Really, I liked my smile the way it is/was, but back in February, I bit into a piece of dried mango and one of my 4 baby teeth loosened up. I brought it up to my dentist when I had a cleaning (thankfully just a week later) and they told me that of all my baby teeth, that one actually had an impacted replacement and I should see an orthodontist to look into braces to try and bring it down.
The first ortho I saw was a really disheartening experience. I have what has been referred to verbatim by several dental professionals as "a very interesting mouth". As mentioned earlier, I have 4 baby teeth still, 3 of which don't have permanent replacements. I have two missing molars from root canals when I was in 4th grade, that later in high school broke apart and were pulled. I also have TMJ/TMD, and have since I was about 19/20. The first orthodontist explained that it was likely caused by my varying sizes of teeth and missing teeth causing bite and jaw misalignment, and that getting braces and moving teeth could either help make it better or make it significantly worse. He also said the chance of bringing down the impacted tooth at my age was slim.
This first ortho had all the sensitivity of sandpaper and literally said to me "Are you lucky?" saying that nothing was certain because my mouth is such a complicated case, but he'd do it and see what happens for $5,000+
I literally cried all the way home, so distraught at the state of my mouth and everything I had just been told. Over the next week I did tons of research and decided to get a second opinion. The second orthodontist I saw was so much kinder. He told me a lot of the same things, and since I was prepared this time with research, I had a lot of questions to ask. Everything regarding the impacted canine was pretty much the same, but his approach to my missing molars and TMJ issue was totally different. But in the end, it was another "we won't really know until we do it" kind of solution, and they quoted me and I went on my way. Since this is such a painful part of my life and would affect me for the rest of my life, I needed to be sure that whoever took on my mouth was going to take it more seriously.
I went and saw a different dentist from my own to get another opinion on a non-braces route for replacing my loose baby tooth, as it's a visible one and I didn't want to be visibly missing a tooth. He told me all my options, but based on the position of my impacted tooth he was fairly confident it could be brought down, so he recommended braces. Since he was an impartial person with no horse in the race, so to speak, I gained a lot of confidence in seeking out a braces solution.
I decided to go in to ask more questions of the two orthodontists I already saw, and the first one was just as insensitive and dismissive as before, saying that many of my questions had likely been answered before (obviously they hadn't because I was asking). The second orthodontist was really great about taking the time to answer my questions, but despite how nice and helpful he was, he had mislabeled some of my baby teeth, and I just had a gut feeling of distrust in his ability.
So I decided to see a 3rd orthodontist. This one was recommended by one of the techs at the second dentist I saw, but just stepping into the office I got a sketchy vibe. First, it was located in a strip mall. Second, he had me bring my own xrays (which I didn't mind, but still weird?). Third, after about 2 minutes of looking at the xrays and my mouth he said my case was too complicated and I shouldn't get braces. He still quoted me, and it was more expensive than the other two. I left this place confused, and didn't look back.
At this point I was feeling very overwhelmed and disheartened, and just ended up taking a few months to not worry about it. It was really weighing on my anxiety and depression, with the hopelessness of my situation and the increasing prices, and I just needed a break.
One day I was at a running shop looking to get new running shoes, and the gal helping me had braces. I asked her if she didn't mind, could she tell me why she got braces and who she was going through. Turns out she had TMJ as well, and she recommended her orthodontist who said he had experience working with TMJ and braces. She said she had seen several orthodontists as well, and decided to go with him.
About a month later I decided to set up a consultation with him. He too was like "woah, complicated case" but the difference between him and all of the other orthos I'd seen was that he took it seriously. He said he didn't want to put a single bracket on before he took some models of my teeth and met with both an oral surgeon and my dentist to see what they though and come up with a plan of action. While doing this cost a little extra, I decided to go ahead and do the records appointment to see what the final consensus was.
He gave me three plans of action, one that was super extensive and would involve both extractions of my wisdom teeth as well as implants for my missing molars, as well as possible implants to address the other baby teeth I'm likely to lose; one that would just be braces to bring down the impacted tooth, try to adjust my bite, and try to close gaps and avoid losses as much as possible; and one to not get braces at all. I went with the second, as the first plan was likely to exceed $20,000, and not getting braces meant losing the loose baby tooth anyway and being toothless.
I had to push the appointment a couple of times due to getting a crown on an old tooth and then gallbladder removal surgery, but as of 3 weeks ago, I am officially braced! I'm having some issues that I hope are not too serious, and if they don't get better I'll call my orthodontist, but other than that, I'll try to keep updates going here
