Wonky to Wonderful: My Smile Renovation

[cdmoses6]

So I've got a lot coming up in the next couple weeks!!!

Next Friday, May 1st, I will be having two teeth pulled! As I've talked about before, it will be my upper 2nd premolars only. They are both mostly fillings so it won't be like I'm losing 2 perfectly healthy teeth. Plus, it will be the main thing helping fix my overbite! I really hope I won't get the sunken-in face of doom but I trust my ortho and I know it will be helping fix my bite. And now that I think about it, my front 6 teeth, top and bottom, have never touched! Which makes it really hard to bite into things. I have to maneuver food over to the side of my mouth in order to tear tough or chewy foods.

Haha, which reminds me of so many times my husband has offered me a bite of some of his food, and I end up taking a big glob because I can't bite all the way through to tear off a bite lol On our honeymoon, we went on a cruise, and for breakfast we often got slices of cantaloupe on the rind. Once we were arguing over who ate the last piece (my husband loves nothing more than arguing lol ) and we were able to indentify by the chew marks: His were perfectly round, mine, of course, were definitely not. (HE ate the last piece btw!)

Anywho... since I will be getting my extractions so soon, I should be healed enough to get my TADs at my next appointment! Which is June 15th. That will put me at a little over 3 months in.

Not exactly excited for either the extractions or the TADs, but I am excited by the progress it all represents! Yay!

[aspiromusings]

Just had my 2 top premolars extracted on Friday (to also fix my overbite), it was a fairly painless procedure and I was eating normally by dinnertime so don't worry!

Good luck and let us know how you go!

[6bug]

I'm glad things worked out for you despite a little set back and hope that all went well today for the extractions!

[cdmoses6]

Thanks for the encouragement guys!!

My extractions went well!
Here is a quick synopsis of what happened for anyone else needing extractions in the future.
I went in to my regular dentist to do two extractions of upper 2nd premolars.
I was given the option of laughing gas (nitrous?), but I declined. They said it was an extra $44 and not covered by insurance.
I then got 2 q-tip swabs of topical anaesthetic placed between my gums and cheeks, one on each side by the 2nd premolars. It was this pink stuff, tasted okay, and made my mouth pretty numb.
Those were removed, then I got to have 4 lovely shots (2 per tooth). Two on the outside gums, two on the roof of my mouth. The outer shots were not bad at all. Barely felt them. The shots on the roof of my mouth... lets just say... it was so freaking painful, my eyes watered, and ugh... thankfully it didn't last long. The pain stopped as soon as the shot was done.
They then left me to rest for a few minutes so that everything could sink in.
After a short while, when I was sufficiently numb, my dentist came over and started poking around in my mouth... literally!
He was checking to make sure I was numb enough by poking my gums and pressing hard on my teeth with some tool I couldn't see. Didn't feel a thing!
Once he was sure everything was ready, he got in there, grabbed a hold of my tooth and yanked and pulled until I thought he was going to rip out my whole face! Thankfully it only took about 5 seconds per tooth, but it seemed like an eternity. After that, they stuffed some gauze in my mouth, gave me instructions, and sent me on my way!

Overall, it really wasn't that bad of an experience. The worst pain was the shots, and the horror of the pulling was just a mental freakout. The bleeding stopped shortly after, and I was able to eat that day. I took some ibuprofen/tylenol a few times but probably didn't even need it. Practically no pain at all afterwards!

[aspiromusings]

Thanks for the encouragement guys!!

My extractions went well!
Here is a quick synopsis of what happened for anyone else needing extractions in the future.
I went in to my regular dentist to do two extractions of upper 2nd premolars.
I was given the option of laughing gas (nitrous?), but I declined. They said it was an extra $44 and not covered by insurance.
I then got 2 q-tip swabs of topical anaesthetic placed between my gums and cheeks, one on each side by the 2nd premolars. It was this pink stuff, tasted okay, and made my mouth pretty numb.
Those were removed, then I got to have 4 lovely shots (2 per tooth). Two on the outside gums, two on the roof of my mouth. The outer shots were not bad at all. Barely felt them. The shots on the roof of my mouth... lets just say... it was so freaking painful, my eyes watered, and ugh... thankfully it didn't last long. The pain stopped as soon as the shot was done.
They then left me to rest for a few minutes so that everything could sink in.
After a short while, when I was sufficiently numb, my dentist came over and started poking around in my mouth... literally!
He was checking to make sure I was numb enough by poking my gums and pressing hard on my teeth with some tool I couldn't see. Didn't feel a thing!
Once he was sure everything was ready, he got in there, grabbed a hold of my tooth and yanked and pulled until I thought he was going to rip out my whole face! Thankfully it only took about 5 seconds per tooth, but it seemed like an eternity. After that, they stuffed some gauze in my mouth, gave me instructions, and sent me on my way!

