shape
carat
color
clarity

Braces blues

Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.

PilsnPinkysMom

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Oct 11, 2008
Messages
1,878
I need a le vent. And... I promise to catch up on other BWW posts this weekend! This week has been craaaazy.... Anyway...

I have braces. And yes, I look like a 12yo because of them. I had them put on in August of 2007, in Ohio.

Ohio Orthodontist = AWESOME. Great guy, loved the office, and made INSANE progress ultra ultra fast. I started with a 1.75 years timeline, which was shortened to 1.2 years based on how quickly I was progressing.

Then I moved out west. And had to find a new doctor. And my level of care has dramaaatically decreased.

Long story short... I was supposed to have engagement photos taken in late May, as FI and I are traveling to my home state/wedding location for a week. I was told at my adjustment today that there is NO WAY IN HADES my braces will be off by then.
14.gif
14.gif
29.gif
29.gif
20.gif
20.gif


I *know* ortho timelines can change rapidly... But even my lousy-good-for-nothing current doctor predicted my "grill" would be gone by mid January. What.The.F**K. is the holdup?!

For the past four months I have been telling the assistant and doctor that I haven''t felt any pain/pressure across my front teeth (i have two little gaps, on either side, between my canines and first molars) and that my gaps aren''t budging. They kept on double-powerchaining my teeth. It didn''t even HURT & powerchains usually do...

I was so fed up this morning I nearly blew up at them. They *finally* listened and agreed that I haven''t progressed at a "desirable rate" and metal-tied my front teeth, chained my archwire, and double power chained ''em. Worse yet... They put in the wrong size archwire, didn''t realize until after-the-fact (when my damon brackets wouldn''t close) and the assistant, upon realizing her mistake, WOULDN''T PUT THE CORRECT SIZE ARCH WIRE IN!! ("Oh... Well... We can''t lock it into place, but the powerchains should keep it from falling out.... If I get a new wire we''ll have to call Dr ****** over here again to put ''bends'' in the right places, and that will take a while... so we''ll leave this one for now)
29.gif
29.gif


I''m just annoyed. My teeth weren''t crooked to begin with... I just had a really wicked cross bite.... And my bite has been corrected since September. This doctor is just doing little cosmetic things and closing spaces...

I''m not an orthodontia expert, by any means... And i know this is long and I''m sure most didn''t make it the whole way through... I''m just aggravated about the pictures and ready to be OUT of these darn things... My mouth has sucked up 6k for BASIC orthodontia in less than two years. SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS.... And I feel like I''m at a total standstill. I just want this to be over with
8.gif
 

Porridge

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Oct 27, 2008
Messages
3,267
Yuck. I would kick up a huge fuss over this appalling care, and I am not usually a fuss-kicker-upper
29.gif
 

FrekeChild

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 14, 2007
Messages
19,456
7.gif


That sucks. I''m sorry you''re having to deal with that! I think I would kick up a fuss too. My braces really sucked, but it wasn''t as big of a pain as yours sound...
 

katamari

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 18, 2008
Messages
2,949
Sorry to hear about this, PnP. You should talk to your photographer, though, and see if they can airbrush/photoshop them out. It might be a possibility. . .
 

hawaiianorangetree

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 17, 2009
Messages
2,692
Oh i feel for you too and i know exactly where you are coming from... i was meant to have my braces for 9 months, it has now been 14 months, i am on my 3rd different programme and my teeth are still no where near straight!!!

Is it possible to have them taken off for the photos?

I know that you have already spent $6000 on your teeth.. but have you considered invisalign? I know it is possible to have braces and then change to invisalign and they are great, you can hardly tell that you are wearing them and you can take them out for photos, special occassions etc.

Is there any chance you could find a better orthodintist where you are living? I have had braces twice now and the first guy was a butcher!!

I hope you find a solution to this one.
1.gif
 

PilsnPinkysMom

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Oct 11, 2008
Messages
1,878
Porridge It totally warrants a little fussin'', if I do say so myself. I let ''em have it this morning... in a nice, lady-like, polite, way, of course
2.gif


Freke I don''t think braces are EVER fun. At least I''ve come to that conclusion. I''m sore for the first time in four months, and am wondering whyyy I was complaining about NOT being sore. Gah. The price we pay for purty chompers.

