Ok, so this is bitter/sweet news! My surgery is scheduled for October 26th. But I'm freakin' out! Here's a little background: I have impacted canines, both sides, with one of them lying horizontally , and deep in the palet, and the other coming in straight, but not enough room to come down.
So I finally, went to my totally anticipated pre-op appt last Thursday, and left in complete confusion and tears! The Oral Surgeon and the Ortho are not in sync on this thing, and I don't know what to do! I need your advice on this. The OS says no way will these teeth come down, that I should just remove these teeth, and leave the babies there for now, until they fall out, and then put implants or bridges in, and the Ortho seems to be in disagreement, and he's very optomistic that he can bring these teeth down. Now, I know that it's the OS's job to give me the worst case scenario as well, so that I can make an informed decision, and I appreciate it, but now I'm wondering if braces were the right option for me, or if implants/bridges were my only option, after all. I mean, I went to two diff. ortho's who were optomistic, and then twice to my final ortho,before actually going through with it, so I don't understand this at all!
Anyway, so I went on to my apt, and he basically gave me a very slim chance that this surgery will work. And he told me that he'll only perform the surgery if I sign a waiver stating that I'll allow him to remove the teeth if when he's in there, he decides that there's no way these teeth will come down. So this question I ask: Why am I spending all this time and money (out of pocket, cause my insurance won't conver my braces, cause I'm too old), going through the all the aggravation, and then I get to the Oral Surgeon's and get majorly stomped?! Who do I blame? - The Ortho's or the OS's?! What do I do?! I called the Ortho's in tears, and asked to talk to the doctor, but he's at a different location until Monday, so I'm interested to hear what he has to say on this. Maybe I need a second opinion? (But keep in mind, everything's not covered by the insurance, it's out of pocket too $$$!!)
I'm so scared to wake up from my surgery, with no teeth left to work with, and then it would defeat the whole purpose! I mean, hello!!! My teeth are straight! I only got all this metal in my mouth because of my impacted canines!!!!!????????? I'm freakin' out! Ahhhhhh! Help!!
Ahhhhhh! Help!!
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hippyhippo
- Posts: 136
- Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:14 pm
- Location: Canada
I would go see another OS. What doctor worth his salt would be against at least TRYING to get those teeth down? You are right to be upset and confused. If this OS has you this upset now imagine what workig with him would be like in the future! It is money very well spent - get as many opinions as you can. (LOL - I went to 3 dentists, 3 orthos, two OS....one root canal guy - I am now very happy and confident witht he team I have put together). Bottom line - you need to feel that they are working for you and are acting in your best interest. Keep us updated.
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Brandyleigh35
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:25 pm
- Location: Alaska
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Yup, I totally agree with what everyone else has said. Why would the OS not at least want to give it a chance? Personally I have truly been amazed at the things they have been able to do in my mouth with braces. Orthos, in my opinion are basically teeth engineers. They know what they are capable of doing most of the time, and most will not be optimisitc if they truly think it is not something they can accomplish. Besides....if you are paying out of pocket what do you have to lose by letting the ortho try it?
Now with that being said, I would totally go get another OS eval, maybe even see a couple more. It is imperative that you feel comfortable with the person whose advice you are seeking. Also, do some research on ths guy. Does your ortho know him? Or your dentist? What do they have to say about him and his work? He could be one of those surgery happy OS who just wants to get in and get out without much consideration for your needs or wants. Honestly, I totally researched my guy. I even called the secretary of another local OS and asked her if she knew anything about him. Now of course I was sure she was going to totally say he sucked and rave on her doctor but she didn't. She said she had been a receptionist for my doctor for 13 years before switching to her current doctor. She told me he was warm, friendly, kind, and an amazing surgeon! That he had an excellent reputation and has been doing surgery for 26 years. I asked around, and found a couple people who had gone to him for surgery and they had nothing but wonderful things to say about him too. When I met him, I found him to be exactly what everyone said. I brought 2 pages of questions with me, and he sat down with me and went through everyone of them explaining what he was doing on models. etc. Every interaction I have had with him as been positive and informative, my husband even thought he was a very nice, good guy.
I have read several stories of people in similar situations who have had nothing but problems and regretted having their teeth pulled out......So this is a long story to tell you not to be afraid to keep looking, and to ask lots of questions. It can do you nothing but good to be informed and comfortable with what will be happening to your teeth. Especially when you will be paying for it!
Brandy
Now with that being said, I would totally go get another OS eval, maybe even see a couple more. It is imperative that you feel comfortable with the person whose advice you are seeking. Also, do some research on ths guy. Does your ortho know him? Or your dentist? What do they have to say about him and his work? He could be one of those surgery happy OS who just wants to get in and get out without much consideration for your needs or wants. Honestly, I totally researched my guy. I even called the secretary of another local OS and asked her if she knew anything about him. Now of course I was sure she was going to totally say he sucked and rave on her doctor but she didn't. She said she had been a receptionist for my doctor for 13 years before switching to her current doctor. She told me he was warm, friendly, kind, and an amazing surgeon! That he had an excellent reputation and has been doing surgery for 26 years. I asked around, and found a couple people who had gone to him for surgery and they had nothing but wonderful things to say about him too. When I met him, I found him to be exactly what everyone said. I brought 2 pages of questions with me, and he sat down with me and went through everyone of them explaining what he was doing on models. etc. Every interaction I have had with him as been positive and informative, my husband even thought he was a very nice, good guy.
I have read several stories of people in similar situations who have had nothing but problems and regretted having their teeth pulled out......So this is a long story to tell you not to be afraid to keep looking, and to ask lots of questions. It can do you nothing but good to be informed and comfortable with what will be happening to your teeth. Especially when you will be paying for it!
Brandy
I agree, definately get a second opinion. Your ortho should be able to give you more than one referral. Mine gave me several, and let me choose. My insurance gave better coverage with the one in Seattle,and I was very impressed with how well my ortho and my surgeon worked together even from 3000 miles apart. Excellent communication, lots of conversations, they emailed x-rays to each other right when they were taken. So if you are not getting that kind of teamwork from your drs, it is definately money well spent to go seek another opinion! Best of luck to you.
Hello- Your situation does sound difficult. Did you see the surgeon at all prior to getting your braces? I can understand your frustration if all the sudden you have braces and things might not proceed as your would like. However, if you do have the braces I would guess something needs to be done. I would think getting the teeth out now (if it came to that) would be a better option than having them straigtened and then losing a couple of them. I would wonder if bridges would mess up the alignment that was acheived. I'm sorry you didn't know beforehand but I would also suggest another couple of consultations (if necessary until you had some kind of concensus on the matter) 
Thank you
Thanks to all of you who answered my plea for help! It's already been almost a week, and I still haven't heard back from my Orthodontist! But today, I called the office again, so hopefully this time they will get back with me very soon with some answers and/or more options (oral surgeons). I have been losing quite a bit of sleep over this whole thing, and I can't wait to have this surgery behind me!
Sincerely,
Lillie32
Sincerely,
Lillie32