post-braces nitpickyness

[Faerydust]

While I was braced my ortho bent the wire to pull my right lateral down so it would be even with the left. I'm noticing that since my braces were off the tooth moved back up and is short again. I'm guessing there is no way for the retainer to keep it from intruding back up.

I'm getting so frustrated with my teeth. I'm so happy that they are straight (mostly) and my overjet is corrected, but I keep finding things that I'll need to spend money to fix down the line.

So here's my growing wish list of things to fix/do:

-have midline corrected (ortho said he can correct it by adding a wire to my lower retainer)
- gum contouring surgery
-bonding on my right lateral to make it longer
-bleaching/root canal on right central (tooth is darker due to trauma years ago)

Oh and possibly a chin implant one day...I have a pretty weak chin

Do any of you fellow life after bracers know what I mean? The major work is done, but I still find myself being nitpicky.

[PatJ]

Yes, I can identify with all of that. I'm 57 so my teeth were never going to look like an airbrushed photo but they are now straight so it is a lot easier to get some extra cosmetic work done by the dentist. I view it as a "work in progress" and the orthodontics for 2 years was part of that. I have a mass of black triangles plus a mouth full of amalgam fillings. I was debraced in November and have started first of all to get the amalgam removed and replaced with composite fillings. My ortho has recommended not getting any bonding or veneers done for about six months as there is still some settling but I will definitely go down that road. And then of course they need to be whitened. All should be finished this time next year.

I don't think it's being nitpicky - we all want the best possible result but sometimes that needs a bit more work post braces.

[Faerydust]

I have amalgam fillings on all of my lower molars. I don't really mind them so much. If anything, that would be the last thing I would change. I'm afraid that each time I fix one thing, I'll find another area to improve.

My ortho also said to avoid cosmetic procedures for 6 months.

Before starting my braces, all I wanted was straighter teeth. I had no idea that I'd feel this way after finishing my ortho treatment!

I hope you and I both eventually get to the point of satisfaction with our teeth.

[SunnyO]

Faerydust,

I am having a similar experience. Toward the end of my treatment my ortho bent my wire and pulled one of my front teeth down so it was actually lower than the tooth next to it. When I asked about this he said not to worry, he would be shaping my teeth when he removed the brackets and they would be even, and they were, for a short time. The problem is, now that the braces are off I don't feel like the Hawley retainer can keep the tooth from moving up so now the tooth that he shaved off is slighty shorter than the one next to it. Frustrating considering they were even before, but he was concerned with the gumline.

I also know what you mean about being nitpicky. All I ever wanted was a non "snaggletooth" smile, but because things went so well, better than I expected, now I want perfection! My smile is SOOOOO much better than before, but I still find myself nitpicking the slightest things.

I think I will make a New Year's resolution to be satisfied with my mouth and worry about bigger things.

[PatJ]

I had my two second lower premolars refilled with composite tooth coloured filling about two weeks ago (as I had the first premolars removed to make room, the seconds had moved forward and are quite visible). I am thrilled with the result as they just now look like normal unfilled teeth so I am happy to proceed with the rest of the replacements. I'm also doing this to strengthen the teeth as the amalgam apparently does weaken tooth structure and at my age unfortunately, breaking teeth are all too common. Over Christmas there were three of my family who were complaining of broken teeth that needed fixing - I don't want to go down that road. One day I will accept that they are never going to look perfect but they still look a whole lot better than the pre-brace models!

[sadpanda]

I've read a lot on this forum about nitpickyness and I totally can't relate to it and hope it never happens. I'm just starting out in my braces journey and mainly got braces to fix the several problems that have caused me to suffer from frequent headaches and migraines for 21 years (things like a bad overbite, overjet, tmj, jaw alignment problems). If I didn't have those problems, I don't think I would have gotten braces even though my teeth are far from perfect and maybe a normal person would have had them straightened with braces a long time ago. Well, dentists have also been telling me to get them since I was 9. Anyway, I'm worried about being dissatisfied in the end and forever focusing on the one part that wasn't fixed with braces instead of looking at all the great things having orthodontic treatment has done. I can only assume seeing the negative would be a horrible feeling, as I pretty much do that all the time in everyday life.

[alimommy1]

I feel nitpicky too, which is one of the reasons I went back to the ortho in the first place. It turns out I'm not really as nitpicky as I feel because there are other reasons besides just minor relapse to do this again. I actually don't feel as nitpicky as one dentist, mentioning that I should get a veneer and an implant. I'm more concerned about the alignment of my teeth and my bite than cosmetic things like veneers, bleaching, and implants to be honest. I don't tend to notice imperfections of that type, but I do notice alignments and bite problems, especially my own lol.