Overall, it really wasn't that bad of an experience. The worst pain was the shots, and the horror of the pulling was just a mental freakout. The bleeding stopped shortly after, and I was able to eat that day. I took some ibuprofen/tylenol a few times but probably didn't even need it. Practically no pain at all afterwards!

Had this exact experience about a week or so ago! also my top 2x premolars - the worst part for me was the anticipation leading up to it, the actually process was painless, I didnt even mind the injections on the inside of the mouth though it did take more than 5 seconds to pry out my premolars, one of them was quite stubborn...welcome to the club

[buffon85]

yes the shots at the roof of the mouth are painful. i had some when I did a root canal (and I think that If I had decided the braces earlier I could avoid the root canal because this tooth is going to be extracted).
I am happy to read your stories about the extractions. I am little afraid because I have seen my best friend with a dry socket and it didn't sound good.

[tartanhabit]

CDMoses! I am new here and finding my way around this board. I can't wait to get more picture viewing privileges. I did see your early photos and your teeth look very similar to mine - 2 middle top ones slightly recessed and then the other issues you had. You are going to have a terrific smile as your teeth already looked pretty nice. I'm so excited to follow your progress.

Did you ever get the answer to the concern about having any changes to your lip profile? My ortho has told me mine will only look better because I have teeth tipped inwards and an overbite so apparently there will be more lip support.

What's a TAD? Thanks for sharing your journey. It's really cool to see someone with some similar issues and I wish I could see your other pics --- soon I hope.

[tartanhabit]

Well, back again because seems I now can see photos. Excellent progress! Wow. I am encouraged seeing people with similar dentition to mine showing such changes within just a few short months.

[cdmoses6]

yes the shots at the roof of the mouth are painful. i had some when I did a root canal (and I think that If I had decided the braces earlier I could avoid the root canal because this tooth is going to be extracted).
I am happy to read your stories about the extractions. I am little afraid because I have seen my best friend with a dry socket and it didn't sound good.

Yes, dry socket I think is everyone's worst nightmare when it comes to extractions as far as pain goes. I have had 4 wisdom teeth removed, and now these two and haven't gotten dry socket. I think, as long as you follow the instructions your dentist gives you, you will be fine! No smoking, drinking alcohol, no hard foods for a while, and no drinking through straws! You don't want to dislodge the blood clot/scab that forms to naturally heal everything.

CDMoses! I am new here and finding my way around this board. I can't wait to get more picture viewing privileges. I did see your early photos and your teeth look very similar to mine - 2 middle top ones slightly recessed and then the other issues you had. You are going to have a terrific smile as your teeth already looked pretty nice. I'm so excited to follow your progress.

Did you ever get the answer to the concern about having any changes to your lip profile? My ortho has told me mine will only look better because I have teeth tipped inwards and an overbite so apparently there will be more lip support.

What's a TAD? Thanks for sharing your journey. It's really cool to see someone with some similar issues and I wish I could see your other pics --- soon I hope.

Hey there Tartan! Welcome to the community!! It is exciting to find people with similar issues and see how things change, to know what you can expect. I am looking forward to following your progress as well! And thank you, I can't wait to see the finished product! No, I never ended up asking my ortho about my face changing. After thinking about it, I think it will be better afterwards too. Having a full arch once my top teeth move forward all the way will probably help my lip support as well. A TAD is a Temporary Anchorage Device. Basically, it's a little screw that will go into the gums/bone above my first molars. The molars will then be tied to the TAD, and hold it in place while my front teeth are pulled back to fill the gap from my extractions. This should help my overbite significantly. Glad you can see pictures finally! I will try to post more pictures tomorrow, as it will be my 2 month mark! Best wishes to you on your journey!!

[tartanhabit]

Thanks for the lovely welcome!

[cdmoses6]

So yesterday was my 2 month anniversary! Woo!
Here are some updated progress pictures that I took last night! Hope my extraction sites don't freak anyone out!

[KaylaChristine]

Wow, wonderful progress in just two months!

[BeautifulDisaster]

I'm impressed at the movement after just two months!

[crocodile]

Very nice! Your teeth move quickly!

[PhDGuy]

Wow, lots of movement and your arches have rounded up beautifully in two months! I also noticed that you had an overbite/deepbite in your very first few pictures but now it looks like your bite is open. Is that because of bite ramps or by purpose or just an artifact related to the angle of the camera? Either way, amazing progress!