Loose tooth

[Robot Teeth]

Six days in. Top right front lateral incisor is being pulled down and from what I can gather, has basically been extracted by a millimeter or two. It still sits there, obviously, and when I push on it with my bottom tooth, it moves. I'm sure that this is nothing new to most of you, but the feeling is super-creepy and I keep asking myself "what if it doesn't reharden because I'm an adult?! What if it falls out on my first adjustment when they take the ligature off?!"

Now would be a good time to reassure me that this is totally normal and that I'll be fine!

In other news, the extra large ligatures on the first molars, which are a different size, material, and color than my normal light blue ligs on the rest of my teeth, just went from faded neon blue to a sort of light blue-green color, after eating chili cheese tator tots with mustard from Sonic. Glad those are in the back where you cant see them. I'll get silver on the molars next time. Do I even need those ligs? I remember the assistant saying that they probably wouldnt stay on anyway. I think theyre just there to make the edges of the bracket softer in the beginning.

[orangeracer]

The looseness is creepy but kind of fun in a way. It tends to come and go in different areas over time, and I found that when they get loose the soreness is greatly reduced, so bonus! Loose also usually means on the move, (to a better place), so double bonus!

[kaylaa]

I agree, the first time I felt that loose "crackle" I was freaked out. But now I kind of like the feeling....

Weird. It's completely normal. I promise that your teeth will not fall out

[catgyrl]

Chili cheese tater tots with MUSTARD?? You are one brave soul! And here I am practically sticking my soda straw down my throat so the soda won't get onto my front brackets. As for fading ligs, as long as the ligs don't turn bright green or yellow, I don't see any problem with them fading. But since they're in the back, no one will see them anyway.

As for the looseness... wait until you bite down and the entire ROW feels like they're all spreading out! Cool feeling. haha

Hey... where are your pics? Are you going to post any?

-Cathy

[Crazy4Snow]

As for the looseness... wait until you bite down and the entire ROW feels like they're all spreading out! Cool feeling. haha
-Cathy

OMG, I hate that feeling! But I'm like everyone else, I'd rather feel them loose than hurtin' and it does mean they're on the move so I say...let 'em be loose!

[Robot Teeth]

Hey... where are your pics? Are you going to post any?

-Cathy

Every time I try to take a picture with all of my teeth showing, I have to contort my lips and face into something ugly that I am not yet willing to put forth as representation of myself! (I know its not recommended that people post full-face photos, but I'm a guy and for all I care, the fetishists can go crazy over my pics if they want)

I will definitely keep trying, and I'll most likely get some up very soon. If I can't get a good face shot, I'll just do teeth.

[Robot Teeth]

Chili cheese tater tots with MUSTARD?? You are one brave soul! And here I am practically sticking my soda straw down my throat so the soda won't get onto my front brackets.

Today for lunch I ate some middle eastern food with a bunch of curried rice. Couldn't believe that my ligs didn't change one bit. Light blue (3M, I believe) is the way to go! I sort of want to ask for a few spare ligatures of each color so I can bring them home and subject them to stain testing! (I'd probably score some brownie points if I posted my results here on the board, too, eh?!)

You have ceramic brackets, though. I've got all metal.

[Robot Teeth]

Guys come on, really? This tooth didn't just get extracted by the braces? It's feeling even more loose, and it has almost no sensitivity compared to every other tooth in my mouth. I'm actually pretty freaked out here. I mean, it feels like it's dead or something. That last sentence was hard to type.

I mean really, that stuff is going to harden back up, and it's going to feel normal again? Maybe I should call the office and tell them. It looks totally fine, but it's the only one that has this weird feeling, or lack thereof. And it's loose to the point where I feel like I could literally just pull it out if it wasn't attached to the wire.

Seriously creepy stuff here. It takes a hell of a lot to creep me out, too. I better not lose a tooth over this. I'd be incredibly angry and depressed, and I'd almost certainly abandon treatment.

[catgyrl]

I think you should call them, if it will ease your mind. However, I will tell you that not only did my teeth feel loose, I could actually SEE a couple of them move when I would drink hot or cold liquids! Sometimes I would just be sitting around, minding my own business, and it would feel like someone had tied a string to it and was yanking in it. I told my ortho this, and he didn't bat an eye. He said, "Yeah...that was me, remotely pulling on it from the office."

Go ahead and give him a call.

[Kipepeo]

I've had 3 wires already in my short time with lower braces. Each time that wire goes on, the whole row of fronts, the ones that we want to move, first hurt, then feel numb or dead. That dead feeling lasts a few days. The sensation changes to painless but loose, so when I bite on them it's like an old bruise that feels sort of good and loose in a wacky way. And while I like to bite them this way, I try not to because it feels like I'm moving the teeth to a position they shouldn't be forced into. Then all the sensations slowly go away to where the teeth just feel like teeth in braces.

When the wires are off in the ortho office, the teeth feel unsupported, like all the framework is missing, and I really want the wire back in. Weird, neat and questionable all at once!

[BracedinBoston6432]

I am newly braced and many of my teeth feel loose!

[Jensniffer]

I can wiggle my front bottom teeth and visibly see them move, kind of freaky, I try not to do it on purpose lol

[Robot Teeth]

I appreciate the accounts of loose teeth. They do make me feel a little better. I did call and leave a message at the office, although I doubt I'll receive a call back until monday.

I mean, I suppose I can tell you exactly what happened... The wire pulled the tooth down out of the socket by as little as a millimeter, but I can in fact push up on it and see it move. So the tooth has essentially been extracted. I don't think there's any way around that. But is this what is supposed to be happening? That's my question. There is a discrepancy between the top of my tooth's root, and the space it used to occupy. Is this space going to fill up with blood or calcium somehow and re-harden? Is that how this works? What if I severed the nerve because the tooth moved too fast and didn't bring the socket along with it? I need to know a little about the science here - I can't just relinquish control of my teeth and not understand exactly what is happening! I will be so incredibly sad if I lose a front tooth over this. It would be the biggest disappointment ever if I thought I was finally going to get braces and have my teeth straightened, only to lose a tooth and abandon treatment out of fear.

This website is obviously a great resource, but there needs to be some sort of book or website that tells people with braces exactly what to expect and educates them as to what is happening. I'm pretty sure that we can't count on our orthodontists to give us the education we need, unless we make a point of asking specific questions about every single thing we experience along the way. And since we only see our doctors every 4-12 weeks, it's not like they're available to answer questions all the time.