gap toothed

Message

#1 Post by **starryeyedfairy** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 12:37 pm

Hi,

I've been wearing braces for almost a year on the bottom and about 8 months on the top.

my situation of the day, is this pesky gap i have between my two front teeth. i've had it since i was a child to due my frenulum, but i had that chopped off before i got braces.

anyways the doc says that we might have to bond the gap shut, i've been wearing a 'powerchain' (i think its called that) on my two front teeth since feburary 15th, intially it moved my teeth a little bit but now i feel its come to a stale mate... is it going to take more time? or is the end of the road in terms of the gap shutting anymore.

is there any other way of mending these two teeth shut instead of bonding?

and does bonding last forever?

#2 Post by **starryeyedfairy** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 12:40 pm

oH! and i forgot to ask...

does any one know the usual going rate for bonding teeth?

#3 Post by **SnowSara** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:10 pm

I looked into bonding to fix my front gaps, but decided braces were better in the end. I've had braces for just over 2 months and have had a power chain for about 2 weeks. I've noticed slight movement, but don't expect my gaps to close for quite some time. Be patient and tell your ortho your worries.

Not sure about pricing in your area, but I do know that no, bonding does not last forever. 5-10 years is what my dentist told me. My dad had his front middle gap bonded and is very happy with the results, even if he does have to go back in eventually to get it replaced.

#4 Post by **starryeyedfairy** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:50 pm

i wonder how long it takes for the gaps to close though?

i know its varies case by case, but i was wondering if anyone knew the average time span?

i kind of rushed into the whole braces process and absolutely hate my ortho... i feel like she's scamming me, or scamming me into the best situation for her (getting more money) than the best situation for me (keeping it cost effective). and she's very snooty.

i really should've done my homework on this thing, but whats done is done.

my ortho is set on bonding for closing the gaps... so i guess there no other method of closing them? i thought powerchains would have done it.

#5 Post by **starryeyedfairy** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 8:50 pm

maybe i will M., maybe i will.

i just can't wait for this sucker to close though, looks like its not going to be happening before the first week of may though (boo).

i have a very important social gala to attend, i haven't seen some of the people that are going to be there in almost a year!

#6 Post by **starryeyedfairy** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 8:58 pm

but anyways back to the ortho...

she's most likely going to ignore my wishes and do whats best for her... for her paycheck that is.

i'm just reallly frustrated with myself for not doing my homework and jumping head-first in this situation.

...so now due to the pull between my two front teeth, and the slight improvement there... that has caused another gap, on the next space over (perfect) which she intends not to powerchain, but too bond.

i'm afraid this is going to be getting very expensive

.

#7 Post by **neelie** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 2:24 pm

I too had an overlapped front tooth. Now my two front teeth are straight but I developed a gap between them. To me the gap was big enough to drive a truck through!!! At my sixth adjustment he put a powerchain on the two front teeth. Three days later and the gap between the lower part of the tooth is gone!!!!but remains between the top of the teeth. Anyone know how they close a gap between the upper part of the teeth???

#8 Post by **neelie** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 6:47 pm

Thanks Maryaten. Understand with your egg example. I will bring this up with my ortho at my next appointment. Probably something he'll address further into my treatment. I'm only six months along on this journey.

#9 Post by **starryeyedfairy** » Mon May 14, 2007 4:23 pm

thanks to everyone who replied to this topic with factual and interesting points.

i'd like to inform you my giant gap has of now disappoeared, now i only have a somewhat medium sized one next to my front two teeth
but the my two front teeth have closed and that was my main concern... i guess my ortho will just bond the other one?

funny story how it happened... well it wasn't funny at the time, but ya know...

so i'm at the ortho's office getting some molds done of my teeth... the assistant/nurse can't seem to get the molds off my teeth, so she's yanking and yanking... and i'm literally sitting there, with my entirely drool covered bib, and tears rolling down my face because of the pain... and finally

SNAP!

she pulls off the mold and by doing that she pulls out my powerchain, so of course she has to refit a new one in... and within a week or two this new powerchain has closed the gap. voila!

so hopefully this finicky gap stays closed and wont move once i get my retainers in... which'll be in i dont even know how long!?

#10 Post by **starryeyedfairy** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:23 am

hmm, i dont think so.
my ortho is stuck on bonding, she even wanted to bond that giant gap i had.
i really think what she wants is money.
but who knows maybe i'm wrong, maybe it is the only option?
she said it was.
?

#11 Post by **Pixel Witch** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:50 am

How was your frenectomy? I too have a large gap between my two front teeth (see www link) due to a naughty frenulum.

My ortho is going to try to close it as much as possible before I decide to go ahead and get rid of it. I just got my braces on Thursday, but he powerchained it and it is already starting to close a little.

I am petrified of the procedure, lol!

Congrats on yours closing - I know how GREAT that must feel!

#12 Post by **starryeyedfairy** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 1:30 pm

the frenectomy wasn't that bad.
of course it hurt like hell, and was rather uncomfortable to laugh, eat, and smile for the next week or so
but after that it was perfectly fine, if not even better than before.

i did get the procedure done at the ortho office, i got it done a little bit before i had the braces put on due to the fact that i knew it would lead to problems later on, also due to the problem that it was torn which could lead to an infection (i've had infection there before, painful!)

i got it done at an E.N.T. office, where basically the doctor numbed the area then sawed it off with a scalpel... which took an excruciating amount of time, then stichted me up and threw me a bag of ice and said 'see you around kid'

...yeah not one of my fondest memories.

i'd suggest getting it done at the orthos office (as i assume you would). my ortho wants to take off even more of it, he said the other doctor left too much on... but considering its not interfering with the gap closing process, i'm fine with the way it is.

Sat Jun 30, 2007 12:35 pm

the gap toothiness saga continues...

so all is going well, actually better than expected.
my ortho thought it would be a better idea to try and close the gaps w/ powerchains (?) than to just cover them up w/ bonding.
its going to take a little longer to finish now, but i really don't care.