Waiting Game nearly over - 19th JUNE (inc B4 pics)...

[sksk11]

Hi everyone,

This is a great site - I have spent most of the last 4 evenings reading everyone's stories, with my jaw dropping open at the amazing transformation in other members' teeth! I thought I would post my own story and pics on here, so that anyone who's interested can follow me from day 1.

I'm a 28 year old female living in UK, I work as a physio in a hospital, and also teach dancing, and perform in shows, so I know the difference having a lovely smile can make. I have never been ashamed of my smile, and have accepted my teeth as part of me. Lots of people are kind enough to say I have a lovely smile, and from a distance, I wouldn't disagree, but when you start to really get close, the problems are very evident.

I share a similar story to many other people - had a horrible dentist as a child (he gave me two fillings without warning me about what he was about to do!). Consequently was too nervous to see a dentist throughout most of my teenage years, and missed out on NHS funded orthodontic treatment. My main concern is crowding at the front of my right upper arch, and the fact that my canines are high (with the right rotated and poking forwards), so I don't have that nice 'line' of teeth running from central incisors to molars.

I finally found a dentist I trust at the age of 22, and saw an orthodontist to discuss getting my top teeth straightened (I wasn't worried about the bottom set, as I very rarely show them when I talk or smile). I was hoping it would be a simple case of a removable or fixed brace, maybe for a year.........

But oh no, it wasn't that simple! The orthodontist explained that I have:

- An abnormal bite, with my lower teeth shifted to the left of my top teeth (I'm sure this has a proper term, but I'm not sure what - maybe somebody can tell me?) and my molars contact before my front teeth so I can only touch one tiny spot between my front teeth, and to do this, I have to push my bottom jaw forwards and even further to the left.
- A tongue thrust
- Obvious crowding / overlapping top and bottom.


Top arch, with the offending incisor and tilted molars (and horrible fillings)


Bottom arch, note front crowding and twisting


Natural smile (looks so much worse close up!)


Natural bite (poor midline)


Making front teeth meet (note lower jaw shifted to left)


Bite from left


Bite from right (YUK! - you can see the side surface of central incisor)


Left side profile, I think my bottom lip is shifted to left due to my bite

To resolve this would require 4 extractions (1 from each side, top and bottom), and 2 years of fixed braces top and bottom. I wasn't prepared for this, nor was I prepared for the £4000 quote! I decided I could live with my teeth, rather than part with the money (especially after 3 years as a student!).

So 6 years later, I have lived with my crooked teeth. But recently, my partner and I have been noticing that my right central incisor seems to be poking forward more, and tends to sit on my lip if I'm only doing a half smile. It is also longer than it's twin, as I am wearing the left one down due to my strange bite. I am also worried that my right lateral incisor is starting to slip further behind the central, and I think if ignore my teeth any longer, there is a chance my right central incisor might start to over lap the left one. (Hopefully the pics will make it easier to understand).

My dentist said we could monitor the position of my teeth by taking a mould, and then repeating in 5 and 10 years. It was a thought, but what further uneven damage and wear would have happened to my teeth in those years, and what if the crowding was getting worse? I would have waited 5 or 10 years for treatment that could be done now.

So I am waiting for my appointment with the ortho. I am getting impatient, which is not good ! Anybody give me a rough idea how long I will be waiting?

I am keen to hear people's opinions on my teeth, and place your bets on what treatment I will need. I am curious to see if I still need extractions, all my wisdom teeth are through. I don't know if they do arch expanders in the UK, but my top arch is definitely narrower than the bottom (don't you think?). I am betting on extractions on the bottom at least, fixed braces (think I will go with ceramics for the top), elastics at some point for the bite, and a minumum of 18 months.

I have got all this knowledge from reading all your stories, so thanks to all of you who have gone to the trouble of posting your brace diaries.

Hopefully I will have some news (and some pics for you soon).

[Skitters]

sksk....your story sounds just like mine! I've always known my teeth weren't perfect, but I accepted them and lived with it. About a year a go I finally went to an ortho to inquire about invisalign. I got ALOT more info than I bargained for. I was also told I had a crossbite, my upper jaw was too narrow, and to top it off, I needed braces and SURGERY to correct everything properly. At that point I said "no way", I'll keep my teeth as are, but as time went by I began paying attention to the discomfort in my jaw (which I had always ignored until the ortho pointed out as a fixable problem) and decided I should go ahead with treatment. Sooo, long story short, I'm now in braces and looking at surgery in 10-12 months. I'm looking forward to tracking your progress and will try to keep my own updated here as well. Good luck with everything!

