The Tooth from Hell

My very boring Ortho experience got rather interesting about a week ago. However, it had nothing to do with orthodontics. I spend a great deal of time picking my teeth as I watch tv simply because I am completely paranoid that the 1mm of plaque that I may have missed is keeping my teeth from moving all that much faster. So last weekend I picked and picked and accidentally stabbed what I thought was one of my gums. It felt a little sensitive but nothing to talk about. Somehow, the next day...... anytime I drank anything cold , I got a shooting pain in the tooth (not the gum). Things went rapidly downhill from there to the point where I could not put any liquid in my mouth without a straw. Stragely enough when I chewed food I felt nothing. It soon occured to me that all my picking could have shifted one of my fillings to the point where liquids were just able to seep in and hit the nerve.

I immediately called my dentist who managed to see me between appointments. She reminded me that she had told me I would need a root canal on that tooth eventually. I however did not think eventually meant 4 months!! She indicated that if I had a non symptomatic tooth (i.e a tooth where the nerve was dead and I felt no pain) I could have postponed the procedure indefinitely. Unfortunately because the nerve is very much alive and cause severe pain, its gotta be done now. That lovely procedure will set me back $3750!!! Ok, so I have insurance, but still , to find that to put out in one shot is a problem. She said I could pay half and half but I hate owing anyone. Even worse, I could not get an appointment as they are booked solid. So until my pain becomes constant and unbearable and they are forced to schedule me an emergency appointment , I have to wait. I was concerned that I would have to remove my archwire to do the procedure but she says she can work around it.

Even stranger, after drinking from a straw for a week, I realised that I was again able to move liquid in my mouth when I should not be able to.Hmmm, so I sucked it up and took a drink the normal way and low and behold...no pain. So I dunno if the nerve died on me or if my filling just dropped back into place after a few nights of aggressive grinding in my sleep but it no longer hurts. I wonder if I can get out of that root canal now?

I can't help but be bitter with the ortho I initially consulted who after doing xrays told me I had no cavity in the troublesome tooth (which I specifically enquired about) although there was a crater in it. If it was big enough for me to feel it with my tongue, it was big enough to see on an xray. It was only because I was never in pain that I did not double check it with a dentist. All ofthis could have been avoided and I think it is sad that I need a root canal (maybe two!) at my age. And this is even with me always brushing my teeth. I was just alway slack with the flossing. I will see what happens with that tooth and how long I can avoid this root canal.

Adjustment Number 2

I must tell you, braces are really boring. Nothing much happens in between adjustments, at least not with me. I don't really get any pain or irritation in my mouth . I don't break brackets or bend archwires. Its also pretty obvious that you can't see any changes in tooth movement on a daily basis.

So I went to my second adjustment to see how things were moving along. My ortho was actually quite suprised that my teeth are moving as quickly as they are.Although they are pretty much aligned below there is still that pesky front incisor that does not want to rotate fully in place on account of that rotated molar that is taking forever to budge even one millimeter.

Nonetheless, I was able to change the archwire on my upper arch to a thicker wire. FINALLY that gap on the side will start closing up. At this rate I am hoping that I will keep my treatment time to about a year or a little more. I will actually be delighted if I get my rubber bands next visit. cause that will mean I am even closer to the end. Although every one has told me I can't avoid rubber bands I wonder if I will get away from it because I have already been told that my bite does not need any correcting. The one most annoying thing are my two upper front teeth that still seem more crooked than before I started. My ortho says we have a lot of moving around to do still, even though thats hard to believe since they aesthically look like they are almost done.

I have been compulsively flossing and picking between my bottom teeth cause I keeping thinking that there is this 1mm of plaque that is preventing that front tooth from finally just falling into place. I know I am not completely paranoid since I heard the ortho telling another patient that it does not make sense her doing anything else until she gets her teeth cleaned cause the plaque build up has suspended her progress. Thats not only whack but also gross.

As I said no discomfort, no excrutiating pain. Just playing that waiting game now.

