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Thursday, March 28, 2019

Derick's Braces

Derick Dillard, Israel Dillard, Sam Dillard
Derick Dillard, Israel Dillard, Sam Dillard

For those who have wondered about Derick's braces and orthodontic work, here is an explanation...

Derick chose to have braces put on his teeth four years ago because his doctor recommended it, but jaw expansion surgery was a prerequisite in order to make room in his mouth. Unfortunately, the surgery moved his midline over, which means that his top two front teeth are no longer centered, and fixing them is likely not worth the hassle. Derick hopes to get his braces off soon.Below is a photo of Derick before his surgery.

Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard, 2014


Photo courtesy dillardfamily.com

77 comments:

  1. So basically he is worser off than before the surgery? I would sue the doctor who did this.

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    1. If it messed up his bite, the least the dentist could do is fix that. Somehow I think "not worth the hassle" means "it costs the Dillards too much to fix".

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    2. Yep, this is very weird.

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    3. In order to prove malpractce you must show malice of forethought. That means proving the doctor or dentist knew before the treatment it would not work and did not share all risks and possible outcomes with the patient. A cancer patient can not sue an oncologist because the chemo didn't cure the cancer.

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    4. He looks good

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    5. They didn't say he is worse off or that there was any fault by his surgeon. Your default attitude is just sad. I feel sorry for your doctor.

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    6. As far as looks go his teeth are better now; just a little off center.

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    7. Derick and Jill went to El Salvador shortly after his surgery so possibly he neglected his own aftercare which has left his teeth misaligned? You have very frequent appointments after this surgey, if something wasn't right it could be corrected at the begining. Also this is a very brief account of what happened, and its one sided, it would be interesting to hear the doctors opinion before jumping to the 'sue the doctor' conclusion!

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    8. No such word as worser. Really hoping it was a typo.

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    9. Not cool to correct a stranger's grammar unless he's using it demean you.

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    10. Anonymous 2:47 AM: English is not my first language. Grammer mistakes will happen.

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    11. Derick was so handsome before the surgery. Now...not so much. They really did do a bummer on his whole mouth.

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  2. I hope Derick isn't experiencing any continued pain from the surgery. Also, hope that it didn't negatively affect his bite. From the pre-surgery photograph, it looks like Derick's midline was off-center prior to surgery and it shifted further off-center after. The surgery also changed the sound of his voice. How disappointing for him.

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  3. Sounds like a very painful procedure. Jaw surgery is risky business.

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    1. Yes. And then after all that pain and suffering he ends up with his front teeth out of alignment. Sad.

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    2. Agreed, not to mention severe pain for years and having to get adjustments, which takes time, money, more pain and the result may make him self conscious. I feel for him, I dodged jaw surgery, was able to correct with 2 sets of braces, appliances, hockey mask head gear, oral surgeries; I was 8 years in orthodontics. Poor Derick it just sucks, but, his smile is very nice so I hope he is proud even though its not perfect.

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  4. It is unfortunate that Derick felt the need to explain himself. I've noticed a lot of comments and questions in the past. Why do people concern themselves with this kind of thing? It's kind of personal and frankly, Derick's business, not ours.

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    1. 11:30AM: It's good to let people know the risks of jaw surgery. Other people may be considering it, so no harm asking someone who has had it done what the outcome was.

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    2. Derrick likes explaining himself. He explained himself and ended up off the TV show.

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    3. when you're a public figure you have no privacy.

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    4. I agree!😊

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    5. They publicize their life daily on television and the internet. That is why people have interest in their business.

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    6. They didn't "need" to explain this, they WANTED to or nothing would have been posted on this blog. They LIKE the attention.

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  5. By the looks of it, Izzy's future is going to include the same type of surgery and/or braces. He has inherited his father's mouth shape.

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    1. Yep. The dentist and I were talking about my daughter's future need for braces when she was three. She had her dad's mouth shape. I was ready and she got the braces when she was 14.

