<p>how should I approach him about the two front teeth? Should I be like, “I’ve been asking around and getting some advice from others and it seems like it’s not a typical procedure to cut off healthy teeth and gum, just to make it “look” straight, since orthodontics is about more than appearance. Can you tell me why this has to be done to my teeth? Is there a way I can realign my two front teeth and the gum area without having to shave them off?”</p>
<p>Does that sound professional and assertive?</p>
<p>Help me understand why you are recommending ________</p>
<p>I thought about it a lot after our last appt. and I’m not quite getting it. It just feels very drastic to me.</p>
<p>Then you need to pay attention to every detail he gives you. If you don’t understand something, ask him to clarify. You don’t need to tell him you’ve been asking around because he knows, like I mentioned, that depending on who you ask, different people will have different opinions.</p>
<p>Do you have someone who can go along with you? Two sets of ears often help you understand and read between the lines.</p>
<p>Also, as many adults have learned, when you’re going in to see a medical professional where treatment is going to be over a long period of time and be expensive, write down all your questions on a piece of paper and bring them with you. Do not hesitate to pull that list out.</p>
<p>Also, don’t be afraid to take notes on the responses you get to your questions. (This is another area where having a friend with you can be helpful.)</p>
<p>Smile, be pleasant and courteous, use phrases like, "I really want to understand this…I’m going to take some notes to make sure I understand it right…but don’t be deterred from your goal: this is your mouth, your money, and your healthcare. You have every right to understand what’s being recommended, why, and what other options you have.</p>
<p>Okay - I met with him today and he told me that what he is doing is filing the longer part of the tooth off and shaping it and smoothing the surface and somehow bringing down the higher gumline to make them even. I did some google search and called my old ortho to ask for his opinion (and several other general dentists and orthos in the area) and surprisingly they all said that it’s standard procedure…Some people say it’s unhealthy for the teeth, but some people say it’s harmless if I normally take good care of my teeth…Anyways, I guess there’s no point in me going crazy or regretting anything because all the orthos in the surrounding area that I would have switched to had my current one been doing it completely wrong are suggesting that they would have done the same thing…</p>
<p>I’m just not happy whenever I run my finger across my teeth because it feels bumpy and uneven, but people have said it doesn’t “look” too uneven and with the final filing and smoothing it should “feel” fine, too…I guess.</p>
<p>As has been said, there are several schools of thought about dentistry & orthos. My SIL & BIL (both dentists) STRONGLY oppose filing and I would advise caution (once filed, they can’t become “unfiled”). </p>
<p>Did you ask your old ortho if he had planned to do what is currently being suggested? If so, why didn’t he ever mention any of this to you? That would be good info to have in making your choice going forward. All 6 of the 7 of us had braces growing up in my household & none of us had anything like what you’re talking about (tho times may have changed). My kids both had braces & neither had what you’re talking about either.</p>
<p>I would advise caution and considering seeing someone for another opinion. My kids only saw the orthos about every 6 months or so. We only paid about $25 for him to check their mouths & visits were always very short & quick (the longest part was waiting for their turn as he’s very busy). I would be unhappy if my ortho didn’t have any way he could be reached or anyone else to see if he was unavailable for an entire month–that’s a very long time if something is urgently wrong.</p>
<p>Well, I asked around to about 5 different orthos in the region (up to 4 hrs away) and all but one said they commonly file teeth to shape them at the very end. The other one didn’t want to give me a straight answer and was trying to get me in for a consult. Anyways, what can I do? I personally don’t like the idea of filing my teeth, but if that’s what most orthos (and all the accessible ones for me) do on a regular basis, there wouldn’t be any point in me switching orthos…</p>
<p>Hmmm - I did a bit of searching around about filing teeth. While it seems that it is somewhat common to file slightly <em>between</em> the teeth (file along the sides of them to make more room) to make them narrower, filing down a “longer” tooth and messing with the gumline seems very strange to me. I would be very dubious of having this procedure done.<br>
When you spoke with your old orthodontist (and the others), were you very specific that this new guy (or gal) wants to file the END of a tooth, not the sides?</p>
<p>As you get older, thinning enamel can become a <em>real</em> problem. It seems to me a bad idea to go and remove perfectly healthy enamel. Seems like a skilled orthodontist should be able to make these teeth even up in length- I know my daughter’s orthodontist was able to do so.
A little bit of “shaping” is one thing - but to <em>shorten</em> a tooth, especially an incisor, sounds like a bad idea. I’m only in my mid 50s, but the enamel on the bite surface of all my incisors is quite worn, and I’ve never had any of it filed away!</p>
<p>Messing with the gumline also sounds pretty funky - did you ask other orthos about this?</p>
<p>You may also want to get a 2nd opinion on the jaw surgery - that can be a pretty major deal.</p>
<p>I second HImom’s 2nd paragraph – why did your old ortho never mention any plans to do any of this to you???</p>
<p>Also, him being totally out of contact, with no backup, for a month is VERY unreasonable. Sends up a REAL red flag to me, like he doesn’t give a **** about his patients and is all about raking in the big bucks.</p>
<p>I don’t trust any doctors. Period. They often fall into the same category as contractors and dry cleaners.</p>
<p>i had a dentist years ago who redid every filling I originally had from my teenage years. Almost every dentist I went to after that asked “who did this work?” I think they were annoyed that they couldn’t do it. </p>
<p>We had an orthodontist referral to a popular local guy, and even had a friend recommend him as very thorough. However, we didn’t use him and went with a more modestly priced one. The friend’s recommendation, although good, had noted that Doctor X had said that “Tommy’s case was the toughest one he’s ever had”. My read on that was that this was something that was said to a lot of people in order to prolong the treatment and payments.</p>
<p>BTW, I live in a high cost area and my kid’s orthodontic work only cost a couple of thousand, and lasted about a year. Yours may be different, but that seems like a lot. Especially since I get the impression that the end is not in sight for you.</p>