Background: I had upper and lower retainers as a teenager to correct a space between the upper central incisors and to correct minor bite issues. I stopped wearing these at about age 20.
The consults (I had a lot of these due to the cost involved and because of the major step treatment would be):
Fall 1998 - my regular dentist (dentist #1) suggested veneers to close the space, but I sat on this.
1999 - ortho consult #1 recommended pulling the baby canines, removing the bonding from the canines, pulling them back to their anatomically correct positions, and placing lateral incisor implants. Again, I sat on this as it was a drastic, expensive plan.
October 2001 - Another general dentist (dentist #2) was noncommital and suggested I see an orthodontist.
October 2001 - Orthodontic consult #2 - this guy said I could get away with veneers and thought ortho #1's plan was too drastic
November 2001 - Dentist specializing in cosmetic work (dentist #3) said I could get away with veneers.
December 2001 - Another dentist specializing in cosmetic work (dentist #4) took full orthodontic records and had a meeting with an orthodontist and a periodontist to discuss my case. The verdict? Baby canines had very short roots, wouldn't last much past age 40. He recommended the same plan as orthodontist #1 and explained that not having adult canines in the canine position would compromise the health of my other teeth. He recommended I see orthodontist #3.
Orthodontist #3 said that it would be a complete waste of money to do anything other than the plan that dentist #4 recommended.
December 2001 - yet another dentist specializing in cosmetic work (dentist #5) was in total and complete agreement with dentist #4. He also took full ortho records and consulted with an orthodontist before giving me his treatment plan.
At this point I had to choose a treatment plan and a restorative dentist. I chose dentist #4 due to his attention to detail, his reputation, and his experience. I had spent countless hours on the internet doing research into my condition and concluded that his was the best plan. He prefers to work with orthodontist #3, but this ortho was not on my insurance plan, so he chose one off of the list of providers for me, orthodontist #4.
Orthodontist #4 said definitely ortho work needed to be done and deferred to dentist #4's treatment plan. At this point I had records done yet again. OY! Am I sick of dentists at this point? Yes! But excited as well. I might also point out that I had a bit of a difficult time with my husband and convincing him to commit to spending the money for this. He came around eventually.
March 2002:
Week 1: brackets bonded - I had clear on the upper central incisors and "lateral incisors", metal on the others. Lowers had to wait because of my overbite. Also spacers were placed.
Week 2: bands for upper first molars were fitted and sent off to the lab so that a transpalatal arch could be made
Week 3: transpalatal arch with bands bonded into place, archwire engaged.
Man, did that hurt!!! Ortho decided to rotate my molars with the TPA and I could really not eat any food, even soft for the first few days. The TPA was a nuisance and hurt my tongue. It left an impression in it and it was not sitting on the roof of my mouth so all kinds of stuff got wrapped around it.
Baby canines were extracted about 2 months later and the monumental task of moving the canines was begun with coils between the central incisors and canines plus powerchains from the molars to the canines. Believe it or not, this only took about 7 months.
During the next several months I had almost daily bite changes and at times had only two teeth, top and bottom, that actually came together when I bit down. This was unnerving, but eventually was resolved.
9 months after the upper brackets were placed, the lowers were bonded.
I walked around with some really big spaces in my mouth for several months until I could get fake teeth made and tied into my braces to replace the missing lateral incisors. I'm surprised now that I was not embarrassed walking around looking like a hillbilly.
Winter 2003 - My orthodontist made me some new teeth, which I was initially shocked by and did not like at all. My hubby liked them though, so I got used to them as well. He sent me back to my restorative dentist to check on the crown positioning of the teeth. These need to be ideal for the restoration and the restorative guy is the expert here. I also spent some time in class 2 elastics to correct the overbite.
April 2003 - The restorative dentist said that the crowns had ideal placement. Yippee! Maybe I'll get out of these braces sooner than the projected 24-30 months. He sent me to the periodontist who will do the surgical implant placement.
April 2003 - Periodontist does x-rays and says it's a good thing I went to him before getting my braces off. The roots of the canines are tilted much too far forward, not leaving enough space for implants. He sends a note to my orthodontist telling him that he needs the roots moved.
April 2003 - October 2003 - Orthodontist uses some heavy rectangular wires to achieve root torque. He mutters on occasion that this task would be impossible due to the long roots of my canines and the fact that they are bent near the ends. He sends me back to my periodontist.
October 2003 - Perio does another set of x-rays and they reveal VIRTUALLY NO MOVEMENT in the past 6 months
Man, was I upset. I get a another orthodontic opinion, just to make sure my orthodontist is doing all he can to accomplish root torque. This ortho says my ortho is doing a good job. I'm still upset. Keep in mind also that none of the movement that is supposed to be taking place is visable. It's really hard to be motivated with this treatment not seeing (visually) any changes like I did in the first year when I saw almost daily changes.October 2003 - April 2004 - Ortho changes out the ceramic brackets on my canines out for metal ones that are slanted. He puts these at a pretty severe angle. Unfortunately, they don't like to stay on my teeth and every time a heavier archwire is engaged, they pop off. ARRRGGGH!
But hey, he did get that nasty TPA out in January, so that was good...only I didn't much notice the difference with it being gone. He also sent me to my restorative dentist to have him make new fake teeth that would not need to be tied into the braces in hopes that this might free up the canines somewhat since they no longer had to be tied to the central incisors. The restorative dentist did a beautiful job with the new teeth...a glimpse of what is to come with the implant crowns.April 2004 - I see the periodontist AGAIN...boy is this getting old. Perio looks at the x-rays and says that there has been some movement, but not enough. I ask him if maybe I shouldn't just get bridges instead since I'm really sick of being in braces. He says that I've come this far, I might as well finish it and get it done the best way rather than have regrets later.
April 2004 - September 2004 - Orthodontist has placed strategic bends in my archwire to accentuate root divergence. Hopefully this will work.
September 2004- Ortho does a panorex and remarks that the right needs more work. I look at it think it looks much better than last time. Ortho has me wear elastics an upside-down and rightside-up triangle configuration now. I have no idea what this is supposed to do. He says he'll send me back to the periodontist in early November.
More to come.....
Implant surgery is scheduled for November 18 and three months later I should be ready for the permanent crowns. I might actually get out of braces sometime this century!
The perio gave me Advil before I left, but it still kind of hurt. To make matters worse, I accidentally banged the retainer against the healing cap later that day and it made the gums in that area throb for the rest of the night. 