IMPACTED CANINES CLUB

[mommy]

Hi,
I am getting my braces on in July and I also have impacted tooth (I am 31 years old). My ortho seemed very positive about getting it out with braces (bracket put on and chain), but I'm extremely worried about it after reading so many struggle stories. My treatment plan is 2 years in braces and I don't want to end up having them on forever (2 years already seems like forever). I had consultation with oral surgeon before I even considered having braces on and he suggested impacted tooth extraction with surgery. Should I just go with that or risk possible prolonged braces treatment?
Thank you.


PS: I apologize for any grammar mistakes (English is my second language).

[LuckyLola]

Hi LuckyLola...thanks for your reply. To answer your question the 1st ortho is concern about the way my impacted canine is poorly positioned. If I agree to the treatment of getting braces and exposure then he will get more diagnostic records and consult w/ an oral surgeon and then he will further advise me if it is better to go ahead w/ exposure or extract the tooth. Before all the consultation my dentist gave me a variety of option from implants, bridges, etc but he said since I still have my natural tooth I should try and get it expose. So that was when I ask for list of orthos he would recommend to me and he said they will give me different options etc and it is best to have several different consultation before making your decision. Oral surgeon? I never thought of consulting w/ an oral surgeon before. But yeah I have another consultation coming soon and probably will need to find couple more before I make my decision of who I want to be treated by. For sure it is not #2 ortho.[/quote]

I agree, it's best to save the natural tooth and to have several different consultations before making your decision. Oral surgeons are familiar with exposure surgery and mine gave good advice.
Read and ask as many questions as you can think of. This board is a great tool!

I am getting my braces on in July and I also have impacted tooth (I am 31 years old). My ortho seemed very positive about getting it out with braces (bracket put on and chain), but I'm extremely worried about it after reading so many struggle stories. My treatment plan is 2 years in braces and I don't want to end up having them on forever (2 years already seems like forever). I had consultation with oral surgeon before I even considered having braces on and he suggested impacted tooth extraction with surgery. Should I just go with that or risk possible prolonged braces treatment?

2 years isn't long.. the time will pass quickly. No one was more hesitant than me! Also, clear and lingual braces are options. I have lingual on the top and clear on the bottom, and it's perfect for me.
I'm 10 yrs older than you and my tooth is coming down quickly. Why did the oral surgeon recommend extraction? I would consult with orthodontists first. As I mentioned above, it is best to save your natural tooth.

Good luck with your decisions!

[mommy]

LuckyLola,

thank you for your reply. It's great to hear that your tooth is moving quickly, makes me feel much more better knowing that it actually works (I've read too many bad stories).

I had oral surgeon consultation a year ago - I lost my baby tooth I don't even know when and new adult tooth never came out (impacted one is no. 25 - I'm not sure about its name, it's on the bottom/right). All my bottom teeth just tilted toward that gap and now those two teeth around that gap are touching on the top - like inverted V (I hope this makes sense). I had some gum infection there a year ago, that's why he suggested extraction. But infection was gone after one round of antibiotics so I never went through with surgery. So my orthodontist's plan is to bring my bottom teeths back first and after that to try to work with impacted tooth. I also have huge overjet, that needs to be "camouflaged" after that, I'm not sure if that has to wait after everything else is fixed. How long does it take to bring impacted tooth out? I am just not seeing everything done within 2 years period...

[katielouise]

Hello there

I am new to this forum so don't know if I'm putting my post in the correct area but I too am just starting my treatment for an impacted canine :( which is very stressfull!

I am 24 and have my left canine impacted, was given the options of replacement (very expensive!) Or the exposure survey and orthordonically aliign which after months of debating I went for.

I had the baby tooth removed and the canine exposed last week however no chain was attached at the time of surgery. I have an appointment in 4 weeks to have a brace fitted but am a little concerned about the chain being fitted.

I have no brace at the minute but was given a retainer to wear to stop other teeth moving but the 2 front teeth next to the gap are really sore and a little wobbly and I feel I am doing more damage than good each time I put it in and out (it is very tight)

Has anybody else had the chain and brace fitted after exposure, also is it normal for my other front teeth to feel like this?

Any comments would be appreciated!

Thanks
Katie

[LuckyLola]

I had the baby tooth removed and the canine exposed last week however no chain was attached at the time of surgery. I have an appointment in 4 weeks to have a brace fitted but am a little concerned about the chain being fitted.
I have no brace at the minute but was given a retainer to wear to stop other teeth moving but the 2 front teeth next to the gap are really sore and a little wobbly and I feel I am doing more damage than good each time I put it in and out (it is very tight)
Has anybody else had the chain and brace fitted after exposure, also is it normal for my other front teeth to feel like this?

Hi Katie,
I did not have a brace fitted immediately either. What concerns you with having a chain attached? It's what will bring your tooth into position.

Did your orthodontist mention that you can have a flipper attached to the teeth to cover the gap? I have this. It looks like a tooth so you don't have a gap. This may help your teeth from shifting also. You can speak with your dentist about it as well.

When will your braces be put on? Mine were put on before the tooth was removed.

[katielouise]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm a bit of a worrier at the best of times! I did ask about something for the gap but the ortho said it would be getting to complicated!

I do not have the brace on at the minute, I think it will be fitted at my appointment in 4 weeks but communication has been pretty poor!

With regard to having the chain fitted I don't know how big of a job it is and whether enough of the tooth has been exposed but really don't want any injections, I had the exposure done under general.

