Any suggestions for someone with an overbite? I went to some orthos who recommended removing two premolars, others suggesting jaw surgery. in the end I went to elastics + invsialign though I can't seem but to feel that the elastics are doing nothing
Just ask yourself: does the encouragement of such non-holistic practices as removing healthy teeth sound more like science or quackery?
To shed some light on what's going on here, I feel that the Herbst appliance is the best up through the late teenage years, but notice how info on it is behind a kind of industry blacklist:
As of this writing on Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022, the above Wikipedia entry is blank. That's what I mean about the programmer in me smelling so many code smells here that something doesn't add up.
IMHO what's going on is that the practice of orthodontics was created before things like dental implants went mainstream or were even thought feasible. So today, rather than headgear, it's better to just install the temporary anchorage devices (TAD) that I mentioned, then use a more consistently-applied force from bands or screws to move any tooth exactly where it needs to go. I feel that orthodontists who are reluctant to do this haven't kept up with the literature, or are afraid to do work outside of the niche they're comfortable in, indicating that their professional development work might have fallen behind.
In short, get a second opinion and/or find a better orthodontist.
But it sounds like you're on a good track. Just remember that you're moving roots (not teeth), so bigger teeth take longer because they have more. Also you're moving a lot of teeth, so each one has to move a millimeter, then the next, and so on. So molars may take an order of magnitude longer to move than smaller teeth.
I'll likely need one of these techniques to close my gaps, even though they're from new bone growth from the ALF instead of lost teeth:
