Discussion
I scrolled back through a few months of health matters to see if there was a similar thread but didn't find any.
I have recently got on top of my dental hygiene, and I'm now considering going for a consultation with an orthodontist.
I declined braces as a kid but now feel that all of my incisors could benefit from a bit of wrangling. Upper lateral incisors in particular are just going their own way, standing well proud of my front teeth and pretty crooked with it. Dentist always notes moderate crowding. This is mostly cosmetic but I'm sure there could be a functional improvement too.
My teeth are still O.E. with the exception of a few old fillings and both lower wisdom teeth extracted (horizontally impacted).
I have a couple of recommendations from friends and family but am happy to receive any more my area (Epsom, Surrey)
I would also gladly receive any impartial advice on what would be the better technique for doing the job. I guess clear aligners are not all created equal? Should I in my position consider any alternatives to clear aligners or are they the way to do it these days?
Willing to send photos to anybody willing to advise?
I have recently got on top of my dental hygiene, and I'm now considering going for a consultation with an orthodontist.
I declined braces as a kid but now feel that all of my incisors could benefit from a bit of wrangling. Upper lateral incisors in particular are just going their own way, standing well proud of my front teeth and pretty crooked with it. Dentist always notes moderate crowding. This is mostly cosmetic but I'm sure there could be a functional improvement too.
My teeth are still O.E. with the exception of a few old fillings and both lower wisdom teeth extracted (horizontally impacted).
I have a couple of recommendations from friends and family but am happy to receive any more my area (Epsom, Surrey)
I would also gladly receive any impartial advice on what would be the better technique for doing the job. I guess clear aligners are not all created equal? Should I in my position consider any alternatives to clear aligners or are they the way to do it these days?
Willing to send photos to anybody willing to advise?
Cringle, thanks so much for your willingness to have a look for me. I have sent a private message which you should receive as an e-mail to your registered e-mail address.
ETA: If you prefer I can post images on here instead of going through e-mail. Dealer's choice.
ETA: If you prefer I can post images on here instead of going through e-mail. Dealer's choice.
Edited by HustleRussell on Thursday 21st July 10:32
Hi..so you have mild crowding associated with a "class 2 division 2" malocclusion(bad bite). Very straightforward to sort out. I'd imagine 6-9months of orthodontic treatment. Clear aligners (eg Invisalign) and fixed braces would both work well. I think fixed braces may give a slightly better result. The most difficult movements are the lower lateral incisors(the ones away from the middle) as the roots need to be torqued a fair amount to upright them. Fixed braces are more efficient at performing this movement. The other thing to note is that in aligning your upper front teeth, they will stick out more (procline) by approx 3mm, this can affect the way you pronounce things, your ability to bite finer foods, sellotape etc, and you may end up with the tips of the incisors resting against your lower lip. Never had a problem with patients experiencing any of this but you need to be aware prior to embarking on this kind of treatment. Your back teeth are all in pretty good positions so it's just the front that need sorting. Budget wise, depending on where you are in the country, anything between £3-4k. Personally I would charge around £3300 for this. In London I've heard of practices charging £7k. Hope that helps.
Thanks for that.
How I can expect the results of any orthodontic work to last? I assume that in all probability they won't go back to being as bad as they were? Is this a differentiating factor between fixed aligners and clear aligners? In my head you can continue to wear clear aligners but once fixed aligners are off they're off? Or would there be retainers after fixed aligners?
ETA: I'm in Epsom, Surrey. I've an acquaintance who practices in Wimbledon but they seem to specialise in the product which is a contraction of 'invisible' and 'alignment', so I guess I know what solution they'll prescribe. Presumably better than the 'online' clear aligner people? Seems a bit risky to let me take my own impression and send it in the post etc.
How I can expect the results of any orthodontic work to last? I assume that in all probability they won't go back to being as bad as they were? Is this a differentiating factor between fixed aligners and clear aligners? In my head you can continue to wear clear aligners but once fixed aligners are off they're off? Or would there be retainers after fixed aligners?
