Nervous about records appointment tomorrow afternoon. . .

[NH Seacoast Jeff]

I'm so thrilled to discover this group as I was searching for information about orthodontics! It's great to come across such a terrific group of people try to help each other through what sounds like a potentially challenging process. It's also comforting to see that I'm not the only 43-year old facing the prospect of being clad in braces.

While I've always had things I didn't care for about my smile, I've only considered getting orthodontic treatment since my new dentist emphasized how bad my articulation (bite) was. My dentist explained that only 20% of my teeth were actually "working" for me. While my articulation is not great (actually, it's terrible!), my smile, isn't so bad that I refrain from smiling. However, there's certainly a lot of room for improvement.

After reading through many of the posts here and hearing some of the "barbaric" techniques used to correct certain conditions, there's a large part of me that's more than a bit nervous about what the orthodontist will ultimately tell me my treatment plan would necessitate.

My dentist has already mentioned that I should have my three remaining wisdom teeth extracted. I hate the idea of using pain medication, if I can avoid it. To that end, has anyone who was getting multiple extractions considered having wisdom teeth taken out at a rate of one per appointment, with the appointments scheduled every 7 - 14 days? I'm just not sure how well I'd cope with getting 3 wisdom teeth taken out at the same time, particularly with my preference to avoid using pain medication.

At this point in time, I'm going in for the records appointment without having actually made a decision at this point in time as to whether I will follow through and get orthodontic treatment. I think a large part of my decision will rest on how dramatic a difference in my smile and profile the orthodontist believes she can accomplish.

Did anyone here have the benefit of the orthodontist using any sort of computer imaging software to show them what their new smile would look like before they made a decision to commit to treatment? Did that influence your decision one way or the other?

Best wishes to everyone who's currently in the midst of their braces journey!

- Jeff

[nvcarissa]

Call me funny, but the idea of stretching out wisdom teeth extraction over 1-2 months doesn't sound like my idea of a good time. You will hurt regardless, why not get it all over at the same time?

[ssfw]

Hi Jeff,

While my orthodontist does not have computer imaging, what made me want to pursue orthodontics more was after seeing the impressions made of my teeth and the photos that were taken of my teeth and bite. My teeth are pretty well aligned but I had a crossbite and a 5 mm overjet. It's amazing that I thought my teeth looked okay, but when I saw the close-up photos of my teeth and bite, I no longer felt that way. I knew if I didn't proceed with orthodontics now, I wouldn't do it at all but it would always be in the back of my mind. To this day, I am proud and happy for making the decision to go through with ortho treatment. The part that even made me think about not going through with ortho treatment was because of my age and the visibility of the braces. After a few days of braces, I overcame that problem. The key thing is to find an orthodontist that is skillful and kind. My ortho and his staff are the greatest which is what is making my ortho treatment a smooth process.

My suggestion is to go to a few consultations, I went to 4, and choose the orthodontist that you feel most comfortable with along with their treatment plan. Also be sure to ask whatever questions you have. I always like to know what to expect so I ask alot of questions. My ortho treatment will be approx. 20 months and 6 months have already gone by.

One more thing, it seems you live in one state most of the year, and in California for a few months of the year, be sure to ask the ortho how this may impact your ortho treatment.

Good luck and keep us posted.

ssfw

[mindwaves]

I would highly recommend getting all of your teeth need to be pulled out extracted all at once. I had 8 teeth extracted in one sitting (4 wisdom and 4 biscuspid I believe) and I didn't feel a thing when they were pulled out or afterwards either. In fact afterwards, when I woke up, I felt like I was ready to drive home, but my dad took me home anyways. I didn't have any swelling and I didn't take any pain medication (but I was prescribed some and I bought it). I only took those antibiotic pills and did a couple salt water rinses and I was fine. And yes, I was bleeding for a few hours and I couldn't eat anything for a few hours because my mouth was numb due to their innjections to kill pain.

My ortho didn't use any computer imaging software to show before and after photos of my teeth personally. She just showed me someone else's teeth before and after photos (the person had to sign something initially saying it was ok). That person was approximately my age and gender and the same problems of me so it was a little assuring that my results would be similar.

[NH Seacoast Jeff]

Thanks very much Meryaten, nvcarissa, KK, ssfw & mindwaves for sharing your insight & experiences with me. It seems like the consensus is to get all of the wisdom teeth out at once. I just hope that the treatment plan doesn't necessitate more than the 3 extractions I already know about.

I went and read Huon's account of what it was like to undergo orthodontic treatment in the 1940s and I must agree that my original post lacked a proper perspective when I made the comment that "After reading through many of the posts here and hearing some of the "barbaric" techniques used to correct certain conditions, there's a large part of me that's more than a bit nervous about what the orthodontist will ultimately tell me my treatment plan would necessitate." If I had only read Huon's story first, I would have toned down my concerns a bit. In any event, I'm glad that I'm not considering orthodontic treatment in the 1940s!!

After I get a proposed treatment plan, I will report back.

Once again, thanks everyone for sharing your real-world experience on these matters with me and helping me to have a positive attitude! I’m convinced that a positive attitude goes a long way towards making it through treatment.

- Jeff

[NH Seacoast Jeff]

Well, I went to my appointment today and after several minutes of repeatedly asking me to "bite," and a little bit of looking here and there, the orthodontist said that she questioned whether she could deliver an end-result that would make the effort worthwhile. In any event, she is going to speak further with my dentist and figure out whether my bite should be fixed exclusively by my dentist without orthodontics or whether a less-than-perfect outcome by her standards will be worth doing. So, until the orthodontist speaks with my dentist, I'm not sure that there's much more to report.

We made a mutual decision that it didn't make much sense to proceeds with full records until she had spoken in more depth with my dentist. Once that has occurred, a decision will be made whether to proceed with rescheduling the records appointment that was originally scheduled for today. Depending on the outcome of that discussion, I may still proceed with treatment on the premise of improving the aesthetics of my smile without the expectation that my bite will be perfect. It may turn out that the records appointment is necessary in order for my dentist and the ortho to be able to have the information necessary to determine what is achievable in my situation, so that they can make an informed recommendation.

Thanks very much to everyone who shared their experiences with me.

- Jeff