Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi out there. I'm 48 and am planning to get braces next week. As a kid, I had an uneven number of teeth pulled because "my mouth was too small" -- 4 up top and 2 on bottom but then never had braces. I remember being told to push against my bottom teeth with my tongue (guess that was way cheaper than braces.)

An an adult, my top wisdom teeth were extracted but I still have my bottom 2. When I bite down, my molars don't touch and the back of my top teeth hit the front of my bottom teeth. The ortho says my teeth will never completely align normally, but he said since I basically have the same number of teeth on top and bottom, he can align what I have and improve my bite so that there is less wear and tear on my front teeth, which are taking the brunt of my chewing.

I was also told that I present as a Class 2 overbite but skeletally I'm a class 3. He said I'll be in elastics (rubber bands?) for most of my treatment. If I understand correctly, that's to make sure that I don't end up with my bottom teeth too far forward (?).

My teeth aren't hugely crooked, but my bite has always been off. As I've gotten older, both my top and bottom teeth seem to be leaning inward, giving me a "thin lipped" appearance. The ortho plans to pull my teeth forward which will give me fuller looking lips. It all sounds very complicated to me and I'm extremely anxious about it all working out. From reading these postings, it seems that ortho is more art than science. I did get 3 other opinions before settling on my ortho and they were all fairly consistent. The guy I picked seems very conscientious and thoughtful and conservative. He sees a lot of adults, and doesn't think my case is super complicated. My dentists have been suggesting braces for years, now. One said if I was his mother (!) he'd recommend I get them. (Gee thanks! Will you pay for them, son?)

My main goal is to preserve my teeth as I age, hopefully avoid any joint issues (I have occasional mild TMJ symptoms like clicking and some pain). I guess I'll improve cosmetically too -- at least I hope I won't end up looking worse!

One more thing -- I read a scary thing about root resorption - the extreme pressure on the teeth sets off a chain reaction in the periodontal ligament and root... It apparently is fairly common in adult orthodontics but in more severe cases (3-5%) can ultimately lead to tooth loss. Has anyone heard of that or had issues because of it?

If anyone has had issues, concerns, treatment plan, anxieties similar to mine, I'd love to hear from you!
thanks
Lisa Szy

Hi Lisa, and welcome! Your situation sounds similar to mine. I am 41 with basically straight teeth but a bad bite. I, too, am concerned about long-term tooth preservation. I figure that I want to live at least 40 more years and would like to have my teeth for the rest of my life. They are wearing unevenly due to bad bite (they don't touch on left, they grind on right and I've got a pretty big overjet).

I've heard of that 'root reabsorption' thing too, and I worry about losing teeth or wearing them down and needing caps. No one can say for sure whether these things will happen, or whether I'll develop TMJ, but it seems worthwhile to do what I can to prevent it. Already, nearly all my teeth are chipped, cracked, and/or visibly worn from bad alignment. It would be nice to curb this before it gets worse (seems unlikely to improve with age and inevitable bone loss).

Good luck to you!! -Jade

It sounds like how I started, more or less. My teeth are class 3, but my bottom teeth are so crowded that they touched the inside of my upper teeth. Now that things have straightened, my bottom teeth have moved to be lined up and slightly in front of my top teeth. Its very very annoying. My ortho plans to correct with class 3 elastics, as well as a wire with expansion on the top coupled with a constriction wire on the bottom.