Miniscrew Implants!! please help!

[samantha86]

Hi everyone,
Im really puzzled by these miniscrew implant things im supposed to be getting after 1 year into my braces.
i have researched the web trying to find information on how effective they are and how long they take to work.
i know there are a couple of people on here that have them but not sure if there for the same reasons as me.
I am getting mine because i refused to have teeth out lol(whimp)
so once the ortho has straightened my teeth out i will look a bit goofey which doesnt sound great, and then he said i would spend a year with the braces and mini screws bringing everything back into my jaw :S.
does anyone know anything about this procedure, like how long it usually takes to get things moving. ive also heard they fall out easily?

please help!

thanks

sam

[Lisa65]

I can't sugar-coat it, no. It's been much more difficult and lengthy than both I and my ortho had hoped. The screws are not too bad to put in, and once established and settled they do a great job, but they do have a tendency to loosen and fall out, or the skin round them can become inflamed making them unusable.

My blog probably has more details and close-up pics than you ever want to see, but if you want to know anything else, PM me.

[samantha86]

oh GOD!!!! ive just had a quick read of your story , blimey it didnt sound very good , but atleast your on the right road now.
hmmm its made me think have i made the right choice, i have already signed my contract:S
ohhhhhh i dont know what to do now !

[minnie2]

Hi!
I had the same sentence, this week!!! micro implant!!! I wasn't sure but now...i'm sure that i don't want!!!! i'm afraid!
I have 1 month before mi judgement!
I saw pics!! ouch!
I dont have choice but i don't want!

[samantha86]

see its not so much the pain i worry bout, its the cost of whether il have to pay another £500 to get a new set if they fall out. my ortho does it himself so luckily i wont have to go to anywhere i dont already know.
and my case is slightly different to lisa's, im having the screws placed on the outside of the jaw not inside to start, a year after my braces have straightened me up , and literally just pulling the jaw back a few mm . half of it seems the same as lisa's.
hmm , still unsure tho , i wanna keep all my teeth!!

[Lisa65]

Yup the ones on the outside were much easier to deal with. Insertion was easier and they were not painful afterwards at all. Removal is a piece of cake too.

Definitely check about the costs though. My first two were done by an oral surgeon, hence the separate charge, but the others were done by my ortho who had done the training course for them in the intervening months. So they didn't cost me any extra, as I'd already paid for my treatment.

The ones just behind my canines have been in place 18 months now, are still secure, and are doing an admirable job of stopping my front teeth bucking out from the counter-force of having the back ones pushed back.

Personally I have to admit if I'd known how difficult it would all be, I might have opted for extractions.

[shan*rock]

I got microscrews (TADs) put in a month ago and everything went super smoothly. The ortho is really happy about how they are working out. I also had all four of my first premolars removed though so they TADS are working to pull my front teeth back to help fill the gaps and correct my overbite. My teeth have moved a lot since I got the TADs, the pain was really minimal. They didn't hurt at all going in, but were a little sore for about 24 hours. After that, it's been smooth sailing for me.

You can check out my story below, but unfortunately I haven't been able to get any pics of them, they are tucked back there (mine are on the outside). My ortho did them himself with no extra cost, and there will be no extra cost if they come loose and he has to replace them. They are pretty sturdy though right now.

[samantha86]

thats a relief! i hope mine go as well as your as going.
and thats re asssured me a lot too , thanks shanrock and lisa65.
I will definatly ask about the extra cost thing, hopefully he will not charge me more, as like you i have signed my treatment plan and am paying it at the moment and hoping that it includes things like that.
yay i feel a lot better now about it !
thanks guys

[andrewp]

I started looking at microscrews about two years ago when they were still fairly new in the US. I decided to wait until now to proceed to let the technology get well established. Problems like screws falling out they have discovered is largely due to waiting too long after installation to apply a load. Just got them installed two days ago and they should be hooking them up in two more days. So far the only real problem I've had is the ones on the palate side are rubbing my tongue pretty bad.

Going in was easy. They don't use much anesthetic so they "know" if they hit a root on accident, but you don't feel anything until the screw is almost in. If you hear a crack, that's apparently normal. The last mm or two (I think they used 8s and 10s on the inside) hurt pretty bad but it was tolerable. Afterwards though was quite possibly the worst sustained pain I have ever experienced until the vicodin kicked in.

I went to an oral surgeon to place mine. Cheaper than I expected at $225 each for 8. I should have them in for 6mos and just braces and elastics for another 12 after that for open bite.

[Lisa65]

I would think 8 at once would hurt pretty badly for a day or two! You are braver than I. I've had 6 in total but only 2 at a time, and that was enough.

I hope they do the job for you. Another tip I was given to help minimise loosening is to resist the urge to fiddle with them. It's hard, because your tongue automatically goes there to investigate the foreign object.

Look forward to hearing more about your treatment. Are you going to start a blog? There are quite a few people here now who have or have had microscrews.

[andrewp]

I'm not much of a blogger but I might start a pics thread or something to post to as treatment progresses.

[sarz]

Hi, I have two mini implants in my upper gums (originally 5), I have had them put in to attach elastics to hold my jaws in the right position. I have been told that they will be in for 3-6 months. I can't feel them but they are not the most attractive things, will be worth it in the long run though.

[kp2]

I am in the process of trying to decide whether to go with the orthodontist who is using TADs or the orthodontist who isn't experience with TADs and is not using them as part of her treatment. This will be the second-time around in braces for me...first time was completed in 8th grade...wore my retainers religiously but my growth spurt occurred after that, thus my bottom jaw grew non-proportional to the top and I went back into right crossbite Apparently I am in a slight Class III (1st molar) and with right side crossbite... the orthodontist that wants to use TADs feel confident that he can achieve a Class I occlusion and correct the crossbite...the other orthodontist that isn't using TADs (and says she is aware of them but doesn't use them) will be using heavy guage rubberbands and palatal expander to correct the problem. However, she indicated that surgery may be necessary to widen the palate if the expander doesn't work? The first orthodontist never mentioned surgery...and he too is using a palatal expander along with the TAD's..

I don't know what to do and who I should entrust with my care. I don't want to go through ortho a third time...let alone the cost of everything ...both orthodontists are in the same ballpark for treatment cost. I am having one more consult with both orthodontist to answer a few more questions like....can my crossbite be corrected by either route of treatment, or will the TADs provide a better result. Of course when I read about TADs, the literature indicates more predictable and reliable tooth movement without moving all the teeth, only the ones you want I'm sure, though, that many orthodontists that don't use TADs achieve success as well?
Can anyone out there help me make my decision a little easier?

[Sheryl 54]

Hi I just read you post on making a decision on which ortho to use I wondered what you decided and if you have a expander in yet I'm gong in for spacers May 30 and several week later getting an expander he says he's not sure if it will work but wants to try it instead of pulling 2 teeth. Have you done any thing yet?