ETA: I'm in Epsom, Surrey. I've an acquaintance who practices in Wimbledon but they seem to specialise in the product which is a contraction of 'invisible' and 'alignment', so I guess I know what solution they'll prescribe. Presumably better than the 'online' clear aligner people? Seems a bit risky to let me take my own impression and send it in the post etc.
Edited by HustleRussell on Friday 22 July 13:38
You will be required to wear retainers as you sleep for the rest of your life if you want to retain the straight teeth.
I finished Invisalign last year. I should've done it a long time ago as my teeth look miles better and straight teeth re much easier to clean.
It's worth noting that whatever your treatment time is (eg. 9 months), you'll likely be told to wear retainers full time after that for significant time. My treatment was approximately 1 year, but a year later I'm still wearing the retainers most of the time. Personally, I don't care as they're basically invisible and are comfortable, but worth noting.
I finished Invisalign last year. I should've done it a long time ago as my teeth look miles better and straight teeth re much easier to clean.
It's worth noting that whatever your treatment time is (eg. 9 months), you'll likely be told to wear retainers full time after that for significant time. My treatment was approximately 1 year, but a year later I'm still wearing the retainers most of the time. Personally, I don't care as they're basically invisible and are comfortable, but worth noting.
Interested to read the bit about biting sellotape. Since I've had my teeth aligned I've noticed that I can no longer do that. I used an online one but went to their London clinic for 3d scanning. Have been very pleased with the results. Still wearing my retainers and amazed at how quickly they begin to move just after 2 days of not wearing the retainer.
Avoid online providers. They cannot place resin(composite) attachments on teeth as no dentist is involved - without these it is impossible to correctly align your lower incisors. Never mind the myriad of problems unsupervised orthodontic treatment can result in. They don't even take xrays of teeth prior to starting treatment. Imagine there was a dormant abscess beneath one of the teeth and you started applying lots of orthodontic pressure? Also sometimes teeth are fused to the bone for whatever reason, this needs a dentist to diagnose either clinically or from an xray, these teeth cannot be moved and this needs to be incorporated into any plan.
Retention is indeed for life, clear retainers (Essix retainers) initially 24/7 then nightly wear for a year or two then usually 3 nights a week is sufficient. Teeth have a tendency to want to go back to where they were so you would want to protect your investment by keeping them there.
Retention is indeed for life, clear retainers (Essix retainers) initially 24/7 then nightly wear for a year or two then usually 3 nights a week is sufficient. Teeth have a tendency to want to go back to where they were so you would want to protect your investment by keeping them there.
K77 CTR said:
Interested to read the bit about biting sellotape. Since I've had my teeth aligned I've noticed that I can no longer do that. I used an online one but went to their London clinic for 3d scanning. Have been very pleased with the results. Still wearing my retainers and amazed at how quickly they begin to move just after 2 days of not wearing the retainer.
This is a bread and butter part of obtaining informed consent before embarking on treatment. Online providers can't provide the same standard of care as a seasoned orthodontist! The other problem is you can't get an online company struck off so they can practice dentistry with impunity. You'll easily get a refund, but a second round of ortho to correct their mistakes is very costly and sometimes the damage done bu them is irreversible. Roots shrink during orthodontic treatment by a few mm, sometimes by a lot of mm, the more ortho you have, the worse it is for your teeth. Do it once, do it properly, I would never want to save money for the sake of saving money when doing things to my body, I would want the best care possible, unfortunately most people think a filling is a filling, braces are braces regardless of who they go to, this couldn't be further from the truth. cringle said:
This is a bread and butter part of obtaining informed consent before embarking on treatment. Online providers can't provide the same standard of care as a seasoned orthodontist! The other problem is you can't get an online company struck off so they can practice dentistry with impunity. You'll easily get a refund, but a second round of ortho to correct their mistakes is very costly and sometimes the damage done bu them is irreversible. Roots shrink during orthodontic treatment by a few mm, sometimes by a lot of mm, the more ortho you have, the worse it is for your teeth. Do it once, do it properly, I would never want to save money for the sake of saving money when doing things to my body, I would want the best care possible, unfortunately most people think a filling is a filling, braces are braces regardless of who they go to, this couldn't be further from the truth.
