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POSTED UNDER Lingual Braces REVIEWS

The Worst Mistake of My Life That Doesn't Go Away - Midlothian, VA

ORIGINAL POST

I stupidly had I-braces put on my front upper and...

RuinedlifeJune 19, 2011
$5,500

I stupidly had I-braces put on my front upper and lower teeth. All I wanted was two lower teeth straightened and one upper canine moved forward a bit. $5,500 for twelve teeth. I didn't need the upper teeth done at all except for that aforementioned one, but the "orthodontist" claimed it had to be done so the bite would be correct. What a crock. I had this life-depleting horror done in August of 2008; developed a speech impediment which I still have, and these Dr. Mengelian torture devices were removed (the upper unnecessary ones) almost two years ago; my front two upper teeth are always hurting and feel too tight; I feel like they're now protruding and friends and relatives agree; and I feel like I'm oversalivating. As a result, I have to take nerve pain meds to get through life as a zombie.

Please don't let any orthodontists claim that they know what they're doing with lingual braces -- they're horrible and will ruin your life.

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Check out your orthodontist thoroughly (Litigation? Complaints on line? Complaints to a state medical board?) and never succumb to lingual braces. There's a reason why few people undergo this horror -- there are few experienced orthodontists, if any, who know what they're doing with lingual braces. The one I stupidly chose should not be allowed to ruin one more person's life. Not only did I spend a small fortune for misery that doesn't stop except with zombie-producing nerve pain meds, but relatives and friends as well as I know my teeth looked better before this malpractice.

Replies (11)

Megan P
August 25, 2011

It seems there aren't too many people singing the praises of lingual braces. If you are considering them here is a Q&A that compares them to Invisalign.

Ruinedlife
September 4, 2011
Thanks for replying. Before I made the dreadful mistake of going to this "orthodontist" who claimed he knew how to apply lingual braces but could only give me one reference, I created a checklist of the pros and cons of both lingual braces and Invisalign. This orthodontist would not put his responses in writing regarding the pros and cons of either. In fact, on many occasions during that Kafkaesque year of 2008 -- 2009, I would write questions for him to answer pertaining to my treatment, and he would ignore them. So many clues I shouldn't have ignored. I should have demanded the first week that these Mengelian devices were applied that they be removed. I also made the HUGE mistake of paying for this Marat Sade treatment in advance. As of today, I'm still suffering with a speech impediment, a new development of food sticking to my teeth, an overbite which didn't exist before this egregious mistake, and nerve pain while having just returned to teach English as a second language full time in order to have health insurance that will pay for the pain meds!
sonia66
August 31, 2011
If you were in California I'd have thought you were talking about my doctor. I lived thru a nightmare. Later when I took my dentist to the Dental Board I founded out that I was one of his first patiants and he had only done 9 cases total.
Ruinedlife
September 4, 2011
Hello, Sonia. I'll bet the orthodontist, and I use the assignation sardonically, who ruined my life had only applied lingual braces a few times. Why any medical board will allow these people to advertise that they apply lingual braces is a testament to the irresponsibility and incompetence of the board. Good luck getting a medical board to do anything beneficial for the patient. I think the only action that will garner any benefit to either one of us will be litigation.
Laurabraces
February 28, 2013
Who is your dentist if you don't mind me asking.
sonia66
September 5, 2011
I tried to hire a lawyer but they none would take the case and they would say clearly that only if you almost died, or were permanently damaged it would be worth for them to take the case, otherwise would be too expensive to take to court. That is when I had the idea of taking to the board. It was the best thing I could have done. Also I post in Yelp and this man ended up begging me to remove my post.
Ruinedlife
September 5, 2011
Did you remove the post in Yelp? Did this alleged orthodontist refund your cost for the miserable braces? You can sue for pain, depression, and suffering, disfigurement as you perceive such, and your cost for remedying this ortho's or dentist's malpractice. At this point, I'm not going to initiate litigation because I loathe shysters as much as I loathe quacks. I will instead go the dental board route (probably useless) or go to small claims court and represent myself although the amount I've spent on three years of misery exceeds the typical "small claims" parameters. I also posted on Angie's List.
sonia66
September 5, 2011
Refund the money is a fraction of the expensive I had with the mess that he created. In the end all I wanted was to give him a headache as he gave me. Putting reviews on the Internet did it as well as taking the case to the board. I also sent him the website below and he got really worried that I would do the same.
http://www.dentalfraudinflorida.com/
derick
November 1, 2011
Hi ruined life, i am considering ibraces as well.. But i tried to find dr Mengelian on their website as an certified provider but he is not there.... I think he was just a uncertified dentist...
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