I'm an Aussie girl, 26, and I am sick of my messed up teeth. Off center midline, crowded out canine, crooked everything else and fillings all over the place. I won't bother describing them much cos it's not like it's hard to see what's wrong.
Yep there they are, back in October. Those grey front teeth are due to root canals. What a mess. My estimated treatment time is 24-30 months.
I finally went to an orthodontist not because they look like hell (I'm used to being ugly) but because I've often had trouble chewing on the right and a molar with a failed root canal on the left side was cracked and beyond repair. I figured losing that tooth on my good side would lead to even more problems so I took the plunge and decided to get everything else fixed.
The orthodontist told me that rather than getting a bridge or an implant to replace the molar that had to come out he could use TADs to bring the second molar forward into its place so that I wouldn't have a gap or need a bridge. That sounded great. He also needed to take two teeth from the top arch and another from the bottom to make everything fit. We discussed taking the top and bottom first molars on the right because one had a large filling and the other had had an infection and was being treated by an endodontist. My dentist agreed that because those teeth were the most unhealthy they should be the ones extracted to make space and discouraged me from getting a second opinion.
I'm still kind of annoyed that what I thought would be a second consultation with the ortho turned out to be just a quick discussion with an assistant who couldn't answer my questions about the treatment plan because my ortho was away. I only got to talk to him briefly on the phone before I had my teeth extracted. I regret not pushing for another referral if only because I'll always wonder if things could have been done differently.
Anyway, I didn't want to wait for another infection so I went ahead and got the teeth out. Three first molars and one premolar. The woman who discussed the treatment plan with me said they would be taken out two at a time by the dentist and that I wouldn't miss them. My dentist said there was no way she could do it because of the size of the teeth, their large fillings and the number of them. I kinda think that I was misled and given information more applicable to premolar extraction. I had to have them taken out by an oral surgeon under general anaesthetic. That was an ordeal (and expensive!) but the surgeon was fantastic. He was just the best and he really looked after me. There was minimal pain and everything healed really well. That was October 26.
I got braces on November 10. I have all the usual complaints about them but, compared to losing such big teeth, braces aren't that bad. They were shockingly painful for a week but settled down after that. After a few weeks I've even been able to bite into peaches and plums and sandwiches and pies etc.... then that's where it gets hard... I miss those molars. I can barely chew anything, even after almost 11 weeks of getting used to things I mostly swallow foods whole, like a python. My mouth is just about useless
The worst thing so far, apart from eating, is fear. I'm scared this won't work. I'm sure everyone else has had this thought at times so I hope I don't sound crazy lol. I feel dumb saying this but I'm even scared this treatment is just an experiment for my orthodontist and I'm only a candidate because it doesn't matter what happens, my teeth will be terrible no matter what. Like he said to dismiss my reservations, "anything would be better than what you have now." Couldn't argue with that but it makes me feel hopeless. To be honest, I've taken so long to post my story because it depresses me... I don't know if at the end of this my teeth will be fixed at all. How can they be when I've lost such important teeth? What am I going to be left with? This treatment is a dead end and if it doesn't work it's not like I can get a bridge or implants or ever replace those teeth. Not to mention the effect on my jaw... I don't really trust my orthodontist, I don't trust my dentist and I feel trapped. When does the "I wish I hadn't agreed to this" phase of braces end cos I've been feeling it ever since I got the treatment plan.
Wow this is long. I wish I'd started posting sooner so I wouldn't have such a long beginning. I think I'll post later about the adjustment I had yesterday and just add progress pics for now. The photos on the right are the start of treatment and those on the left are at 8 weeks, just before my first adjustment.
Those are the same ligs in both photos, I just ate enough curry to stain silver and dark blue to green lol. Note the stunning lack of change on the top. In two months that spring has made barely 1/2mm of space on either side. Is that slow?
Oh yeah and I also have jaw problems on my right. My jaw sometimes aches and has started kind of seizing up when I chew on the right. At the consultation my ortho led me to believe that malocclusion was a part of that but at the adjustment yesterday when I told him it was getting worse he said that the position of my teeth couldn't affect it and my jaw just hurts from grinding at night. So I don't know if this is even relevant but I'm putting it in anyway.
Thanks for reading.
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