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Orthodontic Worries

Extracts from e-mails sent to John Mew

‘RN’. 29. “I asked him to just fix the gap but he insisted on fixing everything”. “Now my face has sunken in I have a flat face and no cheeks”. I'm a TV presenter, is there anything I could do?

‘OF’ my son, age 14. “I’ve been to visit three different orthodontists over the last three years and I have had conflicting advice and am deeply suspicious of the recommended treatment options”. “He told we would need to consider Maxillofacial Surgery”. “He was such a good looking child until about 10, now he is frequently called names such as Bucky Beaver.” “He’s gone from being a confident and happy child to feeling ugly”. “I am so angry and will not forgive myself for having listened to the advice of so called professionals.” “I found the website pertaining to Orthotropic Treatment and then the penny dropped!”

‘TS’ I am just looking to reverse what has been done to my mouth and face.  I would like my teeth to go back to the way they were prior to orthodontic treatment.

‘C.S’. Mother of 11 year girl. Let me open by saying that I stumbled across the “Orthotropics” website after years of struggling with the knowledge that my daughter needed more attention than she was getting with her teeth and jawline. When I first read about your approach I shed a few tears because finally I found someone who was saying the things I needed to hear. At age 3 we started taking Casey to a Pediatric Dentist Over the 4 years of seeing her regular Pediatric Dentist nothing was said to me about her teeth or jaw.
When she was 7 a “locum dentist” filling in for her Pediatric Dentist brought her concerns to me and suggested I send Casey to an orthodontist but she did not think early treatment made sense.
Finally when she was 8 ½ years old I took her to (Orthodontist-B) who we felt very comfortable with and he treated her with a twin block for her overbite. After that attempt failed I am not sure that I want her to have surgery.

‘WF’ “I recently had 4 extractions done and I can see my profile starting to change!”

‘TS’ “I am having an awful experience with orthodontic treatment.  I am noticing that my facial structure is changing”.  “My jaw seems to have moved forward, my face has become flatter”. “This face is not mine”.

‘LD’ Age 27. “I feel my face has been damaged with the procedure which included four extractions. I fear if I go to the doctor or dentist for an opinion, I will get a very defensive answer, as is common among professionals who do not wish to point the finger at one another”.

‘PJ’ age 20. “I used to be a very good looking guy when I was of 18. I went for an orthodontic consultation but damn it proved to be the worst decision I had ever made in my life. My orthodontist asked me to get 4  healthy 1st premolars extracted and due to my enormous faith on my orthodontist I did what I was advised. This has really affected my self-esteem and my confidence. My doc pushed my front teeth backwards which resulted in degradation of my facial aesthetics.    

‘WF’ age ? “I recently had 4 extractions done and I can see my profile staring to change!! I told the ortho that and he says it will be fine. I don't want have a flat face!! Is there something I can do? I just started 2 months ago? Can he push the teeth forward instead? Please help!!”

‘TI’ age 40. “My bottom incisors were flaring a bit and I wanted my orthodontist to correct it. He told me the ONLY way was extraction of 3 first bicuspids. I asked him before proceeding if there was ANY other way. In addition to that I also asked him if it would harm my face in any way. He said no, it is not in the literature. My cheeks sunk a little and my lips appear a bit lopsided. I have been doing nothing but crying. I feel like a big part of me is gone”.

‘KI’ age 25. “I used this e-mail for sake of anonymity because I am still slightly ashamed of what happened and how I feel about it. I am not a vain person, but it gets to me sometimes that in this one life that I had, my mother in an attempt to improve my oral health/look did the opposite. 13-15 yrs old – Had four bicuspids removed & orthodontic treatment. Outcome: Teeth were pulled back and slanted noticeable inward toward the tongue. At the time I still had no idea that orthodontic treatment could affect my actual facial structure. I thought the “big nose,” “long face,” “pulled back chin” were just the way I was, and since I didn’'t have those features before was probably a by-product of puberty. Overall, my teeth looked better – my face did not”.

‘KN’ I am very unhappy, as I had a very beautiful face before. I lost two central incisors at the age of 6 in a traumatic injury (bicycle accident). At the age of 25, I unluckily met an orthodontist that very strongly (he is very aggressive and dominant) thought that my lateral incisors (which are very small, and the roots are very thin) should be moved to the position of the central incisors and place implants on the site of the laterals. My facial appearance has been much worse since then”.

‘R & D’. Our daughter 14, started her treatment just over a year ago. It seemed like it was a standard menu and now I realize there were not allot of specifics other than she would get ‘braces’, perhaps a head thing and she would need ‘space extractions’. We were not given any alternatives and none of it seemed too bad. The extractions were painful and quite violent – he said that her wisdoms would mostly need to be surgically removed when she was older. She had 'springs' inserted between most of her back teeth – a few days later and in a lot of pain she spent several hours having her train tracks fitted. Many orthodontic web sites give very 'glossy' views of the treatment. Should orthodontists not be putting more realistic information and pictures on their web-sites?

‘AC’. Just today my 11-year-old son had traditional train-track braces put on, but a few days prior to that I was told that he would need two extractions (upper jaw).  After expressing reservations about getting extractions he dismissed me by saying, “You/your mother have been reading too many magazines.”  I was annoyed but didn't pursue it. I do not want to antagonize the orthodontist, but he provided me with almost no information before proceeding.

‘ML’. I had a mild overbite and popping of one jaw joint. I began wearing class II elastics on the right side for 9 months and began to have severe pain in that joint and jaw spasms. After reviewing the x-rays, it became apparent that I need orthodontic re-treatment to advance my maxilla and mandible and increase lower facial height.  All I want is to have a healthy bite again.  Currently I have an open posterior bite.