Metal Mouth Message Board

I feel like he should have told me first because i was happy with my bottom teeth and now I'm not. My teeth have increased sensitivity to cold food and drinks now. He just got his drilling thing and started shaving between to make gaps but i never told him i was okay with that and when he told me afterward i was upset but didn't tell him. What should i do? Should i trust that he knew what he was doing? I'll never get that enamel back. :(

Reshaping of teeth is a very common procedure done to help your teeth fit better together. Sometimes to reduce the appearance of black triangles, and sometimes to make space in non-extraction cases or in cases with mild crowding. Some amount of sensitivity is normal especially not long after, but it should go away quickly too. I don't think there's anything you can do about it, because like you said, you'll never get the enamel back, but with regard to getting closure on that episode, the only thing you could probably do is to let him know that you are upset and was not ok with it.

If you are really not ok and don't want to get your teeth reshaped, you could also tell your ortho that you do not want anymore reshaping, and perhaps negotiate to settle and make do with whatever alignment your teeth's natural shape and available space allows for.

Teeth shaving (i.e. interproximal reduction aka IPR) removes only miniscule amounts of enamel and is frequently done for the reasons listed above. The sensitivity to cold should resolve quickly. I had IPR to both upper and lower teeth during my prior treatment and was very pleased with the result (the reduction of "black triangles" on the bottom and the elimination of a small gap between my upper centrals).

Since it concerns you, I would suggest asking your ortho to discuss this with you prior to any further IPR.

All the Best,

Jethro

He said it was to fix my midline. But it's still not lined up so it was for nothing.

It's not ok to do permanent things to the teeth without informing the patient. Maybe whatever he was trying to fix with that was not an issue for you in the first placement I would definitely make that clear to him, do that something like this doesn't happen again.

I also had my bottom teeth shaved in between them to fix a midline.

If your midline is a bit off, (like mine was), and there is also not enough room to be able to move the teeth around to centre it, the orthodontist will shave a space between some of the teeth, so that there is room for one "side" of the set of teeth to move, and hence correct the midline.

You said that "it's still not lined up", but how long has it been since your appointment? It took me many months for the braces to eventually pull the teeth into the correct midline position.

[quote=Kalia post_id=503514 time=1532092483 user_id=24664]
I also had my bottom teeth shaved in between them to fix a midline.

If your midline is a bit off, (like mine was), and there is also not enough room to be able to move the teeth around to centre it, the orthodontist will shave a space between some of the teeth, so that there is room for one "side" of the set of teeth to move, and hence correct the midline.

You said that "it's still not lined up", but how long has it been since your appointment? It took me many months for the braces to eventually pull the teeth into the correct midline position.
[/quote]
He did it once about 2 months ago and again about a month later. I got my braces off on July 9th.

He did it once about 2 months ago and again about a month later. I got my braces off on July 9th.

In that case that doesn't sound right at all. Is there a gap still left between the teeth then, if the midline was never fully corrected? I also don't think there should still be that much sensitivity left in the teeth this long after de-bracing - personally I would definitely be contacting the ortho clinic with my concerns.

[quote=Kalia post_id=503527 time=1532109680 user_id=24664]
[quote]He did it once about 2 months ago and again about a month later. I got my braces off on July 9th.[/quote]

In that case that doesn't sound right at all. Is there a gap still left between the teeth then, if the midline was never fully corrected? I also don't think there should still be that much sensitivity left in the teeth this long after de-bracing - personally I would definitely be contacting the ortho clinic with my concerns.
[/quote]

No, he pulled the gaps together but it still didn't move the midline. If anything it made it worse. The reshaping was done between all four of my front bottom teeth. Actually i made a mistake on the times. The first time was the beginning of April and the second time was at the end of April. My bonded retainer unglued a week after i got it because i bit into a small piece of watermelon. I used dental wax to hold the wire in place for 2 days until they could fix it so a bit of movement occured but they just put another wire on.