Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey all. This is my first time posting on here. I have read a lot of interesting things on here and everyone seems really nice! But I have my own problems and questions.

Well the story is that I have had to get teeth pulled two seperate times, for both times i was put out for so i dont remember much, before i could get my braces. I had to get my two baby canine teeth pulled out, so now im stuck with a HUGE embarrasing whole where those two teeth were. It has been over a year that i had those teeth pulled and the adult teeth just won't come in. So my orthodontist doesnt want me to wait for them to come in naturally, he wants me to go for ANOTHER surgery.

Has anyone had this problem. Having both canine teeth pulled and they are waiting for their adult teeth to grow in. They have taken X-Rays and they are there, they just wont come in. Can anyone explain the process of having a tooth exposure. (i know that they attach a bracket somehow on the tooth and apply pressure down on the tooth so it will come in). But i dont know anything else. Also, how does it feel after having that done. Are you left with a huge hole? And how much does it hurt?

So anyways , im sucha big baby when it comes to things like that (im 18 ) and everytime i think about getting another surgery done i feel like crying. It has been SUCH a long process to get my teetth looking straight and they are almost done, but not having my two canine teeth is holding my orthodontist from doing anything else.

Sorry its soo long. I'm just so worried! Thanks for having the time to read

Hi, I wish I had an answer for you, but I think the best is to chat to your ortho and tell him about your concerns. Ask him if there's a specific reason why they're not moving down etc.

Best of luck and let us know how it's going!

I had the same problem, but only with one canine tooth, they removed the baby one and gave it six months, but the adult one didn't come in, despite being in a good position, so I asked for exposure surgery.

Don't bother googling the procedure, I did it looks grim, but the reality of it is far less traumatic that having a tooth removed, it was very quick. I had it under local. The procedure was they put some gel on my gum to numb it, so I wouldn't feel the injection to numb for treatment that followed. Then all I felt was some pressure, they lifted a bit of gum to get to the tooth, stuck a bracket on it, put the gum back and a stitch or two to hold it all together. The whole thing took less than 15 minutes. Two weeks later, I had the stiches removed and a little gold chain attached to the bracket under the gum was threaded through the archwire. Now every time I go for adjustments they remove a link. It has worked quickly, I had the procedure in September, I can see tooth now, another month or so and I will get a proper bracket and job done, tooth down.

It was definitely worth it for me and very simple. I had it done in the evening so I didn't need time off work and ate my usual dinner after the treatment and went back to work as usual the next day. I thought I might need painkillers after but I didn't. I would definitely recommend it, it's no fun going round with gaps for ages.

Your situation sounds similar to mine, in that if the teeth are is in a good position your ortho will wait longer before suggesting surgery, as there is every possibility they will come down on their own, if they are in a bad position, they are much more likely to have them exposed at the beginning of treatment, as it is very unlikely they will come down on their own. The good news is that if this is the case the tooth could be in the correct position within 6 mths.