Partial Braces - Opinions?

Has anyone heard of or had partial braces before? I know that the traditional method is a full complete set of braces but I've also heard that you can get braces for some teeth only. I don't know if the latter is effective. Of course, money-wise, the latter is more attractive but does it work? I have a cousin who had partial braces before but in the end, she still had to get full braces. I'm a bit skeptical although I know some orthodontist has recommended it for me. My teeth is not messed up really badly. The only teeth I'm concerned about is my front top teeth. The back teeth is alright, with a couple slightly slanted but it never really affected my bite and its not noticeable so I don't really care. But I'm more self-conscious about 4 of my front teeth that is curved a little inward or outward. As a young adult, I know Invasalign is an attractive option, but I've heard pros and cons of that.

PROBLEM

Also, is it possible if I keep my wisdom teeth, because the thought of extraction really irks me. I have a partially erupted wisdom tooth in the back. Can the ortho work around it? I'm pretty sure they would want it out. I've had a jaw lock before and it was really unpleasant (I cried in front of the dentist, ). I am really pain-intolerant (the point of even where a needle shot frightens me ) and I have hesitated in getting braces AND wisdom teeth extraction altogether for a quite a long time now. But if I hold it for too long I might start regretting after each year.

DENTIST OPINION

I really just want to fix my 4 front top teeth teeth that is slightly misaligned. I was given advice by two orthodontist.

Dentist 1: I'd only have to wear them for 6 months to a year with top braces ONLY for $1000. Plus, I don't have to extract any teeth including my wisdom.

Dentist 2: I would have to fix both top and bottom for 4 years including retainers. Have to file (shape) teeth to a little room for other teeth. Have to get rid of wisdom. Will cost me $4000+

Dentist 3: Will have to remove teeth and full set of braces. Cost is $5000

Currently opting for Dentist 1 or 2. Anyone have some suggestions or care to share your experience?

mmm..I'm not in any position to give a professional opinion, but it's interesting how you have three quite different recommendations.

Personally, I've recently had my top braces removed (worn for around 18 months, no extractions) (now on retainer), and waiting another month or so for my lower braces to come off. I would say if you're gonna get orthodontic work done, you might as well keep on the safe side and go all the way. I'd hate the idea of the partial braces not quite working (or partially erupted wisdom teeth to fully erupt AFTER your braces have come off) and having to get full braces anyway. Good luck!

Well, if you need to fix those four teeth, I think you would need to fix the placement of others as well. Braces realign your teeth in relation to your 'bite', and if you need to move those four teeth, you may need to reposition the others to allow for that space and for the change to occur well If I believe correctly. Just get a full set of braces. In the end all of your teeth will look good, and as to what lingxi said, I agree. The average amount of wearing braces is 2 1/2 years, and well, anything can happen! if your brackets don't fall off and you sail through this smoothly, the process can be sped up maybe. I've worn mine for 1 1/2 years, and got them removed prior to highschool. When you do get them removed *always* wear your retainer for the specified time. In a few months of no wearage, all that money will be wasted and your teeth will revert.

Good luck though! Don't be afraid! Braces don't hurt at all when put on, and if you are nervous, maybe some 'happy gas'?

My dentist gives it to me everytime I go because I'm scared of the dentist too (I'm..I'm 15..). XD

Just remember, if you do decide to get full braces, remember to always wear the elastics (if you recieve ones that require you to change them daily). If you don't well, the process will be slowed down immensely, and my sister is an example of that *cough*.

I had full set of braces when I was in High School. The tradition silver one, my teeth were not that bad to start with only one of my front tooth was sticking out and the rest was decent but not super straight. The dentist did not pull any teeth from me. Fast forward couple years later my wisdom teeth erupted and i started to see my front tooth shifting.. almost back to where it was but not quite since I'm still wearing the retainer.

I really think that my wisdom teeth were pushing my teeth because I didn't have any room in my mouth. Does dentist # 1 come with the retainer? because that's really important to keep your teeth straight. If i were you I'll take the wisdom teeth out because It's easier to take it out before age 25 and wisdom teeth can cause a lot of pain and inflammation later on in life. When you're over age 25 it's harder to take them out and the complication of the surgery increases. I thought it was fine to leave it in there... but one day I couldn't even open my mouth or laugh because it hurt sooo much. I finally got them out and it feels great. I would go with #2 or #3... retainer is really important and I would get rid of the wisdom teeth to insure that my teeth will not shift when the wisdom teeth erupts.

