Train Tracks - 4 Months In

[t1ckalish]

So here I am joining this group for some moral support.

I used to suck my thumb as a kid and I have too many teeth for my very small mouth, the legacy is that I have sticky out rabbit teeth, an overbite and my bottom midline is off. Having been given then opportunity to have braces in my teens and due to a break down in communication I find myself now 32 and in braces ... and ONLY because I asked my dentist what she could do about some chips in my front tooth and she suggested a veneer, which would have made my already rabbity teeth look horrendous! So she offered to send me to the ortho for a review.

So the ortho tells me that I have a complex case and that I will need braces for approx 2 years and that I will need to have 4 extractions ..aaaargh!! Now I hate the dentist, and a bad experience as a child left me terrified of needles etc, so you can imagine the feeling in the pit of my stomach :-(

Luckily I have an excellent new dentist who is very understanding. I had left and right upper 1st pre-molars extracted without a problem. Then I went to have the lower right pre-molar taken out only to discover that my own dentist couldn't find enough room around the tooth to get it out, so referred me to the dental hospital who currently have a 12 week waiting list.

So this is fine, meanwhile I'm back at the ortho to have my upper brace fitted, I discuss the extraction problems with him and he says "but she's taking out the wrong tooth!" Apparently he had written a letter to the dentist outlining the extractions (L + R upper pre-molars, and lower L + R pre-molars) changed his mind, issued a second letter detailing upper L + R pre-molars and lower L pre-molar and R excluded incisor! and then the reception staff mixed them up, and my dentist got the wrong letter :-( Anyhoo... the outcome is that the lower left pre-molar came out just fine and that only left the front excluded incisor to extract. I was a mess on extraction day, however my trusty dentist Teresa managed to get it out (tho it was tricky) and I, after floods of tears, made the happy call cancelling the dental hospital appointment.

I feel INCREDIBLY lucky to be given the opportunity again, even more so because my work is all being done and paid for on the NHS - they consider my case severe enough to forgoe the £300 they sometimes ask you to pay.

I have been fitted with metal braces on the uppers for the past 4 months, I haven't had a lot of pain just general discomfort, and I have found that I have dropped a dress size - which isnt good as I now look like Twiggy!

Things look like they are going well but today I went to have a wire changed only to find out that one of my back molars hasn't rotated enough to fit the thicker wire :-( They couldn't even squeeze in the intermediate wire so they put in a 22.5 wire (sorry im not very au fait with the terminology) which I think is what I've had for the previous 4 weeks. I'm back to see my Ortho in 3 weeks time for his take on what's happening. I realise that I am pretty desperate to have my bottom braces fitted. I seem to have this fixed in my head as a goal post (tho I'm not sure why) and because it's another month or so away I feel very disappointed.

Looking forward to my next appointment with Nimo (my ortho has the coolest name!) hopefully he will agree to put these lower braces on soon ...

[pidgiepops]

Hi t1ckalish

We are in a quite similar situ, I am also 32 and have had my treatment approved on the NHS, I think the reason it was approved for me is because my lower teeth are crowded and off centre although this is not obvious. I was actually going to cancel my treatment as I thought the extractions and 2 year sentance was a bit much as i didnt feel my teeth were that bad!! On closer inspection they are pretty crooked - amazing how i didnt notice all these years lol. but the receptionsit advised me it had been apporved in a time when lots of people including children are being turned away so i thought I would just go for it.

I had 3 extarctions at the dentsit the other day, it would have been 4 but I already have a missing tooth quite far back upper left. If its any consolation, I was also quite upset, it wasnt sore and i didnt even feel the jags but was just the pressure and the fact the first tooth to come out cracked so the tears were streaming down my face but 3 days on and its not too bad. My D day for the dreaded braces is next wed 7th dec!!

Iv been trawling the internet and youtube trying to find out as much as i can but suppose i will only know when I get them for myself, I hope you get your bottom ones soon and will follow your story

xx

[t1ckalish]

Hi Pidgiepops :-)

Nice to see someone else from the UK going through a similar thing.

I also trawled the internet and you tube for information, part of the reason why I came across archwired. I also have a 'nance button' fitted to stabilise my back teeth, I'm likely to have this until the gaps on either side are closed. It started out a complete nightmare - couldn't eat or speak properly for a few days but I'm used to it now, although I still have a slight lisp, especially when I'm tired :-( They didnt tell me I was getting this so it was a bit of a surprise and the information on it was quite hard to find until I knew what it was .. LOL

My kids are 4 and almost 1 and the eldest thinks it's cool that I'm wearing braces, this whole dreaded experience is turning into quite a positive learning process for the kids.

Good luck on Wendesday - the whole brace fitting experience is interesting to say the least. Look forward to hearing your story :-)

xx

[t1ckalish]

This morning I had another appointment with my ortho - he took out the old wire and said I was now moving onto the strongest wire I would get for the rest of my treatment. He's put a clear power chain back on across my front 4 upper teeth and replaced the ligatures on the front 6 uppers (nice purples ones this time) but no ligatures on my back molars and I now have these gold hook things tied to my eye teeth.

Does anyone know what these hooky things are for??

Still no sign of my bottom braces, Nimo says we're looking at another few months before they go on :-(

[Snowglobe32]

The hooks could be for elastics.

[t1ckalish]

Hi Snowglobe,

I was actually thinking the same thing, but I only have top braces fitted at the moment - wouldn't i need the bottoms on too?

I'm still a newbie here so I dont think I can post a pic - I will try to get one on as soon as I can.

[kennyandrew85]

You're certainly very lucky to get braces on the NHS at 32.
I'm 26 and they told me no chance I would have to pay every penny myself and my teeth were BAD.

