First full day with braces and a few concerns...

[eyecarepro]

Brace yourself, this is a long one:
First, hello to all and I'm really glad I found this site, because I really need some advice. I know I should be thrilled at the prospect of getting a beautiful smile in 18 months but I have a few concerns I need to air out before I can relax and enjoy the whole process, if there really is any part to enjoy. About a month or two ago( pre-braces) I was fiddling with my two front teeth (a nervous habit I HAD) and about a 1/4 to 1/2 of the left front tooth chipped off. I've had thin enamel on both of my two front teeth for many years but never realized it had gotten to the stage it had. Of course I freaked out and got the first dentist appointment I could to get it fixed. Since the other tooth had weak enamel too the dentist went ahead and bonded both the broken tooth as well as the other front tooth. I thought the bonding on the tooth that was not broken was a little excessive due to the fact it went up higher than where the weakened part was but I went with it since she did such a great job overall in fixing both and matching the natural color so well. It's kind of bothered me for awhile, just because when I get up close in a mirror I could see the seam between the natural tooth and the bonding.
Fast forward 1-2 months: 3 weird things have happened since I got the braces on initially yesterday. One: 3 or 4 of the upper brackets popped off. I promptly went back to have them re adhered and they REALLY got it right the second time.They apologized profusely since it was their bad. Something about air getting trapped between the teeth and the adhesive. Two: when the orthodontist was done and checking my final bite they saw I was biting down on the brackets in the back so they used this blue stuff, a temporary sealant of some kind that they called "build-ups", to build the back teeth up so I bit down on the sealant and not the brackets. My bite it still a little weird, but I guess it's something I'll have to live with until the build-ups wear down, which they said they would eventually. Does that mean I'll be biting down on the brackets again or will I just be used to everything by then? Three: Most disturbing, I felt a light pop at work today that I thought was another bracket popping off again. When I felt around with my tongue I didn't feel any loose brackets. My next thought was that my teeth were starting to loosen already, which I was told to expect. My two front teeth DID feel a little bit more mobile. When I finally had a chance to get a good look at my teeth in a mirror I saw that it was in fact the bonding on the right tooth, the one that was not broken originally, that had cracked. I brushed a little shard of the bonding composite that remained at the gum line I guess the pressure from the braces cracked it. My tooth is still intact. I still have to get the bands put on in July. I'm concerned that the bands will compromise the bonding, possibly crack the bonding on the broken tooth, and set back my progress. Does anyone else have bonding work and/or build-ups and braces. I have ceramic on top, and metal on the bottom.

[Sunny]

Hi and welcome to this forum eyecarepro!

Having brackets come off in the early days can be annoying, but it sometimes occurs and can be due to a variety of reasons. Sounds like your's was easy to correct, which is the best.

Buildup is used to stop the risk of damaging teeth when they knock on brackets. the buildup usually stays in place until the bite is opened up, or changed in such a way that the teeth and brackets will not come into contact again. You will get used to the buildup and where I work, we recommend using the buildup to chew on.

What do you mean by 'I still have to get the bands put on in July'? Are you referring to the molar bands that go on your molars? If so, getting these bands, will no way impact on the bonding on your front teeth.

You'll have to ask your ortho if the archwire was trying to move the tooth that you can see the break in the bonding on. It's not common for this to happen, but I'm sure it can, but I'd have expected your ortho to have prepared you for bonding issue, if it were expected. Also why it would happen so early in your treatment, is something I can't answer, as the movement at this stage is minor, as the archwires being used are working to get your teeth to loosen and prepare for aligning. A pop sound often signals the 'breaking' of the area around the root of a tooth, especially when considerable pressure has been applied to rotate a tooth.

I have 'bonding' type fillings on the side of a couple of teeth, and there's been no issues with them.

Good luck with you getting used to your new hardware and things settling and you soon forgetting all about your treatment!

[Anny]

It sounds like Sunny got to everything - she's quite the pro

I just wanted to empathise and suggest that maybe your teeth will open enough that you won't be biting down on the brackets by the time it wears down. I got my bottoms almost two months ago and was really suffering at first but by now my bite opened enough that they stopped bumping

[Zoso]

I'd suggest you may want to consider having your ortho or your general dentist take a look at that bonded tooth and verify there will not be any immediate problems due to the crack - the last thing you need is to find out later that this led to a situation where food/bacteria/plaque could get trapped and cause decay.

[eyecarepro]

Thanks for your replies. Today is a full week since the braces were put on. The bonded teeth are holding up well, actually. A couple of days ago the two front brackets came loose so I went in today to have them re adhered. Of course the whole entire upper wire had to come out. My back teeth were already sore anyway, but when they went to re tighten the wire after replacing the two front teeth brackets it actually felt like they were trying to pull my back teeth out. It was just them tightening down the wire, though. The head Ortho said that the bonded teeth were a little "fat" so she shaved them down a little thinner, which I assume will hold the brackets better, not to mention they look better too. I am no longer concerned about the bonded teeth anymore now that I know it was just excessive bits of the glue they used chipping off, NOT the bonding. Admittedly, I am overly paranoid about every little thing that goes wrong. But I am putting my trust in the professionals.
As far as the bands go, when I asked about that they said the first six months is just phase one of the treatment. They want my bite to better align before they enter the next stage of the treatment. When I looked down at the brackets they took off though, it looked like there was some clear bands that were taken off with the bracket. I really don't know. The first few days really sucked, but I think I'm really starting to get the hang of this. One of my biggest saving graces has been the travel kit I put together for work and MOST important the Oral Breeze I got about a year ago to improve my gum health is a CRUCIAL part of my new regimen. I use that thing at LEAST twice a day. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for the perfect addition to their cleaning regimen.

[Sunny]

Great that you've been back to your ortho and are now feeling confident to put your trust in your professionals! Good for you!

I have a travel kit, that is with me whenever I leave the house. It's a fantastic way to know I can eat anything, anywhere and have everything I need, if there's any mess to clean up. Your kit sounds like it's providing you with the same confidence.

Good luck with your progress!