Feel like I need braces again!!
Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 6:09 pm
Alright so here is my story.
In 2006 I got braces put on. The reason was because I was congenitally missing my lateral incisors and still had baby teeth. So we basically made spaces for implants and yadda yadda all that fun stuff. Everything was done and braces came off in January 2009. I have been wearing my retainer every single night since the day the braces came off. I went to my general dentist for the implants for 7 and 10, the lateral incisors. We ended up having to put a crown on #11 too, it's the upper left canine because it was turned the wrong direction and wouldn't have been aesthetic with the implants. So I was just a little upset with having to fork over another $850 bucks for this because I didn't have insurance at the time. However, the implant crowns look good and all so I am decently satisfied with my upper arch. But here's where my orthodontist frustrated me. The lower arch. #31 which is the lower right second molar, didn't start comming in until I was 20. Right as it was erupting through the gums I was at my second to last ortho visit and my orthodontist was like "Oh, there's your twelve year molar. How old are you?" "Uh, twenty." "huh." Didn't say anything about it. The tooth inside the jawbone is visible on my panoramic, so it's obviously been there since before I got the braces on to begin with. he didn't offer to put a bracket on it or anything at that time. Next visit, I got my braces removed and an impression for my essix retainers. Picked em up, wore em forever. As soon as #31 was fully erupted, I made another appointment to see if I could get it straightened some way, I was even willing to pay extra for it (it's not aligned at all, in fact it gives me jaw problems because of the way I bite down on it) and all he said was we could make a new lower retainer to keep it in position. So I let him do it since he didnt charge for it. I tried to wear it. The thin layer of plastic with the misaligned tooth made me grind so much at night that I went back to wearing my first lower retainer. This was still in 2009.
I became a dental assistant in 2010 and went to take my state coronal polishing exam at the end of 2010. Before I went I had to have the dentist I work for sign off on my teeth certifying that I didn't have visible calculus and so on, but anyway, what she said to me just really upset me. She looked in my mouth and basically got onto me, saying "my teeth aren't even straight" and i have "crossbites everywhere" and "why didnt your orthodontist leave the braces on to align #31" and she was also saying my teeth were "too yellow" to get implants right now, which is freakin crazy since the shade of my crowns is B-1 which is one of the lightest shades available. That part I wasn't too upset about, but really. Another dentist criticizing the alignment of my teeth after I had spent a total of $13,000 on the braces and implants combined and it isn't like it had been a long time between getting everything done and all the while wearing my retainer every single night, even during the day sometimes since they feel good for my jaw. What was really funny is that my office referrs to the orthodontist I had, so when I told her who did it she stopped complaining.
Anyway, the point of my rant is has anyone had a problem like this?? I know many of you have already posted about frustrations with the general alignment of your teeth after braces but does anyone have a similar situation where it's just with ONE tooth or one area?? I really really want to align my lower right molar so I can stop grinding my teeth at night, my top retainer is getting a tiny puncture in it. I feel like I shouldn't have to pay AGAIN to align it but I have come to the realization that I have to. And trust me being a dental assistant doesn't get you any freebies..
In 2006 I got braces put on. The reason was because I was congenitally missing my lateral incisors and still had baby teeth. So we basically made spaces for implants and yadda yadda all that fun stuff. Everything was done and braces came off in January 2009. I have been wearing my retainer every single night since the day the braces came off. I went to my general dentist for the implants for 7 and 10, the lateral incisors. We ended up having to put a crown on #11 too, it's the upper left canine because it was turned the wrong direction and wouldn't have been aesthetic with the implants. So I was just a little upset with having to fork over another $850 bucks for this because I didn't have insurance at the time. However, the implant crowns look good and all so I am decently satisfied with my upper arch. But here's where my orthodontist frustrated me. The lower arch. #31 which is the lower right second molar, didn't start comming in until I was 20. Right as it was erupting through the gums I was at my second to last ortho visit and my orthodontist was like "Oh, there's your twelve year molar. How old are you?" "Uh, twenty." "huh." Didn't say anything about it. The tooth inside the jawbone is visible on my panoramic, so it's obviously been there since before I got the braces on to begin with. he didn't offer to put a bracket on it or anything at that time. Next visit, I got my braces removed and an impression for my essix retainers. Picked em up, wore em forever. As soon as #31 was fully erupted, I made another appointment to see if I could get it straightened some way, I was even willing to pay extra for it (it's not aligned at all, in fact it gives me jaw problems because of the way I bite down on it) and all he said was we could make a new lower retainer to keep it in position. So I let him do it since he didnt charge for it. I tried to wear it. The thin layer of plastic with the misaligned tooth made me grind so much at night that I went back to wearing my first lower retainer. This was still in 2009.
I became a dental assistant in 2010 and went to take my state coronal polishing exam at the end of 2010. Before I went I had to have the dentist I work for sign off on my teeth certifying that I didn't have visible calculus and so on, but anyway, what she said to me just really upset me. She looked in my mouth and basically got onto me, saying "my teeth aren't even straight" and i have "crossbites everywhere" and "why didnt your orthodontist leave the braces on to align #31" and she was also saying my teeth were "too yellow" to get implants right now, which is freakin crazy since the shade of my crowns is B-1 which is one of the lightest shades available. That part I wasn't too upset about, but really. Another dentist criticizing the alignment of my teeth after I had spent a total of $13,000 on the braces and implants combined and it isn't like it had been a long time between getting everything done and all the while wearing my retainer every single night, even during the day sometimes since they feel good for my jaw. What was really funny is that my office referrs to the orthodontist I had, so when I told her who did it she stopped complaining.
Anyway, the point of my rant is has anyone had a problem like this?? I know many of you have already posted about frustrations with the general alignment of your teeth after braces but does anyone have a similar situation where it's just with ONE tooth or one area?? I really really want to align my lower right molar so I can stop grinding my teeth at night, my top retainer is getting a tiny puncture in it. I feel like I shouldn't have to pay AGAIN to align it but I have come to the realization that I have to. And trust me being a dental assistant doesn't get you any freebies..