Is my ortho nuts & are there alternate treatments?

[MadKatt]

Way back in 1986 I had braces to close a very large gap between my front teeth and to realign my bite. I only had to wear the braces for 14 months and then got my old-fashioned retainers (hard plastic with metal band) and I wore those for 9 years. I was then told by another dentist that I did not need to wear the retainers anymore, so I didn't. Well, the gap between my front teeth started to return and so I got bonding put on my front teeth in 1997. Well, 10 + years later, my gap is coming back again so I went to see the orthodontist that works with my regular dentist, and I think the guy is crazy! My insurance doesn't cover ortho work for me so all of it will be out of pocket, but he only gave me two very expensive options. First option is to get braces again, but he says that even though I only need the top braces, their policy is that I have to buy the entire set. Is that standard/normal practice among orthodontists?? If I go with the braces, he said I would have to wear them for 15 months to close the gap, which is only 2mm and that is longer than when I initially wore them 20 + year ago. The cost of the braces and retainers (they only use invisalign) is close to $4,000.00. The other option he gave me was to get several sets of invisalign retainers that would close the gap over time, but that cost was over $5,000.00!!! I just don't understand why is has to be so long and so expensive to close a 2mm gap. There is no other spacing problems with the rest of my teeth. I was wondering if it was possible to get bonding put on the front teeth again but then get a retainer permanently put on the back of my teeth to prevent them from moving. Would that be possible? Or instead of bonding, what about veneers on the front teeth and then a permanent retainer on the back of the teeth? As small as the gap is, it bothers me a lot because of what I went through to get it closed in the first place, but I am also trying to find a more cost-friendly means of doing it. Any suggestions, or advice is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks in advance!

[Sunny]

I recommend you see some more orthodontists to get advice about your gap. Hopefully you can have it corrected with top brackets only, if your bottom teeth are fine and you bite is still good. Also the length of treatment does sound excess for a 2 mm gap, but you'll need to hear that from a few ortho's to be certain.

Make sure when you're treatment is sorted, that you continue wearing your retainers for life. Teeth move for as long as we're alive, and unless you wear your retainers ... usually a few nights a week is best ... your teeth will not remain in the positions they were moved to during orthodontic work.