((((Lin))))
I just had a very nasty thought about that receptionist. Almost too nasty to post I'm afraid. Let's just say it involves a thick sharp archwire, her mouth, and no emergency appointments.....
Take care Lin! Your Dad's emergency work reminds me of the time I had my Dad pull one of my bottom laterals (I think that's what it's called). It involved me, aged 7, a towel, and some pliers. Before you all scream in horror, it's ok, I wanted it out- Dad kept checking to see that I was ok.
Lin's Story - Extractions, Canine Exposure, and Weirdness :)
Moderator: bbsadmin
Hi Lin,
First I want to say I totally agree with KK about your writting. I love reading your posts and even though it was a serious topic you still had me laughing out loud.
So sorry to hear about your ordeal. I don't blame you one bit for being frustrated with the whole thing. I hope you are able to sort everything out and get the care that you deserve. Sometimes it not about the money, you just have to pay more and do what you feel is best.
Also, I was surprised to hear that your Ortho had wanted to extract Dawg, without first trying to pull it down. Everyone keeps saying how important your canines are and that they usually try to save those teeth at all costs. So I'm not sure what his reason was for wanting to extract it. Did he ever say what his reasoning was?
Take care and best of luck to you,
Shawnie
First I want to say I totally agree with KK about your writting. I love reading your posts and even though it was a serious topic you still had me laughing out loud.
So sorry to hear about your ordeal. I don't blame you one bit for being frustrated with the whole thing. I hope you are able to sort everything out and get the care that you deserve. Sometimes it not about the money, you just have to pay more and do what you feel is best.
Also, I was surprised to hear that your Ortho had wanted to extract Dawg, without first trying to pull it down. Everyone keeps saying how important your canines are and that they usually try to save those teeth at all costs. So I'm not sure what his reason was for wanting to extract it. Did he ever say what his reasoning was?
Take care and best of luck to you,
Shawnie
Braced - 10/04/05
Treatment - 30 to 36 months
Ceramic uppers, Metal lowers
Impacted canines-Crowding-Crossbite
6 baby teeth!
Canine exposure surgery of two teeth 3/29/06
2nd canine exposure of one tooth 11/15/06
Treatment - 30 to 36 months
Ceramic uppers, Metal lowers
Impacted canines-Crowding-Crossbite
6 baby teeth!
Canine exposure surgery of two teeth 3/29/06
2nd canine exposure of one tooth 11/15/06
Hi all,
Thanks so much for your comments and words of support. I am really trying to keep my sense of humor about things, but this is really frustrating me.
I called my dentist's office yesterday and got a recommendation for the best ortho in town (Dr. G) -- they said they even send their own kids there. I have heard good things about him just by random word of mouth around town, too, so I think he might be the right ortho for me. I very much trust whomever my dentist's office recommends to me, as they pointed me toward the oral surgeon I used for my exposure surgery, and I have to say, if I ever need oral surgery again, I will fly from wherever in the country or world I am just to be treated by him. I mentioned who my current ortho was to my dentist's receptionist, and she quietly replied, "Without saying too much, I'll just say that if you leave (your current ortho) and head to Dr. G, you'd be heading in the right direction."
Then I called Dr. G's office and asked to schedule a consultation. The receptionist (by jaw-dropping contrast) was remarkably friendly. She started to ask me the usual questions, then I told her I already had braces and was looking to transfer out of my current office. She put me on hold to check something, and then she told me, very very kindly and apologetically, that they really couldn't consult with me until I had already left my current ortho and had my record with me. Apparently their policy is to not see other ortho's patients. I told her that made me uncomfortable since I didn't want to commit to anything without consulting first, and she said she agreed and would feel the same way, but that they had to stick to that rule. I told her I would think about it and maybe call back sometime, depending on what I decide to do.
I guess I can see why they have that policy, but I don't see the harm in just talking
Needless to say, it makes my life so much harder right now. Now I have to apparently commit to leaving my current ortho, pay the $1000 or so balance I've got with them same day, get my record, and troop around like a little homeless-braces-person begging for good care.
Still, I don't think I have much of a choice. Probably any place is better than my current ortho. But do you all think the new ortho might do something drastic like call for all new brackets or something extreme like that? I am worried about what might be involved that I cannot yet anticipate.
Meanwhile, I was right about the consequences of taking orthodontic care into one's own hands. Because of the shifting of force/tensions in the remaining wires in my mouth, bad things are now starting to happen. My upper right lateral and central, for instance, have moved over 2mm apart in just the past few days - there is a big gap opening there! Worse yet, there is a 1" span of what I am guessing was acting as reinforcing wire over the archwire that spans those two teeth, and it is now starting to flex into a faint "U" shape, its ends poking up from the archwire. Which means, now there is another very very sharp wire scraping my lips/cheek. It's not going anywhere, which is good, but because the sharp end is just along the archwire spanning the gap where Dawg will go, there is no bracket or tooth or anything else I am able to fuse wax to in order to cover the sharp point. I suppose duct tape or electrical tape might work (MacGyver up my braces even more!), but I don't think ingesting those adhesive glues would do much for my health either!
What this means is that I need to resolve this situation FAST and get somebody to fix the wires in my mouth! I would prefer that a new ortho do it, since otherwise the problems will keep happening.
I called my current ortho's office yesterday and today at 11AM and 1PM, but apparently their usual 2-hour lunch breaks have spanned into 4 hours or more. Who knows, really, but basically I can't even reach these people!! I left a message a few minutes ago saying I want to know how to transfer out of their office and get my record. We'll see if they call or not.
I'm still very glad my family visiting weekend wasn't ruined by the unleashing of the Dawg! I think my parents (my DAD especially...