First Adjustment

Well I had my first adjustment today. Nothing much to report because they just tightened the wires I already had and changed my ligs. My teeth look basically the same way it did last post so I did not bother to take any more pics. I mentioned to the dental assistant that I thought my top teeth were getting more crooked while the bottom where getting straighter. He claimed that if there was any movement at all that it was not noticeable but that it did not matter cause at the end of the treatment it would all be aligned. At least my incisor that was sticking out is back where it should be , that was the most noticable problem. The rotated incisor is usually covered by my overbite and is almost where it should be.Progress is shown here and at my rotated molar where the teeth were so close together that the ligature could not be placed on the bracket properly. Now they both have the ligature on the entire bracket. As a result there is some increase in tension in these areas.I am hoping that the molar will begin to rotate faster now that the bracket is fully engaged.

I was a bit disenchanted when I was given my payment coupon book today. It has reminders for all the days when payments are due as well as for my dentist appointments.Every time you make a payment you rip out the slip and hand it in and get your book stamped. So I made the mistake and asked what date is on the last page .....september 2009. That is over 2 years from now! I cannot imagine being in braces that long sigh. I am really hoping that time is cut to a year and a half. The assistant said that I may get my top wire changed next visit in 8 weeks. Again its torture to have to wait so long between adjustments. You feel it working for the first week or too and then you have 6 weeks where you feel like nothing is going on.

I am feeling the increased pressure but it is not even remotely uncomfortable.I will see if I will be singing the same tune tomorrow.

Two months in braces and counting

So I have not been really viligant in my updates. But thats cause I have been really busy in work and its funny how you kinda forget you even have braces especially when you're like me and you're not having any major issues. To date I have not broken a bracket or archwire and I have not popped a ligature. I have had several instancs where I am talking to people and they have stopped me to ask about my braces. I forget who has seen me with them and without them. The peopel who don't ask I don't even bother to explain. I have noticed that the clear ligatures have inevitably turned a shade of cream that is similar to tooth enamel so although discoloured, they are not really noticable. That is off course until today when my mom decided to cook Paella and they did turn kind of yellowish. My next appointment is in two weeks and I amnot really sure if I can live with them that look looking like that. I asked my mom what was in the paella that made it yellowish cause I've eaten spanish rice before and got away with it. She told me she put in fresh saffron which was my undoing. Any natural colouring is dangerous to clear ligs!! That includes curry, mustard and saffron!! Funily enough I actually got away with eating doubles a few times without changing the colour, I have no idea why that curry did not stain when obviously it stains in every other form. I still am trying not to have too much curry till closer to lig change day.

Soother than some occasional jaw pain I have been doing pretty well. I only get a sore mouth when I spend and evening taking with friends and forget to keep my mouth moisturised.I supposed that since I was not really in any pain nor was the gap in my top arch looking like it was closing that I wasnot making progress. How very wrong I was! On e day while looking in the mirror (which you do constantly when youhave braces) I realised that the zig zag look that my bottom archwire had was gone. So I had to pull out the old pics and check to make sure. (check previous post or gallery)

And I was stunned to see that although I had a bottom incisor that was still rotated, all my teeth were pretty much aligned in an arch. The other incisor that was sticking forward was back in line to the point where I was not sure which one it was. My guess is once that molar at the back rotates some more to give the incisor more space everything will fall right into place easily. That molar has barely budged so I imagine with my next adjustment that would be tightening and starting to move. So athough not all the teeth are level, the archwire is quite straight.Its funny how I was quite sceptical when I was told I would not have my first adjustment for two months. I could not understand how they expected anything to happen if they were not adjusting the braces on at least a monthly basis.This goes to show why I am not the orthodontist and she is.

I am really hoping that this positive sign is an indication that my teeth are moving very quickly. On the downside I think my midline of my front top teeth has actually become MORE crooked. I have heard that your teeth go through many changes as they rearrange them and may have to get worse before they get better. It is however beyond me why the top teeth are moving at all. I had them on for a full month before I got the bottoms and they did not seem to do anything but open up my bite. HMM actually, its probably the contact with the lower brackets that are causing it to shift. Or maybe the tooth that went back where it was supposed to be, who knows, I have to remember to point that out. I am certainly looking forward to get things moving.

