Hi,

I am 22 years old and had braces for two and a half years to fix a locking jaw and make room for an implant because I was missing a tooth in the front. My bite was fine and my lower teeth could have used a bit of straightening but nothing drastic. I just got my braces off 5 months ago and I have an overbite large enough to stick a straw in between my teeth without bending it and none of my teeth touch except the last molar. I have no wisdom teeth they were pulled before braces. I can only eat rice and soft breads and foods. No veggies that are crunchy, salad included, or hard things like chips because my teeth are so sensitive due to my bite. I have a retainer with a tooth in front that is too small and sits sideways so my bite is different every week. My orthodontist just says I look good and disregards the concerns I have, she says that the overbite is necessary to make room for the implant, yet I have two other gaps on the other side of my mouth causing me to look like I have buck teeth. Is there anything legally I can do? I paid 5000 for the treatment and I'm worse than before! Any advice? I am going to another ortho on Tuesday to get an second opinion because my dentist says my teeth are definitely not right.

Legally there probably isn't much you can do. It's a little late now, but you should have addressed these issues with your ortho BEFORE you were de-braced. Talk to the other ortho (or a couple if you can) and see what they have to say and what suggestions they make. Then make a conference appointment with your current ortho and discuss the new information you've been given, and see what he is willing to do about it. From an ethical standpoint, if there is something that can be done, he should do it, but there is no guarantee he will. If he chooses to do nothing then you must decide if it is worth it to you to spend the additional money with a new ortho to fix the problems you currently have.

Okay... I have a couple appointments lined up now by my dentist. The problem was I addressed the issues to the orthodontist and she said there was nothing to be done and that not touching in my mouth was the best she could do. I should have never got them. I was better off before. My dentist at the time said he agreed but when I changed dentists, the new one asked why the braces were taken off and said I could definitely fix the problem. I guess my ignorance is at fault here. Most likely I will pay to fix if I can because I need to eat for the rest of my life and I'm only 22 now, I don't want to spend 60 more years unable to eat.

I'm so sorry this has happened to you. I've known of a few people who have ended up with compromised results because of poor orthodontic treatment.

Go to your appointments and see what can be done. You can consider speaking to your ortho after you get a new treatment plan and perhaps she will refund a portion of your money. If you pursue further treatment with a new ortho, perhaps have the new ortho speak to your old ortho and that might persuade her to refund part of your money. If it becomes obvious that your compromised results are completely her fault, you can report her to the national orthodontics board, if she is a member.

National Board of Orthodontics, U.S. (http://www.nbous.org/)

Good luck to you, and remember, even an extra two years in braces will mean a lifetime of a beautiful, healthy smile and a functioning bite. There's a great site designed for adults in braces; ArchWired - A site for adults with orthodontic braces (http://www.archwired.com) that you might want to check out. There are some very knowledgeable people on the boards over there about orthodontics and they are a great support group. You will learn a lot there and get tons of good advice!

OK.


Thanks for the advice and the links. I really appreciate it. Hopefullly all goes well after the appointments this week!