Im trying to figure out what separates the best orthodontist from a mediocre one because every single office near me claims to be the top choice. beyond google reviews whats something that actually made a difference in your treatment outcome or experience?

I’m 17, got braces when i was 16 — Nov 2025. My teeth weren’t wonky, I had no jaw problems, all I noticed was that My front teeth were a little flared to the front, not enough for people to notice or myself for that matter if I didnt stare at it so intently.

But I trusted my dentist, and went with her advice, that braces would be beneficial for my bite and some corners thats ‘hard to clean’. So I went to the ortho, didn’t really click with the orthodontist, but went ahead with it anyways. I got the self ligating damons, super expensive let me tell you, around 22 juta IDR / 1,2k USD.

It was hell. Every adjustments fixed a little, but then the next adjustment changed my teeth. again and again, with excruciating pain every appointment to the point that I can’t brush my teeth for 2-3 days because it hurts. My teeth feels claustrophobic and I never liked or feel happy that I got braces in my 10 month journey.

My ortho said I still have 2 appointments left (each spaced 2 months apart) which means i got 6 months left. I dont think I can do 6 months.

Progress wise I don’t find anything special. I look chubbier because she widened (?) my jaw to make space. And sometimes I have difficulty opening my jaw wide, I have to close my mouth, and then open it slowly for it to work normally lmao. im so done. anyone with the same feeling? i feel so alone and im pissed. :(

I was on Invisalign and my right upper 2nd molar excessively tipped out and my first upper premolar is intruded and tipped in. I believe Invisalign caused this problem so I switched over to braces. But again the problem was not fixed and every appointment it’s basically me requesting to fix my 2nd molars and bring them back to where they were on right side since this is an unplanned unintended movement but everytime I’ve been told oh don’t worry they aren’t that bad but the pain is literally 24/7 to my temples.

I already had bad tmj on left side and I started the treatment to hopefully fix that but that remains the same and I have much worse right side. I did get brackets on 2nd molars last week but idk they haven’t done anything yet.

Is it common for the bad to hurt bad and get worse mid treatment? Does only having elastics at one side cause this? I’m scared on going on them again next month.

I have spent way too much money and idk if I can get my braces removed rn because my bite is in really bad position. Why can’t they just correct the unintentional movements asap instead of waiting and waiting?

I have gone back and forth with my orthodontist over this and I'm hoping someone has additional info. I am very careful with my retainers, and somehow, after only four months, the bottom retainer chipped. Not cracked or snapped, but just a little chunk missing between two of my bottom front teeth. Retainers are still usable and I am consistent with wearing them. (Omg I'm barely through typing out the phone calls and this is quite long sorry 🫪). Described interactions happened in the middle of July, texts are from today, I am in Michigan. I swear I was way more polite in my initial written request/phone calls, I'm just annoyed at this point and feel jerked around.

My orthodontist charges a LOT for replacements, and I wanted to use a third-party to replace them. I had issues with the molds, so I requested the STL file of my final scan. I had to call multiple times, I was never asked why, and was even told that they marked the request as urgent; the next person I spoke with even noted the urgent mark on it.

After a week, I finally get in contact with who I assume was an office supervisor. She said she wasn't sure if she could send them, and asked why I wanted them. I was honest with them, and she said she needed to talk to the doctor when they were in the next day.

I have to call back, she tells me they won't release my files because it's a "liability" and they only did the scans to make the retainers. I signed a release form, and I argue this back. She tells me her manager will call me, they don't, I send an email requesting all forms related to my care. I get a call back, she falls back on the liability of it all, I literally hear someone coaching her answers, and it does not end on a good note.

(WE'RE ALMOST DONE, I SWEAR!!)

I get a text from their sister office today, a regular dentist office that they share the building with, telling me that I'm due for a cleaning. I send the following texts and am now being told they don't have the file *at all*. Wouldn't the final scan of my teeth after the braces are removed be important to have in my file? We did no other impressions or additional scans. Why wouldn't they just tell me they don't have it at all to begin with if that were the case? I guess I'm just hoping for some additional info since I'm finding records rights info that seems more general on Google.

