Replacing fillings while still in braces

[tarheel89]

Hi, everyone! I'm a newbie to the ArchWired site, and cannot BELIEVE that I missed this site while I have been in ortho treatment. I'm now approaching two years with my braces on (for the second time -- I was in them at age 14-16 and now again from age 36-38!), and my doc told me I'm getting my braces off on Dec 11!!!!! yay!!!!!!

So, here is my question. I have searched the message boards and found some amazingly good info, but still am not sure about this: I have three very old amalgam fillings in my lower molars. Two are quite loose and my dentist says they need to be replaced.

I am going to Thailand in a couple of weeks, but will still have my braces on while there. (I will eat curry ANYWAY!) The dentists in Thailand are VERY good (ISO certified, etc., etc.) and MUCH cheaper than in the U.S. The dentist office in Thailand has an ortho section, and they say they can remove my ortho wire, replace the fillings, and replace the ortho wire. I'm leaning towards doing this, as my insurance is VERY bad on these kinds of things, and because I'm at the very end of my treatment, everything is where it needs to be (tooth-wise). This dental office in Thailand has a very good reputation, so I'm not worried about the quality of the treatment.

Of course I also will talk to my ortho here, but haven't done so yet. I wanted to get the advice of folks here first. What do you all think? Thank you so much in advance for any advice. I am going to tell my orthodontist to refer EVERY adult patient he has to this website and BB -- it is GREAT.

Thanks!

[tarheel89]

Thanks, KK!! Yes, if I lived closer to Thailand and Fiji, I would want to be there all the time and I would eat all those wonderful foods constantly. The ortho assistants always laugh at me because my smoke powerchains come off yellow - my partner and I have a "curry fest" for the two or three days leading up to an adjustment visit! We have four days in Chiang Mai and five days in Bangkok -- it's my first time to Thailand and I can't wait!! I decided not to take a cooking class because I know I wouldn't be able to achieve the results that one can get just buying street food in those cities...so I know what you mean about cooking at home!


I'll post back and let everyone know what my ortho says and of course, if I get this done, will post back with updates on the results. I hope others who read this will also let me know what they think about this idea. I am still amazed that I am just now learning about this great resource of this BB, and so grateful I discovered it now so I can share it with others.

[ghostmyimag3]

I'd agree with that, i had 3 replaced before my braces. When i heard they were leaking it freaked me out because i knew bacteria was seeping in there and I didn't like the mere vision of that. Alot can happen in a month. My insurance does not pay much on replacing old fillings.

My ortho does not like other dentist fiddling with his work, so kiwi was right, you better check with him.

[rsprouse]

If you are that close to the end of treatment then I would only consider replacing occlusal fillings. Anything with interproximal decay or a restoration should wait until you are done. You should discuss with your ortho before you do anything.

I personally would be highly skeptical of this. I have seen far too many patients that traveled outside the country for "cheaper" dental care and I have been less than impressed with the results. Sometimes you get what you pay for so be careful. I had a patient last week that had a cantilever bridge on her maxillary lateral and canine done about a year ago outside the USA. The crown is so poorly done that the 19 year old patient is facing having a second anterior tooth extracted due to poor dentistry. As always YMMV.

Regards,
Rory

[onny]

I have had to fix several smaller amalgam fillings at my dentist, after my ortho investigated my moth some weeks before getting braces. Luckily I have an insurance with pays for all filling work, its the standard insurance anyone has in Germany. So no need for me to make it outside of country, which I would be very skeptic about. Imagine they do mistakes or something goes wrong, u cant just go back to Thailand then.

But back to you Thread title: replacing fillings while still in braces should be possible without a problem, except for fillings under bands or under brackets, in which cases the parts have to be temporarily be removed, depending on how urgent the fillings have to be fixed. I think you still can wait that one month, but if its really to expensive in your country, then consider doing it in Thailand.

[tarheel89]

Thanks, everyone for your thoughtful and informative replies! I love this forum. I did as you all suggested and went to my ortho this afternoon. We had a good conversation, and he cautioned me about being sure about quality work (the same caution as some of you have given -- and I promise y'all I will do "due diligence" in that regard -- you are absolutely right about that.)

