Molar Intrusion for TMJ...at 31

[amelie82]

Hey all!

Even though I had braces as a kid (middle school age) and am not up on the lingo, so please forgive my odd descriptions for things I don't know/remember the name of!

Right now I have four elastic spacers (Jan. on the top molars. I'll be getting a transpalatal arch with TAD (anchored in the roof of my mouth) to intrude my upper molars. I went in for a consult for some teeth that were pushed out of their previous braced straightness by some tilted wisdom teeth (thankfully (?? I suppose) my upper wisdom teeth were impacted so they didn't push much on top teeth). I also asked, offhandedly (supposing that nothing could really be done outside of surgery from my tmj) about my jaw. Well, I didn't even get a chance to ask because he felt and heard the clicking and catching after only a few minutes, haha.

I went thinking maybe clear braces (um...the invisalign type) for a few months for the bottom ones. I really didn't consider the tmj could be helped via braces. And the clear type were still a viable option, but I would still have tmj issues. I am a heavy teeth grinder and due to this my bite slips around at night and has shaved quite a bit off my upper incisors. The orthodontist said that he had just seen a lady in her 60's who had suffered for decades with similar issues and who had figured (like me) that nothing could be done. So, figuring that I have enough pain and headaches in my life (I have crohn's and migraines) I thought I should do whatever I can to minimize that. I also had a filling fail and had my first root canal last year. He said the overextruded molars and the pressure exerted on them was probably a contributing factor to the tooth's failure. I've had constant pain and sensitivity on that whole side ever since.

So...I went from thinking I would have clear trays for maybe six months to full braces for a year-ish, with a TAD screwed into my palate and a device wired up with coil springs to intrude those silly molars. A part of me can't believe I'm getting braces..again! After the first time, we moved out of state, I lost my retainers and my parents never had a care for it again. Sigh.

I'm getting molds and computerized images made next week (Jan. 21) for this fancy-shmancy robot that bends the wires to precise specifications to reduce the time it takes to move those suckers. (Is that a normal thing?? Idk, I'm about 15 years out of date with this stuff.)

Then I don't get braced until Feb.12 (happy valentine's day to me). Ugh, so loooong! And I'm not sure if I have to have these stupid spacers in the whole time. Yuck. It's not been funhttp://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/posting.php?mode=post&f=9#. Sometimes I just want to rip them out. If I read one more story about ppl having their spacers on for only a week or two I'll screamhttp://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/posting.php?mode=post&f=9#. jk, sort of.

Well, that's the gist so far. I'm feeling mighty impatient for this whole shebang to start already. Can't believe I have to wait till February, argh!

Amy

[chichi]

I giggled reading your story because I went to my ortho knowing I would need a full round of braces (not Invisalign or 6-Month Smiles) and one of the first things he said to me was, "I don't have to talk you out of Invisalign and tell you why braces will be better for you, right?" He then told me about all the adults coming in expecting to just do trays for a few months and leaving disappointed when they hear they should get braces instead.

From what I've seen here, he was right. Invisalign works for some people, but when you're looking for perfection, braces are the way to go.

There are also a couple people on here who have had that mouth scan/robot thing. I think it was called Sure Smile. It's popular enough that we see it here every so often, but I don't think it's very widely used yet. Let us know how it goes

[amelie82]

Ah! That's what it's called, Sure Smile. I nodded "yes, yes" during the consultation then realized later that I could barely remember the specifics of anything!

Yeah, I was a bit disappointed about the trays, but then I was like, hey we can stop/reduce all this pain, grinding and wear/tear on these poor teeth let's do it!". I'm all psyched up...tho I'm sure it will fade shortly after I actually get them, lol.

[TMJJill]

I just finished 3+ years of treatment for TMJD. While my treatments were different, I can say that my bite is in much better shape now and my extremely severe symptoms have significantly decreased (gone many days). I'm absolutely convinced that treatment was the correct decision.

Good luck with your treatment.

[amelie82]

So one of my spacers came out today. Of course it had to be the one beside the temporary crown. It may have just randomly come out or I may or may not having been sneaking in some mini gummi bears. Gummi bears that I have been, mind you, carefully chewing with only the front teeth. Some little rascal must have escaped and made a daring run for it...in the wrong direction, y'know, towards the molars.

Thanks to this site though, I was able to dental floss MacGyver it back in. Yay me. The molar on the other side and surrounding gums are not much pleased though. Sigh.

Getting molds and such made next week. Yippie! (There's not as much sarcasm in that statement as one would think. I am genuinely ready for this to actually begin. )

[amelie82]

Had a dream last night that I was getting an arch wire put on...but was it a dream or a flashback?? LOL, but it was weird. You know when dreams hit you at some random point throughout the day?

