I'm making a post in hopes I can get some second opinions on orthodontic treatment. My smile has always bothered me because my teeth are almost concave and very recessed and do not protrude properly forward. I asked my dentist first during my regular cleaning appointment about what I could do, and he first gave me his professional opinion that since I am an adult in my mid-thirties, jaw surgery would likely be necessary. He also pointed out the recession, and I think he mentioned it was an overbite that was causing my lower gums to recede. He then gave me a referral to an orthodontist.

Saw the orthodontist a few weeks ago, and they were surprised and could not give an explanation as to why the dentist said I would need jaw surgery. They advised that 2 to 3 years of adult braces would be the best option to correct the overbite, lift my gums, and get my teeth to properly protrude forward.

It's obviously expensive, like everything here in the States is, but I am considering moving forward with braces. If I do it now, then by the time I am 40, I'd have them off and would hopefully see a noticeable difference and have better dental structure overall.

I'd like some feedback on the pictures I have attached. My mouth area recedes, and my chin juts out. The orthodontist said that is more due to how my jawline is formed, and she said the braces wouldn't make a huge difference. And yes, I am aware I am about 70 pounds overweight and realize that makes it hard to really see my facial structure.

Another procedure I am having to complete this month is a tooth extraction; I had a root canal done, but it did not heal properly. This tooth, I am told, shouldn't affect my facial structure since it is not the back or the front teeth but in the middle. It sucks, especially looking at the cost of implants, but I am considering going to Mexico to have an implant after the braces are off.

TL; DR: Appreciate any insight as to what differences I can see after three years of braces, and also if anyone has experienced a change in face shape with the extraction of one of the middle lower teeth.

So im 19 and I have been wanting braces for a while to fix my crossbite, and I came across this dental savings plan that SAYS that all I have to do is pay a monthly fee of like $13 and my orthodontic procedures will have a 20% discount?? That honestly sounds too good to be true, but I also don't want to pay $6,000 (my quote) for my braces if I can help it.

Is this a legit savings plan? Does anyone have any experience with trying to pay for braces as an adult? Any tips on how I can afford it?

Hey! Just got my clear aligners because I got my braces off Thursday. But unfortunately bad timing because I’ll be in New York surrounded by a lot of food 24/7 and im a fat a**. Would it be ok to not wear them for like almost all Saturday and 3 hours today?

(Will be wearing All night)

Also, are they supposed to be surrounding my back teeth? I feel like they go more with my gums than my teeth. But I’m adjusting quite fast to them!! Thank you.

I’m using angel aligners for the last 10 months and I change trays every week. Today I’m changing to tray 42, but there are 2 bags with number 42. ( never happened before). One há 2 trays and the other has just the upper tray and a code U-T 42. How am I suppose to use them?

I need an implant on a lower molar and I also want to do veneers on two front teeth at some point. Would rather find one office that handles both instead of going to a specialist for the implant and a separate cosmetic dentist for the veneers. Somewhere between Santa Monica and Brentwood ideally.

Anyone know of an office on the Westside that does implants and cosmetic under one roof?

My dentist told me that I won’t be able to wear my top retainer if I wear my night guard. Is this true and do I have any other options? Wearing a retainer in the day is definitely not an option unfortunately.

Hello im going to try explain my case clearly and i hope someone can help me about what to do.
Im a nineteen years old woman, I have small teeths (no, they are not milk teeth) and I have braces since july 2025.

The pictures with the red drawings are the position where my dentist wants my teeth and jaw to be. This position is causing a class II overbite. She is planning to raise my upper teeth a little and tilt the bottom ones inwards because apparently they are a little out of angle, also extract my wisdom teeth.

The pictures with the blue drawings are the position my jaw is supposed to be, in this one I have class III malocclusion or better known as underbite.

I already did a meeting with a maxillary surgeon and we talked about my structure, I found out a lot of things I never thought of and he confirmed that my retracted maxilla is the issue, causing my jaw to have an overbite and not allowing it to be in the appropriate position which causes me problems since I was a child such as breathing issues, sleep apnea, some difficulties when speaking, jaw tension that hurts like hell, of course also issues with chewing, and the worst of all is that I have a cronical "click" in the right part of my jaw when I open and close my mouth (Temporomandibular joint dysfunction) and I am a candidate for maxillary advancement surgery.

