first post: about my ortho condition

[mouthconscious]

Hello people, long time lurker first time poster.

My very first post is about the orthodontic plan I received from my orthodontist after receiving a mouth guard for teeth grinding. He left me open to further treatment with braces (not for mouth grinding) but erred more on leaving my teeth alone.

Here is the letter he wrote up for me and my dentist and I am hoping to get opinions here on whether or not I should follow through with the treatment plan since a lot of members have experience with braces:

"Mouth Conscious presents with a straight profile 90 degree nasolabial angle and competent lip form. Intraorally, there is permanent dentition with the exception of all third permanent molars. There is a class I molar and cuspid relationship which is associated with a 60% overbite and 2mm overjet. There is mild anterior dental crowding with the lower left central incisor rotated. there is also evidence of wear facets on Mouthconscious' upper and lower anterior teeth. The dental midlines are coincident with the midfacial plane and oral health is good. No further diagnostic records were obtained at this appointment, however I advise Mouthconscious that his teeth are quite acceptable........"

I don't really understand some of the terms in the letter so hoping to get opinions thanks. I can pot teeth pictures if needed.

[poppy123]

Lol I was so confused then, I thought the ortho was actually referring to you as 'Mouth Conscious' until I checked your user name! Ha ha. I was thinking whoa how rude! Then I though maybe that's just 'ortho jargon' ha ha.... Yes I am blonde in case anyone is wondering!!

In reply to your post, I'm sorry I can't help, the letter reads like a different language. All I know from it is that a 2mm overjet isn't big, it's normal. Not that I thinkthis info will help in any way.

Good luck

[sarz]

I absolutely agree with you a 2mm overbite is apparantly quite normal. Tell this person that you want it written in plain english and not ortho babble. I have picked up quite a bit of terminology by researching my treatment and conditions but that is just ridiculous. How would anyone that has not been to dental school know what that means?

[drgnchsr36]

ack! I'd ask him to translate. Or your dentist.

[mouthconscious]

yeah sorry I forgot to add. The dentist interpreted it as this way:

in terms of functionality there's no problem (speaking, chewing etc), the teeth close properly and the only concern for braces would be the lower crowding and 1 rotated incisor to the right and the 60% overbite. The two associated concerns were more for aesthetic purposes rather than functional, and he told me its more of a matter of personal choice and if I was self conscious enough to have the porblem fixed with braces.

How bad is a 60% overbite? Does it affect facial appearance?

[drgnchsr36]

Question is about the overbite, will it cause you dental issues down the line? Is it a functional issue? Or just cosmetic?

[mouthconscious]

regarding the overbite, there is wearing down on my front teeth, lower front teeth at the front and upper front teeth, wearing at the back. I was given a mouth guard for this.

[drgnchsr36]

Sounds functional, if your dentist thinks you need braces to prevent future dental issues.. I'd get them.

[sadpanda]

Hi -

Your overjet sounds normal, and the whole report, without seeing pictures, makes it seem that you look just fine. A 60% overbite is pretty significant and I know of people on this board who got braces to correct overbites that were much less than yours. My main problems are a significant overjet and overbite/deep bite, and I just found out that the permanent wear on my teeth was caused by my bad bite. I don't know why no one told me that, and I've had braces for about 8 months. Before then, I just thought that I hadn't been taking care of my teeth and needed to brush better. Bite problems have also caused me many migraines, jaw and neck pain, and I thought I looked funny. Anyway, it might be a good idea to get braces for the overbite. Mine's not corrected yet, but supposedly, it will help with being able to chew better, help with jaw alignment, and minimize pain caused by tmj, including migraines. Good luck with whatever you do! However, I also had a dentist tell me that I should only get braces if I didn't like my smile. Meanwhile, my overbite had caused several problems that he dismissed.

[mouthconscious]

thanks for the input people. I think I'll go ahead with the treatment.