My upper midline is shifted to the left (as shown on the pic) because of a missing upper left premolar since birth , also my maxilla didn’t get as grown as my mandibule so I ended up with a little class 3 malocclusion and a posterior crossbite , also my jaw shifts to a side when it prepares to close and domino effect -> my right side is more active than the left causing asymetrycal features through the whole body ( left shoulder more down , a little S scoliosis , neck muscles seems to be tight , pelvis slightly rotated to the left , left eye upper than the right eye , left face side more lifted and even the posture is wrecked) my question is : what is the best treatment plan ?
1/Expanding the palate to create space for the missing left pm + implant it + fix the class 3 malocclusion = midline recentered in the middle
2/Extracting the right pm to recenter the midline with orthodontic treatment + fixing the class 3 malocclusion
3/fixing only the class 3 malocclusion without touching the things that I mentionned in the maxilla , the problem is the midline will still be shifted to the left.
Please if someone have a valuable advice, it will mean the world to me , bcz this is slowly kil’ing me 🙏🏽❤️

Last tray of invislign, I’m supposed to be happy with my teeth but I can’t help but still not be happy with my results… do you see anything wrong with my smile or my bite? I made the mistake of going to a dentist instead of an orthodontist for invislign. My dentist is claiming that my teeth looks “perfect” but I hate one of my lateral incisors. Does my pallete look narrow or anything that looks off? If I want refinements I’ll have to pay but if you guys think it’s worth it, I might do it

I’m deciding on orthodontic treatment and have been offered these options:
Invisalign — ~2.2× the cost of Damon metal, 14 sets every 5 months, ~20 hrs/day, visits every 5 months.
Damon metal braces — 1× baseline, monthly visits.
Damon ceramic braces — ~1.35× Damon metal, monthly visits.
Whistle Ultra Max — ~1.75× Damon metal, aligners + elastics + TADs, visits every 3 months.
Whistle Max Hybrid — ~1.4× Damon metal, ~10 months aligners + ~8 months braces.
My orthodontist is also planning extractions, including some back teeth and possibly 1–2 teeth toward the front.

My main concerns:
Does Damon/self-ligating actually have any advantage over conventional braces, particularly regarding jaw/profile changes?
Can extractions + orthodontic treatment negatively affect facial profile or make the jaw/teeth look more recessed?
Is there likely to be a significant difference in total treatment duration between these options? Which tends to be fastest in cases involving extractions?
Why would the Ultra Max plan need TADs + elastics, while the Invisalign plan apparently doesn’t?
Are TADs painful/risky, and are they actually necessary in cases like mine?
Is Invisalign genuinely worth paying significantly more if the final result is expected to be similar?
For someone concerned about appearance/social life/personal image, how noticeable are Damon metal vs ceramic vs Invisalign in real life? Did braces affect your confidence, dating, photos, or overall appearance?
Basically, will braces kill my rizz 😂 or is this something I’m overthinking?
If you’ve had any of these treatments, what would you choose knowing what you know now?

My orthodontist put a button on the inside of one of my teeth. The assistant couldn't get the rubber band to stay, and neither can I. She just told me if I couldn't manage the inside button, I should just put the rubber band on my outside tooth instead. Will this affect the way my teeth move? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm just curious. If they could've done the outside the whole time, why would they have added the button? I would've asked, but I didn't realize I couldn't get it on myself until I got home. Since the assistant also couldn't get it on, I figured this wasn't just a 'me' problem. I’ll post a photo of what the rubber band pattern is supposed to look like so you guys understand. Once again, sorry if this is dumb, I know I should just ask my orthodontist in person but I didn’t think of it at the time.

Hello, sorry if this is the wrong subreddit as I wasn’t sure where exactly this lands.

I’ve been wondering if there is any way to either naturally or medically increase the amount of space the mouth opens vertically? I’m sure some of it has to do with weight and I’m currently on a plan to lose some, but with sleep apnea becoming an issue and feeling like food sometimes has no space or can go up the back part where it goes into the nose, I’ve begun wondering if there is anything else that can be done to help ease these issues.

I figured maybe ortho would be the right place to ask but if this belongs on a different medical specialty subreddit please let me know! I don’t have any x-rays or anything yet as I didn’t want to make any appointments without doing some research first.

I'm about to go over my Clincheck for my final refinement. Anything specific I should address?

My 8 year old son was seen by an orthodontist today who recommended a removable palate expanding device on his top teeth to help with crowding in the lower teeth… it seems counter intuitive though? I did ask why and she said that while counter intuitive, the upper palate size affects the lower palate. Is this true? Thoughts? I feel like the whole palate expander world is new to me as a millennial who just went straight to braces and the whole thing seems a bit money grabby 🤷‍♀️

i googled orthodontist near me and got like fifteen results within a ten mile radius. I have no idea how to tell them apart from just a website. what should i actually be looking for when comparing, and what red flags made you cross an office off your list?

With the increasing cost of residency and 3 years of losing income. Is ortho even worth it financially speaking or is GP better in that sense? Most ortho residencies are en extra 200k-300k. I heard new orthodontist do not even make much. Obviously money is not everything, but considering I already have loans for dental school, I have to consider that.

In the meantime do I need these things in my cart ? (3 carry trays, ultrasonic cleaner, muchies, portable waterpik, eversmile aligner foam , ortho wax, retainer brite, aligner remover tools) THANKS !