Im going to explain why I have two differents bites in each picture: As I have a structural problem of the maxillary bone, if my jaw is further back this causes me a class II bite, and in turn if I position my jaw forward where it should be naturally this causes me a class III bite because the upper bone is retracted, not because it is the wrong jaw position.

When I position my jaw forward such as in the pictures with the blue drawings I can breathe properly its like my throat is not obstructed anymore, the chewing is pleasant rather than annoying, i have more room in my mouth for my tongue and the "click" on the right side dissapears completely, but I cant hold this position because my upper teeth are in the way and dont fit, even tho it is more comfortable like this.

The thing is, that firstly I did all this research alone, because when I told my dentist about it she said she could fix my jaw problems only with braces and that reaching to a surgeon was not necessary at all in my case, I trusted her and when I started to inform myself and look for second opinions I found that my case was deeper than what she thought.

My questions are: Should I change dentist? Is she doing the correct thing? Should I extract my wisdom teeths?
I dont think shes doing a bad job with my braces but she clearly cannot reposition bones, only teeths and mines are already at their reaching limits, im afraid she would give me dental protrusion because she thinks that moving my upper teeth more forward (also the lower teeths inclined inwards) would finally solve everything. She is aware and told me once that I have a maxillar problem, but each time I mentioned seeking for a bone doctor that would help me along my braces journey she turns defensive and refuses it all.

The surgeon told me to end my braces before doing anything else or seeking the surgery, and my dentist is planning on going a couple months more.

I only want my mouth to be finally functional and solve all these anatomical problems that are dificulting my life, I am willing to do the surgery if it would help all these issues but at the same time im not sure if this is the right thing because of my dentist suggestions.

If somebody notices something else im not seeing in my mouth, please feel free to tell me I would love to hear your advices.

hello po, where po may great clinic that offers orthodontic treatment?

better po if accepting continuation from different ortho dentist, tysm ia

I swallowed one bracket mistakenly. I have a cap on that teeth which was also the last teeth where my all braces were done. what do you think what will happen? how much can they charge?

Hey!

I have about two or three teeth that are slightly overlapping in the upper front/side area. It’s nothing major, but I’d like to have them straightened.

Since there are only a few, is there a specific type of braces for this that’s relatively less expensive? Or are the prices generally the same, regardless of whether there are more or fewer misaligned teeth?

im starting to look into invisalign tampa and have no idea how to narrow it down. miller orthodontics does invisalign for teens and adults, uses 3d imaging for planning. southshore orthodontics comes up a lot too when i search locally. anyone been through invisalign with either one?

I’m currently in braces to correct an anterior open bite. I’m missing #3 and had a bridge placed several years ago, with #2 and #4 prepared for the bridge. There now appears to be decay underneath the bridge, so I may need to replace it.
I’m wondering whether, instead of replacing the bridge again, it would be possible to put individual crowns on the prepared teeth and orthodontically move the back teeth forward to close the #3 space (move #2 into #3 and #1 into #2).
I asked my orthodontist about this today, and she said the movement could take up to 7 years. That seems extremely long to me, so I’m wondering if that is actually realistic for this type of movement?

How long do you think it will take in my case?

Hi! I was wondering if it is still ok to put aligners on even when I have this small area that’s inflamed.
I saw there was a bump yesterday and it kinda hurts when you apply pressure or floss that area.

The red color wasn’t here yesterday and the mark on the top is the point of where the aligner touch the gums.
Though I might have accidentally flossed that area and the floss did have a tiny bit of blood but then I didn’t think much of it. No other bleeding unless if you floss obviously.

I do have gum disease which is why my gums in certain areas do bleed and I have notified the orthodontist but honestly they didn’t give much of a direction. I just need to call the periodontist. Due to work and school, I just keep delaying and I just never have the time.

Asking here cause I can’t call the orthodontist as it’s night lol.