[epj0819]

I can relate and I don't even have them off yet! I'm hoping that post-brace tooth contouring by my ortho will solve most of my problems, but I'm not entirely convinced. I see areas where it looks like bonding is needed, which my ortho has done for me before, free of charge. Still, I don't think that he's as much of a perfectionist as I am and I'm worried he'll overlook certain issues. I'm a teenager and my mom is footing the bill, so she thinks that I have no right to ever complain about anything (when I have in the past, the ortho almost always says that I am correct and has to fix the problem). My de-band day is a day and a half away and I can't stop worrying.

[Faerydust]

alimommy - I'm most concerned about the alignment of my teeth also and once that's straightened out I'll slowly work on the small cosmetic imperfections as I can afford them (like bleaching, gum contouring, and some bonding on my upper right lateral which is shorter than the other one).
Since I've started working in the dental field, I've become more self-conscious of the appearance of my teeth than I used to be.

Implants are super expensive, but if I had a tooth out, I would prefer to have an implant over a bridge. Not for looks, but because it's more functional.

epj - It can be good to be nitpicky. Honestly there were things my ortho wouldn't have done if I didn't point them out. I can understand that it's more difficult in your position since you're younger and not the one footing the bill, but it's your mouth so don't be afraid to voice your concerns to your ortho. I know you'll have your braces off by the time you see my post, but if you still have any issues with your teeth, do bring them up because things can be tweaked with your retainers. When my braces came off my ortho noticed that my upper right lateral wasn't quite where he wanted it so he added a wire to my retainer to push it forward.

sadpanda - I'm pretty much focused only on my one out of line tooth even though my bite is 1000x better now than before the braces. I know it's vain, but at the same time you should expect to have straight teeth after the time/money spent on braces. Despite being a little too obsessed with my teeth now, I'm happy that my ortho welcomes my input and does his best to address my concerns (and that includes putting braces back on at no charge). No one should have to be dissatisfied in the end. In the end I bet you'll have awesome results and if you find any imperfections, your ortho will probably be more than happy to correct them to the best of his/her ability.

[alimommy1]

I am guessing that unless the springs push the one tooth back out to the same point as my other lateral, I might have to see about gum recontouring because of the position, it appears to come out of the gum lower than my other teeth. Aside from that, I think I will find out about internally bleaching one of my centrals, because it had a root canal and is darker. It's not that much darker but two dentists I have seen recently both brought it up, along with the implant, and I about had to sit on my hands to prevent myself from pointing out that I want to deal with all of that LATER. I agree with you, my best and most functional option is an implant, but it is also the most expensive, and my insurance doesn't even pay the cost of a bridge (which is coverable) TOWARD the cost of an implant! I would get a bonded bridge in the meantime, but I think those are also somewhat expensive, and probably not covered again for several years, either way I want to deal with the alignment issues first before I worry about that.

As far as teeth that go back up... or down...I think my retainer has all sorts of extra wires on it, loops that sit up against the gum to keep my canines from going up (I guess one of them did a little but he pulled or tilted it back) and then the springs to push my laterals. I remember seeing a post from you about something that prevents that type of relapse. I did remember thinking my retainer looked super weird but I guess that's why.

[PatJ]

I posted back in January about my post-braces treatment. I had just had my two lower premolars filled with composite and I can now report that I have had a further 6 teeth refilled. I am now totally amalgam free and I am ecstatic!! For the first time in 50 years I do not have a single silver filling. Now I have moved on to the next bit of "tidy-up" and yesterday I had two of my black triangles fixed with bonding. It was a tricky job, very delicate and fiddly (well for the dentist it was!) and it took a full two hours but he did a wonderful job and I am thrilled. This was one of the disappointments on my final result so it was great to get it fixed successfully. I have one triangle left (in between the top front teeth) and will get that filled on Monday and then I'm done. I just have to keep wearing the retainers regularly and all should be good. So this is just to say that if the final deband result is not quite as you hoped it would be, then there are remedies. They're a bit costly but as my dentist said, you've spent so much time getting them straight that you may as well finish the job. (And I think he just went and bought a new Mercedes which I feel I paid for!!)

[Faerydust]

Alimommy - Goodluck with your future dental needs! I have a discolored upper central from bumping it when I was 12. Hasn't needed a root canal yet, but it would if I wanted to do internal bleaching...so as far as that's concerned, I'll live with the discoloration. I also have an uneven gumline with some teeth coming out way lower than the others.

My upper retainer has a spring for one of my laterals that was slightly further back than the other teeth, but as far is keeping the extruded tooth from going back up, there was nothing on the retainer to prevent that so it moved back up after the braces came off.

PatJ - Bonding to fix those triangles is super technique sensitive. One of my friends had it done and the fillings kept falling out. I'm glad yours were a success! Also congrats on being amalgam free! I wish I had all white fillings, but I have my bottom 4 molars all filled with amalgam from years ago and I figure if they aren't broke, don't fix them.

LOL about paying for your dentist' Mercedes. Really does feel that way sometimes. I'm so glad my ortho isn't charging me for the braces again.