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    2. When they're kids they can get a palate expander that gradually widens the palate over 6-12 months. Because kids' bones are still growing so quickly it is easy to do this and chances are they won't need braces because they now have room in their mouth for the adult teeth to fit. So far my kids have all needed palate expanders and when they complain, I tell them it's better to do it now as a child or when you're are an adult the orthodontist will have to break your jaw and do surgery and you won't be able to eat for a couple months and it will hurt way worse.

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  6. If you're go the trouble and expense of having surgery and braces, I think you should do the job completely. Why leave his front teeth not centered?

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    1. the older you are, it takes longer and is harder to fix. cant blame him for not wanting the hassle when there's no guarantee it will work

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    2. Maybe he opted for no more work done because he would miss too much school being out for procedures or due to pain.

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  7. Thanks for the explanation. He looks fine, as long as he's comfortable.

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  8. Thanks for the explanation. My daughter keeps asking me, "When is he getting those off?"

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  9. Any dental work or surgery has risks. We're so used to good medical and dental care that we tend to forget this. I hope Derick is fine with the outcome.

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  10. After having surgery and braces to correct his teeth, Derrick ends up with misaligned front teeth. That was a bargain.

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  11. Israel's mouth is exactly the same. Looks like he will have the same issues.

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  12. Poor guy. He looks fine but it's too bad it didn't work out as planned.

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  13. Gosh, that’s rough to go through jaw surgery and braces only to have your teeth noticeably off center. It must through off his bite, too which could cause more oral problems down the road. Poor guy.

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  14. A lot of times people cannot chew properly and so while the jaw surgery may mean his front teeth are off center, his back molars may now line up and make it easier for him to chew beef/crunchy foods/other chewy foods. Speaking from personal and friends' experiences. Hope everything works out for good, Derick!

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  15. Any time you have a misaligned jaw your teeth end up in the wrong place! They usually have to cut out bone!! This normal procedure!! Good gosh why can't an adult have braces???? What is the big deal people???? Now that his jaw and teeth will get fixed he will have a much easier time with digestion!!!

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  16. I can't imagine a law student going back for more surgery to try to fix that midline. He has no time for recovery and couldn't go to class or take tests while on pain pills.

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  17. A former friend of mine had the same thing done and took a long time but in the end it was worth it. Hang in there Derick.

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  18. We were told that my daughter would need jaw surgery and that there was no way out of it. This wasn’t for her teeth as they were perfectly straight but for jaw issues. Had to wait until she finished growing and during that time we researched orthodontists and if we had other options. We found a young ortho who was willing to try fix her problems without surgery and after only 18 months in braces everything is fixed. Moral of this story? Always do your research and shop around for an orthodontist who is willing to try different avenues to fix the problem. We found so many that were gung-ho to go the surgery route and didn’t even want to discuss options

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  19. I miss Jill Derrick. Israel and Samuel on Counting On. The media is beyond bias. Christians and Conservatives are not allow to express their views with serious reprimand like Jill and Derrick. But the reprobates can say and do whatever they want with no repercussions just the opposite praise.

    We are living in a sick day and age. Now is not the time to hide and be silent.

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    1. Derick has repeatedly asserted that he voluntarily quit the show.

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    2. This has been discussed many times: Derick stated that he CHOSE to leave the show. As far as expressing views, he took it too far by directly criticizing TLC as well as another TLC family. Jazz Jennings was pretty classy throughout all this hullabaloo. She never made derogatory comments toward the Dillards or anyone else. By the way, who are the reprobates you refer to- anyone who doesn't agree with your religious beliefs?

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    3. Do you want to be free to insult others by calling them reprobates? How very Christian of you!

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    4. You think people are reprobates because they think Derrick was wrong to personally attack a young person that was on another TV show? Christians can state their views without resorting to that sort of behavior.

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    5. Tootie- Comments like yours are not doing Christianity any favors. Try being kind with your words. Name-calling is not an answer to anything.

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    6. Don't blame the "media". Christians and conservatives are allowed to express their opinions freely. However, they will be called down when they engage in personal attacks on individuals and rightly so. The people who call them down for being rude and/or insulting aren't reprobates.