) finally understand what a real pain in the rear braces can be. I think my dad's words were, "Nothing in this entire world could convince me to go through all that!" It's definitely not something you can just do on a whim. Maybe you could decide to do it on a whim, but man, sticking with it... that takes some patience!!!
At father's day dinner Sunday night, my family had a neighbor over as a guest. I was nearly on the floor laughing as my dad regaled him with tales of "how this wire was like a fishing hook, I mean, you could catch a grouper with that thing!!!" So then my mother started calling me "Grouper", and I'm hoping the nickname won't stick too long
Shawnie, when my ortho recommended extracting Dawg, he did it in a very sly way. He did tell me that I had the option to extract it or expose it and that it was up to me, however when I asked him what the better way to go would be, he didn't explain at all about how important canines are. Instead he only said that exposing and wiring down for such a long period of time was very painful, and his exact words were, "If you were my sister, I'd tell you to go the extraction route." At that time, he left me with the impression that, either way, my teeth and bite would end up being fine in the end and that there wouldn't be too big a difference. So I thought extraction might be easier and less painful, but only found out later from fyrelight, other great folks on this board, and my awesome dentist that it's a Really Bad Idea to lose a canine when you are actually able to keep it.
Juf_84, my imagination is pretty active too when it comes to the receptionists there! While I wouldn't wish this kind of thing on anybody, I have to wonder if they have ever had braces and canine exposure. Most likely not both. I realize that it can require a lot of energy to be friendly and understanding to people all the time, especially frustrated people in pain, but if they can't handle it, I think they should consider a career change.
Your story about your dad pulling one of your teeth... I can totally visualize that! A little less glam than the string & doorknob thing, but way, way more effective! I remember being that age and having a loose tooth that was hanging by a thread. I was at the community pool and I kept asking the other kids if they wanted to watch me pull my tooth out. For some odd reason, nobody was interested
So I pulled it out myself in the pool restroom and traded my tooth fairy money in the next day for Sunkist soda at the same pool. Well, it was either that or candy at the nearest shop!!
Karen, thanks for the HUGS!! I have been through more in these past few weeks than I have even posted on here, it's almost laughable (or really pathetic, I can't tell which), but I'll be glad when things actually do settle down somewhat. It has been a really tough haul! But you have to know that you and all the other sweet souls on here help me get through this aspect of frustration in my life - I need to be spending more time on here reading everything that is going on! I find myself trying to catch up everywhere right now.
Oh my, if I ever write a book, I'll let you and Shawnie know Honestly, though, I have thought about it, as I really do love to write, but I think I'm too young at 25 to have too much to say yet. Enough for a book anyway!! Maybe in another 25 years
Samantha_lou and fyrelight, you're so right about office staff at the ortho's... I don't like feeling like I'm burdening people by coming in on short notice to take up their time as they repair wires protruding from my face. I'm not sure how many of you are sci-fi fans out there, but I keep waking every morning expecting my braces to have reconfigured themselves enough to have forged a link to the Borg collective by which I will soon become assimilated.
Granola, dads can make all the difference in the world, can't they? I'm really lucky I was at his house that day, as I could never have clipped that wire as "safely" myself, or maybe even at all, since it was so thick and needed some real force to clip with the wire cutters. I am thinking about telling my current ortho why I am going to switch, but then again, he is never around or available for me to talk to him at all! How convenient.
At this point, I just want to be out of there. I think the receptionists might throw a party after I'm gone--I really get the impression that they are not very fond of me. Maybe they are not fond of anyone. I'm on a monthly payment plan, so I have only paid for services rendered (including bad services rendered) thus far. Glad I didn't try to get a loan and pay it all up front... I would likely have a hard time getting it back!
Thank you so much for the positive vibes you have sent my way! I can't wait to resolve all of this, and I will be very pleased if I soon end up with a compassionate ortho who is more skilled and more available, with a friendly staff.
While writing this post, I actually broke down and wrapped some Scotch tape around that sharp wire (remember the little geeky kids in elementary school with tape wrapped around their black-frame eyeglasses?... yeah... that's what's been going on in my braces for the duration of this post). But the moisture made it fall off within half an hour. I may have to resort to electrical tape or duct tape at this point! Maybe one day my epitaph will read, "Here lies Lin. She could have lived 5 years longer, but she used duct tape to cover pokey wires on her braces at 25 and got cancer 50 years later. Her last words were nearly unintelligible, but may best be construed as '(mumblemumble) that doggone Dawgwire and dang ortho'." But then, that would be a really long epitaph, and involve a lot of stone carving, and honestly I haven't seen "(mumblemumble)" carved on a gravestone in over five years.
I'll let you all know what happens... looks like I'll need to spend the next few hours, or maybe days/weeks, harassing the receptionists to start the process of me breaking my contract and obtaining my record. But then, perhaps if they dislike me enough, maybe they will actually expedite the process and we can all go merrily on with life.
Yours truly,
Grouper
Thanks so much for your comments and words of support. I am really trying to keep my sense of humor about things, but this is really frustrating me.
I called my dentist's office yesterday and got a recommendation for the best ortho in town (Dr. G) -- they said they even send their own kids there. I have heard good things about him just by random word of mouth around town, too, so I think he might be the right ortho for me. I very much trust whomever my dentist's office recommends to me, as they pointed me toward the oral surgeon I used for my exposure surgery, and I have to say, if I ever need oral surgery again, I will fly from wherever in the country or world I am just to be treated by him. I mentioned who my current ortho was to my dentist's receptionist, and she quietly replied, "Without saying too much, I'll just say that if you leave (your current ortho) and head to Dr. G, you'd be heading in the right direction."
