Has anyone ever got a cavity where a molar band was placed?

Erikab1033 · **Joined:** Tue Jun 03, 2008 12:24 pm **Posts:** 51

I had a cavity on the tooth I had a band on but my orthodontist just removed the band from around the tooth. It was no biggie, he still can tighten the wire without a band and now I'm getting a root canal in 6 days on that tooth.

Gennel · **Joined:** Mon May 01, 2006 5:19 am **Posts:** 643

Iwas concerned over the same thing. I've had molar bands placed twice. The first time was for a bihelix/expander. Then the 2nd time less glue was used.So now I cleary feel that I can put my scaler/scraper underneath the band . I use those small proxy brushes and ALWAYS make sure I use the waterpik also. I was afraid that I was getting a cavity there and asked my dentist to take a look last week and my cleaning appt.She said everything was fine and I may just have gotten a gum irritation but that everything looked really good. I've done so good in fact that they put me back on a 6 month cleaning instead of every 3-4 months.
She told me the biggest problemshe has are kids in braces that come in with chunks of old food in their bands ,brackets and powerchains.
I know it's a pain but I keep even the powerchains spotless. I dont want anymore fillings! I have 4 and thats enough for me lol

Gennel

ReneG · **Posted:** Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:55 pm

Meryaten wrote:

As to my band, my gums were sore and the tooth tender, so we pulled the bands off those two molars to investigate. Only took a couple of days for everything to settle back to normal too, though as I was by then out of the country, we had to wait a couple of weeks before rebonding the bands. Anyway, if there's troubles brewing at the gumline, your gums usually tell you (as long as you're willing to "listen")

Hi Meryaten, when you say that it settled back to normal... what did your ortho do other than remove the band?

I have the same sore gum on the inside of my upper right banded molar and the tooth is tender, there was blood when I brushed this morning and I'm starting to panic. It's not openly bleeding though.

My ortho appointment is in four weeks and I don't know if I should see my dentist first. (My last cleaning was two months ago.)

I'm worried that if there is an opening I can't see my brushing/flossing/waterpiking will further push in any food already in there.

Meryaten · **Joined:** Mon May 02, 2005 11:51 pm **Posts:** 19179

Nothing.

In my case it was literally that some glue had come free and food had lodged under the band where it was impossible for me (or my hygienist) to clean out. Removal of the irritant, and good oral hygiene allowed the gums to settle on their own.

I'd advise you to give your ortho a call and try to get in sooner to have him check it out.

ReneG · **Posted:** Sun Jul 13, 2008 8:03 pm

Thanks for the quick response!! I'm trying to get an appointment to see my ortho ASAP.

-Michael- · **Posted:** Sun Jul 13, 2008 9:23 pm

My ortho noticed the very beginnings of a cavity, just on the edge of my molar bracket. I don't have those ring things.

So he popped off the bracket and said to go get the cavity filled and he'd put the bracket on during my next visit. I said NO WAY I'm waiting that long, and I called up the Dentist from the ortho office and told them I was coming in today. I didn't really give them a choice. I drove straight to the dentist office. He drilled for about 8 seconds (no anesthesia), filled it and done!

Then I went back to my ortho the very next day and got the bracket put back on.

THE KICKER: I was just at the dentist a few days before my Ortho appointment and they failed to notice the beginnings of my cavity. Had I let it sit for 6 months until my next appointment, I would have had to sit through a lot more than 8 seconds of drilling. That kind of irked me.

ReneG · **Posted:** Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:52 am

I called and earliest I could be seen was today. In the interim week, the upper LEFT banded molar started showing the same symptoms.

My ortho probed around and confirmed that it wasn't food but irritated gums. Apparently the banded teeth were missing their brethren (upper premolars were extracted to make space in my mouth) and the gums were still adjusting. AND the band was resting on the bony root of the molar it is on so my body was responding appropriately.

I asked him how I could tell if it was just gum irritation or food stuck causing problems... he pointed out that the bottom of my bands were under the gumline... unless I was actively brushing my food in, it'd be hard for it to get in on its own :oops:

All he did was to pull down the band a bit on the right and a bit more on the left.

What a relief!

Michael - that's horrible! I'm glad that your ortho didn't miss the cavity!

Has anyone ever got a cavity where a molar band was placed?

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