcd1rtqp
https://imageshack.com/i/pnfRb0Iep
I made the mistake of initially selecting my general dentist to do my orthodontic treatment. His assistant applied self-lighting braces and a bite plate on my upper jaw. He said the bite plate would help close the open bite where the canine was raised.
I had the bite plate on for about two months. A month after it was removed he had his assistant put Turbo Bites on the back of my two front teeth. He removed those toward the end of my treatment with him.
After going there for about six months, I really started to question whether he knew what he was doing. He never referenced the progress recorded in my chart and would say “let’s do this or that” and the assistant would say, “we already did that and you had us stop at the last visit” and he would simply say “never mind”.. I also developed a really foul odor in my mouth that I could also taste!
I complained and begged for them to figure out what was going on. They gave me a list of things to try:
- Floss
- Brush
- Proxa Brush
- WaterPik
All of that I was already doing. So he then suggested:
- WaterPik with water and baking soda
- Gargle with salt water
That didn’t help, so then he suggested:
- Get an extra cleaning done
I had that done and the hygienist said she barely scraped anything off and it’s clear I’m doing a very thorough job with caring for my teeth.
At this time I was pregnant and really self-conscious about the odor and the dentist removed one of my molar bands, which smelled putrid... I assume that was the source of the stench but there were still three more bands he left on. He said I could basically get over it or I could remove my braces while I was pregnant (he attributed the odor to my pregnancy) and resume treatment later. He would charge $20-$25 per bracket to remove!!
At that point I decided to find another orthodontist, a real one, and found a much better office. Looking back, I still don’t think this orthodontist really would have done a satisfactory job had I finished my treatment there.
He up removing the three remaining molar bands amd sanding down some left behind cement from the Turbo Bites. He only put replacement brackets on my upper back molars.
I didn’t see him very often or for very long. Appointments were generally every two months. He would reconfigure my elastics and rarely changed my wires. Progress seemed to be taking place, but very slowly.
I ended up seeing him from the middle of 2016 until January 2017. I moved overseas so I had to find yet another orthodontist- this time in a different country.
The first office I went to was recommended but the language barrier just wasn’t going to work for me. The orthodontist also wanted to remove my self-lighting braces and put on whatever he used.
In February 2017, I ended up finding a really nice office with staff that speaks excellent English in a larger city and started care there in March.
After my consult, where I had X-rays and molds, they told me I could be done in about six months if I kept my brackets as they were. They suggested a longer treatment plan, though, offering to add brackets to the molars that the previous orthodontist had removed and not put anything back on in their place! I could tell the molars DID need to be shifted, so I opted for the longer and more thorough plan. After all, I didn’t want to end up in braces in the future... for the third time! They estimated the longer plan would be about 10 months.
I started seeing one orthodontist there... but a couple months ago he left. A female replaced him and I feel like she is paying much closer attention to the fine details and finally started moving things along.
She changes wires more often (my bottom wire had only been changed once in the 1.75 years I have had them on, up until I saw her)... she doesn’t speak English but from the way she communicates with her assistant, I can tell she notices the imperfections I’m worried about and is working to correct them. She’s changed my elastic configurations a few times as well.
I’m now at about 9 months of being seen at this office and while I do see improvement, I still see a lot of room for more improvement.
I feel like I need gum contouring, lip repositioning, and occlusal cant correction. But I think if the occlusal cant was corrected, the first two things wouldn’t be necessary.
I was initially told 12-18 months for treatment. I’m now at 2 years. I feel like I am going to be in braces forever because the stuff that is bothering me has not been fixed yet. I don’t know how long it will take to fix the problems. I have an appointment coming up next weekend and hope to get some answers.
Here is a before and 1 3/4 year later picture. Do you notice any changes? I’ll be sure to post more progress pictures with more angles of my teeth.
https://imageshack.com/i/pmcd1rtqp
https://imageshack.com/i/pnfRb0Iep
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StaceyJeannette
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Thu May 10, 2018 10:40 am
Re: My Second Time in Braces Story
Did you ever get your answers? Do you still have braces? Sorry to hear that you've had them for so long, but I do hope you are happier now with your teeth than when you posted this.
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Adultbraceface
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 5:42 am
Re: My Second Time in Braces Story
The orthodontist ended up repositioning a few brackets and kept them on for a month or two and then I got them off. I think it fixed the slight cant. I have a small gap in between two bottom teeth and I feel like my bite could have been aligned better on one side. I pointed it out and she said that was as good as it could get. Overall, I see an improvement from before I got my braces on, but I feel like further treatment could be done to get them perfect. I’m going to wait a couple years until I’m back in the states before seeking further treatment.
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StaceyJeannette
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Thu May 10, 2018 10:40 am
Re: My Second Time in Braces Story
Well I'm glad you see an overall improvement and I hope your next go around will be a much smoother process!