They have a physical presence in Harley Street and felt very supported by them. I get that they can't give the same level of expertise without constant clinic reviews but I'd previously had my teeth straightened as a kid and only needed minimal adjustments. I also had to have xrays etc preformed by my own dentist prior to undertaking the process. I did it during covid and was the best option for me at the time. K77 CTR said:
Interested to read the bit about biting sellotape. Since I've had my teeth aligned I've noticed that I can no longer do that. I used an online one but went to their London clinic for 3d scanning. Have been very pleased with the results. Still wearing my retainers and amazed at how quickly they begin to move just after 2 days of not wearing the retainer.
Can't nick Sellotape with my front four teeth anyway. I have to use my canines for that. K77 CTR said:
Interested to read the bit about biting sellotape. Since I've had my teeth aligned I've noticed that I can no longer do that. I used an online one but went to their London clinic for 3d scanning. Have been very pleased with the results. Still wearing my retainers and amazed at how quickly they begin to move just after 2 days of not wearing the retainer.
This is a bread and butter part of obtaining informed consent before embarking on treatment. Online providers can't provide the same standard of care as a seasoned orthodontist! The other problem is you can't get an online company struck off so they can practice dentistry with impunity. You'll easily get a refund, but a second round of ortho to correct their mistakes is very costly and sometimes the damage done bu them is irreversible. Roots shrink during orthodontic treatment by a few mm, sometimes by a lot of mm, the more ortho you have, the worse it is for your teeth. Do it once, do it properly, I would never want to save money for the sake of saving money when doing things to my body, I would want the best care possible, unfortunately most people think a filling is a filling, braces are braces regardless of who they go to, this couldn't be further from the truth. Armitage.Shanks said:
Out of interest what causes the front teeth to ‘crowd’? I thought it was the wisdom teeth but the OP looks like he doesn’t have the third molars?
Well if it isn't my old mate armitage shanks! Hows it going mate! Figured out which side of the brush to use yet 
You cannot possibly tell if the OP has wisdoms or not from these pictures. And the theory of wisdoms causing was debunked many years ago when studies showed their presence had no impact on crowding. We have a tendency for late incisor crowding, put down to mesial drift (forward movement of the teeth over time), some theories suggest it is due to shrinkage of the jaw, others claim it is due to a historical rough diet wearing teeth away and a mechanism to ensure no gaps are retained. Truth is, nobody really knows why. Someone mentioned a fixed wire retainer behind the front teeth. This is a failsafe and a removeable retainer is the gold standard as it holds all the teeth in position not just the front ones. I've seen many cases where the fixed wire retainer has not managed to hold the teeth sufficiently and they still drift. They can also debond and you can get very quick relapse, seen this happen in a matter of days. So having both is ideal.
Cringle, old chum I thought I asked a reasonable question. Perhaps I should have added that if dentists had noticed the ‘drift’ as the patient developed they might have been able to do something about it rather than wait until the only answer was throwing +£3,000 at it along with wearing a retainer for the rest of their life 
But we live and learn.
In the 70s and 80s it seemed common place for teenagers to have braces as presumably it was another ‘procedure’ the NHS dentist could claim for when they were running low on amalgam.
But we live and learn.In the 70s and 80s it seemed common place for teenagers to have braces as presumably it was another ‘procedure’ the NHS dentist could claim for when they were running low on amalgam.
Still the eternal cynic I see. Fact of the matter is that until 2006 there was no cap on NHS dental expenditure. Then they capped it, normal practitioners couldn't offer it anymore and you now need to hold an orthodontic contract to offer it. Waiting lists are 3 years+ for kids. Awful system
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