Q.
At the age of 8, I went to an orthodontist who fitted me with a twin-block functional appliance for an overjet. Although this was successful for the first 4months, after my appliance was advanced, my progress reversed despite my full compliance. I was very frustrated and began to despise the entire process. When we confronted the orthodontist, she was very rude to me and highlighted all of my physical flaws (she was trying to persuade me to continue with the treatment because i needed it), but this really knocked my self-esteem. Ever since, I’ve been very concious of my teeth and bite. When I returned, many years later, to a different orthodontist, he measured my overjet as 6mm, and said I’d need to wear a twin-block functional appliance again. I’m very concious of how bulky and ugly looking the appliance is, and don’t want people staring at my teeth because of the contraption. I’m now 15, and was wandering if there was a more discrete alternative to correct my 6mm overjet, or if I could have my teeth straightened and ‘train’ my self to hold my jaw forwards – would this work? I really don’t want to have jaw surgery, but as I am a singer, people will be looking at my mouth a lot. Any advice on different appliances would be appreciated.