I had a moment of verve the other day and scheduled an orthodontist appointment. Today was the day, so at 11am (1/11/11 at 11am! har har) I ventured off to see what technological advances have been made in orthodontics in the last 13 or so years.
Apparently not much. At least not that would help me.
Because of the way my teeth were treated, the orthodontist is hesitant to even touch my teeth. And due to the lower crowding he suggested removing one of my lower teeth (um, what?) to make more room (why can't you just move them forward where they were? They were in a perfect position at one point...).
And to be fair, he did take imprints and will be trying to figure out a plan of attack that will work for me. I have an appointment next week to discuss my options (if any). I just don't understand how my dentist was so "your teeth are awesome, everything is in basically the right place, it should be an easy fix to straighten them out" and yet I walk into an orthodontist's and they're all "hmm, yeah, I don't think I want to work on your teeth. kthxbye."
Okay, okay. I'm not an orthodontist. So I really don't have a clue as to how the magic really happens. All I know is that I walked away feeling completely depressed that I may be banished to a life as a snaggletooth forever.
*sigh* Dr. S's damage lives on... I'm supposed to go see a jaw specialist in Northgate because my jaw has been messed up ever since I had braces. Hopefully the doctor will be able to figure something out for you!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear. I don't think your mouth is snaggly. I hope they can help you next time.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amber! Good luck with the specialist!! The orthodontist here seemed hellbent to find out who my previous orthodontist was... he was very nice and politically correct, but it seemed very obvious that he wasn't pleased with my results. /sigh/
ReplyDeleteI've found another ortho that my dentist is really encouraging me to go see- she's farther away and a lot more expensive, but she offers a greater range of tooth-maneuvering techniques. We'll see..
Thanks, Liz! I have functional issues with their placement as they are- they are still shifting so they'll get worse with time.. and my jaw has started popping when I eat tougher foods. My dentist is really pushing me to get something done soon, before I grind my teeth to oblivion. And I'm starting to get more self conscious of them. I had one customer at the bank in Bellevue tell me "You work with the public... you need to fix your teeth." And ever since I've been super paranoid about their appearance.