Well, if you need to fix those four teeth, I think you would need to fix the placement of others as well. Braces realign your teeth in relation to your 'bite', and if you need to move those four teeth, you may need to reposition the others to allow for that space and for the change to occur well If I believe correctly. Just get a full set of braces. In the end all of your teeth will look good, and as to what lingxi said, I agree. The average amount of wearing braces is 2 1/2 years, and well, anything can happen! if your brackets don't fall off and you sail through this smoothly, the process can be sped up maybe. I've worn mine for 1 1/2 years, and got them removed prior to highschool. When you do get them removed *always* wear your retainer for the specified time. In a few months of no wearage, all that money will be wasted and your teeth will revert.

Good luck though! Don't be afraid! Braces don't hurt at all when put on, and if you are nervous, maybe some 'happy gas'?

My dentist gives it to me everytime I go because I'm scared of the dentist too (I'm..I'm 15..). XD

Just remember, if you do decide to get full braces, remember to always wear the elastics (if you recieve ones that require you to change them daily). If you don't well, the process will be slowed down immensely, and my sister is an example of that *cough*.

What she says.

My ortho also told me the same. That he wouldn't do it if I only do my bottom teeth. Your current crooked teeth grew that way so that they could fit in with the other teeth. If you adjust them, you need to adjust the space around them also, which is why usually people do full braces.

#1 sounds very tempting, but do you have an idea of how good he/she is? Have you seen pictures of example cases he/she did? My ortho showed me what he did for earlier patients with similar problems to mine, and the outcomes. That's how I trusted him to fix my teeth. and the cost for mine is the same as #2. GL

Dentist 1 makes sense. It's only the 4 front teeth and the rest of them want your money. It's how they make money of course. But if your teeth are very crooked or something then yes you would have to get an extraction to make everything all fit.

Listen to the dentist. If you need full braces theyre is a reason why. It may not only to straighten but to also fix an over bite or underbite that you're not really aware you have. Theyre professionals for a reason. You may just see "i have 4 crooked teeth and thats it" but they see all the angles in your mouth, the future outcome and know what needs to be fixed.

I would go onto the Metal Mouth forums which is a forum all about braces and they could give you more advice.

Like you I thought I could just have my top teeth braces because I only had 2 crooked teeth due to crowding but the rest were straight. The bottom were straight because technically I am missing 2 teeth (they just never and will never grow) so there was no crowding problem like the top. However when I asked the orthodontist on my first appointment where they checked out my teeth they said I couldn't just brace the top and I would need to be fully brace because with braces they also change the bite and so you need to have both the top and bottom braced so that the bite can be aligned. Just think, if you change the rotation of your 4 teeth of course your bite would be altered hence you need to simultaneously alter the bottom so that they can fit perfectly together.

If you are worried about the cost, I don't know if they do this where you live but you could try a dental school where orthodontist students practice on people who can't afford to pay for braces at private orthodontist. Or your health insurance should help out with the cost.

Currently I've been braced since April 2009 and I was on a waiting list for 3 years to get my braces at the dental school and it only cost me $550 so it was worth the wait instead of spending $3000+ for it. I guess you may think 'oh you could've saved up $3000+ in those 3 years and done it privately' but still that would've been near 3 years since I'm still a full-time student and there's really not much difference doing it privately or publicly. I still get the same treatment and I even get to choose colours to put on my braces. I also got 2 teeth extracted prior to getting the braces put on and even though I don't have a low pain tolerance it did not hurt 1 bit except the needles which only hurt for a few seconds because everything becomes numb after that. Trust me all the pain will be worth it in the end. At least that's what I tell myself

Right now I have 3 partial wisdom teeth and I'm trying to get onto the waiting list for removing them at the dental school for maximum $200 all together in comparison to $1000 per tooth at a private dentist (maybe I over exaggerated but it is stupidly expensive). Also I would recommend getting your wisdom teeth removed only because I heard they are pretty much useless teeth and you would hardly use them for chewing anyways, because they are a molar food tends to get stuck in the grooves and there's a high risk in getting cavities on your molars. Also I presume you're young which is a good time to get them removed since it when you get older the roots of the teeth will connect to the nerves and hence some older people who get them removed, a rare but possible chance, experience paralysis in their tongue because of nerve damage.

