my jaw has shifted during my ortho treatment

[mmac]

I've been having braces since Aug, 08 and the ortho told me i would have it off in two yrs. At the rate it's going, I believe it will take longer than that. The problems I had before my ortho treatment was crooked teeth and overcrowding due to having a really small narrow jaw that runs in my family. After consulting with the ortho, she pulled out 4 teeth. When she pulled out those teeth and i felt where the holes were, i noticed on my top jaw she pulled out 2 premolars but on my bottow jaw on the left side, she pulled out a molar, my 3rd tooth from the end and another premolar. I was already puzzled by that but didnt really ask as time went by. I have noticed my teeth has shift a lot and has become much straighter. My mom which is a dental hygienist came to visit me Dec 09 and noticed my midline is way off and my jaw has become crooked. My teeth does not line up anymore. I never had that issue before braces and now has been considerately much noticable and even friends and family has commented my jaw is crooked, especially when i talk and smile. My bottom right jaw is more inwards than my left bottom jaw and the left sticks out. Since Dec, I see my ortho every 8 weeks and the last 2x i saw her, i told her everyone noticed my midline is off and so is my jaw. It seems she feels offended when i tell her? and everytime i mention to her, she says oh i know already, i know. and the last time i saw her 2 weeks ago i mentioned again that my jaw is still off and my midline she goes, you're not done with your treatment, you're only halfway and she says oh i fixed your midline see? its almost there. It is not even close to matchingn up with my top jaw Considering she told me it was going to take 2 yrs..and im only halfway thru my treatment so it will take 4 yrs to complete this when first off my teeth wasnt that bad to begin with since it was just the front teeth that was misaligned. My little sister which is 12 only had her braces for 7 months and her teeth are perfect top and bottom but shes not done yet. i had mine nearly 2 yrs and im not even close to where she is. I understand that she is still a child and her teeth moves faster than an adult but i would expect that mine should have been close to done and it seems to me, i'm worse off than i was before.

Does anyone think I should be concerned with my jaw becoming crooked? My mother says my teeth never looked that bad and my jaw was perfect....now it's totally off. I've never been so unhappy!

Below are some pics how it looks now...its horrible i know "/

if anyone can help me, please do! I dont know what to do..it seems my ortho is clueless or something! Ugh..i really dont wanna pay for another ortho to fix since im done paying her...but i guess at this rate it looks like i have to find another ortho..

[Sunny]

Hi and welcome to this forum mmac.

There's no way we can tell how things are progressing without being able to see before photos ... and even then, you have to remember that we can't comment as a professional does, as this is the person who has your x-rays and treatment plan, plus many years of training and expertise.

Looking at your photos, your upper jaw looks great. It's a nice shape and the teeth look fantastic in it. Your lower jaw looks like it still needs some work, but exactly what your ortho is planning is something you need to ask your ortho about.

I'm amazed that people such as your friends etc notice something as insignificant as your midline. Most people don't know we have one, or where it might be. It's understandable your mother would ... but strange about your ortho comments.

For some people it's impossible to get the midlines back in line after straightening has occurred. These people need surgery and for many that's not possible. The most important part of orthodontics is having the teeth/bite correct and this doesn't mean having the midline correct. I can understand your concern though and you need to ask your ortho about how your midline will be imporved.

Regarding the extractions of teeth. This is done after considering how much space a person needs. If your lower arch needed the space that the extracting of a premolar and molar gave, then this would explain why this was done. A molar gives more space than a premolar does. Due to the extractions being different, this may mean that your lowers will never totally match your uppers, but as long as your bite is right, then the wear and tear on your jaw joints will be marginal and that's what is correct.

Hopefully your lowers will respond quickly and your teeth will soon be naked!

Good luck!

[mmac]

Thanks Sonny for your advice. I understand that no one would be able to tell me what to do for sure without my records. Ugh, it just bothers me because people comment how my jaw has shifted and comment maybe i should change orthodontist.

Lol, my friends notice a lot of things! Lots of my family members live in Cali and when I went to visit them they comment on my teeth as well. "/ My mother says even if they take one molar..they should have took the other molar to even it out..i'm not sure what the ortho wanted to do. Everytime i comment how my teeth are doing she says you're not done. you're not done yet. I think the reason why she takes offense because i mention lots of my family members are dentists and dental hygienists and they notice my teeth are off line.

Are you serious??? Sometimes you cant get your midline back?? I had no idea..well my dentist got to shift my midline more but she still has more work to do for sure on the bottow jaw..I just hope my jaw will shift back. That's my main concern.

These are my before pics..but they're not close up since I really didn't like smiling back then lol

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y10...t=KIF_3269.jpg

[Sunny]

mmac what age are you? I ask because your jaw can only change a small amount and only if you're adolescent age. Once the bones are fused it can't change without surgery. The teeth move within the bone and they do quite a bit of shuffling around.

Very few people have perfect midlines without cosmetic surgery. It's just not the norm to have the perfectly shaped teeth that fit perfectly together on both arches. Most smiles seen in magazines have been adjusted cosmetically and photoshoped. Due to most people only showing one arch when smiling, it's rare a persons upper and lower midlines can be seen at the same time. It is good to get them close, as this can affect the bite, which is the main purpose of orthodontics.

If you're having doubts about your ortho, I recommend you consult with a couple more and hear what they have to say about your case.

Good luck with you having a stable bit when you prepare for a lifetime of retainer wear!

[mmac]

I'm currently 20 yrs old. I got my braces at 18 once I got my health insurance thru work.

If the midline doesn't move back, is there anything that can be done about the jaw? I read that some people had to get jaw surgery but I don't believe mine is that severe.

I just saw your blog and that's insane what the pain you're going thru with 7 rubberbands! Lol i give props to you!

[josie]

mmac, if you're not happy about some part of your orthodontic experience, then you should seek 2nd opinions. It can't hurt to have some opinions of other orthos - hopefully they will give you honest opinions and not try to get your custom, if they think the first ortho is doing a good job. Your ortho should also understand your concerns and not dismiss them - perhaps asking for an explanation would be better than complaining about what is not right: Ie, ask her why she took out the teeth she did; why the treatment is taking longer; if she feels she can line up your midline - and so on. If you emphasise that you're not being unduly critical, you just want to understand, then you will get some answers so you can make a decision.

My midline doesn't line up on top and bottom, but I've only just started my treatment. However, it's not something which would be that important to me. You should consider whether your lower teeth show when you smile too - my lower teeth don't show, so no one is going to know about my midline not matching....

[Sunny]

Great advice Josie!

Mmac those elastics didn't cause any pain ... they were just a damn nuisance, as I'm a raw foodie and they made it almost impossible to chew. They were to try and 'drag' my upper teeth round, due to issues like your lower teeth look like they may have, but it didn't work. Surgery would be able to fix my jaw problems, but apart for the cost being prohibited, I don't want surgery for something that I don't consider needs that type of radical approach. My bite will function fine without surgery and although my midline will be nearly two teeth off, most people have no idea what a midline is and it's not going to affect my bite ... so it was nice of my ortho to try, but I'm not worried about it.

I think since you're not confident with your ortho, you'd be best to have a couple of consults with other ortho's so you can hear what they have to say. You may choose to change to one of the new ortho's, so make sure you find out about the costs involved in doing that.

Good luck!