Then I called Dr. G's office and asked to schedule a consultation. The receptionist (by jaw-dropping contrast) was remarkably friendly. She started to ask me the usual questions, then I told her I already had braces and was looking to transfer out of my current office. She put me on hold to check something, and then she told me, very very kindly and apologetically, that they really couldn't consult with me until I had already left my current ortho and had my record with me. Apparently their policy is to not see other ortho's patients. I told her that made me uncomfortable since I didn't want to commit to anything without consulting first, and she said she agreed and would feel the same way, but that they had to stick to that rule. I told her I would think about it and maybe call back sometime, depending on what I decide to do.
I guess I can see why they have that policy, but I don't see the harm in just talking
Needless to say, it makes my life so much harder right now. Now I have to apparently commit to leaving my current ortho, pay the $1000 or so balance I've got with them same day, get my record, and troop around like a little homeless-braces-person begging for good care.Still, I don't think I have much of a choice. Probably any place is better than my current ortho. But do you all think the new ortho might do something drastic like call for all new brackets or something extreme like that? I am worried about what might be involved that I cannot yet anticipate.
Meanwhile, I was right about the consequences of taking orthodontic care into one's own hands. Because of the shifting of force/tensions in the remaining wires in my mouth, bad things are now starting to happen. My upper right lateral and central, for instance, have moved over 2mm apart in just the past few days - there is a big gap opening there! Worse yet, there is a 1" span of what I am guessing was acting as reinforcing wire over the archwire that spans those two teeth, and it is now starting to flex into a faint "U" shape, its ends poking up from the archwire. Which means, now there is another very very sharp wire scraping my lips/cheek. It's not going anywhere, which is good, but because the sharp end is just along the archwire spanning the gap where Dawg will go, there is no bracket or tooth or anything else I am able to fuse wax to in order to cover the sharp point. I suppose duct tape or electrical tape might work (MacGyver up my braces even more!), but I don't think ingesting those adhesive glues would do much for my health either!
What this means is that I need to resolve this situation FAST and get somebody to fix the wires in my mouth! I would prefer that a new ortho do it, since otherwise the problems will keep happening.
I called my current ortho's office yesterday and today at 11AM and 1PM, but apparently their usual 2-hour lunch breaks have spanned into 4 hours or more. Who knows, really, but basically I can't even reach these people!! I left a message a few minutes ago saying I want to know how to transfer out of their office and get my record. We'll see if they call or not.
I'm still very glad my family visiting weekend wasn't ruined by the unleashing of the Dawg! I think my parents (my DAD especially...
) finally understand what a real pain in the rear braces can be. I think my dad's words were, "Nothing in this entire world could convince me to go through all that!" It's definitely not something you can just do on a whim. Maybe you could decide to do it on a whim, but man, sticking with it... that takes some patience!!!At father's day dinner Sunday night, my family had a neighbor over as a guest. I was nearly on the floor laughing as my dad regaled him with tales of "how this wire was like a fishing hook, I mean, you could catch a grouper with that thing!!!" So then my mother started calling me "Grouper", and I'm hoping the nickname won't stick too long
Shawnie, when my ortho recommended extracting Dawg, he did it in a very sly way. He did tell me that I had the option to extract it or expose it and that it was up to me, however when I asked him what the better way to go would be, he didn't explain at all about how important canines are. Instead he only said that exposing and wiring down for such a long period of time was very painful, and his exact words were, "If you were my sister, I'd tell you to go the extraction route." At that time, he left me with the impression that, either way, my teeth and bite would end up being fine in the end and that there wouldn't be too big a difference. So I thought extraction might be easier and less painful, but only found out later from fyrelight, other great folks on this board, and my awesome dentist that it's a Really Bad Idea to lose a canine when you are actually able to keep it.
Juf_84, my imagination is pretty active too when it comes to the receptionists there! While I wouldn't wish this kind of thing on anybody, I have to wonder if they have ever had braces and canine exposure. Most likely not both. I realize that it can require a lot of energy to be friendly and understanding to people all the time, especially frustrated people in pain, but if they can't handle it, I think they should consider a career change.
Your story about your dad pulling one of your teeth... I can totally visualize that! A little less glam than the string & doorknob thing, but way, way more effective! I remember being that age and having a loose tooth that was hanging by a thread. I was at the community pool and I kept asking the other kids if they wanted to watch me pull my tooth out. For some odd reason, nobody was interested
So I pulled it out myself in the pool restroom and traded my tooth fairy money in the next day for Sunkist soda at the same pool. Well, it was either that or candy at the nearest shop!!Karen, thanks for the HUGS!! I have been through more in these past few weeks than I have even posted on here, it's almost laughable (or really pathetic, I can't tell which), but I'll be glad when things actually do settle down somewhat. It has been a really tough haul! But you have to know that you and all the other sweet souls on here help me get through this aspect of frustration in my life - I need to be spending more time on here reading everything that is going on! I find myself trying to catch up everywhere right now.
Oh my, if I ever write a book, I'll let you and Shawnie know
Honestly, though, I have thought about it, as I really do love to write, but I think I'm too young at 25 to have too much to say yet. Enough for a book anyway!! Maybe in another 25 years Samantha_lou and fyrelight, you're so right about office staff at the ortho's... I don't like feeling like I'm burdening people by coming in on short notice to take up their time as they repair wires protruding from my face. I'm not sure how many of you are sci-fi fans out there, but I keep waking every morning expecting my braces to have reconfigured themselves enough to have forged a link to the Borg collective by which I will soon become assimilated.
Granola, dads can make all the difference in the world, can't they? I'm really lucky I was at his house that day, as I could never have clipped that wire as "safely" myself, or maybe even at all, since it was so thick and needed some real force to clip with the wire cutters. I am thinking about telling my current ortho why I am going to switch, but then again, he is never around or available for me to talk to him at all! How convenient.