[Skitters]

sksk....your story sounds just like mine! I've always known my teeth weren't perfect, but I accepted them and lived with it. About a year a go I finally went to an ortho to inquire about invisalign. I got ALOT more info than I bargained for. I was also told I had a crossbite, my upper jaw was too narrow, and to top it off, I needed braces and SURGERY to correct everything properly. At that point I said "no way", I'll keep my teeth as are, but as time went by I began paying attention to the discomfort in my jaw (which I had always ignored until the ortho pointed out as a fixable problem) and decided I should go ahead with treatment. Sooo, long story short, I'm now in braces and looking at surgery in 10-12 months. I'm looking forward to tracking your progress and will try to keep my own updated here as well. Good luck with everything!

[ripchord]

Welcome, sksk!

I hope you enjoy the site.

Unfortunately, most orthodontists won't let you fix just the cosmetic problems, although its what we notice. Fixing everything will help your bone and muscle placement, which can prevent problems like TMJ.

18 months should go by quickly. Just take excellent care of your teeth, wear your elastics when you are told, go to every appointment, and it'll seem much faster.

Good luck!

[METALMOUTHPOOH]

Welcome

Good luck with the ortho

[sksk11]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your messages. The postman brought me the best present on Saturday ... the letter telling me my appointment with the orthodontist is March 20th (this Thursday!). I am so excited! Unfortunately I cannot plan to have any dental work done until we review our mortgage in May, as I need to make sure I can afford the repayments on a Denplan loan, but that hasn't dampened my spirits too much. I am intrigued to see if he says the same about my teeth as he did 6 years ago, or whether his thoughts will have changed.

So now I'm searching Archwired for the sorts of questions I should be asking him at my appointment. If anybody has any really good suggestions, please please please let me know.

Keep your fingers crossed that this is the next step towards me getting the straight teeth I dream of! I'll keep you posted with how it goes.

SK

[elpi]

Hello, good luck with the ortho appointment! I also have a problem with my central incisors, my right one is the whole reason I'm getting braces, over the years it's moved further and further out!

The ortho explained to me that when my wisdoms came through it caused overcrowding, pushing the teeth out (I'd kind of figured that for myself) but now the tooth is resting on and not behind my bottom lip and this is applying a little teensy bit of pressure which is slowly pushing it out even further. When I found out it was *still* on the move I made the decision right there and then I was gonna get braces I am lucky because I haven't got any significant problems with my bite but he still said 18 months in (metal) braces.

[sksk11]

Thanks Elpi - damn those incisors! My right one is definitely more noticeable in photos now - and before I found this site, I had never really noticed just how badly my canine is twisted and pushed forwards. I distorts the shape of my lip when my mouth is shut, and sometimes pokes out a little from under my lip e.g. when I'm half smiling, prompting the old 'fang' comments from my boyfriend! Are you actually in your braces now? Do you mind me asking the cost, and whether you went ceramic or metal?

[sksk11]

My mistake - my appointment is next week (27th). Bit disappointed I have to wait another week, but at least this weekend is the easter bank holidays to distract me.

[elpi]

my hubbie calls my wayward tooth my "demon tooth" he's very sweet about it though!

As you probably saw in my brace story the cost for me is £3100, to be paid £1000 on brace day and then monthly payments of £160.

You're right we do have similar cosmetic problems with our teeth it's going to be so cool seeing the changes happen if you're able to go ahead with the braces. I know what you mean about being patient, I'd have loved to have got my braces weeks ago, but the timing was wrong...

[sksk11]

So, tomorrow is hopefully the beginning of my journey. I see the orthodontist at 10.35am, and I am really excited to hear what he thinks he will be able to do with my teeth.

And, unsurprisingly, I had a strange dream about my teeth the other night: I dreamt I was looking in the mirror, and thought my front teeth looked strange, when I pushed on one of them, it moved back and forward, and then I pulled on them and they just slid off, revealing two horrible yellow mini teeth underneath! How wierd?!

Can anybody point me in the direction of a post which I stumbled across which gave suggestions of what to ask your orthodontist. Does anyone know where it is?

[elpi]

Good Luck with the appointment! I'm kinda excited for you

I'm not sure where that post is either, It's probably too late to post this but here are some of the questions I asked my ortho

Cost? Duration? Choice of Brackets (ceramic, metal, self ligating)? Choice of Retainers? Do I need spacers / molar bands / elastics / other apparatus? extractions? Will I need more x rays? will my face / profile change? what are the facilities for a dental emergency? What result is expected? What is likely to happen if I don't get braces, will my teeth / bite get worse?

There's probably some I forgot there but you can always ring / write or make another appointment to ask any follow up questions you forgot with the first consultation, it's a good test of their customer focus

[sksk11]

Elpi - Thanks for your suggestions, and the spooky thing is that I asked all those questions, and more! I think we are maybe psychic / telepathic?!