On a color lig note, I'm debating pastel-y coral (or the closest approximation my ortho has, I'm not sure yet) or going all out for a pastel rainbow effect. Although I may have some job interviews coming up. I wonder it the pastel rainbow might come across as...idek, something. It's not like it's some uppity/strict business position or some such. One's retail, the other's (might, fingers crossed) be in a dr.'s office. But then again, I have blue & purple (and copper at the base) hair, so...yeah. No worries I guess.

[amelie82]

Went for my appt for molds. They put on two upper molar bands temporarily to take the impressions. My one cheek was already cut up just from the 10 or so minutes it was on. That doesn't bode well for the future (although if I recall correctly, I always had lots of rubbing/cut up cheeks from when I had braces as a kid). I just hope I don't get a crohn's flare up because I have a tendency to get ulcers in my mouth and around the inside of my lips when flaring. Not a good combination with the braces. Ouch.

[amelie82]

Holy crapola. My teeth still hurt with these blasted spacers in. I know I needed to make more space than normal because I have fillings in-between those molars...but damn they still hurt. It's like they'll be okay for a few days, then BAM! they'll hurt again. I should mention it's been nearly 5 weeks and I think I deserve a little break from these f*ckers .

Good news, the brace date is coming up in 3 days. I'm ready for a change in pain...sounds weird, but I'm used to pain on a daily basis elsewhere, but the constant throbbing in my molars that never changes places is getting on my last nerve. Time to have my mouth ripped up, I guess .

I feel like I've been in this horrible limbo. Blech .

I have a MRE schedule for the day after...so forced fasting will work out fine. And I still have to schedule a remicade infusion. That takes about 3 hours. The MRE will be about 2 or more hours since they're doing two procedures, plus the 45+ min drive there. And then the 4+ hours they scheduled for brace day. Why oh why does it always happen this way? Sigh. I've had nothing for the past month (not counting the last two weeks I spent knocked out from some horrible ugly virus that tried its best to bury me in the ground), then this week it's all happening at once.

My luck I'll be able to get the remicade Monday or Tuesday, which means I'll spend the next day or so absolutely exhausted from the meds (not to mention the linger viral assault that depleted any meager energy reserves). On top of my normal sesame fatigue, that'll be an draining week.

I wish I could hoard my energy. Just lie in bed and save it all up for weeks like this. Why don't you work like this body?? Huh? Seriously, get with it.

[amelie82]

So I realized that my problem (or one of them) was because a spacer was jammed up into the gum...ouch. I managed to fish it would with some floss. Everything felt loads better afterwards.

Finally brace day tomorrow. I'm oddly curious and excited to see what the frak this device thingy is going to look like (and how badly I'll be lisping/talking).

I'm sitting here telling myself to go eat as many hard, crunchy things as I can stomach, because this will be the last chance for a while. But the best I managed was some crackers. *shrugs* Guess I'll finish up the biscotti I have.

I'm excited to post pics tomorrow (if I'm physically able to move my mouth in any semblance besides a grimace ) and I took to "before"'s tonight to post along with the braced ones. Only 12 more hours....gods I hate mornings, though .

[amelie82]

Current Mode: OMFG WHAT THE FRAK DID I DO???

Pain: 2/10

Discomfort: 10/10

Lisping/Difficulty Speaking: 100000000000000000000^10/10

Summary: There is a huge fraking thing in my mouth and I am barely understandable when speaking.

Damn, this TPA is much lower than I thought it would be. And I'm sure this is very common when getting these types of things in, but I wanT IT OUT NOW! Why did I do this?? My tongue has nowhere to go, so it slides back where there's more room...except that's the back of my throat so there's this vague gagging sensation. I keep slurping back all this saliva that just makes my speech even more garbled. And I made the mistake of drinking a latte (because dammned if a 3 1/2 hour appt starting at 8:30 AM on 4 hours of sleep isn't too early for me) and now all the saliva is milky saliva, threatening to drowning me.

*Sigh*

It'll get better, I know, but I'm wallowing and throwing myself a (very expensive) pity party right now.

[amelie82]

Okay, some pics (hopefully).

Keep in mind that the majority of my orthodontic work (and money) is going to behind-the-scenes improvements. I realize my crooked teeth on the bottom are not too bad, but the TPA (with TAD) is doing all the heavy lifting (or counter-leevering, I suppose).

Befores:


Okay, WOW, that's humungous. I'll work on that next time.





Okay, I think I figured the jumbotron pics out...



Braced-Day 1:





It's really strange looking at pic after pic of your teeth, lips and mouth all blow up.


The crazy annoying TPA with TAD and coil springs:



I'll make the one bigger...just so the archy thing is more detailed.

[MissRed]

Hi Amelie looking forward to following your story.

How are you getting on with the TPA? It doesn't look like the easiest thing to get used to!