At this point, I just want to be out of there. I think the receptionists might throw a party after I'm gone--I really get the impression that they are not very fond of me. Maybe they are not fond of anyone. I'm on a monthly payment plan, so I have only paid for services rendered (including bad services rendered) thus far. Glad I didn't try to get a loan and pay it all up front... I would likely have a hard time getting it back!
Thank you so much for the positive vibes you have sent my way! I can't wait to resolve all of this, and I will be very pleased if I soon end up with a compassionate ortho who is more skilled and more available, with a friendly staff.
While writing this post, I actually broke down and wrapped some Scotch tape around that sharp wire (remember the little geeky kids in elementary school with tape wrapped around their black-frame eyeglasses?... yeah... that's what's been going on in my braces for the duration of this post). But the moisture made it fall off within half an hour. I may have to resort to electrical tape or duct tape at this point! Maybe one day my epitaph will read, "Here lies Lin. She could have lived 5 years longer, but she used duct tape to cover pokey wires on her braces at 25 and got cancer 50 years later. Her last words were nearly unintelligible, but may best be construed as '(mumblemumble) that doggone Dawgwire and dang ortho'." But then, that would be a really long epitaph, and involve a lot of stone carving, and honestly I haven't seen "(mumblemumble)" carved on a gravestone in over five years.
I'll let you all know what happens... looks like I'll need to spend the next few hours, or maybe days/weeks, harassing the receptionists to start the process of me breaking my contract and obtaining my record. But then, perhaps if they dislike me enough, maybe they will actually expedite the process and we can all go merrily on with life.
Yours truly,
Grouper
Update
Whee... 1:50 PM... called the ortho again and still got their voicemail. Seriously, though, if you're going to avoid all your patients during the week, too, at least have the sense not to leave a message that says your office hours are "9 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday."
I'm thinking about starting a website where people can post reviews for their local ortho's... do it geographically, by town. Not to bad-mouth anyone, but if there are this many rotten eggs out there, people need to know before they get locked into multi-thousand dollar contracts. Newbies just thinking about starting braces very justifyably may not be able to tell, just from a consultation, a "good" ortho from a "not so good" ortho. I'm not even sure you can always tell until you start receiving care. I wonder if anybody would actually use a website like that. I would have, for sure, but then I may never have known it existed if it were out there.
Whee... 1:50 PM... called the ortho again and still got their voicemail. Seriously, though, if you're going to avoid all your patients during the week, too, at least have the sense not to leave a message that says your office hours are "9 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday."
I'm thinking about starting a website where people can post reviews for their local ortho's... do it geographically, by town. Not to bad-mouth anyone, but if there are this many rotten eggs out there, people need to know before they get locked into multi-thousand dollar contracts. Newbies just thinking about starting braces very justifyably may not be able to tell, just from a consultation, a "good" ortho from a "not so good" ortho. I'm not even sure you can always tell until you start receiving care. I wonder if anybody would actually use a website like that. I would have, for sure, but then I may never have known it existed if it were out there.
Lin- There is a website like that. Awhile back someone posted it here on Archwire. You can look up an Ortho and read comments from patients. I wish I had saved the site but I didn't. Maybe someone else will remember it. I looked up my Ortho, after I was already in his care, but there was nothing written about him.
Shawnie
Shawnie
Braced - 10/04/05
Treatment - 30 to 36 months
Ceramic uppers, Metal lowers
Impacted canines-Crowding-Crossbite
6 baby teeth!
Canine exposure surgery of two teeth 3/29/06
2nd canine exposure of one tooth 11/15/06
Treatment - 30 to 36 months
Ceramic uppers, Metal lowers
Impacted canines-Crowding-Crossbite
6 baby teeth!
Canine exposure surgery of two teeth 3/29/06
2nd canine exposure of one tooth 11/15/06
I actually went and bought duct tape and electrical tape after work! The pain from the new sharp wire was that bad. But the duct tape kept moving off the sharp part, so it was no good. I finally got my tweezers out, though, and managed to pull this 1" piece of wire out!! It was under two ligs, and I was really afraid of losing those ligs and not being able to get them back on, but I managed to slide it out without messing with the ligs. It feels SOOOoooo much better now 
My mouth is all torn up from that wire, but at least it can heal now.
After I got the wire out, I looked at and felt that rough tip that had been the culprit... I am not exaggerating in saying it was as sharp as a needle. So, even though I never managed to get a hold of my ortho's office today, I feel this was a small victory, as now I can survive a few days longer without orthodontic care... and I'll need all the time I can get to even hear back from my ortho's office, I am certain.
Shawnie, I'm so encouraged to hear that a website like that exists! But it's too bad not more people know about it... I wish I had known about it. If you ever recall the website address, please let me know!
I wonder if my ortho is already reviewed there...
Thanks, rage31, you're right, things will turn out better after the change... or so I surely hope. This can't go on.
My mouth is all torn up from that wire, but at least it can heal now.After I got the wire out, I looked at and felt that rough tip that had been the culprit... I am not exaggerating in saying it was as sharp as a needle. So, even though I never managed to get a hold of my ortho's office today, I feel this was a small victory, as now I can survive a few days longer without orthodontic care... and I'll need all the time I can get to even hear back from my ortho's office, I am certain.
Shawnie, I'm so encouraged to hear that a website like that exists! But it's too bad not more people know about it... I wish I had known about it. If you ever recall the website address, please let me know!
I wonder if my ortho is already reviewed there...Thanks, rage31, you're right, things will turn out better after the change... or so I surely hope. This can't go on.
Hi everyone!
