Orthodontia update

My daughter had her Herbst appliance removed today. She will have one last phase of orthodontia to line up her bite after the Herbst therapy.

For those who weren't following my previous discussions, the Herbst appliance is an orthodontic device that looks like a piano hinge. It is cemented to the back teeth, and slowly, gently, brings the lower mandible forward. My daughter and I share a genetic disorder that causes "micrognathia"--small and receding jaw. We also have/had (in her case), narrow, arched palates, and small airways.

She has responded beautifully to all of the treatments. Her smile is broad, the palate is a more normal shape (after the first phase which involved palate expansion), and now, she has a CHIN! It's so cute, she no longer shares the receding profile that I have. The final orthodontia phase should support the jaw in its new position. I'm thrilled for her. In my day they pulled teeth and pushed things on top back to match the lower jaw--a disaster for my airway!

I plan to ask for a "head and neck" evaluation from Kaiser for her, to assure that her airway is good after all this work (we didn't do this before--I never thought of it). I'm hoping it will be really good news.

She truly has a million dollar smile now! (literally, and figuratively--we'll be paying for it for a long time still.

What a wonderful outcome and you sound over the moon happy about it! This deserves a big celebration -- go for it!

How did you get them to do work prior to payment? My sister has been trying to get my nephews orthodontist to do the work after A 40% down payment but they want it all paid in advance.

You're a great mom, Janknitz, and a very, very smart woman. Your children are extremely blessed. I'm so glad she got the treatment and everything is great. I think I also have micrognathia. I'm not sure how you find out if you have that. In the past year, I've actually been holding my lower jaw forward in public, because it's the only way I can keep from looking so frownful, due to the deep marionette creases from the corners of my lower lip, which I believe is due to a receding jaw, partly, if not all, caused by teeth removal and braces (taking teeth out is the same as taking bone out--the teeth help support the facial skin). I am so tired of people asking me why I look so sad. So I actually consciously keep my lower jaw forward to eliminate some of the frown marks. If I won the lottery, I would definitely think about getting MMA surgery.

How did you get them to do work prior to payment? My sister has been trying to get my nephews orthodontist to do the work after A 40% down payment but they want it all paid in advance.

The trick is finding a good orthodontist who is flexible with financing. Our town has a lot of competition, but we have the best guy with a very busy practice and he can afford to work it out for us. If one ortho won't, try another, even if you have to travel some (modern orthodontia doesn't require so many frequent adjustments as when I had braces).