3 YEARS WITH BRACES / FRUSTRATED WITH ORTHO

I haven't updated in forever! As of right now, I have been in braces for a total of 3 years and 3 months, I was originally only supposed to be in braces for exactly 2 years, so we've gone slightly over time. Haha. Well the thing is my orthodontist really doesn't want to do what I want him to do. I had to fight him to fix my bottom teeth. They were angled way to the left and needed to be tilted up-right. This is partly the reason I have been in braces for so long, that and my appointment dates are so far apart (4 weeks - 5 weeks, instead of 3).

So, hopefully I will be out of braces within the next couple of months (praying for before Graduation in May 2017). My teeth have made a lot of progress for their overall look, they're really getting beautiful. My problems are that there are still small things that are making the two halves of my smile look completely uneven - the two sides just are not the same.

My right canine has torqued out a lot (to be down straight), but my left canine is still very tilted in (towards my tongue) and is not torquing. So, I went in on the day he wanted to take my braces off and demanded he try something else. I said to the hygienist, "he hasn't even tried anything else to torque it, just bending the wire for the entire past year," and she snapped, "there are no other ways". I then proceeded to ask, "what about the torque spring" and she exclaimed, "how do you even know about that?". I told her I had stayed up many nights researching, because I was so desperate to get it dealt with. She rudely replied, "you doing research vs. him doing 8 years of education". So she was basically trying to trick me by saying it was the only way to torque ... next I replied with "I really do not want to lose that tooth" and to my surprise she replied with "better to lose one than four". Hm. My question is how is losing any a good option.

Let me tell you, if you see something about your teeth that you absolutely hate and can't live with, demand they try to fix it. After all, you are the client and paid a lot of money for them to fix your teeth, and have to live the rest of your life with them and they do NOT.

What ended up happening was I noticed that I could feel the entire root tip on my left canine and the tooth behind it, and I presented this new discovery the day I went in to get my retainer made. They brushed it off, but I insisted. I just had a terrible feeling about it. When I push on my gum area lightly, it actually hurts. My root is not fully in my skull. I've done anthro classes and have seen many skulls and there is barely a contour of the roots, so clearly he did something wrong. I really do not want to lose it. 

So my last appointment was yesterday (March 13, 2017) and I went in and they installed the torque springs (not sure if they are installed correctly, because I don't feel any pressure at all :/). While I was  there my orthodontist presented me with a waiver that stated "any damage to my teeth after today is not his fault" and that they have to come off for sure as of May 15th. I felt very pressured and bullied into signing this document, I basically just signed away my rights. (I think he intentionally signed away any responsibility for what he did to my canine). He has bullied me this entire process and I am just trying to be happy with my appearance.

I am not please one bit with the service of my orthodontist office, most of his hygienist are friendly, but the one I have had recently is not very nice to me, and neither is he. I will not be recommending him to future patients. I wish I could, but I just can't with how he's bullied me, and fought me.

Here is where I am at now (minus the torque springs). My lips are still very asymmetrical. lol. The things I don't like and the reasons I feel they look unfinished is my left canine  >> which is very angled in, my right central incisor is up too far, my lateral incisors are not leveled properly. Which are very easy fixes, but he has me too afraid to talk to him anymore. He has me more willing to leave it and forget about it, then to speak with him about it.

On a lighter note, here is the retainer I decided to go with:

Thanks for taking the time to look at my journey,
Megan