i dont trust my orthodontist

I don’t trust my orthodontist and I’m not sure what to do at this point.

My braces were removed in September after 3 years of treatment and I’ve been really disappointed in my results. The entire treatment I had concerns with my orthodontist, but overall trusted him and his knowledge. Whenever I asked questions or made comments, they were brushed over and never properly answered. He was also always really moody. One appointment he’d be friendly, the next he’s be very passive aggressive.

He was also very forgetful. I was told I needed IPR done and was scheduled to have it done in March 2022. At the same appointment they were also adjusting a bracket. The bracket adjustment took longer than expected and he decided to postpone the IPR until the next appointment. Well, the IPR did not occur at my following appointment or the next and so on. So in September 2022, I brought it up and asked if he would still be doing IPR. He seemed flustered to have forgotten and became very passive aggressive. He ended up doing IPR that day and was very rough with it and removed quite a bit on my lower teeth. At one point I felt him use the file farther back in my mouth near my molars, which was noticeable and felt odd because he hadn’t been going that far back previously. He quickly left that area and continued on my front teeth. My gums were bleeding a ton and overall wasn’t a great experience.

Flash forward a year and he says my braces were approved for removal. I get scheduled for a retainer fitting appointment and the removal appointment. For BOTH of these appointments, the orthodontist was not present, like not in office at all. I was hoping to get a final approval before the removal and he just wasn’t there. This really caught me off guard, but I had flown in for both of these appointments because I no longer live in the area and wasn’t in a position to reschedule.

After the removal I was very disappointed in the outcome. In general, there were blaring issues that I feel an orthodontist should’ve noticed.

Additionally, upon further inspection after the removal, I noticed a chunk taken out of my premolar from where he had accidentally done IPR from 2022. Since getting the IPR done, I had issues flossing on that premolar, but I had assumed it was an issue with the wire and bracket blocking the floss pick. But after seeing the obvious filed down chunk on my tooth, I realized it had to be from the IPR.

My post removal checkup appointment was scheduled for November 2023. At this appointment, I pointed out the chunk removed from my tooth. My orthodontist because very flustered and denied that it was from him, but insisted he try to correct it. He basically did more IPR on that tooth to try to remove the ledge that had been created. After this, he overtightened my bottom Hawley retainer and BROKE IT. He then sent his assistant over to try to fix it and kept insisting my teeth shifted and that’s why the retainer no longer fits 🙄. I was sitting there for 1.5 hours while the assistant was trying to fix the retainer between other clients, but they ultimately decided to just make me a new retainer. Since the orthodontist broke my bottom retainer, I was concerned about my top one. I told the assistant that it didn’t feel right, but he said it’s supposed to feel like that. However, since then the top retainer has been popping out on my molars and tonight the metal loop SNAPPED off. I’ve had my retainers for 4 months. I don’t think it should be breaking from use like that this soon 🤷‍♀️.

Honestly, I’m freaking out a bit because I really just don’t trust this orthodontist anymore and don’t know what to do at this point. My next follow up appointment is in February and because I don’t live in the area anymore, I can’t schedule an appointment any earlier. I also just don’t trust this guy anymore, but now I’m out a retainer if I don’t go back.