One month in braces

So at the one month mark I still have not seen much progress if any. I must say I am a bit disappointed. I know I may be a bit impatient but I was at least hoping for a gap to close. My bottoms have not been for more than two weeks so I can't expect much there. Just noticed recently that I have another molar rotated but its not as bad as the other one. It was still and ARRGGGGHHH moment nonetheless.



I made the HORRIBLE mistake on chowing down on a wrap I ordered that I forgot contained mustard.Yeah so now my ligatures are lime green. You can't see it unless its close up but I know its lime green. No amount of attempts to baking soda,Listerine Whitening, whitening toothpaste is helping. Sigh, good thing I told them I was changing them before the next wedding in two weeks.Unortunately for you all I took the pics after the mustard incident.



The bottom brackets are feeling fine although my mouth is generally drier.Very little irritation. I took out the all plastic tongue barbell and put back in the metal one. No correction, I took out the half of the plastic barbell that I did not swallow and put in the metal one. I keep losing the o-ring that holds it in place underneath while I'm eating. I swallowed like 3 this week. I don't really want to order more right now and at the rate I'm eating them they won't last long.
Sigh.

You can call me....The Shredder!

So I can really identify right now with this guy, known as The Shredder. You may remember him from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies (the old school ones NOT TMNT). Aside from the fact that we now have a striking resemblance with all this metal in my mouth, I have literally become the shredder.No dental floss is safe around me!!

Now I guess because my top teeth were ok to begin with and were more spaced than crowded I did not forsee the problems I am now experiencing. When I flossed the top teeth I took about 10 minutes tops. And thats me taking my time. I got to be so good at it that I no longer needed to use the floss threaders to get under the archwire. Then again I had the fact that I am very handy with a needle and thread to my advantage. With my bottom metal brackets installed it has become IMPOSSIBLE to floss between some of the teeth. First there is the problem where my teeth apparently shifted overnight so the floss physically cannot pass between the teeth. Then there is the situation where the brackets are riding on top of each other so closely that you can't even see where the wire is to thread beneath it. So I was forced to start using the floss threaders for my bottom teeth which has now extending my floss time by about 10 mins. Yeah so I basically need a half hour to 'brush' my teeth.

In addition to which the metal brackets now shred just about every piece of floss that dares to come close. I have to pull at least four lengths of floss just to get through the bottom teeth. It is amazing that my teeth could be so close together even though the orientation does not seem to have changed.

I have also developed an unfortunate habit. Now that everything I eat sticks up in the braces ,I tend to run my tongue over them to try and dislodge the food as I am eating. This turned out to be a bad idea because now I am blistering the tip of my tongue. It literally took me the past few days to figureout why my tongue was feeling so sensitive. Yet another challenge in this journey.

Lowers Braced!

Well I got my lowers done today. I got the metal brackets. The process was just as uneventful as the uppers. On looking at the end result I had a harsh wake up call. I realised I was really being a bit delusional as to the status of my teeth. All along I was saying that they are ok and I was just being vain by fixing them. No. They are messed up. It really takes the installation of the brackets and the wire to get a true sense of how your teeth are orientated (or rather disorientated). When I saw how many kinks were in the wire and how one bracket on my incisor could not even fit on the rotated tooth I was both embarrassed and relieved for myself. Embarrassed that they have to look this OBVIOUSLY bad for awhile and relieved that I actually took the step to do something about it. Can you look at those pics? I did not even know that molar to my left side was completely turned the wrong way!

A few hours later they generally feel ok but I am starting to feel the pressure on that naughty incisor that is jutting out. I have a feeling tomorrow will be much worse than how my uppers felt on day two. I also discovered that I in fact DON'T have self-litigating braces on my rear molars on the uppers. The assistant put a grey ligature on the bracket instead of a clear one so I did not realise that it had a ligature at all. I enquired as to when I could hope to see my upper spaces closing adn I was told that she the ortho was not going to start closing until they were all aligned properly...SIGH. My lowers also have grey ligatures. I did not even bother with the clear ones on the bottom, I have a hard enough time keeping the top ones clean.Ironically I also learned that the guy in the wedding who interrogated me also went to the same ortho. I should have scrutinised him more to see his end results.

So now I have the best of both worlds and hopefully i will really see some action soon!