Braces, we meet again

[dovhe]

In 4 weeks I have an appointment with an ortho to discuss getting braces AGAIN at the age of 23, yay.

A little back-story...
I had an impacted baby tooth (mandibular second premolar) and a baby tooth growing next to it, pretty deep in the jaw. An oral surgeon removed the baby tooth in 2011 and the adult tooth erupted on its own in 2013, but now my first premolar is really crooked.I also had an impacted permanent upper left canine. None of my dentists were really interested in any of my impacted teeth, except one of them noted they're "interesting".

I got braces (only on the upper jaw) when I was 17 (needless to say, my ortho was shocked that nobody had paid any attention to my impacted teeth), wore them for 1,5 year, but decided to quit the whole process right before the canine exposure surgery (because having a gap at the age of 18 and right before going to college seemed like the worst possible thing; I was an idiot and I wish I could slap my younger self).

Well, fast forward to 2017, my impacted canine somehow decided to make an appearance on its own (erm, hooray?! ). Of course it's crooked; it's kind of in the middle behind my baby tooth and lateral incisor, but doesn't seem to be affecting either.

I've always known I'd have to do something about my baby tooth sooner or later (although I must admit I kind of liked having it, it was my special thing ), but of course it takes something dramatic like an impacted tooth suddenly appearing out of nowhere for me to take action. So, I'm seeing a new ortho in March, a new dentist in April and this time I'm actually looking forward to it (facing my fears and all that).

I'm curious if there are any cases of impacted canines erupting on their own like this. I was definitely a late bloomer when it came to losing my baby teeth (lost my first two teeth when I was 9), but this tooth seems to be really late to the party.

[atrixa]

Wow, I didn't know teeth could erupt at such a late stage. Best of luck with your appointment!

[dovhe]

I had the first appointment on Monday. To my surprise, the situation isn't nearly as bad as I anticipated. My bite is correct; I've always thought I had an incorrect bite and that it contributed to my bruxism. I will get 2 in 1 retainer & guard after the treatment is done.
The whole process will likely take 18-24 months. The ortho said the treatment will likely be done within 18 months, but didn't want to get my hopes up in case my teeth need a bit more time. Exposure surgery won't be necessary, but I might have to get some gum removed by laser around the new tooth (it's been growing slowly, only 2-3 mm so far, so that the bracket can be attached. Since my tooth is already showing "a will to grow", it'll apparently come into place surprisingly quickly (much quicker than impacted canines normally do). Until the tooth is close enough to the rest of my teeth, I'll be given a temporary false tooth. My baby canine won't be pulled out until a while into my treatment, when there's enough space made between my 2nd and 4th tooth.

I'm feeling a lot more confident now, knowing that it isn't as hopeless as I thought it would be. The only thing that worries me now is having a lisp once the tooth grows more.

[dovhe]

I'm getting my braces on April 10th and I'm super excited. I'm still trying to decide between ceramic and metal braces for my upper teeth, but other than that I'm really looking forward fixing them once and for all (hopefully). I'll post photos next week.

[dovhe]

Okay, the braces are on. Ceramic on upper front teeth, the rest is metal. My teeth were pretty painful for the first 3 days. The inside of my mouth is still very irritated. I've been using a lot of was during the day, but I do try to let my mouth get used to it during the night. Eating with these things on still feels weird. The first time around I only had upper braces, so eating is definitely more challenging now. However, I did get used to eating with a pendulum in my mouth (7 years ago), so I'm hopeful I'll get used to these as well. My next adjustment is at the end of May.

[dovhe]

Finally some photos... I'm looking forward to tracking how my teeth change. There seems to be a big gap on the right side of my mouth - it's where my tiny baby canine tooth and crooked lower molars meet. As you can see in the photos, the baby canine is barely visible from the front, so I'm hoping the gap won't be as noticeable.