Sorry I haven't updated in forever. It seems like my life keeps getting busier!
Yesterday I had my first visit with my new orthodontist. Dr. G (who is very nice) and his assistant told me that they have a very different orthodontic philosophy from my former ortho, whose practice/association they quietly referred to as the "Walmart of orthodontic care". They said that their priority in their practice is to balance all matters such as aesthetic appearance of teeth (how straight teeth look), soft tissue structure (facial profile), and other technical stuff like how the bite works and feels as well as preventing TMJ. Which all makes perfectly good sense! I was getting the impression from my last ortho that all he cared about was making my teeth straight, and he didn't seem to think that even extracting the Dawg would make a difference in my overall dental/facial health in the end. Big clue there.
Dr. G and his assistant also said, yes, what I posted yesterday... that if I had come to them instead of my ex-ortho first, they probably would have kept my premolars. Dr. G said that they would take new impressions and new x-rays and check everything out as far as a new treatment plan, but that I might have to get replacements for the extracted teeth. I am really hoping that the need for that is unlikely or that he can provide me with some alternatives. He emphasized, though, that his goal is the end result, which doesn't just include straight teeth, but has everything to do with how all of those balancing factors fit together. They said they were so glad that my dentist helped explain to me why keeping the Dawg was important and that I didn't have it extracted.
But when they did tell me about how I could probably have kept those four teeth and that I might have to get implants to replace them, I just about felt like crying. At this point in my orthodontic journey, I have been through so much frustration already that this just sort of tops everything off. At the same time, I have grown so used to the psychological and physical roller-coaster that I'm kind of numb to it now. Yank the teeth out, put fake ones back in, toss all the teeth around with wires, hook fishing lures through my cheek, it's all the same in the end... an ordeal that I never care to repeat.
While I haven't had an adjustment in at least a month and won't for several weeks yet (nothing like extending an already extensive orthodontic sentence), an assistant at Dr. G's office at least re-leashed the Dawg for me. Lazy Dawg has not moved in so long! She did exactly what Pam A. predicted back in May, attach Dawg with plastic thread to the molar to get him moving a little to the back. Guess someone should have clued my ex-ortho in on how to do that instead of installing the Deathly Grouper Wire of Supreme Doom and Destruction, eh?
That they used plastic thread to re-attach the Dawg, though, at least assured me that:
A) I will not have needle-sharp wire protruding perpendicularly from my mouth anytime in the near future, and
B) My ex-ortho is an egregiously sock-brained idiot and a loathsome, congenitally clueless depravity of genetics.
Getting the Dawg moving again yesterday was about as pleasant as impaling the roof of my mouth on a fork. I guess going from zero tension to constant tension necessarily involves that initial burst of who's-your-daddy pain. Thankfully, several aspirin and a day later, the tension is as manageable again now as it once was, minus the fishhook drama.
So, the plan is to go for new impressions on August 4 and a consultation on August 21st regarding treatment plan/options. I think all of this will set me a few months behind, but hopefully the end result will be better than it would have been otherwise.
I do like Dr. G a great deal more than my ex-ortho. He seems kind and he and his staff seem much more knowledgeable and competent. I have no doubt that he does know what he is doing and that I am in the right care, now. BUT, I can't say I'm too happy about spending the next year or more with gaps in my mouth or the rest of my life without teeth I could have used or maybe needed. On the plus side, at least the fruits of my lesson-learning in choosing the right orthodontist will be immortalized in the wedding photos I'll be in next summer... nothing like having a jack-o-lantern for a maid-of-honor, no?
Sorry I haven't updated in forever. It seems like my life keeps getting busier!
Yesterday I had my first visit with my new orthodontist. Dr. G (who is very nice) and his assistant told me that they have a very different orthodontic philosophy from my former ortho, whose practice/association they quietly referred to as the "Walmart of orthodontic care". They said that their priority in their practice is to balance all matters such as aesthetic appearance of teeth (how straight teeth look), soft tissue structure (facial profile), and other technical stuff like how the bite works and feels as well as preventing TMJ. Which all makes perfectly good sense! I was getting the impression from my last ortho that all he cared about was making my teeth straight, and he didn't seem to think that even extracting the Dawg would make a difference in my overall dental/facial health in the end. Big clue there.
Dr. G and his assistant also said, yes, what I posted yesterday... that if I had come to them instead of my ex-ortho first, they probably would have kept my premolars. Dr. G said that they would take new impressions and new x-rays and check everything out as far as a new treatment plan, but that I might have to get replacements for the extracted teeth. I am really hoping that the need for that is unlikely or that he can provide me with some alternatives. He emphasized, though, that his goal is the end result, which doesn't just include straight teeth, but has everything to do with how all of those balancing factors fit together. They said they were so glad that my dentist helped explain to me why keeping the Dawg was important and that I didn't have it extracted.
But when they did tell me about how I could probably have kept those four teeth and that I might have to get implants to replace them, I just about felt like crying. At this point in my orthodontic journey, I have been through so much frustration already that this just sort of tops everything off. At the same time, I have grown so used to the psychological and physical roller-coaster that I'm kind of numb to it now. Yank the teeth out, put fake ones back in, toss all the teeth around with wires, hook fishing lures through my cheek, it's all the same in the end... an ordeal that I never care to repeat.
While I haven't had an adjustment in at least a month and won't for several weeks yet (nothing like extending an already extensive orthodontic sentence), an assistant at Dr. G's office at least re-leashed the Dawg for me. Lazy Dawg has not moved in so long! She did exactly what Pam A. predicted back in May, attach Dawg with plastic thread to the molar to get him moving a little to the back. Guess someone should have clued my ex-ortho in on how to do that instead of installing the Deathly Grouper Wire of Supreme Doom and Destruction, eh?