[t1ckalish]

Hi kennyandrew,

It really sucks how it seems to be a lottery over free treatment!

I also had a medical exemption card due to having had a baby which they accepted - Every pregnant lady in the UK gets a medical exemption card from the time they find out they are pregnant to 1 year after the baby's date of birth (mines expired now)

I just got extremely lucky I think, I fully expected to have to pay because I work full time. If I'd had to pay for my treatment it would have been my birthday and christmas present for years!

Are your teeth now fixed? Are you in treatment?

[kennyandrew85]

Ah I see, Yeah i heard if you are pregnant you get free dental care.
I'm 8 months into ceramic traditional braces, i managed to get it on 0% finance so that's lucky in itself but in total it's costing £2800.00.

It's my fault really I turned down the free NHS opportunities when i was under 16 due to not wanting to look uncool.
Now i think, what's less cool, a brace or sticky out teeth? ha

[pidgiepops]

Hi t1ckalish hope things are going well for u.

Well thats me exactly 3 weeks in with my top and bottom tracks, its not been too bad really, first week only ate soup and porridge but lets just say I managed my xmas dinner no probs lol

Iv already noticed some minor changes, one of my bottom teeth used to stick up higher than the rest and is now more level and my overlapping top front tooth is moving too so its all good

My first tightening is due on 01/02/12 and it cant come quick enough as Im in a bit of a panic after reading a thread on here about facial changes and loss of fullness of your lips etc as a result of extractions. Im now terrified that my quest for perfect teeth will result in a worse outcome

I did question my ortho for needing the room of 2 teeth on top when really the crowding was minor but she said I was to trust that my top teeth would sit perfectly over the bottom, I hope shes right as I like my face the way it is lol. Think i will ask her about it when i next see her.

Seems such a long road at this point, lets hope its all worth it xx

p.s. I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old, my eldest had a good look at them on the first day but hasnt mentioned them again since.

[t1ckalish]

Well had another adjustment 30th Jan. Ortho didnt change the wire, powerchain or ligs and I still have the gold hook things, still not sure what they're for. I now have metal ties around my upper 3's on either side, and have a power chain which goes around the bracket on each 3 and stretches back to the hook on the band around my molar, sort of like a rubber band I guess.

My ortho says that he's going to start retracting my teeth, but he's going to do it one tooth at a time - which will be a very slow process. This is fine for the side teeth but I'm worried about how he's going to tackle the front teeth. Anyways, my teeth ACHE!! and I've had a sore head since yesterday Sure it'll pass, not looking forward to having to go through this with every tooth. Still no bottom braces and I'm 6 months into treatment.

I was told by the ortho at the start of treatment that the shape of my face WOULD change, some clients like it and others dont, so I'm waiting to see what happens as already my cheeks have hollowed out and I look gaunt, and my upper lip has moved back and yes i'm losing some fullness of my top lip. It's not too drastic at the moment but I still have a long way to go.

Has anyone else had their teeth moved one at a time??

[kennyandrew85]

the NHS only charge £300.00 if your case ins't severe?!

Why on earth did I pay £2700.00, I thought the NHS didn't do braces unless you were a child or pregnant.

This makes me sad!

I'm sure your face will regain it's fullness when you put some weight back on

[t1ckalish]

LOL, no Kennyandrew 85, I think your case has to be severe enough for the NHS to accept you for treatment, if you're case wasnt severe I dont think you'd be accepted at all. However I'm told that sometimes they ask you to pay a small sum towards to cost - Nimo warned me that the maximum I might be asked to pay was £300 but luckily they agreed to fund the whole cost.

It's true that children get free dental treatment but now-a-days this doesn't apply to orthodontics unless you have a very severe case. I'm lucky in that I was accepted at a time when many thousands of kids are being refused free treatment.

Women do get free dental treatment when pregnant and 1 year after the baby's birth, but I'm not sure how far this goes.. I chanced my luck and for once thankfully the lady was on my side.

I wouldn't feel bad about it as it seems only the lucky few get free dental treatment these days.

Better that you've taken things into your own hands anyways, you have the upper hand as you're paying for it and can question things. I kinda feel like it's a bit cheeky to be questioning the ortho when I'm getting it for nothing

[BracedInNOLA]

Don't feel guilty about how the orthodontist is getting funded!!!

It's still your health and your mouth and your progress. ASK QUESTIONS!!! You're not questioning his judgement - just getting information and asking 'what if' questions. Even if nothing changes in your treatment, if you know the 'why' behind things, you may feel more empowered.

[t1ckalish]

Hi BracedInNOLA

I feel like a bit of a lemming, just going along to appointments and accepting whatever Nimo does. I haven't been told what my treatment will entail, I only know that my sentence is roughly 18 - 24 months.

When the uppers were fitted I was also fitted with a fixed appliance. I wasnt told I was going to have this and wasn't told what it was, or what it was for. After trawling the internet I manage to figure out that I had a nance button I dont know how long I'm likely to have this in and so have resigned myself to having it for the rest of my treatmet time. I'm now wondering what other 'surprises' Nimo has in store for me!

I'm normally a complete control freak and like to know the ins and outs of things, however, with this I feel so out of control due to the fact that I dont know what's going to happen. I am terrified that he is going to spring head-gear on me, I'm just not prepared to go down that route. I know there are other options, and I'm worried about my front two teeth, one of which sticks out a bit and doesn't seem to be coming back into line - I guess I just want reassurance that this tooth will be re-aligned.

I know I should be asking questions, but I bottle it everytime. I trust Nimo and the practice is well respected, but I would like to know what the plan is. My next appointment is on 16th March so I have time to psych myself to ask him about it - maybe I'll write my questions down before I go.