After some conversation, he said, "I tell you what we should do -- just come in before you go to Thailand, and we'll take the braces off before you go."

I swore up and down (because it is the TOTAL truth) that if he had even a SMALL amount of concern about doing that, that if it would affect my outcome at ALL, that he should tell me to leave the braces on, and I would be okay with that...he said it was really okay, that I'm ready, and he can take them off! You know, I've always really, really liked my ortho, here's just one more reason why! Now, regardless of what I decide about the fillings, I can eat CURRY the whole time I'm there and not have yellow powerchains!!!

So -- here's what I promise...I will let you guys know what I decide about getting the fillings done and will post pics of the new fillings if I decide to do that.

Also -- I told the folks in my ortho office about this site -- my ortho pulled it up while I was in the chair and I showed him this thread -- he was impressed!! He agrees it's great to have this forum for us "grownups" (in age only, not in spirit, at least for me), and I think he'll pass it along!

Thanks, everyone for your really honest advice and opinions. I appreciate it, and I know my ortho does too!!

[tarheel89]

Thanks for all of the good advice. Those of you who've had overseas experiences (or friends or patients who did), I appreciate your honesty and your willingness to share the info. I'm going to check into everything very carefully. I haven't come this far to mess things up now! Will keep you posted!!
Thanks again!

[jmflynny]

Just today I had three fillings replaced.

I had the appointment for my replacements scheduled prior to getting my braces last week and asked both my dentist and my ortho whether I should hold off on the braces installation until afterwards, and they both said 'no'.

Lots of gas for my nerves and cotton to pull my lips away from my braces and [i]voila[/i]...no problem at all.

Of course, I only have braces on the front six teeth on top and five front teeth on the bottom, so maybe that makes a difference.

[onny]

Do you mean N2O with gas?

And no why should braces be a problem with filling replacements (except a filling under bracket/band) ?

I even get wisdom teeth extracted while braced and they are in no easy position and require heavy machinery

[Willz]

I'm spose to be getting fillings on Thursday. My dentist has no problems doing it.

[tarheel89]

Hi, everyone! Well, unless my ortho changes his mind, I'm just three days away from being "naked!" (I've become VERY paranoid about this -- somehow I can't believe I'm going to be "braces off" in just a few days!)

I wanted to update everyone...I did some research and although some folks have described extremely good experiences at the dental clinic I am going to visit in Thailand, I couldn't find enough information to make me feel totally confident. I appreciate everyone being so honest about their concern -- I suspect things work out fine for a lot of people, but I guess I'm just pretty risk-averse when it comes to my teeth...after all, you all know first-hand how much time, energy, and hassle have already gone into getting things right!

So, I've decided NOT to get my fillings replaced. Since I will have the braces off, and because I'm blessed with not having sensitive teeth, I am planning to get my teeth laser-whitened while I'm there -- a huge cost savings (about US$225 there, compared to about $400+ here at home). There's MUCH more consistent feedback about this clinic's success at this, and there just seems to be much less risk to this compared to replacing fillings so far away from home.

Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement. I'm still a little freaked out about getting these braces off (who'd have thought, after wanting to be done for so long, that I'm a little scared now that the day is coming??), but happy and excited. I will be celebrating U.S. Thanksgiving Day next week and will be thankful for my new friends on this BB. Talk to you all soon!

Tarheel89

[Attagirl2]

Hi tarheel. Just so you are aware, ISO means nothing more than the office has a document for everything they do. It doesn't mean it is right, it just means that they have a documented procedure that they are "suppose" to follow. Be VERY caution relying on this as the basis for "They are very good, they are ISO certified". Since you can't ISO what is done in every ones mouth, it must only refer to the paperwork trails for supplies, billing, etc.

[tarheel89]

Thanks, AttaGirl. I am still learning about such things, and think that erring on the side of caution is wise.
I'll post back about my experience upon return!
Tarheel