Random observations

Well, what consequences is your dentist predicting if she doesn't get the treatment? Is it about being pretty or something serious?

A little of both. The crossbite especially needs to be corrected or there can be long-term consequences -- jaw not lining up properly and permutations thereof.

But aside from this particular case, orthodontia in America is largely about looking pretty. And it struck me that we scoff at foot-binding and other types of cosmetic body modification (those savages!) when orthodontia can be pretty tortuous itself.

Interesting that this should pop up. I just spoke with an owner of a puppy today whose upper canines are erupting in the wrong direction and who has extra premolars. She's set up to have a horrifying mouth. The owner seemed unconvinced that there was any cause for concern.

Orthodontia in America is a very interesting question -- would be a fascinating thread, particular if somebody with any real behind-the-scenes knowledge were available to contribute. I see a lot of animal mouths that really do mess up long-term quality of life due to poor conformation, so I have to think that there are very real reasons for a lot of orthodonture that takes place. At the same time, plenty of kids I grew up with went through the nightmare of braces and the like -- though the technology available seems to be less invasive and frankly bloody than it used to be.

I imagine that the profession is a lot like plastic surgery -- truly needed by a lot of people, bought or sold for reasons of vanity by a whole lot more.




Might make a very interesting documentary, if done impartially...

And as an afterthought -- a lot of times, dental pain isn't fully appreciated until it's gone. I went through that myself. My wisdom teeth were misdirected -- two grew into the teeth in front of them, pushing teeth out of alignment and making it extremely difficult to floss, and two grew outward into my cheeks, resulting in periodic soft tissue infections. This went on for 8 or 10 years before I got them out in my early 20s. The relief was so profound that I ate a porkchop the night of the procedure -- the pain of the surgery itself paled in comparison to the pain that was removed by it.

Same thing happens with critters relieved of troublesome teeth. A common comment is, "I never knew Fluffy was in pain, but she's like a whole different dog now! It's like she's five years younger!"

If orthodontia can save a person any period of adulthood suffering from unrecognized or ignored pain and infection, it's well-used. (Still, ain't nothing wrong with being a little gap-toothed, says a slightly gap-toothed guy. Makes it easier to floss.)

By cross bite do you mean overbite or underbite. where the teeth of the lower jaw extend beyond the upper jaw? If thats the case I'd think seriously about getting this done even if it is for mainly cosmetic reasons.

drawing on the tiny bit of dental knowledge that i have from 30 years ago when i was a dental technician. I have to agree with the folowing however as with all things that depends on the serverity of the cross. In years past it was usual to have one of the premolars extracted to allow room for the teeth to slip in to good positions. Again I dont have enough knowledge to properly advise.
Plus the world is definitly easier to manage for good looking people

Worst case scenario Crossbite: The problem is not confined to cosmetic issues alone. If the cross bite is not corrected in time, it will lead to an imbalanced growth of the jaws. One jaw will invariably grow larger, leading to a worsening of the situation and many other associated troubles.

The jaw joints will not function, leading to problems with chewing and swallowing. Nasal passages could also be affected and cause continuous airway problems.

Soz, my older son had to have orthodontia because of an overbite. There was nothing cosmetic about it, the dentist told me about all of the problems that were associated with an overbite. Serious stuff that could have disfigured him and prevented him from ever being able to eat normally again.

Of course, one of the results was that he would definitely look better without the overbite. What a silly thing to worry about when such serious outcomes could be prevented.

When the dentist advised me that by straightening one of my front teeth, my appearance would be improved. I said no thanks but the thoughts in my head were on the order of, this guy just has his hand out. Money for him, useless spending of money for me.

Good luck with Sozlet.

Thanks all.

Reassuring, especially patiodog.

She's getting braces for sure... this particular procedure (palate expander), a precursor to braces, was one that I was questioning. When I was researching, it seemed like it can be used as a replacement for having molars extracted, or just time. (Letting the jaw grow so that there is more room.)

However, I saw the orthodontist yesterday and he answered my questions satisfactorily, so we'll be going ahead with it soon.

Her main problems that need addressing are the crossbite (cosmetically not particularly noticeable, but with some actual medical permutations... overbite for the front teeth, underbite on the sides) and canines that don't have room to emerge (just like that puppy, though no ill effects yet except that they're not there). (She has lost all of her baby teeth and every adult tooth except for the two canines has emerged.)

What started this train of thought though is that I did a BUNCH of research online yesterday before the ortho appt., like several hours' worth. First I did some follow-up research on palate expanders (I'd already done the basic research) and found some horrifying things. (Shape of face changing. Copious amounts of saliva the whole time you have it in so you spit on people whenever you talk. Horrible headaches. Cuts on tongue from the device. Gagging when tightening the key. TMJ. Etc., etc.) Then I had to do a bunch more research to counteract the more extreme stuff. (Most of the time, it's not a big deal, and the bad stuff usually resolves within a few days.)

However... during all that reading, I kept seeing over and over again people freaking out on behalf of themselves or their kids on how horrible it was, and being reassured with (or reassuring themselves with) "but it will look so pretty when it's done, it's worth it." Some of them talked about crossbites and medical stuff, the vast majority of them -- and that added up to quite a bit -- were all about the pretty.

And like it or not, dadpad does have a good point about the (unfortunate) importance of good dental cosmesis in our society. I have known a couple of folks who had orthodontic work done as adults and really came out of their shells.

Yeah, for sure. But that's where it gets into... Chinese girls who had their feet bound were considered more beautiful and marriageable, too.

I don't think I'm actually blanketly anti-orthodontia but something about my reading yesterday really rubbed me the wrong way. If I identify what it was more precisely maybe I'll go ahead and start the thread. (If anyone else wants to go ahead, you're more than welcome. If not, and if I can't articulate my ick-factor better, I'll go ahead and start it and leave things vague.)

Rubs me the wrong way, too, believe me. There's a question of degree, though, and a lot of gray area between, "This is a lot of work for a minor, cosmetic correction" and "This is a lot of work that's really going to make a profound difference in the way this person is received throughout their life."

Which could be an interesting over-third-bottle-of-wine convo, but maybe a clusterfuck of a thread (or maybe crickets).

Read me as chary. My own teeth are clumpy. No trouble from them so far, except for vanity. I think it depends on what year you were born.

I admit I had caps for two teeth in my early twenties. Eh.

I'll agree with orthodontia if things are very awry, but imperfect teeth don't seem horrible to me.

I figure this will be a drop for the suffering middle class.

My thumbs are oddly asymmetrical. They look like they belong to different people.

There must be a use for this but I can't think of what right now. At the moment, it's just annoying me.


(Meanwhile, palate expander has been installed, she was a champ during installation and had her whiny moments in the first couple of days but it wasn't that bad. And the worst seems [knock on wood] to be over. Spit was never a big problem, the pain is much reduced, and her speech is more or less back to normal.)

hm. what's the point of getting someone to remove your stolen content if they then remove it from the wrong bloody website?

I hate it when I have a fantastic idea and then find out it's already been done.

Able2know is decidedly less enjoyable when its denizens are enthralled enough by the village idiot to make him the center of attention.

Your words are gold, man!

The purpose of a village idiot is to be entertaining, I suppose.....

Wolves hunt and kill the weakest, I thought man had evolved further than that.
...saw enough of that at high school

Hear, hear!