[amelie82]

Day 2 of sounding fraking ridiculous. It's maybe 1% better. I waxed half my mouth up to sleep last night. I think that helped. Spent half of today waxed too. But then I had to eat...eventually. Ouch ouch owie. I can already feel the hurt in my molars from the intrusion TPA. Everything else is sore but the molars are soooo tender. Like someone punch me in the mouth...but only the back lol.

I had to fast for the MRI but then I projectile vomited in between the MRI (likely from all the contrast). So no appetite till early evening. Been sticking to liquids and soft food. Sometimes I think soft foods make me too uncautious. I have the little appendage from a molar band that hits the bracket below, and for some reason that hurts as much, if not worse, than my molars crunching down on some hard bit. I'm afraid my rampant nightly grinding and clenching is going pop those suckers off.

I remember after I left the ortho that he said along with building up my upper canines he'd file my incisors...now I can't remember if he actually said upper lower, and which ones it'll be?? But by that point I was 3 1/4 hrs in and was ready to run the hell out of there so I wasn't at my best paying-attention-ed-ness.

I think I read some people experience loads of saliva after getting bulky appliances in and that it lessens somewhat, eventually? I hope so, because I can't stand the sound I make having to constantly slurp back saliva that build up around the TPA.

[amelie82]

I've had a headache steadily growing for the last few hours, now I notice that the front of my cheekbones are throbbing. Ouch. I suppose that means the intrusion is working already. All my teeth are super tender, and I don't think they even put in a "real" wire (well, it had no bends or such in it and it very slim. As I had braces last in middle school, I can't remember if this is standard??) I'm not sure if the pain in my front teeth is due to the overall braces/wire or from the force of the intrusion device, but all the teeth hurt.

Since they're using SureSmile, I had imaging done with this handheld wand thingy that took computerized pictures of my teeth, one by one. That took about 20-30 minutes. Then they put a basic type arch wire on, whilst the robotic shaped SureSmile wire will be made, after my images are sent out, for the next adjustment (in 8 weeks).

The TPA has these two semi-hook-shaped fingers on the back that are irritating the frak out of my tongue. It's not too bad on the right side because there's an elastic from a button on the last molar to the hook-finger, but the left side just keeps catching on the tongue. I've started folding my tongue back and resting on the TPA. It's strangely comfortable and gives some brief respite to the top of my tongue. The back 2/3 of the papillae are very unhappy and angry at me.

Sensitivity to chewing-wise, today has probably been the worse. I have trouble with lightly toasted bread today. Had to pull the crust off. Even dunking them in my latte didn't help. The rest of the day was all liquid or soup. Then, stupidly, I thought I needed a small snack. Pulled out three little cookies...bad idea. Even drowning them in milk didn't softened them overly much. I ate them slowly, only chewing down microns at a time. And paid for it. Maybe that's what's causing this throbbing in my upper mandible.

Talking is better. Still garbled, but I held a hour+ long conversation with my mom on the phone and she didn't have a problem understanding me (although it was mostly her bemoaning her crappy life and me merely giving perfunctory noises of agreement, so I'm not sure how indicative that is of improving speech, but oh well).

I've only been waxing the front bottom tooth (the one that sticks out all wonky) just because it keeps catching on my lip when it comes up. Having said that, however, I really need to swath the one molar bracket in wax tonight because it's really ripping up my poor cheek. Or both of them, really. It's just the other one I can hear it ripping into the cheek every so often.

I'm trying not to overdo the wax, though, as I can remember when I had braces the first time that my mouth toughened up rather quickly. Fingers crossed.

[amelie82]

Well thankfully talking has improved a bit. My SO says I sound much better, but I still feel like it sounds like I'm slurping through a broken straw when I talk. The upper wires are a little pokey right now, especially since all the last molars are not wired. So you have the rough brackets rubbing on the cheeks and the wires poking. Every once in a while it gets stuck in my cheek. I have to be careful when I smile, bring my cheeks forward again.

The TPA is...still cumbersome. My tongue is sore and swollen, very red on top. I'm super paranoid that it's collecting nastiness, even though I try to clean it where I can (ugh, I accidentally caught the TAD with the front of my toothbrush omg that made me queasy, not to mention it was like a short, sharp shock.

I still constantly need a ball of wax on my front lower incisor. It's just at such a sharp angle it catches on my lip all the time. Speaking of angles...the upper right last molar is not wired, but has a button on the back attached to the TPA hook via an elastic. I can feel it tilting. Such an odd feeling.

The molar intrusion pain isn't too bad, until I try to progress past soft food The pressure on the lower incisors is moderate, where there's that loosey-goosey, almost clicky feeling. Strangely, up until yesterday, only my u/l canines were pain-free. Then BAM! all of a sudden they hurt the worst! Haha. Up to now, I was using the canines to break down any chunks/hard bits (like the white chocolate chip's in cookies I managed to eat, to my delight) with a delicate balancing and trying to touch only the canines, lol!

So, yeah...that's about all for now.