36 year old getting braces next week

[cerm78]

Hi guys and gals.

I'm Esteban, I had an orthodontic treatment using Hawley retainers when I was a kid. Even when the end result was not as perfect as braces would allow, it was pretty nice. Then some years later my "wisdom teeth" came out... I wrote "wisdom" in quotes because they didn't seem to be too wise teeth, specially the bottom ones, which came out pointing forward... You can imagine what happened... all the years and work and money invested by my parents went to the trash...

My relapse was not as bad as my initial situation but even when I swore myself several times that I won't go through all that pain ever again, I have always that feeling and need of having my teeth corrected for good... years came and went by and now I'm 36 and I took the decision of having braces one more time...

Here you can see a picture of my current state: https://googledrive.com/host/0ByNqFXhSQ ... zFMQ2s/One week before braces (2014-10-28).jpg

I have visited a very recommended (and very near) orthodontist and my first installation appointment is scheduled for next Wednesday November 5th... since I have been extracted already 6 pieces (4 bicuspids for the first ortho treatment and the two lower "unwise teeth") I don't have any more teeth to extract, so she's going to perform interproximal reduction to make the necessary spaces...

She works with 3m Unitek braces and I have made my mind for the standard Clarity brackets (a la Tom Cruise!) She wears them also and she looks pretty nice, so I hope they won't be so evident... I use to drink two coffee cups with milk per day and she does not consider staining of the ligatures to be a problem.

I was told that on this first installation session I will get only one arch done, but she's going to share the full treatment details that same day.

I have been through a similar experience before and I'm not nervous, but I'm anticipating a lot of very familiar pain and in this case difficulties I didn't went through before (I got out the Hawleys for eating and such)

I hope everything goes well and I'll be sharing my progress with you here...

Regards,

Esteban

[touchofhiddencharm]

Congrats on your journey!

[cerm78]

Thanks

This is my third week on braces... just my top arch... I was very nervous about the mouth sores because I'm very prone to them, but so far I'ts been very nice, not as bad as I was anticipating.

The same day I got them put, one of them came off, probably due to contamination and excess tension. My orthodontist decided to remove it until the other teeth move a little so it will have less tension on it.

This is a picture of my mouth just after installation:
https://googledrive.com/host/0ByNqFXhSQ ... %20day.jpg

My left canine was stripped a little and it was put a power chain on it, to make space for my outer left incisor which is a little recessed.

I drink two cups of coffee per day and I have noticed very slight staining on the ligatures (clear), but the power chain (white) is staining more. The first week my canine was very sore but now any pain is gone there. My teeth only hurt a little if I bite on some sort of things. Eating "normally" is out of the question but I've found techniques to eat almost everything I was used to (mostly Subway subs hehe).

However, I was given a disconcerting new on the installation appointment, and it is that after detailed study of my models and Rx my orthodontist considers that lower incisor extraction would give better results than the IPR she was planning to perform. I didn't want any tooth extracted and to be honest I was very shocked. She says that with IPR she can't guarantee perfect results and that relapse is very likely.

Now, I went Clarity ceramics for my braces to be as unnoticeable as possible and having one tooth extracted on my lower arch, which is very visible when I speak, will defeat my goal completely... She told me that to minimize the visibility of the space she can strip the incisor that will be extracted (probably my center left one, which is very eroded on the tip) until it can't be stripped any more. Then it will be extracted and the root cut at gum level and it will be placed again on the braces archwire to fill the gap. My poor dead incisor will be stripped progressively until it gets the size of the bracket and then completely taken outside of the equation...

I still don't like the idea and already hate the procedure to be performed but I've been investigating and seems to be the option that will allow best results with less risks, since IPR can make my teeth sensitive and increase my caries probability if not performed well. The incisor extraction has the risk of leaving a black triangle between the two nearest teeth and the space reopening with time. I would prefer the aesthetic risks instead of the disease risks.

I don't know when all that will be performed on my lower arch but I'm already tired of thinking what I really want to do... I don't want to look like this for any length of time but if it will give the best outcome then I will do it...

[Bracesat57]

Good luck! It will really be all worth it in the end!

[NYG2007]

cerm78

How are you making out with your treatment? I had a central incisor out when I had braces.

[Nami]

Did you end up going through with the incisor extraction? How did it turn out if you don't mind me asking? I'm going to get mine taken out soon...

[NYG2007]

I haven't been on here in a long time, but received an email from your post.

I did have my central incisor removed tooth 24. It was hard to remove a perfectly healthy tooth not causing any issues. I did it, and was anxious as well. My signature has my blog with the final result if you want to see.

I did have black triangles. I ended up having some tooth bonding in those areas to clean it up. It looked/looks much better after that.

I hope your treatment goes well and good luck!