That they used plastic thread to re-attach the Dawg, though, at least assured me that:
A) I will not have needle-sharp wire protruding perpendicularly from my mouth anytime in the near future, and
B) My ex-ortho is an egregiously sock-brained idiot and a loathsome, congenitally clueless depravity of genetics.
Getting the Dawg moving again yesterday was about as pleasant as impaling the roof of my mouth on a fork. I guess going from zero tension to constant tension necessarily involves that initial burst of who's-your-daddy pain. Thankfully, several aspirin and a day later, the tension is as manageable again now as it once was, minus the fishhook drama.
So, the plan is to go for new impressions on August 4 and a consultation on August 21st regarding treatment plan/options. I think all of this will set me a few months behind, but hopefully the end result will be better than it would have been otherwise.
I do like Dr. G a great deal more than my ex-ortho. He seems kind and he and his staff seem much more knowledgeable and competent. I have no doubt that he does know what he is doing and that I am in the right care, now. BUT, I can't say I'm too happy about spending the next year or more with gaps in my mouth or the rest of my life without teeth I could have used or maybe needed. On the plus side, at least the fruits of my lesson-learning in choosing the right orthodontist will be immortalized in the wedding photos I'll be in next summer... nothing like having a jack-o-lantern for a maid-of-honor, no?
It's been about 2 months since I last posted, so I guess I should update this story...
About a month ago, I had all my new impressions and a consultation with my new ortho, Dr. G. He doesn't seem to think that I will need implants to replace my premolars, but I am getting the impression that my bite will never be normal or ideal. I think the premolars are supposed to be the teeth that help tear food... is this right? I wish I had never seen my first ortho or had to lose 4 teeth that I never needed to lose at all.
Dr. G said that he would have to fit all my far back molars (upper and lower) with bands and wire them up. He also said that he would replace my 6 front lower brackets with Damon-3 brackets and better position them. And, he told me that I would need my already-banded second upper molars to be replaced and fitted with new bands that had an impaction appliance soldered onto them on the inside. This, he said, would serve as an anchor to tie the Dawg thread to and reposition the angle of how it is tied at various times during the treatment.
So I went in a couple weeks later and Dr. G's assistant took off my existing upper molar bands. They all swore that that would be painless, but of course the phrase "took off" does not describe the experience as well as "pried off with her foot against my jaw for leverage." Well, she didn't actually use her foot, but I thought she might actually succeed in extracting the band along with the molar inside it. She said that the cement that had been used was particularly troublesome and that it wasn't normal to be so hard to get molar bands off.
Then she fitted new molar bands on the same molars. Then pried them off. Then she fitted the same old molar bands back on the same molars. And pried them off. And reshaped them, because she had disfigured them prying them off in the first place. And then she fitted them again. And pried them off. And put cement on them. And jammed them back on the molars. Whee! Then she put 6 separators in between my molars (4 on top, 2 on bottom) -- they would stay in for the next week.
The following week, I came in for my "big" two-hour appointment. It seemed more like two years.
Dr. G's assistant pried off the old upper molar bands. And popped off my lower front brackets. And scraped the cement off all of those teeth. I really, really hate the scraping. I had a really sensitive front lower tooth that day, and it hurt incredibly bad when she scraped it. As bad as last time, but luckily this time that was the only really really sensitive tooth. I think all my teeth had been feather-touch sensitive last time, which is why it was the second most painful experience of my life. Dr. G's assistant was very apologetic, and commented that I must clench/grind my teeth a lot for that tooth to be so sensitive. Somehow, the ascription of blame to me didn't make me feel better at the time...
She put on all 4 new molar bands (cemented them) and then fitted the 2 molar bands with the impaction appliance. And that's when the floor fell out!
The best way I can think to describe the feeling of the impaction appliance is this... it was like having a fork tine attached horizontally between my second upper molars, perfectly level, so that my tongue was literally folded up halfway back my mouth, and unable to move forward past those molars without having to climb up and over or down and under the tine. I felt like I was slightly gagging on my tongue. I tried to speak, tried to swallow, and I couldn't even not do anything and just leave my tongue at rest without difficulty. It was really, really frightening. My tongue was trapped and jammed in the back of my mouth, and the only alternative was pinching it above or below the evil tine. Even if my tongue got around the evil tine, it met another wire running along the inside of all my upper teeth. And everything tasted like bitter metal. Even trying to feel my mouth, my tongue tripped and choked all over itself against the evil tine. All of a sudden, I realized that they expected me to wear that thing for two years, when I couldn't even sit still, not speaking or swallowing, without feeling extremely uncomfortable.
I think my entire orthodontic experience hit me then... all that strength I had saved up and spent on surviving my surgery fell completely away... after all, most of the surgery had been for nothing in the end, since I actually needed all 4 of the teeth extracted. And now they expected me to survive two years of complete mouth incapacitation. The tears just started falling and I don't think I stopped crying for an hour.
I felt so mortified, ashamed and humiliated with myself. I knew that nobody in that office could possibly understand why it all hit me so hard. The assistant patted my back and said she understood how overwhelming the appliance could feel. I couldn't even respond. She said she could ask Dr. G to come in and have him look at the appliance and speak with me before she cemented it in, if I wanted to. I nodded yes.
When he first walked in and saw me in tears, I sensed in him a moment of disappointment/impatience. It was in the angle of his shoulders and the way he held his face, kept his eyes low. Probably every fourteen-year-old who has any kind of appliance can manage better, that's what he's thinking, I thought. All I could think was, how will I speak, how will I swallow, how will I eat, how will I sit my tongue at rest, sleep with it at rest without swallowing my tongue, how will I do anything that my physical existence involves? With my entire being, I tried to ask him, "Is there ANY other way?" I think I tried to say it, but it came out "Eaa ahhh uhhh uaah?"
