Help with my overbite??

[xxxwaxxxwaxxx]

Right now, I have metal braces and molar buildups. I've had both for about two years. On my bottom row, I have an open space that needs to be filled with a fake tooth when I'm 18. Everything is repaired except for my severe overbite - its about 80% or 90%. My overbite is caused by my upper jaw leaning over my lower so that it covers almost my entire lower teeth. My orthodontist wants to use the braces and rubber bands and says it could be repaired by the end of the summer. I, however, am sick and tired of braces and can't stand to have them on any longer. So, given my conditions, what are my options? I'll do anything. Invisalign? A retainer? surgery?

[aythegreat]

Wear the bands, and fix your overbite. I'm and adult and have to get surgery to fix my overbite-not fun. I wish I was your age and had braces and only had to get elastics to fix them even if it was just for another year!

[Phantom Muse]

Your best - and easiest option - would be to stick with the treatment plan put forth by your orthodontist. Invisalign is simply another form of braces, and it is possible, I would guess, that you'd need to wear elastics with Invisalign to fix your bite. A retainer, from my understanding, is not meant to address fixing a severe bite; they are meant to retain the work that has already been done with only minor alterations possible. Surgery?! That seems very drastic if your ortho feels that your bite can be corrrected with elastics. For surgery, braces still have to be worn for some period of time, and then there are weeks of recovery, etc. With all of that, you'll likely be done with the elastics before then!

I know how very restless you must feel, but you have come so far, and the end of the summer is not so far away. Keep your focus on your end results rather than the process right now, and that may help you feel closer to completion. You will be so thrilled when all is done and you are loving your new "look!"

I had braces as a teenager for three years, along with the dreaded headgear and metal bands that were cemented around each and every tooth. Looking back, I was quite the sight! Those three years felt like an eternity, but I didn't follow-through properly with retainers and had to use Invisalign recently for another 6 months (and $5000.00). Trust your ortho, stay focused on the result, wear your retainers as prescribed forever, and come August or September 2011, you will never have to fret about your teeth ever again!

Good luck!