Space Maintainer - sorry about the other thread

[TheEponine]

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Hello.
I'm an 18 year old girl and I had braces for 18 months.
When I was 14 I got braces on my lower teeth and I was supposed to have them for 6 months but after 13 months my dentist wanted to put praces on my upper teeth too and because I was only supposed to have them on my lower teeth for 6 months I got very frustrated as my teeth weren't really that bad.
But then she put something behind my teeth which is a space maintainer (I think that's what it's called) and then I asked her when she would take it out and she said that she was never going to take it out because my teeth would get crooked.
She gave me a mouthguard for when it hurts but the thing is that some people have even noticed the space maintainer (even though it's behind my teeth)

continued below....

 

[TheEponine]

Then yesterday I saw a website (can't remember the name) that this was only necessary because when you get your wisdom teeth they could put your other teeth out of place but almost a year ago I had my wisdom teeth extracted!!!!
My mom is going to make an appointment with another dentist.

But, what I wanted to know is if this is really as important as people say it is?

Thanks for taking the time to read this

 

[SeaBass]

Hello,

The appliance to which you refer is called a "fixed lingual bar". This is commonly placed following orthodontic treatment to prevent the movement of the lower front teeth back towards their original position (a process known as "relapse"). Several factors may promote this "relapse", one of which is late growth of the lower jaw which can occur between the ages of 16-20.

So yes, this appliance is important. Your lower teeth are rarely seen by others let alone the backside of them where the bar is placed, so this shouldn't be cause for concern. It may be recommended that this be worn indefinately, but in any case, commonly 6 years +. I've had mine in for 8 years, noone has ever noticed it and it hasn't been a problem. Just make sure to floss under it and keep it clean!

Cheers

 

[TheEponine]

I've also got it behind my upper teeth and people have mentioned that they can see it!
but thanks for replying anyway

 

[DcS]

Seabass was accurate in his description of late mandibular growth. Even into your 20s, your lower jaw will continue to grow which can cause the teeth to crowd. The theory that wisdom teeth will cause crowding has been abandoned at least in the ortho dept in my dental school. It is unlikely that they can have enough force to move the entire lower dentition. It would be smart to keep them for a while to prevent this late mandibular crowding.

 

[Supernumerary]

I just wanted to quickly add that there is nothing wrong with getting a second opinion, but I would tend to trust my dentist's doctoral education and years of clinical experience over anything I read on a website. Almost all medical and dental sites are "dumbed down" considerably to make them accessible to lay people.

The amount of information and understanding your dentist needs to make appropriate clinical decisions is far too great for her to explain in real detail for you. There is a reason it takes so much schooling to become a dentist.

Remember that most on these boards are only in dental school and have never so much as mounted brackets. This is a very poor place to find reliable information on orthodontics. Talk to your dentist about your questions. Possibly get a second opinion. And be very careful of what you read on the internet.

 

[TheEponine]

Thanks for the replies!
I actually quit going to my orthodontist after I got rid of my braces as I soo hated her (don't want to explain all that stuff in writing) but I think I will just make an appointment with another orthodontist or at least call to see what they think about this or at least for a check-up then since I haven't been back but the thing is that my teeth really weren't that crooked in the first place