I don't even know where to start.
We had a consultation with a new orthodontist. Remember a couple of months ago we had another bad experience with our current one? We've gone round and round trying to make a decision whether or not to stay with Dr. Z or finish with a new one. It just isn't a good fit and when I called to cancel Christine's appointment, even the front office was sympathetic to us. In trying to be reasonable about it, I kept thinking we are just the ones who fell through the cracks since she had two appointments with Dr. G. and then saw Dr. Z. But now.......
Today we found out that the last 18 months really haven't done much of anything. Christine has a skeletal issue with her jaw that needs to be corrected with surgery and then the braces. WHAT????!!!! How did this escape the original orthodontist and then the doctor who bought his practice? No wonder her bite isn't correcting. No amount of the usually recommended rubberband wearing and wire tightening is going to fix it.
Dr.Z was continually rude to her each visit insisting she wasn't wearing her elastics just short of outright accusation and insinuating that she wasn't telling the truth, when in fact she was indeed wearing them and being honest about it. Christine had more than the usual anxiety before each appointment and being the good mom that I am--haha--I kept telling her it wasn't that bad and to buck up--that she was being too sensitive. Until he yelled at me at that last appointment and threatened to take the braces off if I didn't make her wear the elastics and I wouldn't like what I see. (His exact words and he was pointing his finger in my face.) I even asked if perhaps there might, just might, be another reason her treatment didn't seem to be doing what he kept insisting it should have been. No. It was all Christine's fault he told me. In front of her, no less, laying back defenseless in the examination chair with tears in her eyes and her mouth wide open trying to tell me with her expression to just be quiet so we could get out of there.
Then a few days later, I got a registered return receipt required letter in the mail from him detailing all his reasons why her orthodonture wasn't working. Including lots of big words I had to google and that is how I found out about the tongue thrust. When I called the office to ask who they could recommend for a speech pathologist (who works with the tongue thrusts) they couldn't even give me one. I said a frustrated, helpless prayer, opened the yellow pages of the phone book and started calling orthodontist offices to find help with a speech therapist. I found one, called her. She is FANTASTIC, and truly an answer to a prayer. She was able to give us many recommendations for other orthondontists to get some second opinions.
Which brings us to today. We also learned that she is not even banded correctly. Dr. G.and, subsequently, Dr. Z. banded the 2nd to the last molars when for her situation, she needed to be banded all the way back and in the xrays and the pictures and the exam you can see that it is so. Her back molars--upper and lower--are all crooked and not even with the rest of the teeth alignment. Christine and I just sat there in shock. She was fighting back tears (and not being very successful but giving it a valiant effort) and I was trying to focus on what to do next while trying to absorb everything. Being a mom sometimes is really hard. I was trying so hard to keep it all together and focus. I think I did okay. (Oh, and the tongue thrust is a result of the misalignment of her jaw and should correct itself by having the surgery! Can I just tell you how much money that has cost?????!!! She will still need to continue with it though until the surgery though...)
Fortunately the oral surgeon they referred us to is Dr. Nicholls and his former partner. Yay. A break there. Dave has been our family friend for years and years. We will call him first thing tomorrow.
By the time we got home, she cried so hard. It was gut wrenching. We thought we were on the downhill side of this and now we are looking at another 12-18 months. And how does the surgery factor in with her playing lacrosse since practices have now started and the season is around the corner???
What do you think? I have lots of kids who are attorneys now. Maybe we should send a registered return receipt required letter to the doctor. I would hope at the very least to be refunded and have the oral surgery bill paid for?????