It was so horribly embarassing.
Dr. G ended up having them take the appliance out and having them completely cut off the evil tine. He left in a small loop that could be the anchor loop for the Dawg thread, and of course the wire that runs along the inside of the upper teeth. After they fitted that, he asked if I could live with that, and since I could swallow and actually lay my tongue at rest without being trapped, I said yes, yes, thank you, thank you. And they cemented it in and cemented new lower front Damon-3 brackets on, wired it all up, messed it up once, and rewired it all up again, and thread-tied the Dawg up, and I drove away from there as fast as I possibly could.
The Dawg will probably take much longer to come in, now, but at least I can speak at all, swallow, lay my tongue at rest, and eat. I have a lisp from the wire running behind my upper teeth, and I have been trying really hard to figure out how to make it go away. I still stumble over easy words, and speaking to clients at work or strangers on the phone is often very difficult and embarassing. I try to avoid speaking too much to anybody but close family and friends.
I think if I had known everything that braces would invove, if I had to do it all over again, I would not have chosen to get them or to start this journey. I still have years left in this appliance and in braces and the ortho hasn't even brought up the topic of elastics again yet, but it seems like it might take forever or never for my mouth to be okay, and mine, once again. I will never have the teeth I guess I needed to keep, and maybe never an ideal bite. I hate looking in the mirror, or smiling, because all I see are brackets, gaps, wires, and tubes; if I speak, all I hear is a lisp that makes me sound like an idiot to myself and probably a joke to others. How can anybody ever look at me and take me seriously? I just want to rip it all off and out some days, and if it weren't for the horrible gaps that would remain, I might. My crooked teeth were never as bad as this!
So that's my update on my story, and probably why I have been avoiding posting. It's because I really don't want to be on this journey anymore! I think I have just had too much. I could have spent the money on something I could have enjoyed. Looks like I signed up for years of pain, frustration, humiliation, and gap-toothed lispiness instead.
About a month ago, I had all my new impressions and a consultation with my new ortho, Dr. G. He doesn't seem to think that I will need implants to replace my premolars, but I am getting the impression that my bite will never be normal or ideal. I think the premolars are supposed to be the teeth that help tear food... is this right? I wish I had never seen my first ortho or had to lose 4 teeth that I never needed to lose at all.
Dr. G said that he would have to fit all my far back molars (upper and lower) with bands and wire them up. He also said that he would replace my 6 front lower brackets with Damon-3 brackets and better position them. And, he told me that I would need my already-banded second upper molars to be replaced and fitted with new bands that had an impaction appliance soldered onto them on the inside. This, he said, would serve as an anchor to tie the Dawg thread to and reposition the angle of how it is tied at various times during the treatment.
So I went in a couple weeks later and Dr. G's assistant took off my existing upper molar bands. They all swore that that would be painless, but of course the phrase "took off" does not describe the experience as well as "pried off with her foot against my jaw for leverage." Well, she didn't actually use her foot, but I thought she might actually succeed in extracting the band along with the molar inside it. She said that the cement that had been used was particularly troublesome and that it wasn't normal to be so hard to get molar bands off.
Then she fitted new molar bands on the same molars. Then pried them off. Then she fitted the same old molar bands back on the same molars. And pried them off. And reshaped them, because she had disfigured them prying them off in the first place. And then she fitted them again. And pried them off. And put cement on them. And jammed them back on the molars. Whee! Then she put 6 separators in between my molars (4 on top, 2 on bottom) -- they would stay in for the next week.
The following week, I came in for my "big" two-hour appointment. It seemed more like two years.
Dr. G's assistant pried off the old upper molar bands. And popped off my lower front brackets. And scraped the cement off all of those teeth. I really, really hate the scraping. I had a really sensitive front lower tooth that day, and it hurt incredibly bad when she scraped it. As bad as last time, but luckily this time that was the only really really sensitive tooth. I think all my teeth had been feather-touch sensitive last time, which is why it was the second most painful experience of my life. Dr. G's assistant was very apologetic, and commented that I must clench/grind my teeth a lot for that tooth to be so sensitive. Somehow, the ascription of blame to me didn't make me feel better at the time...
She put on all 4 new molar bands (cemented them) and then fitted the 2 molar bands with the impaction appliance. And that's when the floor fell out!
The best way I can think to describe the feeling of the impaction appliance is this... it was like having a fork tine attached horizontally between my second upper molars, perfectly level, so that my tongue was literally folded up halfway back my mouth, and unable to move forward past those molars without having to climb up and over or down and under the tine. I felt like I was slightly gagging on my tongue. I tried to speak, tried to swallow, and I couldn't even not do anything and just leave my tongue at rest without difficulty. It was really, really frightening. My tongue was trapped and jammed in the back of my mouth, and the only alternative was pinching it above or below the evil tine. Even if my tongue got around the evil tine, it met another wire running along the inside of all my upper teeth. And everything tasted like bitter metal. Even trying to feel my mouth, my tongue tripped and choked all over itself against the evil tine. All of a sudden, I realized that they expected me to wear that thing for two years, when I couldn't even sit still, not speaking or swallowing, without feeling extremely uncomfortable.
I think my entire orthodontic experience hit me then... all that strength I had saved up and spent on surviving my surgery fell completely away... after all, most of the surgery had been for nothing in the end, since I actually needed all 4 of the teeth extracted. And now they expected me to survive two years of complete mouth incapacitation. The tears just started falling and I don't think I stopped crying for an hour.
