BOTTOM BRACES GO ON TODAY!! :-\ and I'm nervous

[newsboysgrl777]

Well, this is the last night I have naked bottom teeth until my ortho decides to take the braces off for good!!! (I'm going to discuss some things I mentioned in my original thread which is here: Lowers in 3 Weeks)

I'm STILL a bit apprehensive...and I'm actually going to be going in and asking her if there's any way we can at least try this with brackets instead of the bands. If something happens that we need the bands, okay, but if not, I don't want them. I've read of some pretty terrible incidences and I'd like to avoid them at all costs. Plus, my mouth is ALWAYS very sensitive to EVERYTHING, so I'm thinking those are going to be a larger nuisance than is usual for most people.

I'm also slightly nervous to be getting metal brackets on the bottoms. I have ceramic on top and from what I can tell, it doesn't feel as 'pokey' as the one metal bracket I have at the back of my mouth. I could be wrong and it could just be that bracket..but it's still something to think about.

Also, regarding my overbite, I wonder if I'm going to bite down on those brackets or not...it's a frightening thought. Even if no damage is done (although damage COULD BE done), I don't think I'll enjoy the experience too much.

Another new paranoia has come about....well, several new paranoias, actually. LOL!

1 is that my gums may be compromised with the moving of my teeth. It's a very long story about where all of this came from, but suffice it to say that the gum between my bottom front 2 teeth seems to be "SQUISHED" for lack of a better word and redder than my other gums. I really want to ask the ortho if this is a concern and what we can/should do about it. I know that once your gums are gone, they're gone for good and that's it. What really sucks for me right now is I have no insurance whatsoever, so I can't even go to a regular dentist for a cleaning/check-up, let alone a periodontist. *sigh*

2 Is that I've heard that there's a lot of research going on that talks about how moving an adult patient's teeth because of jaw discrepency (a skeletal issue, as opposed to a 'teeth issue') can not only damage the gums (as per above), but there is also an almost 100% incidence that the teeth will shift back even WITH a retainer. This is because the teeth want to be centered in the alveolar bone (i think this is the right term?)..otherwise known as the jaw...and so moving them forward/back will un-center them because the jaw will stay where it's always been, and thus the teeth will slowly migrate back to what they were pre-braces. And, that the only way for the 'overbite/underbite' and/or 'overjet' to really be taken care of permanently and not just cosmetically is jaw surgery.

I'm really nervous to ask my ortho about this because I haven't done a ton of research and what I've found is really over my head in terms of terminology, and I'm sure it'll seem like I'm second-guessing her opinion. :-\ I have no idea what she's going to say about this. It's not like I can ask her to draw up a contract and sign it stating that she's SURE (or my money back) that my teeth won't retreat to their pre-braces position as long as I wear my retainer as instructed, etc.

So...for right now, these are my concerns and they're relatively big and I'm not happy about them. :-\ I just wish I could've had regular jaw growth and never would've had to go through this.

Please wish me luck?!!

Maybe I should've written all of this in a blog entry instead?? LOL!!!

[Anny]

Good luck! I got my bottoms recently and was pretty miserable - I wish I'd done as much research as you beforehand

Why aren't you getting ceramics on the bottom?

Oh! Make sure you get lots of wax for the bottoms. My ortho gave me more packets than when I got the tops and he was right - it took longer to desensitive the bottom inside cheeks.

Looks like you and I (and our braces) will be on this board for a long time

[Zoso]

There's a good reason not to get ceramics on the lowers, especially if you have a deep bite - that is that ceramics are actually harder than metal brackets, and harder than tooth enamel, so there is an increased chance if you place ceramics on the lower teeth in the presence of a deep bite that you can chip the upper front teeth!

Jenn, if your bite is deep, be prepared that your orthodontist may want to place either bite turbos (little ramps that are bonded to the back of the upper front teeth) or build-ups on the molars, to hold the bite more open until the deep bite can be addressed sufficiently to keep those upper teeth away fromt the lower brackets.

I understand what you are saying about the bone supporting the teeth. As you say, the teeth are born by a special type of bone connected to the jaw bones called the alveolar processes. Without surgery, the extent of this supporting alveolar bone places a practical limit on how far the bite can be changed, because you can only move them as far as there is supporting bone. Also, if you get too close to the edges of this bone, as you said, you can lead to an unhealthy periodontic situation, where some of the tooth roots are covered by only a thin and delicate layer of gum tissue. Hopefully though your orthodontist has considered all of this in determining appropriate treatment for you, and therefore your conversation with her should hopefully allay your fears in this area.

I do also agree with you to some extent about stability, though this is definitely only my opinion. But the teeth, jaws, tongue, and jaw muscles make up a system. That system is in balace before you start with braces. Then you change everything (perturb the system) by moving the teeth. My assumption is that sometimes this might lead to an inherently less stable result. Again though, discuss with your ortho, because I am confident she has considered all of this, and again hopefully your concerns will be adequately addressed.

