My Ongoing And Frustrating Journey To Midline Correction

[canihazgudteefs]

Hi! I'm 24M from the Greater Boston area and this is my story so far.

I've always wanted braces since adolescence but my progenitors refused to pay for them. By adulthood I'd only had lower 3rd molars extracted and wound up with serious crowding, overjet, occlusal cant, and midline deviation. Some of these observation I make in retrospect, but the most obvious to me as the layperson at all times is the midline deviation which to this day drives me insane.

At age 19 I had enough saved up to independently purchase treatment from an orthodontist along my commute to uni, I'll call him Orthodontist A. He had me extract upper two premolars to solve the overjet and straightened out my crowding, but did nothing for my midline. I asked them to fix it and they said there was nothing to do and sent me home with plastic retainers. I swear to God I wore the retainers religiously but my teeth relapsed immediately, and with my midline remaining deviated at 6 months post-treatment I stopped bothering with the retainers.

At age 23 I decided to go for retreatment. I consulted with two more orthodontists and asked for my midline to be fixed and to finish with permanent retainers and fiberotomy, along with willingness to use palatal expansion and TADs.
- Orthodontist B said she wrote her thesis on NOT correcting midline and sent me home.
- Orthodontist C said she could fix my midline with IPR and affirmed willingness to use TADs and permanent retainers.

I signed on with Orthodontist C.

It's been a year and I've not noticed any progress on my midline. After a serious conversation with Orthodontist B I'm now enlightened to her disinterest to do anything for occlusal cant and midline correction. We're basically going to have another consultation next visit but I'm no longer confident continued treatment will yield the result I'm looking for, and I'd rather not undergo IPR on the maxillary arch when I feel like there should be other alternatives to get my teeth corrected transversely such as TADs or Lefort1.

So I've made appointments with two more orthodontists, D and E. Between what everyone says, I'll sign on with the best option or keep looking for someone to do things right.

I actually feel like my face is satisfactorily (as)symmetrical, and only my teeth are off. Both my arches are yawed or transversely deviated to my left, with the maxillary arch a lot worse. And I'm now observant of occlusal cant perhaps affected by prolapsed usage of elastics. I wish my progenitors hadn't been so miserly and unloving, then I wouldn't have had to spend so much time and money.
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Does anyone have any leads for orthodontists in the Boston area willing to do whatever it takes to get the best results?

[canihazgudteefs]

i noticed an error in my original post. I signed on with Orthodontist C and haven't spoken to Orthodontist B at all.

I had a 2nd opinion consult with Orthodontist D. Verified that TADs would move both midlines unilaterally to my right and improve the asymmetry in my posterior teeth. They don't believe I'm bad enough to qualify for surgery. They believe current Orthodontist C can finish the job.

I took a ruler and measured my own face. My upper midline deviation is 2-3mm to my left and my lower midline deviation is 1-2mm to my left.

[canihazgudteefs]

Had the reconsult with Ortho C and conversation went exactly as I anticipated. They don't feel comfortable or capable to move maxilar midline 2mm. They don't want to use TADs to move the midline. They could attempt TADs to improve the cant but can't guarantee it'll work. Also suggested kicking me out of the practice for raising concern at all. At least I left with a couple referrals to consult with maxiofacial surgeons. Hoping the combination of cant and yaw deviation is compelling enough to get surgery but it's looking like a dice roll, which is wonderful for my anxiety. /sarcasm

Essentially if I hadn't raised concerns, Ortho C would have done me the same as Ortho A: take the braces off and tell me I'm good enough when I'm not. Bite's not done either. At least for now I'm still dressed in the archwires acting as retainers, they're a lot more comfortable than plastic trays.

Seeing Ortho E in January. Transferring is basically a necessity now, just a matter of finding someone who'll do the job.

[canihazgudteefs]

Why's getting the midline right so important to me anyway:

I've wanted braces since I was a kid, which is of course the best time to get them for greatest control of movement and long-term retention of results. I did my job and asked my progenitors to pay for it. Proceeded to go to no less than NINE local practices where my cheap progenitor demanded a discount, which each practice of course denied. Progenitors are happy to get esthetic treatment for my sisters but couldn't care less to invest in their boy. My jaws harden with my teeth in all the wrong places. My goal hasn't changed but the work to get the same result is now exponentially more expensive and time-consuming.