IMPACTED CANINES CLUB

[Alliscone]

I don't think the post I just sent worked! So sorry if this doubles up

So I had my exposure done in June, still no sign of tooth yet. I have noticed a larger bulge in my palate where tooth is, and my gap in my front teeth has closed up and one of my bicuspids been pushed out of alignment. The canine is close to those teeth roots so is obviously moving but who knows where to!
I work for my ortho so have been having it activated usually weekly/fortnightly, which is good given that other patients at my work wait 6-8 weeks!
My molars which are part of the plate I've got in to anchor the canine off to pull it away from my front teeth, aches for a few days after activating then settles down.
So next year I will be starting insignia braces, so we will see how that changes things.
As for the above comments about implants with braces, my work does it routinely with braces still on and never had any issues
I'm really hoping it starts to show soon, but I think I've only had like 4 Links removed in total so I don't think it will show soon but positive thinking!! :) goodluck everyond

[sdavis82]

Hi!
It's been a while since I posted and thought I would give an update, although not a really big one. Last month I did have an xray done. I wasn't able to see it at that appt. as it was taken right before I left and my ortho was with a new pt. I did see it at the last appt. last week though and I really saw was a bunch of metal. My ortho said that both canines have moved and more than she thought they would considering my age, but they have not poked through yet. Another thing she said that I am a bit anxious about is that we wont do another one for 5 months, which makes me think she doesn't expect them to poke through for at least another 5 months.

[MRule87]

Newbie here. What a super fun club we all get to be a part of. I've never met anyone (other than my dad) who has had this issue! Anywho, I am getting my exposure surgery tomorrow. I am a mixture of excited & scared! I know this might take a while but I'm 30 and it's due time. For my wedding, I had my dentist 'bond' my baby tooth and I've pretty much just been knocking the crap out of it since so it's super loose. I have SO many questions for my fellow Impacted Canine Club Adults w/Braces!!

What do I have to look forward to tomorrow and the next couple weeks?

How much pain will I be in?

How quickly will my mouth heal?

Is anyone 30 w/this same issue?

Does everyone else eat a lot of soft foods like ALL OF THE TIME now? Fave dishes?

Annnnddd last (but not least) Who has experienced weight loss with braces?

[impacted4lyfe]

Has anyone here had to do the exposure surgery a second time to help move the canine down? I had my baby tooth removed and canine exposure done in November 2016 but unfortunately it still hasn't poked through the roof of my mouth yet...it's been a frustrating process not being able to see it! According to x-rays, my canine does appear to have moved small amounts over the past year, so hopefully that's a good sign and means it's not fused to the bone. It doesn't seem to be moving down though, and all of the pulling force is actually affecting the alignment of my other good teeth :(

My orthodontist was not sounding very hopeful at my last adjustment, but says the oral surgeon could try to position the bracket in a more ideal spot AND leave the canine completely exposed this time so that it doesn't have to move through as much tissue. I can definitely feel the bump in my mouth where this sucker is, so I'm trying to remain positive and hope that this second exposure will make a difference. My original "estimate" was that I would be done with orthodontic treatment next month lol - wish that was the case.

I'm meeting with my oral surgeon in a few weeks, so we'll see what he recommends. Any advice would be appreciated! :)

[Shelleyt]

Sorry for the frustating delay impacted4lyfe! I had the same thing happen, so it is unfortunately pretty common for the exposure procedure to be repeated, although I think for most (including me) it’s repeated because the bracket/button bonded to the impacted tooth has fallen off, not for repositioning. I opted to not repeat it and instead gave up and am going the implant route. I hope for better luck for you!

[Whimsical]

I didn't have mine fully re-exposed as such, but my ortho and assistant did (randomly one day, with no prior warning - the idea just came to them as I sat in the chair and away they went, chopping away at me!!) remove some more gum after a year or so to try and give it more space and ease of movement. Ultimately it didn't work, but my canine hadn't moved at all anyway, so if yours has then hopefully it will help you! Fingers crossed!

I think that day when they randomly went for it was worse than my actual exposure, just a bit of numbing agent and then hacking away at me fully conscious, they memory haunts me

[strinder]

So I finally have my exposure booked in on Thursday!!

Just a couple of questions that I forgot to ask on my assessment (because I was so excited to be at the excited!)
- Did people have a particularly large recovery time?
- How long was it before you ate normally?
- How long was it before the stitches came out?
- When did you have the chain attached to your wire?

[Lis23]

[quote="strinder"]So I finally have my exposure booked in on Thursday!!

Just a couple of questions that I forgot to ask on my assessment (because I was so excited to be at the excited!)
- Did people have a particularly large recovery time?
- How long was it before you ate normally?
- How long was it before the stitches came out?
- When did you have the chain attached to your wire?[/quote]

I think it really depends on the person. My son had it on a Friday and he was eating the next day. For some reason I had this image that it would look bloody and cut up inside his mouth but it was not at all. He was able to eat soft foods the next two days but really he had no down time. The surgeon we had lasered behind his four front teeth and sewed him up as if nothing went on. You could just see the gold chains.

