whether to choose a General dentist or orthodontist for class2 division 2 malecclusion for a 12 yr old.?

Question

my daughter who is 12 yrs old has class 2 division 2 mollecclusion. and her lower jaw is too backwards. We went to a general dentist who also does orthodontics. He said it costs $4000, treatment: First phase he will put some blocks and some bite plate to correct the bite and then in the second phase he will put the braces. We had good referals for him from our friends.

But since OUR general dentist suggested us to go for ortho, we went to one and he said two options. extraction and nonextraction. In the first case he will remove the two upper first molar teeth and move back the other teeth and put braces. and second option was to use braces first and then herbst to move the lower jaw forward. He said the lower jaw is 6 mm backward. He kind of scared us saying that it's difficult to move it that forward it all depends on her growth of the lower jaw. The quote he gave was $5250 . We live in CAlifornia.

Is this case difficult to treat by a dentist?

Please help me choose.

Answer 1

I beg you not seek treatment from a general dentist. I am an Orthodontist and have seen some poorly treated cases by dentists. Majority of them have no clue. I end up correcting a mess of an occlusion. I charge $5350 in my Northern California practice and am not big fan of Herbst appliance. Since your daughter is 12 yrs, it is possible achieve functional growth and I routinely use an applicance called MARA (Manidular Anterior Repositioning Device) with good results. Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Since your child is still young, you may wish to have that mal-occlusion surgically corrected, and the jaw properly lined up before you start pulling teeth, and jamming on braces. It IS difficult to move teeth that far, and the results are not good, since the teeth will never properly align.

See an oral surgeon first, and make it a team effort. If you are in S. california, I can give you the name of the top cosmetic dentist in the area --- people fly in from all over everywhere to see her.... and she has the best connections, and has it done correctly.... write me. I now live in another state, and I fly in to have her do my dentistry... as do my friends... she's that good.