[newsboysgrl777]

Hey Zoso...thanks so much!! I was actually expecting you to disagree with everything I said...LOL!!! I just figured it was the 'rantings' of a nervous person. LOL.

Okay...so here's my update...

First, I have the bottom brackets on and I HATE THEM ALREADY! I'll explain why later, but for now, I've got to get working...I've lost a lot of productive time with this ortho appointment!

Second, I talked with my ortho. I said "I have a LOT of questions to ask you and I'm afraid you're going to get mad at me..." then I said "I want to BEG YOU not to put molar bands on me" and I gave her all the reasons why. Then, she told me that she understood my concerns and that she's never seen, in 5,000+ patients, someone get a cavity from the molar band. She says mostly it's the people who don't go to their ortho right away and say that the band is lose, or something is wrong, etc., and let the problem linger. Then they get the band taken off, and there's the cavity!! She said the only time SHE ever personally saw a cavity was when she was at the university doing braces. I'm not sure if she meant teaching or if she meant as a student (because I know she does teach), but she said it was a long time ago...so I'm thinking as a student.

She told me that every single one of her assistants has a LOT of training and has been doing this a long time, so they know what to look out for during check-ups, etc. She said this because she mentioned that sometimes a dentist will also do braces, but that that is more like a 'side job' type of thing for him/her as opposed to their main 'profession,' and sometimes they don't have as many tools or as much experience as someone dedicated only to orthodontic treatment. This made me feel better.


She also told me she uses this special cement that is a fluoride releaser (or something like that). She said it's constantly releasing fluoride...so that REALLY put my mind at ease. So, she told me her reasons for wanting to put the bands in, but said that she's willing to try the brackets if I'm really not comfortable with them, and after all we talked about, I told her it was okay to go ahead and put them in.

I also told her of my concern with my gums and gum loss and pointed out an area in my mouth where I had a concern and she told me to vigorously swish listerine there for 2 minutes. She said that might burn, but it'll get any bacteria out that is causing any kind of problems.

The other concern, about how stable my result will be and everything? Well, honestly? That wasn't a MAIN concern in my mind and she put my mind so much at ease with the other questions that I didn't ask about it. I know I could have, but I can always ask her about this later on down the line. Especially when the elastics start or retainer time comes, etc.

One thing that REALLY made me happy was something she said as she was walking out. She said she's really glad that I asked all these questions. She said she'd rather have me ask all kinds of questions than be uncomfortable about anything. That made me happy because it means she's confident in what she's doing and isn't getting defensive or hiding anything or what have you. I'm not bashing the profession at all, but I've heard of some orthos that kind of frown upon you questioning them. Just her acceptance and encouragement of these questions made me feel like she really does know what she's doing. :)

All in all, I feel much better MENTALLY, but physically...not so much..ha ha. I will post photos later!

Thank you EVERYONE for all of your support and help! :)

Also, Zoso, not sure if you were talking to me or not when you said Jenn, but I'm Rachel (or Rae, as all my friends call me ;) )...just in case you had me confused with someone else; easy to do on a message board!! :) :)

PS Anny, I have some stuff I'm going to mention later that pertains to your questions about ceramics on the lower..but for now, I gotta start working!!!

[Zoso]

Indeed - my apologies - I had it in my head somehow that I was responding to someone else, even though I read over your post to reply as carefully and thoughtfully as I could! If there were a *blushing* emoticon I'd use it!

Sounds like you had a great chat with your doc. My personal opinion is that the best orthos will be perfectly happy to address their patients' questions and concerns - that (to my set of criteria for judging) is one of the key factors in being among the best - great clinical skills alone just don't cut it for me.

[newsboysgrl777]

So here are a few pictures...they may be blurry/small. I'm sorry about that.

So here they are before I went to the ortho... See how happy I am?? :)





Now here's what my smile looks like...not so happy now. :'(



And lowering my lip to reveal the brackets...

(to be continued...)

[newsboysgrl777]

(...continued)
(the tooth that hurts is the 1st of the bottom "front 4" (from left to right of your screen), which is weird since it's the one right NEXT TO THAT that's slightly tipped over and leaning into my other tooth on the other side. And, this 'leaning tooth' happened about a month ago...BEFORE bottom brackets OR spacers or anything! Weird, right?? )

And the dreaded molar bands...

[Sunny]

It's great you asked your ortho about your concerns and got great answers to help put your mind at rest Rae!

I'm really sorry that you're finding getting your lowers so tough. I had the full mouth feeling that lasted a few weeks, but fortunately wax and salt water kept mouth sores away and I don't remember there being any pain.

I guess the only advice I can give is ... keep strong ... it will get better ... and until then, keep trying to gently massage your gums. Also try gently chewing a chilled cloth ... like a face washer ... it works a bit like what children do when they're teething. Plus do something to spoil yourself ... to help you feel good!

Take care!