Metal hooks instead of elastics

Message

#1 Post by **mindwaves** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:35 pm

My orth said this to me on my 4-5th visit to her. I got braced last June with damon 3 braces.

She said that if I visit the perio and for the small sum of around $800, I will get 2 little hooks I guess drilled in my jaws. And I guess either some metal or some band will be tied to it to move my teeth back (I got 4 removed) so the gaps will be closed. Anyone have any experience with this? She said that my treatment plan will be about 2 months less and I wont have to wear elastics at all until the very end. And my chin will be about 10 degrees better to the optimal angle of 130 degrees.

Right now, I stand to wear elastics and only achieve a 120 degree chin angle and save $800. Thoughts? Thanks.

#2 Post by **mindwaves** » Sun Nov 26, 2006 10:33 pm

Thanks for the reply. I decided to go with them. She will only need 2 hooks this time around so it will be cheaper. I think it will be ok. I am not sure if she can guarantee me the optimal angle, but she said that she sends people to the perio often to get it done (I live in Orange County so that is believable). She also showed me some before and after pictures of some people who have had it done and it does look appealing to me. I get new x-rays taken on Wed and the implant things done on Th.

#3 Post by **PrincessMelody** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 2:30 am

Sounds like you've made a good decision. Whatever you are most happy with.

P.S. you said you live in OC... is that OC California, or one of the many other states with an OC. If it's CA, I live in OC too.

#4 Post by **mindwaves** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 9:00 am

hmmm...I guess I'll try to post pictures here. Thanks for all of the responses everyone and yes, I do live in Orange County, CA, more specifically in Irvine. Maybe we can meet up and swap braces horror stories? hahaha

#5 Post by **mindwaves** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:27 pm

I just got them done. He numbed me and used a drill and drilled them in (I tried not to look). They didn't hurt at first, but they hurt soon afterwards so I took some pain medicine and all is well...kind of, feels weird!

#6 Post by **mindwaves** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 8:23 am

hehe, thanks for the kind words everyone. I feel fine now. I took some antibiotic pills just in case. I hope my ortho is right and I can get that proper angle or somewhat close to it would be fine also.

But the most shocking part of the procedure was the price. $600 total!

#7 Post by **Pirate Wench** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 8:51 am

Sounds like all is going well for you......I hope you acheive the angle that you are looking for.

Are the hooks digging into your cheeks at all? I know the hooks on my brackets cause enough pain. I can't imagine another kind of hook in there.

Good luck and keep us posted how your progress is going.

#8 Post by **mindwaves** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 3:13 pm

Thanks! Nothing digging in my checks, but I can feel them there, but if I don't think about it, then it really is nothing. I go to the ortho this coming Tuesday so she can hook up some springs or whatever she uses to close the gaps. I'm elastics free (or so I hope....hahaha)!!

#9 Post by **mindwaves** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 10:22 pm

So I finally got the little springs attached to my hooks. I look really weird now...=(

But no elastics for me (more now) !

My teeth do hurt a lot right now. Even biting into wheat bread hurts. But I expect that to subside hopefully overnight or soon afterwards.

#10 Post by **ghostmyimag3** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 5:57 am

Your braver that me!
ANYTHING to do with drilling count me out!!!!
However i'm glad you made the decision for what's best for your situation and hope you achieve what you desire from it!!

#11 Post by **cowlypso** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:14 am

Wow... $600! Probably not covered by my insurance... I was thinking about asking my ortho about implants as an alternative to the Nance and headgear, but that's a lot of money... I guess I'll still ask, but I have a feeling that I won't have to be psyching myself up for drilling anytime soon.

Glad that it's working out for you, though. It's always nice when they can accomodate some of your opinions into your treatment.

#12 Post by **mindwaves** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 10:03 am

A little update: So this Sunday after I finished eating my breakfast (a basic sandwich), I felt a weird ripping feeling in my mouth and I looked in the mirror and I saw that my dental implant thing (a screw essentially) was coming out along with some blood. Believe me, I was scared. I rinsed with mouthwash and called my perio and he told me to wait until tomorrow (bah) and so the next day, I saw him and he out it back in. The next day, I saw my ortho who put back the spring which was attached to my screw and she also did some weird figure 8 stuff and other stuff of which I have no clue so I'm good for 8 weeks until my next apt where they will be taking pictures of my progress.

My gaps are closing fast for sure, but I do not see any progress on my chin profile personally (which was the whole pt of getting my teeth extracted and getting those implants in). My ortho said I'm making fine progress, but I have to disagree.

#13 Post by **DrBill** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:58 pm

Those "hooks" are TADs - Temporary Anchorage Devices - and your orthodontist is right - they can not only move teeth but also help with your profile. Class II elastics - probably the most common kind we use - can procline the lower teeth. While we use rectangular wires to compensate, some patients will get a better result if elastics can be limited as much as possible. As far as closing extraction spaces, TADs can allow maximum retraction of the front teeth without slipping the back teeth forward, helping to improve certain profiles.

Temporary implants are touted as the next big thing in orthodontics and amazing things are being done with them. While you may want to take the precise angle quoted by your orthodontist with a grain of salt (it's often difficult to predict a profile effect that precisely) you can rest assured you're probably seeing some profile benefits compared to a correction with elastics.