Thanks

[danak002]

Hello, I am 22 years old and just had exposure surgery done. Two baby teeth taken out and one exposure. I decided I didn't want to be awake after hearing details of the surgery so I opted for general anasthesia, and as soon as they put the IV in me I was out. I originally had 2 impacted canines, couldn't get the surgery right away because of money problems, and then in the meantime one of them actually grew in completely (just not in the right spot, behind my teeth!) which was completely unexpected at my age. However the left canine is diagonal in my pallette so no go on that one... it's very close to the surface of the pallette so fortunately I have no swelling on the front of my mouth. They pulled out both canine baby teeth, so now I have these really lame gaps. They already attached my bracket and chain, and next week I go back to the ortho to get it attached to my wire and to put a bracket on the other canine. He actually said that the canine that already came in will take some time to move in as he has to rotate it. Ortho said maybe a year for both, oral surgeon said six months, I'd rather believe the oral surgeon but we'll see! Everything looks good and I've been told I'm pretty dentally immature so they're optimistic about the tooth coming in. In the past my teeth have moved very quickly, I was ready for the surgery much sooner than expected, only to not be able to afford it. The only thing is I've had braces on since I was 17 and it's very emotionally stunting, I just want them off already so I can feel like a normal girl in her twenties!

Also right now the entire roof of my mouth is swollen and the stitches are sort of awkwardly placed, and you can see them from the front of my mouth which is annoying! How long do they take to dissolve? And I'm starving, what can I eat? Yesterday it hurt to even drink water, I managed a thing of pudding before bed but it hurt so much I'm not sure it was even worth it. Hopefully today I can manage something a little bit more substantial.

[katielouise]

Hi there

My stitches have taken 3 weeks to dissolve and I had them around my gums and in the pallet. Before they dissolved I tended to eat smoothies and milkshakes through straws and just had yoghurt. After about a week I started to have more solid foods but ones which were soft like potato waffles with plenty of butter and pancakes as these don't take much chewing.

Its great your teeth have started moving. I'm waitring to have my brace fitted in 2 weeks and the chain put on my tooth.

Hope this helps.

Katie

[Danielle18]

Hey there! I battled with the decision of whether or not to get braces in order to have this procedure done for a long, long time. My teeth weren't crooked but the small baby tooth always made me hate my "uneven" smile. So after picturing my someday wedding with an uneven smile I decided to take the plunge. My braces were put on October 2010 and I had my left upper baby tooth pulled and a chain attached to my adult canine in the roof of my mouth on Friday. To be honest, I had all 4 wisdom IMPACTED wisdom teeth pulled at once so this was nothing compared to that. Don't get me wrong, I definitely needed my meds to take the pain away but it wasn't as awful as I imagined. So far i've been eating softer foods - shakes, mashed potatoes, pancakes, mac and cheese. But today I was able to eat some pasta and a tuna salad just fine. As long as I keep everything on the right side of my mouth i'm good. My oral surgeon was super optimistic because i'll be 22 in 2 months and being young is a benefit. After the surgery he explained he is less optimistic because my bones are so strong. On the brightside he said i'll never have osteoporosis. At first I was very upset and discouraged but I am staying positive and hoping for the best. He did NOT say that it would not come down, he just said it would be more difficult. I hope soemthing happens fast because having a space in my mouth makes me look like im 12. Anyway, I found this board and figured i'd shop by and hopefully hear some positive stories from people who can relate.

[danak002]

Did anyone else have the roof of their mouth remain numb after exposure surgery? I got my surgery done Friday and it's still numb. Apparently he had issues with a nerve and said it may remain numb for about a month?? Is this normal?

[katielouise]

Hi

Before my surgey they did explain that there was a risk of nerve damage, mainly on the roof behind the other teeth. My mouth was only numb for about a week so I don't think the nerve was damaged. My surgeon said that it is something you would get used to quickly and won't notice after a while. I hope it sorts itself out soon for you, I'm sure it will your surgeon sounds confident if he said only a month.

Katie

[tkna]

Hi it is me again. I finally went to my 3rd consultation and I believe I found my ortho.
Estimated time he gave me was 30months but there is still that uncertainty of the canine
not coming down and having to have it extracted or possible for canine to come down
faster than the estimated time, etc. Once I decide on getting the treatment he will make
an appointment for me w/ a maxillofacial surgeon and have my upper canine exposed and get chain.
Before I do that I have to get my finance together to pay for this treatment because is way more
than the other orthos that I previously saw. My treatment coordinator said that I would be
getting damon braces top and bottom, but the others I visited said the traditional metal braces is
that why the price is so much more?

Anyone know what is the difference between damon vs traditional metal braces?
Also, he also suggested I get my impacted wisdom teeth extracted and setup an appt
for me 2wks from now. Say I got my tooth exposed and have my braces on can I still get my
2 impacted wisdom teeth pulled or will it be best to get the wisdom teeth pulled first then
exposure and braces?

[katielouise]

Hi

Its good you have found an ortho that you like and trust now!

I think the damon braces are clear like ceramic or something so they are less noticable but I'm not sure so someone correct me if I'm wrong.

If this is the case you are right in thinking that's the price hike

Katie

[Danielle18]

My exposure surgery is tomorrow!!

Im so scared--!!!!! And i'm hoping my face doesnt get swollen..

Don't be scared! Just had mine last week and it is not that bad. I'm a pretty big baby too. Just make sure you keep up on your pain meds or else you won't be able to get on top of the pain quick enough.

[tkna]

So apparently my cost estimation I got from my ortho was only for braces and does not include cost of getting my impacted canine expose. Can anyone tell me what the cost you had for exposure?