Metal Mouth Message Board

Sorry for the typos above...can't seem to edit the post!

Root repsorption can only be diagnosed via radiographs...it's rare for the roots to shorten enough to be a concern for the future of the tooth, but it does happen. That is one of the reasons for a panorex taken close to the time when you will be getting your braces off.

Dr. S

We will be on vacation next week, so if you send a PM and don't get an immediate response, don't think I've flown the coop !

I've enjoyed the interchanges with the various members of this great site, and look forward to more in the future!

Off to the beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dr. S

Well, on that score, Lisa, my ortho polished off all residual bonding material, but I still returned to my general dentist for my cleaning. I would bet this is how most orthos operate. Yep, you won't find many (if any) orthodontists that have hygienists on staff for cleanings....some may have them ...

Incipient resorption will show no symptoms....severe resorption (greater than 2/3 of the root) will show mobility...not the normal tiny movement that teeth in ortho treatment will often show, but quite wiggly. Get a panorex done...or look at the latest one done. Your doc probably has done one within...

A gag reflex is a good thing!! :D Mother natures way of protecting the ol' windpide and other plumbing. One thing we do with patients that mention bad gag reflexes is to take the "threating" part of it away....take a tray and you (the patient) slowly places in the mouth little by little......

taking one tooth out on the bottom will leave you with excessive overjet (overbite)... Not knowing how much crowding you have on the upper arch, or the degree of protrusion of your teeth (doesn't seem extreme), you may be able to find a doc to treat you non-extraction. I've never really been a fan o...

Hi Dara,

A "gummy smile" can be caused by a couple of things...usually it results from excessive vertical growth of the maxilla (upper jaw) and would require surgery to fix.

Dr. S

will another ortho be willing to finish out my treatment?

Yep, no problemo

Dr. S

Kat, That is a great way to control the panic thoughts, KK, I'd have to add that there is kind of a scale of Panic Attacks...full blown PAs will have many of the symptoms that you have described, but being confined in a dental chair may make some folks have some of the symptoms described, but at a l...

Clo,

Will he do the surgery for you?

Dr. S

Believe me when I tell you I know more about panic attacks than I wish I did... A dentist that suffers panic attacks...isn't that ironic :D Anybody that has any questions or would like to discuss methods of controlling panic in a dental situation (or any other situation for that matter). please feel...

Steel also has Ni in it, so only Beta-titanium can be used...it is still pretty flexible, but it is quite brittle. It can be bent, (ie loops can be placed in it), but bend it more than once and it'll break.

Long span, flexing a bunch, SNAP!

Hopefully, the stiffer wire won't flex as much

Dr. S

Hi Lynn, When you bite down, do you feel like you are hitting harder on that tooth, or it hits before your other teeth do? Hot/cold sensitive or just when pressing on it? Is the composite filling fairly large? If the tooth does have a crack (that doesn't go to far down the tooth) a crown will take c...

Did the wire look kinda like a potato chip from the side?

If so, it's called a "reverse curve" archwire and is used to open up a deep bite.

Dr. S