We Switched Orthodontists.
We spent our week visiting dentists and orthodontists. Dylan had his first cavity filled this week. He went in with pain, and they discovered the cavity – but the dentist said the pain was probably caused by his wisdom teeth coming in sideways.
We switched orthodontists between children. I lost all respect for Dylan’s orthodontist. And thanks to Shane’s orthodontist, we are learning a tremendous amount about what should have happened after Dylan’s braces came off – two years ago.
For example, Dylan’s orthodontist told Dylan three times that he was going to be getting his braces off within three months. I was sitting there, listening, so I know what was said. And then – three times! – at our next appointment, Dylan said, “Am I getting them off in a few months?” and the orthodontist said, “Oh no, I never would have said that.”
But he did say that.
Dylan wore his braces for a full two years, and that was fine. But why tell him a year prior that he’s going to get them off early?
Dylan’s orthodontist did other things, too, that just made me think he wasn’t really thinking clearly.
So finding Shane’s orthodontist, who is a ray of sunshine in the orthodonture world, was a miracle for us. As a result, as we’ve gone through braces with Shane, we are learning things we only wished we had learned earlier.
For example, with regard to retainers, there was a huge difference in treatment decisions.
Dylan’s orthodontist glued a metal wire behind Dylan’s bottom teeth and said, “Leave it there as long as you can.”
Shane’s orthodontist, while talking to another patient, espoused the horrors of leave-in retainers. “I have seen so many adults come in with serious problems because they had one of those retainers,” she said. “And only four teeth are kept in line anyway.”
We had Dylan’s leave-in retainer taken out immediately, but it was too late. At least one of Dylan’s bottom teeth had already moved out of alignment.
With regard to wisdom teeth, Shane’s orthodontist recommended that we schedule a consultation with an oral surgeon six months after braces, to check on the status of Shane’s wisdom teeth.
What about Dylan? I thought. Dylan’s orthodontist said only, “Dylan will probably have to have his wisdom teeth out someday.” He didn’t tell us when or how to learn more.
So Dylan is about two years late for his first oral surgeon consult. Fortunately, ADHD has a developmental component: Dylan’s teeth came in later than most kids’ teeth, so he’s not as far behind as he could have been.
The oral surgeon requested an x-ray from Dylan’s orthodontist, so we finally got one. Two years late.
“Oh yeah,” Dylan’s orthodontist said. “Get them out as soon as possible.”
Shane, however, is prepared. We have an oral surgeon lined up, and an appointment time selected for his first consult. Plus, Shane’s orthodontist already took the x-ray which will be forwarded to the surgeon at my request.
Speaking of which, we asked Dylan’s orthodontist to send a copy of his new x-ray to the dentist before Dylan got his cavity filled. Dylan’s orthodontist had two days to send it, but it wasn’t done when we got there.
I called the office and got a cryptic, “We’ll try to email it over.”
Mere moments later, the dentist asked for a copy of Shane’s latest x-ray, so I called Shane’s orthodontist.
“It will be there in ten minutes,” she said.
And it was.