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Question: Changed orthodontist mid-treatment. should i remove braces and have new ones put on?

(Posted by: Rocky on 2010-07-29 15:44:30)

I need help. We moved out of the area and have to change orthodontist mid- treatment. My son currently has GAC .018 braces on his teeth. The Orthodontist we saw in our new town says those braces need to be taken off and replaced with GAC .022 because .018 is "old school " and not as effective and hardly any orthodontist uses that size because it's the old- fashioned way. He says it would be very difficult to find an orthodontist that uses .018. Should I have braces removed to put a more modern size on? We have had braces on one year and have 18 months to go. I'd love an opinion from an Orthodontist. Thanks!

Posted by: Angie :-) on 2010-07-29, 15:53:15

YES!!!! it will make it hurt so much less and if you are moving it will be the best cause different ortho doctors act differently about these things. But ask your new doctor what he thinks and go off of that becuase they know best :)

Posted by: enamelcutter on 2010-07-29, 20:42:01

It's more personal preference. He wants to use his brackets. They are "old school " in the sense they are older and have been used successfully for generations. The newer brackets are self-ligating and all .022 and there is some serious debate about the claims the marketing companies make about their .022 products "superior effectiveness ", but that shouldn't be of interest to you. I would go with whatever he is used to using for precisely that reason. If there is a large charge for it check in with a few other orthodontists. It would likely NOT be difficult to find someone using them, after all you already found one using them. But if you are in small town......