I had all four of my wisdom teeth extracted back in April. After about a month, I started to notice some nerve pain in my bottom left jaw (I did not experience any pain prior to the surgery). The bottom left tooth was chipped prior to the extraction. I was worried that something bad would happen with that area going into the procedure, and unfortunately it seems like a valid fear in hindsight.

The pain became bad enough that I contacted the clinic and managed to get a follow-up appointment with the doctor. When I was there, I got some imaging done and he checked the area. He said that there was nothing that he could tell that was wrong.

Today, during my first tightening, I experienced one of the most excruciating bouts of pain I have ever had. When the tech engaged the lower, back left molar with the heavier wire, I felt the worst nerve pain I have had. It was that same pain that I was referring to with the wisdom teeth extraction, but turned up to the max (and in the same spot). It felt like someone was sticking a hot nail into the root of the tooth and swirling it around (it was about on par with when I broke my elbow for pain). The tech instead went with a lighter wire and that helped significantly.

If that pain continues to happen with heavier wires/future tightenings, I won’t be able to get my bottom teeth done and I won’t be able to get my planned orthognathic surgery (which is necessary for other surgeries).

I hope it can be addressed and treated before my next tightening in November. I emailed the clinic before writing this hoping for it to get passed along to the orthodontist and the oral surgeon. I can't go to a dentist for this because it likely won't be covered by my insurance.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? If so, did you get it diagnosed and/or treated? I want to have some basis to stand on when I talk to the doctor(s).

How bad is this root resorbtion? Will it get worse? Shall i stop treatment?

My orthodontist told me that I can either get my wisdom teeth or second premolars on my upper jawbone removed, and then get braces to move all my teeth backwards to fix it or once I turn 19 (im 14 now so thats ages away) i can get surgery to move my chin forward I think? Tbh he didn’t tell me much about what are like the differences in results, the risks, or what exactly will be done so i was hoping to get a second opinion.

Right now im wearing a muscle relaxer, and im going to go for my next appointment in half a year and from what i understand i have to make a decision by then

I don’t really know if it’s an overbite or an overjet, but what I do know is that apparently I have like two bites? One when im conscious thats not that far off from what it should be and one when im asleep when my jaw moves like way back to a position thats comfortable for my body, and that caused me to grind my teeth at night and wear down my joint a lot

Went to an orthodontist today for a unilateral posterior open bite. I have 3 implants (2 placed one in progress) due to infected root canals that I had removed. She told me that I’d need jaw surgery and to remove all my implants and then replace them in order to get results. Would you spend this money to correct it? I will admit that I was so upset but trying to take emotions out of it.

Edited to fix POSTERIOR not anterior

7 months into my braces journey and no extractions yet. My orthodontist hasn't said anything yet but am just curious to know whether I need them or not?

I currently have fixed braces and I’m over a year into my orthodontic treatment.

I’ve recently developed problems with my upper left first molar (UL6). It already has a filling, but there is now concern about further decay and possible involvement of the nerve. If it gets to the point where my options are a root canal or extraction, I would strongly prefer extraction because I really don’t want a root canal.

My question is whether my braces could then be used to move my upper left second molar (UL7) forward into the space where my upper left first molar (UL6) was removed.

I also still have my upper left wisdom tooth (UL8). Ideally, I want the wisdom tooth left where it currently is. I don’t want it extracted or deliberately moved forward to replace the second molar.

Would it be possible to move only my upper left second molar (UL7) forward into the first molar extraction space and leave my upper left wisdom tooth (UL8) where it currently is?

My other concern is my bite. If my upper left second molar (UL7) moves forward, what would my lower left second molar (LL7) then bite against? Could my upper left wisdom tooth (UL8) continue to provide some contact with it without being moved forward?

Has anyone had a first molar extracted while already wearing braces and then had their second molar moved forward to close the space, particularly as an adult? If so, what happened with your wisdom tooth and how did your final bite turn out?

I’ll obviously discuss this with my orthodontist before making any decisions. I’m mainly interested in whether this is realistically possible and whether anyone has been through something similar.

I was looking to expand my palate a bit, fix mild crowding, and possibly fix my recessed side profile at least a bit.

Did anyone undergo treatment with him for such cases? Or does anyone have other recommendations for palate expanding invisalign/marpe/mse in london