Everything I said doesn't mean it will happen to you but just giving you an insight on the possibilities whether the chances are extremely small there is still a possibility but all in all it is solely up to you and this is just personal opinion.

i think dentist 1 is the best option cause you only want to fix the 4 teeth. i mean seriously who wants to wear a full set of braces for 4 years?! i've had mine for 1.5 years and i already want to rip them off!

anyway, i had to get braces twice because i needed to straighten up the top teeth, therefore i only needed to get braces on the top. makes sense.

you'll get a lot of questions like 'why don't you have them anywhere else?' but they fade out pretty fast

and then in 6months to a years time, you'll have nice, happy, straight teeth~

Thanks for all the suggestions. Initially, I was leaning towards dentist 1. I've been hearing mixed experiences about partial braces. My cousin has it before and it didn't work out so she ended up getting bull braces now. I've also read about others' positive experiences with partial braces and the shortest amount of time it took was 6 months for minor cases. But 4 years for full braces does seem like a lifetime

did he explain why it's 4 yrs? like is there any sort of complication? my ortho told me 18 months for mine (which i'm adding on 6 just because it tends to run longer than they tell you) and my teeth are pretty crooked. how long did #3 tell you?

Okay here's how it goes. I'm a full time pre-dent student and i've worked at a dental office for years. I also have invisalign and went through the same thing as you.

My front 2 teeth are the only things I wanted to change about my smile but I knew i'd have to get an upper and lower set. This is because changing the space around your front teeth will ultimately shift the bone around it and could cause crowing with other teeth. It'll also change your bite like crazy!!! Seriously, you don't want your entire bite screwed up because of a few teeth shifting.

I also had all 4 wisdom teeth. The lower two were full bony and impacted so they were removed at an oral surgeon. Now if you're afraid of them drilling and the sounds of an extraction, you should opt for IV sedation. but i saved about $400 by deciding not to do it. It was $350 to extract the lower two. the top two were done by the dentist i work for.

If you're afraid of cost, you should go to a dental school that has a lot of specialty programs since orthodontics and oral surgery are specialties. you'll save a lot of money.

Invisalign originally costs $4500 at the office i work at. However Invisalign labs only charge about $1000 to make it so you CAN get it for cheap if you look hard enough. I paid $2000 for mine.

OH i just read your post over. If you have partially erupted wisdom teeth, that's REALLY GOOD. there's a really good chance you wouldnt even need to see an oral surgeon for that. it's TYPICALLY a pretty uncomplicated extraction unless you have super long roots that are growing near important nerves (of course you should ask for a panoramic x-ray and consult your dentist). But YES, you should definitely get them out because as wisdom teeth grow out, they tend to rub against your molars in the back and can give them huge cavities or even start to crack them. and that can give you major pain/teeth shifting you don't want to deal with. ESPECIALLY if you have metal braces when that happens (bc you'd have to take the brackets off to fix your molars)

Ahmm imo,

I think it would still be best to have full braces because I had

a friend who had partial brace in her upper teeth and to me it

doesn't look good because when she closes her mouth, it doesn't

look balance. Her upper lips are more full or pressed forward than

her lower lips. And, even if you say that you would only want to

change your upper teeth, you know that your lower teeth still needs a

little fixation. Because if you won't mind that little problem, even if your

upper teeth is fixed, it still won't look good when paired with your

lower teeth. And, my dentist told me that they don't just put braces in our

mouth because they have to assure that in the end of the process, our

teeth is properly closed/intact when we close our mouth.

Did I make sense? ^^

I have full braces that I'ld be taking off next month. I've had these

for 2 years and another 2 years for a possible retainer. And, just like you

I just needed my upper teeth to be fixed but I'm glad I followed my dentist.

Well, I have braces now, and initially, I only thought I needed to fix my two front teeth. Instead, after getting my top on, the wires naturally moved my teeth around, like made them straighter and more even. Now, my bites down match. So, I think you'd have to get your wisdom removed and then get braces for top and bottom. Besides, you have insurance right? the $5000 should be slashed in half.