not happy with result :(

[ronson]

Hi,

In feb 2009 i decided to have my crowded/crooked teeths fixed. After many years of thinking I finally did it and i found a good dentist recommended by a friend. The treatment was all in all scheduled to be around 10-12 months, with damon braces. Now 10 months after I have just gotten off my top braces and the bottom ones I will still keep for around 3 months. 6 months into the treatment I had the lower ones put on, and thats when my concern started.
In the beginning I saw results very fast and already after 4 months my top jaw looked really good and my teeth's were almost straight. I even asked if I could take them off if i wanted, but obviously in order to be able to put on the lower braces the upper teeths needed to move out more or be more straight in order to create the space to put on the lower ones. So after 6 months my teeths were now straight and leaning out more alltogether creating a look that was worse than when the lower braces came on. Anyway I thought to myself that I had to give it a chance and do the whole treatment before I could really judge. But now that I have gotten my upper braces off, and my dentist has told me that both upper and lower teeths composition will now look as it is, I am sad to say that I now have a look that when i close my mouth that I am def. not happy about. The retainer that I will get tommorow will only fix some minor details and no overall changes. I believe it is because my upper front teeths are sticking out to much and hence the gap between upper and lower is pretty big. My dentist says there is nothing she can do to pull back the front teeths more, she says there is no space for that. Only if I decide to do a full treatment and not a camouflage as she calls it, then she can do it. With teeth pulling, rubber bands and all that stuff for at least another year or so. Is there anyone who had the same problem? that their upper teeths are sticking out too much creating a look that is unsatisfying when closing your mouth? also my bite is not perfect which also creates some sort of discomfort, but I hope the retainers will fix this. My dentist also said that another option was to take off the lower braces now and let the teeths go back to their original position in order to close the gap. She believes the reason for the big gap is that before treatment my teeths were crowded covering the space, and now that they are straight more space has been created. She has never heard though of anyone letting their teeth go back to original position, but I am really thinking about doing it since I am very unhappy with the way I now look when closing my mouth. Also since I have a small mouth my lower teeths are not that viewable even when speaking so I guess I could live with a crowded lower and fixed upper...any advice exept for maybe seeing another dentist who can tell me if he can pull back my front teeths without surgery and all that??? thanks!!!!!

[Stephanie]

I understand your concern.. but look at it this way.. you got a really nice smile after only 10 months.... Most wear braces for 2 years and some over 3 and 4

If it bothers you so much, than you will have to get into full treatment.. I personally would not even consider it as long as my bite is functional and my smile is the way I want it...

If you decide to just leave as is... than wear those retainers! if you don't than you could see those 10 months of movement vanish.

Keep us posted.

[Sunny]

Hi Ronson ... and sorry you're not happy with you results.

Are you seeing an orthodontist ... as apposed to a dentist? If not, then I recommend you see an orthodontist, as from how you've written above, it sounds like you've not had a full orthodontic treatment, but instead you've had a partial treatment which is about having the teeth align at the front, but doesn't address the persons bite. Many people opt for this, as it's short and allows the smile to look ok.

There are many ways to move teeth back ... including the use of elastics, having teeth removed and in some cases surgery.

If you want more ... find out what your options are. Good luck!

[ronson]

hi both of you, thanks for your reply! its now been about two weeks, and i must say im getting more and more frustrated and upset about the result, really feel like crying. The thing is stephanie - yes now i do have straight teeths, but in everyday life you dont walk around smiling to everyone...your mouth is closed until someone tells you a joke, or you smile to have your picture taken...but for the rest of the time my mouth is closed and i know it changed the overall balance and harmony of my face, and i really dont know what to do. My family dont know what im talking about and think that im crazy. But it was only until i met with an old friend yesterday that i knew i wasnt. He has a perfect eye for detail like myself and i trust his judgement like my own (he is a professional videoeditor - and has perfect eyes so to speak) He told me the truth as he saw it and said i was much more pointier/sharp around my mouth and that he saw a change for the worse, and would understand if i did a fulltreatment with elastics, surgery etc. What bothers me the most is that after 4 months of treatment i was really happy and should have stopped. But then my bite wouldnt be perfect, and thought it could only get better sticking to the schedule. Besides my dentist said i couldnt take it off already not even after 6 months with the top one. But how is it then possible to take of the lower one after 6 months???

I think I had an orthodontist to do my teeth, i think she is only doing braces for her clients. So the question is stephanie - if i dont use the retainer, will the teeths go back to original position or to some random position? I am affraid that if i dont use the retainer which i am now, then it will get worse? i am now in another country and i only have an appointment a few months from now with my "dentist". But i will try and find someone else and hear what they will say.

[Sunny]

Ronson real orthodontic treatment is not justa but straight teeth ... it's about having a correctly functioning bite. A good ortho will always work to achieve this.

You must have had minimal issues to have such a short treatment, so it's strange you can see much of a change with your bite or profile, as in the time frame you had treatment (without surgery), these would rarely change.

You do need to talk to an orthodontist about what's happened and what you see as being the issues ... not a dentist. Dentist's keep our teeth happy and healthy, but orthodontists do further training to work with the positioning of teeth and making sure our bite and profile are the best for us.

Not wearing your retainers will allow your teeth to move, but where they move to is not something you'll have a load of control over, plus you also can't control if this will affect how you see your profile.

Check with a few orthodontist's ... and listen to what they recommend. Good luck!

[ziyouniao321]

don't worry teeth can move out and move back ,just the time .

[Sunny]

ziyouniao they will move if they're not retained ... but where they move to is something we can't control.

Every month we have patients come in to show us the photos of their mouth before their first round of orthodontic treatment. Often how their teeth look now, due to non retainment, is not even close to their before or after results.

It's out of our control ... and way to unknow to risk without doing it under the control of an orthodontist.