Note to self: murder orthodontist

[BrightCat]

*pat pats Mala* I know how ya feel. But once you get those metal-bands-from-Hell out, it's pretty much smooth sailing. It was for me. Retainers are a piece of cake. I just have to wear mine till I'm 20 or so; and that's still a few years off. :P But at least it's easier to brush and eat. I gotta admit, my teeth do look very nice.

[C`gan]

I share your pain, Malaquion. I had braces for 4.5 YEARS. Went through 2 orthodontists for the whole ordeal as well.

I have an overbite. I've had an overbite since my front teeth came in vastly larger than my back teeth. It's not about to change because of how my teeth are shaped. Yet, the second orthodontist was absolutely convinced he could pull my lower teeth forward (beyond my jaw), push my upper teeth back (and somehow back up into my upper jaw) and have the sides of my larger teeth SANDED OFF (because they're wider in the middle than at the chewing surfaces) he could get my teeth in "perfect" alignment.

Well, the first few years went by with things getting adjusted regularly just to get incisors and canines into alignment. THEN came the headband to push the upper teeth back. I had to wear this neckstrap every night while I slept. It locked in on the back upper teeth anchors and pushed them backwards. At the same time, I was wearing rubber bands on the wires (both to hold the wires down as well as pulling the teeth tighter together) and had the lower jaw set up to pull everything forward. This process continued for a year and a half. Every time I went in, the orthodontist kept complaining how I wasn't wearing my neckstrap nightly or that it wasn't tight enough.

After the year and a half, he decided HE'd done enough and it was time to get the wisdom teeth removed (I was still missing four 17-year molars at this point, and halfway through my freshman year in college). So, the following May, after getting the retainers in March, I had my wisdom teeth removed and my 17-year molars came in. Surprise surprise, my retainers no longer fit (after only 2 months' use) after the surgery. All he could say was "Well, since they didn't move any in the last year and a half, they're not going to move any more. We'll have to sand down the sides of the teeth to put back on the braces and realign everything." Needless to say, I was having no more part of it.