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    7. ToosieJoie is right. I just reread what Derick said. He said nothing wrong and nothing untrue. He did not "attack" Jazz at all. "Changing" (can't really be changed) the gender God gave you IS wrong. On the other hand, there are truly reprobate people who get a pass from the media and TV producers, etc. Reprobate means "morally unprincipaled." If you don't think arguing for third trimester abortion and even killing a baby after birth is not "reprobate," you're wrong. And those people are celebrated, while Derick was telling God's TRUTH. Bravo Derick!

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  20. My mouth was too small too, so the dentist took out my first molars and my wisdom teeth, problem solved. S.

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    1. I have a child who was born without wisdom teeth, so that solved that! Never had to go through the trouble, pain, and cost of wisdom teeth removal.

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  21. Why do we need to know all about this? I thought they wanted to stay out of the public eye after leaving the TV show.

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  22. So Derick took what his body was like at birth and through surgery changed it to what he wanted it to be, and what was more comfortable for him or made him happier? Hmmmm, where have I heard that concept before?

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    1. 11:56 I see what you mean!

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    2. Yes. Appearance is extremely important so of course he wants to look his best.

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    3. Oh, puhleeze. Changing your whole identity is not the same thing at all.

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    4. Some surgeries are perfectly OK but some are a travesty or whatever it was. Religion, which is separate from medicine, can declare which surgery is right and which is wrong. That makes perfect sense!

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    5. @8:15 How is it different from any other elective surgery that you choose to do to feel better? A jaw job is OK, but reshaping anything else isn't? Why draw a line, especially when it doesn't involve your own body?

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    6. he's not on the show so why bother?

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    7. Um, he underwent all this because his doctor recommended it. Nice way to twist it to fit your viewpoint.

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    8. @8:15- Those who are transgender wish to change the physical to match the identity they've been forced to supress most of their lives. It isn't up to you or any church to decide what is right for them.
      @9:31- Religions can and do make rules for their members, but they have no right to make rules for everyone else or tell others what surgeries they can or cannot have.

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    9. @10:14 Doctors recommend other surgeries too, not just Derick's kind.

      I think it's wading into dangerous waters to say who can get what surgery and who can't, based solely on religion. Doctors and patients should decide, not a church.

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    10. Some of you arguing that oral surgery is the same as gender reassignment -- learn to think critically and then get back to us.

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    11. Exactly, 7:42!

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  23. My twin and I both had small mouths, so we had our first molars removed (after two years of braces) and then it took two years for the gaps to close. X-rays showed we have no wisdom teeth, so we caught a break there!

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  24. What a shame. Didn't Jana,Jill and later Joy-Anna have some teeth removed because of not enough room? Miss the Dillards on the show.
    Joan,Marion and Marilyn

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    1. They had their wisdom teeth removed.

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  25. Perhaps this should act as a warning against doctors who might prescribe unnecessary procedures (and we don't know for sure if Derick's came under that category.) We don't want to neglect to do a needed procedure, but our health needs to be first, not the pocketbook of the provider. Never hurts to get a second, or even a third, opinion.

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  26. My dentist and orthodontist advised that jaw surgery is very risky and should only be done as a measure of last resort.

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  27. Both boys look too cute that pic

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  28. My son had orthodontic work done 3 years ago. He was half way through medical school & wanted his appearance to look better as it concerned him when talking to patients that his teeth were misaligned. It cost him £4,000 (which I think is about $5,300). He was very fortunate & was a moderate case so didn’t need any jaw surgery, just braces. However he still had lots of pain, especially when the braces were tightened every few months. He is due to get his braces removed in 2 weeks & he can’t wait. Whatever I think about Derick & he is not my favourite person, no one deserves to suffer such pain & discomfort & at the end still not have the outcome they hoped for. I do wish him well with his oral issues & hope he is out of pain & able to eat well very soon.

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  29. I LOVE U JILL!!!!!!!!! 100%, U ARE MY FAVOURITE DUGGAR, FROM 2007!!!!!! REALLY, I MISS SEEING U, IN COUNTING ON, U HAVE LOTS OF WISDOM, AND I MISS THAT!!! REALLY 100%!!!

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