I'm getting braces in a month
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 9:17 pm
Hello, I am pretty new here, and I'm getting braces in a month! 
And here is my long detailed saga so far 
I just turned 25 last week, and I wish I was able to get braces when I was younger. My parents rarely took me to the dentist when I was younger, let alone an orthodontist. They never had dental insurance and so couldn't really afford any of it I guess.
When I was 17 I had horrible pain in my bottom left molar, and still didn't get taken to the dentist.
I guess the tooth died because the pain finally went away, but eventually it broke a couple years later. So I went to a dentist and he said it had to come out, so numbed me up and pulled it right then and there. The dentist said the tooth next to it wasn't looking so good and it sounded like he wanted to pull that too, so I was scared so bad I never showed up for my next appointment.
Finally after I graduated college, and got a job with some (but not great) dental insurance, it took me about a year to get up the courage to call the dentist. Mostly because I was afraid of them scolding me for the horrible state I knew my teeth were in. And I knew I probably had lots of cavities, because one I could even feel with my tongue.
But six months ago I went back to the dentist for the first time in a very long time and stuck with it this time. My dentists are EXTREMELY nice and never said one mean thing about my teeth like I was so scared of. They were all very kind and reassuring during all the work I had done. I love them so much I was recommending them to everyone I know.
I found out I had gum disease, so had a scaling and root planing done, that was awful. I always brushed every day, but not the right way, and never flossed. But the day I had the first half of my scaling and root planing done, I stopped at the drugstore, bought an Oral-B 3D Excel and a package of floss. Now I brush 2x a day, floss, and rinse with ACT every night.
Over the summer I had all my cavities filled during 5 different appointments. I don't even know how many I had, I was too scared to ask. When I went back for my 3 month periodontal checkup the hygienist was very surprised at how good my progress was. I went from all 5-7 mm pockets to all 1-3 mm pockets (which is normal) and a couple 4 mm pockets - which were previously 7 mm, so that was really good. So then I asked for a referral to the orthodontist. Coincidentally the orthodontist I was referred to happened to be the orthodontist my boyfriend went to as a kid! How embarrassing is that? 
But at least I know they do good work - his teeth look fine.
At my consultation, the orthodontist said that my upper jaw was narrow and that could have been fixed had I come when I was younger. So my options were jaw surgery or to have 2 bicuspids removed - which is what she was recommending. After they took the molds and I came back for my second appointment, she also decided that 2 bicuspids on the bottom would need to be removed too, as well as 3 of my wisdom teeth. The fourth wisdom tooth erupted after that molar got pulled a few years ago, so that is going to stay. She said they could straighten the wisdom tooth, but not pull it forward, so wanted to put a "fake tooth" between the wisdom tooth and the other molar. That is something I'd have to go back to my dentist to do. And she said my treatment time would be 24 months. I also opted for clear braces on top. So then I got my spacers in and got a referral to the oral surgeon.
Yesterday I went to the consultation with the oral surgeon. There I set up my appointment to have all 7 teeth extracted on Nov 4th, got a prescription for vicodin, and walked home. The oral surgeon is literally a block from my house. And the orthodontist is down the street a few blocks from the oral surgeon, and the dentist is down the street the opposite direction from the oral surgeon. Very convenient
Since my teeth are being removed the 4th, I set up my appointment today to get my braces on the 15th. (You need to do it about a week later before the teeth start moving in ways they don't want). And here I am!
I had a cleaning scheduled for the 16th at the dentist, but I called today and said I said I was getting braces on the 15th and I knew I probably wouldn't feel like coming in the next day. The girl on the other end of the line said, "Yeah you definitely won't I have braces now too!"
I'm very happy about getting all this done, but the only thing that sucks is the cost. My dental insurance isn't so great, so far I've probably spent over $2000 just at the dentist. The scaling and root planing was over $900, most of the cost was the antibiotics they injected which were not covered. And like I said, I had lots of cavities which were filled with composite fillings, not mercury fillings, so I had to pay extra for all of that. And I can't believe I just paid to have some of those bicuspids filled this summer, and now I have to pay to get them pulled
And the braces are going to cost me $3500 out of pocket (I'm actually lucky that insurance is supposedly covering $1500 of it, so that makes up for all the stuff that wasn't covered at the dentist I guess). And I have absolutely no idea how much the oral surgeon is going to cost me.
