I had some major problems with my teeth and interviewed over 20 dentists, othodontists and periodontists. I am in my 30s and had serious edge to edge contact with my front teeth due to a crossbite that was never fixed as a kid. Each doctor I interviewed had their own opinion. Some told me invisilign (what i wanted to hear), others said i needed my jaw broken and reset (yikes!). Another option was traditional braces for 36 months w/ a 70% success rate. None sounded appealing.
I settled on the team headed by Dr. Spath. He works closely with Dr. Shaun Miller (orthodontist) and Dr. Marlene Miller (periodontist). I was comfortable with this group because of their constant focus on new technologies and their experience with adult orthodontic needs.
Shortly after I agreed to their treatment program, i had Lingual Braces put on (which go behind the teeth). While they caused discomfort and a slight lisp in the beggining, it was way better than having traditional braces at this point in my life. Dr. Marlene Miller then performed AOO surgery on me (http://www.archwired.c...) and i was out of work for about 3 days.
After just under 10 months i had the braces off and my teeth were straight. But, since there was so much previous chipping and erosion, I needed some restorative work. Dr. Spath gave me options based upon pricing for veneers. Obviously the best labs will be the most expensive and so on down the ladder. I chose one of the middle upper options after looking over provided actual results.
It took a little over a year for the entire process and i have gotten nothing but compliments about my teeth. No one has said they look like veneers, which was a huge fear of mine. If i would have chosen another path, i would have either wasted money on ineffective invisalign, had my jaw broken and wired shut for months or still be sitting here in kid braces. Instead i have the best smile of my life and my bite is perfect.
For those of you interested in seeing before and after pictures, send me a message on facebook and a friend request. The pictures are in the album "1st Quarter 2012". If you have a question about any of the three doctors i used or have questions about the procedures, feel free to send me it over facebook. The following email address is for my spam so i dont check it.
tompowellwlo@yahoo.com read more