I need help from a dentist/ orthodontist?

I was born with a somewhat severe cleft palate. Due to this my teeth are crooked, overlapped, and horribly formed. I have a tremendous fear of Dental work. As i approach my early teens, my mom says it it time to get braces. She is reffering to the Metal kind. Because i have cleft palate, i have to have all orthodontia done at a specialist, along with getting a spreader at the hospital. I recently looked at the idea of getting ne of those Invisigline (SP??) things, but I'm not sure if they will work for me. I looked at the before and after pics, and my teeth are far worse then the pics. Iam not sure if the thing will work, or if it will be wasted money. Im gonna have to persuade my mom into this, but i need to know if iam applicable for this type of treatment. Please help me!!

What I'm talking about then i say "expander" is simply a general palate expander. You are right in ur assumption that my palate was fixed at a very early age. You are wrong when you say that Im most likely not a preteen, do to the credability of my writing. I have no reason to l;ie to you, and am, in fact, 12 years old. Altho u make braces sound pretty simle, the time of the procedure will take as much as twice the time for me, bcuz of the cleft palate.My cleft palate was not too severe, bcuz it didn't interfere uith my facial expressions. My teeth are very crooked causing the procedure to multiply in time. I have to have the expander put on at the hospital, i the case that my palate should ter open again, which simply adds to my fear. If you would please converse w/ me via e-mail, the i would appreciate ur help. Iam reffering to canidate 2. Than you!!

No one will be able to tell you for sure over without seeing you. It sounds like more than likely you will not be a good candidate for this. This type of of orthodontics is to fix less severe cases of orthodontic issues. The first thing you need to do is go for a consultation with an orthodontist that does Invisaline, they don't all do it, and he will be able to tell you if you are a candidate. Good Luck!!!!

I don't beleive that you "work in the dental field". Someone voted this as the best answer, probably you. w/e. cuz u suck!! Report It

I'm a dentist.

Pinklilly's answer is a good attempt, but lacks fact.

Invisalign is not necessarily reserved for "less severe" cases. There are certain movements of teeth cannot be done with Invisalign that can with traditional wire-and-brackets, but to say that Invisalign is (categorically) for less severe cases shows ignorance. Sorry Pinklilly, but you had it coming.

Cleft palate (which can be as minor as having a furcated uvula to as severe as facial clefting all the way up to the side of the nose) requires varying degrees of treatment. I'm assuming that you have had surgery peformed to correct the clefting and that your problem now is inadequate maxillary arch length and transverse deficiency. That will likely require treatment, some of which may involve more surgery. The spreader to which you refer is likely going to involve a procedure known as SARPE, or "Surgically-Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion", and it will be performed by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. It's a very straightforward procedure, and you'll be asleep for it.

Be a good patient and do what the doctor tells you to do. That's the best way to make sure that you'll have the results you want.

On another note, I have a hard time believing that you're a pre-teen...based on the quality of your writing.

Having worked in the dental industry for years, I can tell you with a fair amount of certainty that Invisalign won't work for you. It works best on small misalignments.

You can always ask the orthodontist who you see about your options - after all it is your mouth and you have to live with it. But I think you should try to get used to the idea of traditional braces - they really do work best on crooked teeth.

I had braces for 2 years and it really wasn't so bad, and I'm glad now that I'm an adult that my parents did this for me.

Getting braces is nothing to be afraid of, putting them on is just like gluing onto paper - put glue on bracket, put bracket on tooth, use light to set glue and tada! It's done.

So please talk to your parents and your dentist about what's best for you and make sure they tell you why - it's far easier to accept something if you understand why.