Yay
- Michelle
And here is my long detailed saga so far I just turned 25 last week, and I wish I was able to get braces when I was younger. My parents rarely took me to the dentist when I was younger, let alone an orthodontist. They never had dental insurance and so couldn't really afford any of it I guess.
When I was 17 I had horrible pain in my bottom left molar, and still didn't get taken to the dentist.
I guess the tooth died because the pain finally went away, but eventually it broke a couple years later. So I went to a dentist and he said it had to come out, so numbed me up and pulled it right then and there. The dentist said the tooth next to it wasn't looking so good and it sounded like he wanted to pull that too, so I was scared so bad I never showed up for my next appointment. Finally after I graduated college, and got a job with some (but not great) dental insurance, it took me about a year to get up the courage to call the dentist. Mostly because I was afraid of them scolding me for the horrible state I knew my teeth were in. And I knew I probably had lots of cavities, because one I could even feel with my tongue.
But six months ago I went back to the dentist for the first time in a very long time and stuck with it this time. My dentists are EXTREMELY nice and never said one mean thing about my teeth like I was so scared of. They were all very kind and reassuring during all the work I had done. I love them so much I was recommending them to everyone I know.
I found out I had gum disease, so had a scaling and root planing done, that was awful. I always brushed every day, but not the right way, and never flossed. But the day I had the first half of my scaling and root planing done, I stopped at the drugstore, bought an Oral-B 3D Excel and a package of floss. Now I brush 2x a day, floss, and rinse with ACT every night.
Over the summer I had all my cavities filled during 5 different appointments. I don't even know how many I had, I was too scared to ask.
When I went back for my 3 month periodontal checkup the hygienist was very surprised at how good my progress was. I went from all 5-7 mm pockets to all 1-3 mm pockets (which is normal) and a couple 4 mm pockets - which were previously 7 mm, so that was really good. So then I asked for a referral to the orthodontist. Coincidentally the orthodontist I was referred to happened to be the orthodontist my boyfriend went to as a kid! How embarrassing is that? But at least I know they do good work - his teeth look fine. At my consultation, the orthodontist said that my upper jaw was narrow and that could have been fixed had I come when I was younger.
So my options were jaw surgery or to have 2 bicuspids removed - which is what she was recommending. After they took the molds and I came back for my second appointment, she also decided that 2 bicuspids on the bottom would need to be removed too, as well as 3 of my wisdom teeth. The fourth wisdom tooth erupted after that molar got pulled a few years ago, so that is going to stay. She said they could straighten the wisdom tooth, but not pull it forward, so wanted to put a "fake tooth" between the wisdom tooth and the other molar. That is something I'd have to go back to my dentist to do. And she said my treatment time would be 24 months. I also opted for clear braces on top. So then I got my spacers in and got a referral to the oral surgeon.Yesterday I went to the consultation with the oral surgeon. There I set up my appointment to have all 7 teeth extracted on Nov 4th, got a prescription for vicodin, and walked home. The oral surgeon is literally a block from my house. And the orthodontist is down the street a few blocks from the oral surgeon, and the dentist is down the street the opposite direction from the oral surgeon. Very convenient
Since my teeth are being removed the 4th, I set up my appointment today to get my braces on the 15th. (You need to do it about a week later before the teeth start moving in ways they don't want). And here I am!
I had a cleaning scheduled for the 16th at the dentist, but I called today and said I said I was getting braces on the 15th and I knew I probably wouldn't feel like coming in the next day. The girl on the other end of the line said, "Yeah you definitely won't I have braces now too!"
I'm very happy about getting all this done, but the only thing that sucks is the cost. My dental insurance isn't so great, so far I've probably spent over $2000 just at the dentist. The scaling and root planing was over $900, most of the cost was the antibiotics they injected which were not covered. And like I said, I had lots of cavities which were filled with composite fillings, not mercury fillings, so I had to pay extra for all of that. And I can't believe I just paid to have some of those bicuspids filled this summer, and now I have to pay to get them pulled
And the braces are going to cost me $3500 out of pocket (I'm actually lucky that insurance is supposedly covering $1500 of it, so that makes up for all the stuff that wasn't covered at the dentist I guess). And I have absolutely no idea how much the oral surgeon is going to cost me. Yay
- Michelle
