Braces with fillings and missing teeth

[allwasteandvoid]

Hey guys,

I have an underbite and I'm looking to get braces and have jaw surgery sometime in the future but I have a few questions.

Basically when I was a stupid teenager, my oral hygiene was not the best nor were my eating habits. I used to drink a lot of coke and eat a lot of sugary sweet things. I have about 6 large metal fillings and have had to have a tooth extracted on the upper left which was the one before the wisdom tooth (I think I heard to dentist say it was # 18) I still have all my wisdom teeth, all of them have erupted except the upper left, last X-ray I had the dentist said it was growing in pretty straight and shouldn't cause a problem.

I now realise how important it is to have good oral hygiene, I use a waterpik, brush, floss, fluoride mouthwash and use tooth mousse twice daily and go for regular checkups and haven't had any decay in quite some time.

Even though I had all these issues in the past would I still be able to get braces or is an orthodontist likely to refuse to treat me because of this.

Thanks you

[rowo]

I don't think it'll be an issue. Sounds like you are in the same boat as I was. I have some fillings (also due to poor oral hygiene as a teenager) and I was missing an adult tooth (it never grew in, and my baby tooth in that spot hadn't fallen out yet). I also have an underbite which will be fixed with surgery.

As long as your oral hygiene is good now, an orthodontist would likely treat you.

[sirwired]

Fillings are no problem; you may need molar bands (instead of glued brackets) on those teeth if the fillings are on the side. And dealing with the aftermath of extraction gaps is pretty routine too. How he'll deal with it depends on the state of the supporting bone where the 2nd molar used to be; that can be easily determined from a Panorex.

[beckyboo0205]

I have one of the most giant fillings known to man on a molar and I have a bracket glued on. No problems yet, 14 months in!

[allwasteandvoid]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I supposed I'm a little bit paranoid I really don't want to have to have horrible teeth and an underbite for the rest of my life, it's funny though my teeth are actually pretty straight except for a few on the bottom left toward the back. It's just that in order to get the bite fixed I'm told you need braces and perfectly straight teeth first.

I'm waiting until early next year to see an orthodontist when my waiting period on my health insurance is up, I guess all I can do until then is keep my teeth nice and clean and go for checkups regularly.

Thanks to all who replied. I'll probably make another post sometime next year ha ha :)

[Snowglobe32]

allwasteandvoid~

I have one large filing and I also had a few extracted teeth prior to having braces...all my gaps were closed except for one. Bottom left, right molar before the wisdom tooth... That gap did not close because there was no bone left to move. If I recall, this tooth was extracted probably in early highschool, I was 33 when I got braces. So, depending on how long the teeth have been extracted, it could play a factor in your case.

[Ciara]

I never had an upper right lateral incisor, my dentist as a child pulled a bottom 1st premolar, my present dentist pulled a bottom 2nd premolar (vertically fractured from root to crown), I had my wisdom teeth removed and have huge fillings in all 1st molars - all have been filled multiple times.
Most of the extraction gaps are fully closed; I have about 1mm to go for one space. I have molar bands on my 1st molars. So far, it is all working out ok so.
I'm sure your ortho will be able to manage fillings and spaces. These are not uncommon problems in adult orthodontic patients so don't worry about it too much.

[nicolie825]

Also due to bad oral hygiene as a kid and my parents never taking me to a dentist, I have large fillings in my upper incisors. I've seen at least 5 orthodontists for consultations and the fillings have never been an issue as far as treatment goes. I am set to get my braces on early next month. Once I'm done with braces I can get veneers on my incisors