Metal Mouth Message Board

I went in for my adjustment this aft, and all was going well. I was finally fitted for bands on my 2nd molars. Apparently, this leaves virtually no room between the last brackets and my cheeks. The assistant was unable to cut the leftover pokey wire with the usual cutters, so she asked the ortho to sand down the end of the wire.

Next thing I know there is blood POURING from my cheek! Then, to top it off, the ortho tells me I should have said ouch or something....Mind you I am still missing feeling from having SARPE done.

I had no idea how to respond, and I didn't want to upset the kids in the office, so I really didn't say anything. But, really, shouldn't he have been more careful???

Sorry to complain, but I needed to vent somewhere

Jean

Thanks for reading/responding Meryaten! I know accidents happen even to the best of us. I am really not upset with the ortho at all, I am just in quite a bit of pain right now

I guess I kind of wanted to warn others who may not have a whole lot of working room like myself. Things can happen in the blink of an eye.

Jean

That sounds like a pretty unfair thing to say. It almost sounds funny to me as it implies that he's disappointed for not being able to rely your pain receptors to help define his working perimeters for heavensakes! Not to mention that if it happened in a 'blink of an eye', like you suggest, then saying "Ouch" would have been too late anyway!

I'm sure he felt bad about it and clearly didn't take into account your compromised sense of feeling having just had SARPE. Yet, in case he hasn't made the connection, I really would find a suble way to point that out to him for the benefit of both he and his other patients. Like Meryaten suggested, a note or casually bring it up next visit.

Hope you are feeling better tomorrow, Jean!

Jean, I think a forum like this is a good place to get your fraustrations out, and nobody here minds!

hi jean

big hugs to you.

ive had a similar but less severe thing happen to me, im also very tight at the back of my mouth and at one adjustment the ortho put the wire in the back bracket and managed to drag abit of my cheek in too, trapping it in the bracket

obviously it started bleeding and she realised what shed done, and apoligised, but then said you should have shouted out. Can only imagine this is a response they learn at ortho school! lol.

Mine was much less severe, but her attitude didnt help.

My advice for you now is to put plenty of wax on the area near where it happened as otherwise the braces will prevent the area healing and hopefully this will help with the pain to.

Hope you feel better soon.

Louise

doctors...never ever own up to their errors...

One time I was jabbed in the face and another time I had the inside of my lip pinched with something. Neither incident caused any real injury, but the important thing is that both times I got an APOLOGY!

It sounds like you didn't, and I would be inclined to mention that to the ortho.

Unfortunately some folks just can't take responsibility for their own actions. It's too bad really. Hope everything is healing up alright.

Thanks so much for the responses and support from everyone! I am doing much better today

As it turned out, I had to go and see my family doc the next day anyway, so I explained what happened and asked for some antibiotics just to be on the safe side. I really didn't want to risk an infection in my mouth

So, I am still adjusting to the brackets being on the 2nd molars. The cut is healing well with the aid of salt water rinses. Hopefully over the next week or so my cheeks will adapt to the new things poking them. The muscles are very sore as there's no room at all for the brackets.

All in all, I understand that the ortho has a hard job. I don't fault him for what happened, really. I have been poked many times by the assistants on accident...I just can't wait to be able to eat again like normal. I have not been able to eat a real meal since the adjustment. That has more to do with the new brackets than the cut, too.

Thanks again for the support everyone

Jean