Well, today was C-day (consultation day) The orthodontist was absolutely lovely, and I really looking forward to him being the one who will look after my teeth. He was very pleased I went in with my list of questions, and seemed impressed with everything that I had researched (all as a result of this website )

So here's how things went:

He asked how my teeth had been and why I had decided to come back to see him. I explained that the crowding still concerned me cosmetically, but I had also been increasingly aware of my bite, and the fact that I am wearing a few of my teeth unevenly.

He took a look at my teeth, told me I took good care of them despite the crowding ,unfortunately noticed that my left upper incisor has a very thin edge due to it being the only tooth which actually contacts my bottom teeth. He said that this will probably need to be built up once my teeth have been aligned, but he didn't seem to think it would be an issue otherwise.

He commented on my malocclusion at the front, and my edge to edge bite, due to my lower jaw being a little too far forward. He also thinks it's actually my top jaw which is slightly offset to the right (I thought my lower jaw was to the left) as my bottom midline is actually in line with the middle of my chin.

The best news for my is that he doesn't charge any extra for ceramic brackets , and when I explained that I am a dancer in my spare time, and was a bit concerned about all metal, he was more than willing to put ceramics on the front 6 teeth (his usual practice), with metal on the bicuspids and molars. He also said he would put ceramics on the bottom if I wanted, though he did say that on small narrow teeth they sometimes don't fit, so I reckon I probably need metal. Also, he said that as the ceramic are harder than tooth, there is a risk of chipping your teeth if your top teeth contact the brackets ... not good considering my upper incisor is so thin on the edge! Definitely metal lower braces for me!!

I am still looking at extractions from each side, top and and bottom. I am hopeful that this might remove some of the teeth that have old metal fillings. I asked if I will have to have elastics to correct the bite, and the answer was almost definitely. I had 3 x-rays done (which I was able to look up as I work in the hospital) - was really nasty to see how the line of my teeth curves up and down.

So the next plan of attack is to go to his private clinic for impressions and some further examination, then he will send me the quote. I can only hope and pray that I will be able to afford the repayments on a dental loan, it will be so disappointing if I can't go through with this after getting myself so excited.

Just incase it helps anybody waiting for their consultation, here was my list of questions + some of his answers (some quesitons were answered before I needed to ask him):

Ceramic Vs Metal, costs, benefits etc?

Do you work with self ligating brackets?
No, I tend to go with my tried and tested method. He offered to refer me to somebody who maybe did, but I didn't see the need. Having read the stories on this site, I think I will welcome the chance to experiment with coloured ligs once 'brace-boredom' sets in after a few months! I did surprise him though when I mentioned that I had read about clear self-ligating brackets on here (he didn't know they existed!).

Use of elastics?

Extractions?

Effect on facial profile?
I didn't actually ask this, but I am guessing my chin will be brought back slightly, which I am very pleased about.

What sort of retainers do you use?
The Essix clear retainers, night time only (he called them something different though). He sometimes uses bonded retainers, and said that I may need one to keep my wayward right canine under control!!

Where would the work / adjustments take place?

Who does the work?
I believe in America, sometimes the teeth are checked / ligs changed by an assistant, but my ortho said he would undertake all the work himself.

Will the quote include all repairs / emergencies, and an unforeseen things?
Yes, it includes everything

What will happen if I don't get the work done?

So here's to the second stage of my waiting game. The end of April seems such along time away, but at least it's something to look forward to!

SK

[elpi]

Glad it went well for you!

Did he give you any idea how long you'd need to be in braces. It's great isn't it getting a pro opinion. I didn't realise until I had my first ortho appointment how badly angled my front top teeth are!

I hope you can get that dental loan! Even though my treatment will cost me £3100 they only ask for £1000 upfront, the rest is paid by monthly standing order so that makes it a little bit easier to pay. They do that as standard at my practice I didn't need to make special arrangements or anything.

[sksk11]

So still playing the waiting game, though it's partly my fault

Following my initial consultation at the end of March, I thought I would be sent an appointment to go to the orthodontists private clinic for the next stage (impressions, further looking, some more 'umming and ahhhing' etc etc). A week later I hadn't heard anything, so I called the nurse at the ortho's practice, and it seems that I should have rung to book my own appointment in the first place - Doh! I was so annoyed with myself as I knew it meant I had probably increased my waiting time by another week or two.

After spending the last week trying to contact the nurse to book an appointment (and the both of us repeatedly missing each other's calls!) she left me a message saying she had booked a provisional appointment for me .......

Unfortunately this turned out to be right in the middle of my holiday abroad!

Good news is though, that after leaving another message for her saying I would be willing to fit into a cancellation if one became available, she rang today to tell me that I could go NEXT FRIDAY (18th)!!!!!!!!

I did worry that she might think I was stalking her a bit because of the number of times I had rung! Thankfully she was really nice, so I am so excited about the next stage and meeting the staff too.

Will update next week of course. Anyone in the UK got any advice about having impressions done?