The cost was 7 years ago, so I’m not sure. This is a bit rambling, but.. if I had to tell you just 4 things I wish I had known 7 years ago..
1. Regardless of orthodontic treatment, you must take care of your gums with scaling and flossing, because if you leave small or large gum inflammation alone, the gums recede and black triangles form and these black triangles are tricky to get rid of,, and to remove them properly, you may even need orthodontic retreatment. - If you fill them with resin, the resin itself acts a bit toxic to the gums, so the gums recede even more - The relatively safer method is interproximal reduction, shaving the teeth slightly and then doing orthodontic retreatment to bring them closer together again, but since this is retreatment, it’s expensive
2. If you’re dissatisfied with anything about your teeth when orthodontic treatment is about to finish, make sure to deal with it before finishing treatment - Check whether the midline matches and whether there are black triangles (regardless of dental care, black triangles can also form because of tooth shape after the teeth move with orthodontic treatment)... They say it’s hard to align the midline completely, but ask how far it can be corrected, and if there are black triangles, tidy them up with the method your doctor recommends before finishing. If you try to fix these things after ending orthodontic treatment, you’ll need retreatment..
3. For people whose original teeth protruded and who had a protruding mouth, I feel like it may be okay to move them in a bit more aggressively. I had a lot of extractions, so it wasn’t like there wasn’t enough space, and I’ve worn my retainers very diligently but even so, after 6-7 years, other dental clinics say I have slightly rabbit-like front teeth. When finishing treatment, the doctor said this seemed enough, but I insisted and had them moved in for another 2-3 months, and it’s still like this.
4. After orthodontic treatment, chew food properly and thoroughly There’s this less-known side effect of orthodontic treatment. I learned this from watching a doctor’s channel on YouTube, so I’m writing it down. After orthodontic treatment, you don’t chew much -> jaw muscles decrease -> even after treatment ends, you don’t chew as much as before -> cheek volume near the jaw decreases, so the cheeks can look a bit sunken or sag They say this is especially more noticeable in people who get orthodontic treatment later, around their 30s. As you age, the reduced jaw muscles recover more slowly.
Anyway, am I satisfied with my orthodontic treatment? I’m very, very satisfied. In fact, mine was functional orthodontic treatment beyond cosmetic orthodontics. Honestly, even if the side effects I mentioned above happened, like some black triangles forming and volume around the jaw decreasing, before, my teeth were truly all over the place! (I looked almost like a Japanese person), and now they’re even and my mouth has gone in, so there’s no comparison haha
To write a review of that clinic I went to.. First, the doctor is an orthodontic specialist, so I don’t think I’m in a position to judge their skill. They’re kind too. However, it’s a very typical factory-style clinic, so it feels like there’s almost no time to talk with the doctor. I barely received any information about orthodontic treatment or side effects and just went through with it. For people who want customized? care in a calmer atmosphere, I recommend another clinic and if you’ve already studied and know a lot of information, I think it’s a clinic worth visiting if the price is cheaper after comparison.