Ortho using old stuff?

[julie5]

Ok, so I posted about my issues with Invisalign a week ago and decided after years of treatment and refinements to go see an orthodontist. Searched around a bit and found one in my area that does lingual braces as I knew I was probably going to want those if I had to have them.

Had my consultation and he does linguals, but has not done them in about 4 years due to so many patients with tongue issues and patients wanting to switch back to regular braces somewhere into treatment. He sort of quit offering them I guess you could say but when I brought it up today, he said he would do them for me if I really wanted. He said to me "I've got a stock pile of lingual braces back there, I just don't use them because they tear your tongue up and people are generally harder to deal with when they have them behind the teeth".

He showed me some braces, and some linguals, but my question is, have there been advancements in the technology in lingual braces? Like perhaps in size or something? I'm worried that he is using old braces and that maybe there are smaller ones, or different ones than he has now. By the way, I am not talking about ibraces. Just the lingual ones that the orthodontist has complete control over with no lab outside involved.

Thanks in advance,

Julie

[coconut]

What??
As far as I'm aware, lingual braces are custom made to fit the patient's teeth. Reuse of old braces would seem to defy logic.
You can get very small lingual brackets nowadays which reduces the profile and therefore impact on one's tongue. Yes, there is initial tongue abrasion, but this settles down in time. Completely.
I suggest you try another orthodontist.

[julie5]

Coconut,

Just to clarify a little bit, he wasn't going to like "reuse" old braces that were used on someone else or something. It's just that the packaging on the brackets and wires were a few years old. They were left over from when he was actively doing a lot of linguals.

I do agree that I am going to keep looking for an orthodonist. I want the newest technology, whether it be iBraces or just linguals that are smaller in profile and work better due to advancements in the field.

Thanks for your reply.

Julie

[Sunny]

I recommend you consult with a few more ortho's before making a decision.

One of the ortho's where I work offeres ibraces. His patients do take a little time longer to adjust, usually two weeks, but once they've adjusted, they're good. In the time I've worked for him, no one has had their ibraces removed due to discomfort. Quite a few of his patients choose ceramic brackets for the lower teeth, as this can be another option that provides comfort and descretion.

Good luck looking for the right ortho to treat you!