[Lis23]

I didn't have mine fully re-exposed as such, but my ortho and assistant did (randomly one day, with no prior warning - the idea just came to them as I sat in the chair and away they went, chopping away at me!!) remove some more gum after a year or so to try and give it more space and ease of movement. Ultimately it didn't work, but my canine hadn't moved at all anyway, so if yours has then
hopefully it will help you! Fingers crossed!

I think that day when they randomly went for it was worse than my actual exposure, just a bit of numbing agent and then hacking away at me fully conscious, they memory haunts me

I've heard of these orthos. Now you have me freaking out! My son had the hooks of his expander embedded and they sure just went in and Pulled them out with no warning. My poor son was in such pain.

[Dimitra]

Hey everyone!
Count me in. I am a 32 year old with impacted right canine. Mine is sitting a couple millimeters away from the surface with the root a bit shifted.
I had my clear braces on both jaws last week.
I saw three orthos when i was searching for one and two of them told me it should take about one year for the whole thing to be done and over with. The third guy said its at least 3 years. So i am really confused as to what to expect time wise.

Has anyone here had the whole thing done in one year?

[Lis23]

Hey everyone!
Count me in. I am a 32 year old with impacted right canine. Mine is sitting a couple millimeters away from the surface with the root a bit shifted.
I had my clear braces on both jaws last week.
I saw three orthos when i was searching for one and two of them told me it should take about one year for the whole thing to be done and over with. The third guy said its at least 3 years. So i am really confused as to what to expect time wise.

Has anyone here had the whole thing done in one year?

Everyone is different is all I keep hearing. Th e younger you are the easier it is to move. My ortho said 3 years for us also. Since the tooth was too close to the roots of the front four teeth she is pulling very slowly. My son is 13 by the way.

[strinder]

So I had my surgery on Thursday. I no longer have a right canine and instead, I have 3 dissolvable stitches and 1 stitch holding my gold chain onto a bracket!!

I had mine under local anaesthetic and I was so surprised that the anaesthetic worked instantaneously. Hearing my baby tooth come out was a bit grim but other than that everything went absolutely fine (the surgeon kept singing along to radio which was nice and calming). My appointment was at 9.30 and at 10.20 I was walking out so everything was nice and prompt. It went great and now I've just got to cross my fingers that the tooth now moves!!

[impacted4lyfe]

Thanks for sharing your experience, ShelleyT and Whimsical! I went ahead with the second exposure surgery and I've been in recovery mode for a week now. My surgeon just lasered away the gum tissue I believe, but surprisingly my pain was stronger this time than the first surgery where they had to do a lot more work. I was feeling fine and then it really kicked in about 3 days post surgery - being careful with what I eat and how I eat has been very helpful though! For anyone worried about pain after any exposure surgery though, it definitely gets better with each day so don't worry! I've never had to use the prescription painkillers I've been given :) but definitely take them if you need to lol. Got a sensitive stomach so I pretty much just stick with extra strength Tylenol in general.

I've attached a gross photo (https://s13.postimg.org/f6nhq3yqf/one_week.jpg) of how my surgical site has been healing for anyone who gets curious about this stuff. Top photo was taken on day of surgery, bottom a week later. Bad news is that my tooth may still not move despite all of this effort, which unfortunately seems to be the case for many. My surgeon tried to wiggle the tooth again and said it was very tight - he got little movement out of it, so he does not want me to get false hope. We'll probably try for another 3-4 months and get the canine removed for good if no progress is visible on x-rays...

Going to the orthodontist tomorrow for my follow up. I'm sure he will try to "activate" the chain - wish me luck! My gum tissue is still very tender in that spot so I'm not ready for much pulling force just yet, I'm going to make that very clear lol

[KarinaJean94]

Hey guys, I’m getting my canine exposure done in 3 weeks time and I’m sesame myself. I’m 23 and had braces on for 4.5 months now, I’ll be getting it done awake in the dental chair by an oral surgeon. I’ll be taking a 5mg valium before getting there, what’s some tips so I can stop being nervous? I really don’t want to have a panic attack when I’m there but I guess the diazepam will stop a panic attack from even coming on.

[strinder]

Hey guys, I’m getting my canine exposure done in 3 weeks time and I’m sesame myself. I’m 23 and had braces on for 4.5 months now, I’ll be getting it done awake in the dental chair by an oral surgeon. I’ll be taking a 5mg valium before getting there, what’s some tips so I can stop being nervous? I really don’t want to have a panic attack when I’m there but I guess the diazepam will stop a panic attack from even coming on.

Hi there, congratulations on your exposure coming around! I'd say it definitely depends on what you're like but I wasn't actually scared I just found it exciting that this thing I needed to have done for my braces to work had finally come around! The most nervous I felt it when I got called to the room but I was walked to the room by the dentist who did the exposure and we sat down at a table in the room and talked about it before I even went and sat in the chair. And then throughout it, the dentist was singing and whistling along to the radio.

I think it will be help to know that I didn't feel a thing. When they did injections I closed my eyes and it worked instantaneously and then I just closed my eyes for the majority of it. I realized about 30 minutes into it that I was shaking but I think that was from adrenaline instead of fear. You really will be fine!