I felt so mortified, ashamed and humiliated with myself. I knew that nobody in that office could possibly understand why it all hit me so hard. The assistant patted my back and said she understood how overwhelming the appliance could feel. I couldn't even respond. She said she could ask Dr. G to come in and have him look at the appliance and speak with me before she cemented it in, if I wanted to. I nodded yes.
When he first walked in and saw me in tears, I sensed in him a moment of disappointment/impatience. It was in the angle of his shoulders and the way he held his face, kept his eyes low. Probably every fourteen-year-old who has any kind of appliance can manage better, that's what he's thinking, I thought. All I could think was, how will I speak, how will I swallow, how will I eat, how will I sit my tongue at rest, sleep with it at rest without swallowing my tongue, how will I do anything that my physical existence involves? With my entire being, I tried to ask him, "Is there ANY other way?" I think I tried to say it, but it came out "Eaa ahhh uhhh uaah?"
It was so horribly embarassing.
Dr. G ended up having them take the appliance out and having them completely cut off the evil tine. He left in a small loop that could be the anchor loop for the Dawg thread, and of course the wire that runs along the inside of the upper teeth. After they fitted that, he asked if I could live with that, and since I could swallow and actually lay my tongue at rest without being trapped, I said yes, yes, thank you, thank you. And they cemented it in and cemented new lower front Damon-3 brackets on, wired it all up, messed it up once, and rewired it all up again, and thread-tied the Dawg up, and I drove away from there as fast as I possibly could.
The Dawg will probably take much longer to come in, now, but at least I can speak at all, swallow, lay my tongue at rest, and eat. I have a lisp from the wire running behind my upper teeth, and I have been trying really hard to figure out how to make it go away. I still stumble over easy words, and speaking to clients at work or strangers on the phone is often very difficult and embarassing. I try to avoid speaking too much to anybody but close family and friends.
I think if I had known everything that braces would invove, if I had to do it all over again, I would not have chosen to get them or to start this journey. I still have years left in this appliance and in braces and the ortho hasn't even brought up the topic of elastics again yet, but it seems like it might take forever or never for my mouth to be okay, and mine, once again. I will never have the teeth I guess I needed to keep, and maybe never an ideal bite. I hate looking in the mirror, or smiling, because all I see are brackets, gaps, wires, and tubes; if I speak, all I hear is a lisp that makes me sound like an idiot to myself and probably a joke to others. How can anybody ever look at me and take me seriously? I just want to rip it all off and out some days, and if it weren't for the horrible gaps that would remain, I might. My crooked teeth were never as bad as this!
So that's my update on my story, and probably why I have been avoiding posting. It's because I really don't want to be on this journey anymore! I think I have just had too much. I could have spent the money on something I could have enjoyed. Looks like I signed up for years of pain, frustration, humiliation, and gap-toothed lispiness instead.
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Way Too Old For This
- Posts: 668
- Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:23 am
Lin, I have just been catching up on your story. I have a hard time keeping up with all of these pages.
I just don't know what to say. I feel so bad for you. You have been through so much. I am glad you found a better orthodontist.
I can tell you that they were able to pull Ruth over without anything special on my other teeth except regular brackets. They would tie the stretchy stuff directly to the bracket or sometimes to the spring on the archwire. I never had to have any kind if pokey thing on the inside of my mouth other than the loop thing that was attached to Ruth. (which popped off after the first week, and they replaced it with a regular bracket). I went in every other week for them to retie her (if the cord didn't break before that time was up, which it did about 1/2 of the time, then they would take me in that day or the next)
And, Ruth went from almost the middle of my palate to her place in the line up in about 6 months. I thought that was pretty fast even though the ortho didn't. So what I'm getting at, is hopefully, by them not having the fork sticking inside your mouth won't really add that much time to Dawg's journey. Besides, I would think a couple of extra months without a fork sticking in my tongue vs how many WITH would be worth it.
I wish you all the best and hope your experience gets better. I am just so sorry you are having so many problems. And you really should think about writing professionally. You are very entertaining even when you are miserable. Poor thing.
Your Dad sounds like mine. He would have LOVED to get his grimy tools in my mouth! He was always the first aid giver at our house. Not because we kids wanted him to be, thats for sure! I remember him lancing a boil on my knee once. Its been about 45 years, but I still remember.......ugh. He probably used something from the garage
I just don't know what to say. I feel so bad for you. You have been through so much. I am glad you found a better orthodontist.
I can tell you that they were able to pull Ruth over without anything special on my other teeth except regular brackets. They would tie the stretchy stuff directly to the bracket or sometimes to the spring on the archwire. I never had to have any kind if pokey thing on the inside of my mouth other than the loop thing that was attached to Ruth. (which popped off after the first week, and they replaced it with a regular bracket). I went in every other week for them to retie her (if the cord didn't break before that time was up, which it did about 1/2 of the time, then they would take me in that day or the next)
And, Ruth went from almost the middle of my palate to her place in the line up in about 6 months. I thought that was pretty fast even though the ortho didn't. So what I'm getting at, is hopefully, by them not having the fork sticking inside your mouth won't really add that much time to Dawg's journey. Besides, I would think a couple of extra months without a fork sticking in my tongue vs how many WITH would be worth it.
I wish you all the best and hope your experience gets better. I am just so sorry you are having so many problems. And you really should think about writing professionally. You are very entertaining even when you are miserable. Poor thing.
Your Dad sounds like mine. He would have LOVED to get his grimy tools in my mouth! He was always the first aid giver at our house. Not because we kids wanted him to be, thats for sure! I remember him lancing a boil on my knee once. Its been about 45 years, but I still remember.......ugh. He probably used something from the garage
Wired on Sep 16, 2005, left canine exposed on Oct 5, 2005, at 52 years old.