Katamari I hadn''t thought about that... I know senior pic photographers do that stuff. It makes me nervous, though. I''d hate for my teeth to look all wonky. Then again, it doesn''t hurt to ask.

Hawaii Thanks for feelin'' my pain! I suppose I COULD take them off for the photos, but I''m hesitant to do that unless absolutely needed ie: if I still have them on for the wedding. Im nervous for my treatment to regress. I''ll be in Ohio for longer than FI... for just under two weeks... that''s a long time to go without my grill! As for Invisalign... I hadn''t thought about it... Originally I didn''t qualify, ''cause I hate bite issues, not straightness issues. The only thing holding be back now is additional cost.


On the BRIGHTSIDE!!! One of my gaps CLOSED COMPLETELY today. I Sh!t you not. The other one has already closed half-way.

Is that even possible, you ask? Apparently so.

My mouth hurts like the DICKENS but alas-- insanely fast progress.

Too bad it makes me think, "Hmmm.. where would I be NOW if they had put this metal wire across the front four months ago?"

Guess all my biotching about the archwire not being engaged is somewhat moot... apparently my teeth still move with the wrong wire in place... But don''t think for a second I won''t demand they change at my appt. in two weeks
11.gif
 

goldenstar

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 16, 2006
Messages
1,045
Sorry about all of this, I can imagine your frustration...
I''m no doctor, but my brother (who is in dental school) told me that if teeth are moved too quickly you can have irreversible bone loss. That means the roots of your teeth could become less secure in your gums. I''m sure your orthodontists know this, but might have never mentioned it to you. I thought this tidbit would help put things in perspective. It doesn''t change the annoyance of it all, of course...

Hang in there, I''m sure it will be well worth it in the end!
35.gif
I had braces as a teen so I know what it feels (and looks) like to have a mouth full of metal.
 

gryffindor

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
156
I don''t know why your current doctor and staff isn''t giving you clear answers. I work in a university ortho clinic and I would never recommend anyone to have treatment here if you could afford a private doctor in the community - my point is, not all offices are the same. Many orthodontic offices will take front braces off for special events and put them back on again for a fee if your treatment isn''t complete. If that''s not an option, talk to your photographer about airbrushing. At the very least, I would ask for a specific plan about what steps are left in your treatment plan and how much longer are they expecting it to take. And I''d hold them to it - adults are our pickiest patients and have every reason to be.
 

Deelight

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
5,543
I wear braces as well, they really don''t bother me but it is not hard to airbrush them out for photo''s I have done it quickly in PS and I am a complete novice.

However if your not happy with the ortho I would recomend looking at other options.
 

Sabine

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Messages
3,445
I''m so sorry, that is soooo frustrating. I know it might not be enough to speed up your time now, but I would really look into finding a better ortho.! I would not have allowed the wrong size wire to stay in. If it took more time for the precious dr., so be it, they need to do their job correctly!
 

LaraOnline

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 24, 2008
Messages
3,365
Is there any way at all you can get back to see your original doctor for a one-off ''inspection''? It would be interesting to get their opinion...?
 

vizsla

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
1,015
girl! i feel your pain. i got braces on at 30! to fix crowding and was told i''d have them on for 1.5 years.. luckily i made quick progress and was finished in a year. however, that year just happened to fall during my wedding.. and you can bet your sweet bippy i had them take the braces off ;-)

surprisingly, they were off for just over 3 weeks (didn''t have a retainer during that time) and my teeth didn''t move that dramatically.

i feel like the last 3 or 4 months of my treatment i had double trains on my teeth to really get things moving.
sounds like your ortho out west is.. ehhhh.. (i''m in ohio too so maybe i''m biased) but if you are planning on doing any wedding travel back here i would just set up apts with your old dr. or at least have them take a look at what the new dr. is doing.. maybe they can call the new dr. and "give them some advice" on your treatment.

ugh.. i''m so so so so so glad i had braces, but egad i wouldn''t do it again.. there is nothing quite like that type of mouth pain.. bleh
3.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top