Because of the structure of my mouth, my gums were very small and my crooked teeth were severe, so my temporomandibular joint would often dislocate and hurt, and I went to the hospital for a long time. The doctor in charge of my temporomandibular joint at the university hospital even showed my X-ray to a prosthodontics professor and nagged me to get orthodontic treatment ㅠㅠ My jaw was that bad, and then one day I really felt like I couldn’t live like this anymore, so I quickly looked up a clinic near my house and went there. That was already almost 3 years ago lol...
Because there was so little space, I was told that extracting 4 teeth would be unavoidable and that the cosmetic aspects (bringing the teeth inward or making them look a bit prettier) might be difficult. But since my purpose from the start wasn’t cosmetic, and I went for treatment because I genuinely wanted to be in less pain, I said it didn’t matter. Then they said that since I was spending money and going through the trouble anyway, they would proceed while considering not only the medical purpose but also the cosmetic aspects too ㅠㅠ
Oh, they also told me that orthodontic treatment alone could not guarantee that my temporomandibular joint would definitely improve. I had already heard that so many times at the university hospital I was attending for my temporomandibular joint that my ears were practically worn out lol, so it was fine. Still, I was doing it to keep things from getting worse and to be even a little less painful and uncomfortable.
Anyway, just as the director said at the time, the medical part is now all finished, but because of things like the position of my premolars and parts that simply bother my eyes, I started around April 2019 and am still undergoing orthodontic treatment.
I’m going to the clinic this Thursday too, and whether I’ll be able to get my braces removed this time is still uncertain... But they are thorough, and if I say there is something I would like slightly adjusted, they check it right away and set the direction. I also liked that they respond fairly quickly through the clinic’s KakaoTalk about discomfort that comes up during orthodontic treatment or any questions I have.