My first perio-cleaning

Thursday 10th I had my first perio-cleaning. To be honest I underestimated the procedure. Didn’t expect the anesthesia syringe to hurt like that. The periodontist gave me about 10 of them. He decided to start with the left half of both top and bottom teeth. After the syringes the treatment went well. The treatment took 45 minutes in total. Next Monday (on Valentin’s day!)

I’ll receive the same periodontal treatment on the other half (right side) of my mouth. That day, before the periodontal cleaning, I’ll have a 15 minute talk with the orthodontist to discuss the braces treatment because 2 weeks ago I got my X-Ray pictures and molds / impressions taken (faster than expected). I’m very curious what the final outcome will be and how my treatment plan will look like!

More info next week!

by bracesat44

Braces and Confidence: What to expect?

Braces and Confidence: What to expect? Now that things start getting serious and I might have to start wearing metal brackets on my teeth… the self consciousness starts kicking in. Again I started looking around to find adult male persons wearing braces, but no “luck” πŸ™ Even though a lot of people insured me I shouldn’t be worried about it, I’m starting to feel pretty strange about it. I think one shouldn’t underestimate the consequences of a braces treatment:

  • The fact that my bottom teeth are pretty visible while talking. For sure people will notice them immediately.
  • The cleaning / taking care of sounds very intensive. Brushing my teeth minimum 3 times a day sounds almost impossible!
  • Having to worry each day about my food-habits. I’ll have to avoid some types of food and drinks.
  • Going on business-trip or holiday? What will happen when a bracket pops of? It will ruin my trip!
  • Elastics! Please don’t tell me I’ll have to mess around with elastics while eating?
  • The monthly visits at the orthodontist. How am I going to arrange that? I have to go to work?
  • What will happen if I miss some appointments? Will the orthodontist have to prolong the treatment?
  • Retainers… After finishing the braces treatment it will not be over yet πŸ™

As you can see I’m going through a roller coaster of questions. But especially the self consciousness makes me nervous! To be continued.

by bracesat44

1st orthodontist appointment

Thursday 27th I experienced my 1st orthodontist appointment. That day I was pretty nervous but I’m happy I went through with it. The appointment took exactly 40 minutes and went pretty fine.

I explained the ortho about my situation together with her assistant. She came to the conclusion I will have to start wearing braces. I asked her if it was possible to go for Invisalign but she quickly responded that this kind of braces wouldn’t work for me. I didn’t expect to come to this conclusion that quickly.

She explained me that she would like to apply metal bracket braces both on top and bottom arches. This will solve following items:

  • My bottom crooked teeth will no longer touch my top front row.
  • The bow of both bottom and top teeth will be wider after the treatment making more room to put an implant in place.
  • My bottom row will be shifted to realign the row to the center again.

She asked me if I am OK with this decision and immediately started:

  • Taking pictures of my teeth (while wearing a cheek retractor).
  • Taking pictures of my teeth using some kind of mirror to get a view on the back of my teeth.
  • Taking pictures of the profile of my face (while standing against the wall). Both front / left and right profiles.
  • Created a mold of my teeth (both top and bottom).
  • And finally went to the X-Ray machine to take an X-Ray from my face.

Afterwards she invited me to look into my calendar to make a new appointment to discuss the treatment plan. To be honest it went all very fast and I experienced this appointment as overwhelming. I still had a lot of questions in my mind:

  • She proposed immediately to use the Damon Metal bracket braces. She didn’t propose to use less showy /flashy brackets like ceramic type?
  • What about the treatment afterwards? Do I need to wear retainers or not?
  • She told me it would take 1 year to finish the treatment
  • She didn’t really discuss my front dead tooth. I guess she will check with the periodontist?

But I did ask her about:

  • I’m a male +40 years. Is it normal to get braces at my age? She told me not to worry about it.
  • If there is a risk to get root resorption. She told me not to worry about it. I have long and pointy teeth. That should be fine.
  • If is was really worth the investment. She told me yes πŸ™‚ (of course)

Even though it was a 40 minute appointment it went very fast. I’m curious about the treatment plan and how the implant will be handled. I’m happy the appointment happened now. I now know for sure I will have to start a braces treatment but didn’t expect this to happen so fast.

When will she propose to start with the treatment? How will metal braces look like on me? I’m very nervous about it for sure! More info to come!

by bracesat44

Important week!

Important week! This week a lot of things are on my mind. Don’t want to move into details, but they are all related to COVID related things. Here in Belgium the COVID cases are increasing incredibly. I’m little bit worried about the fact that my ortho / dentist / perio appointments might be impacted by the COVID situation. Hopefully nothing will have to be canceled by myself or the practices. Thursday will be the BIG day because it will be my first orthodontist visit ever. Hopefully I can just move on with the implant of my front tooth without the need of having to start braces treatment because I really don’t look forward having to wear braces at my age. Fingers crossed! For sure detailed write-up will follow later this week!

by bracesat44

Happy 2022!

Happy 2022! A New Year has started. It will be an important year. Especially because of things that will start to change with my dental health in the next few months. Periodontist, orthodontist and dentist appointments scheduled and ready to start treatments if needed. The next appointment is scheduled on Thursday 27th of January. It will be the first appointment with an orthodontist to talk about my crooked bottom row teeth and of course the top front tooth that might have to be replaced with an implant.

As the appointments come closer I’m getting more and more nervous. Last weeks I continued reading about the process of wearing braces, about bone grafting and dental implants. Also the topic about “riding pontics” got my attention.

At this very moment there is not much more to say. Keep an eye on my blog to keep up with progress. Thank you everyone for your kind words and motivating me to move on with the treatment. It is little bit scary but I’m convinced, in the end, things will work out fine!

Happy 2022!

by bracesat44

Unexpectedly invited at periodontist today!

Unexpectedly invited at periodontist today! Last month I made an appointment (scheduled 27th of January 2022) with a periodontist and orthodontist practice. Today I received a phone call if I can come to the periodontist today! (One of their patients cancelled) . Things suddenly move faster! Keep you posted!

Edit:

I have returned from the periodontist. He told me he will try to save my front tooth trying to avoid having to replace it with an implant. Next steps:

  1. Small treatment 1/2 Gum/bone cleaning February 10th 2022
  2. Small treatment 2/2 Gum/bone cleaning February 14th 2022
  3. More complex bone grafting treatment front tooth 21 (to be scheduled later on)

This means there is still hope. My first appointment with the orthodontist is still scheduled 27th of January 2022.

by bracesat44

Visited my endodontologist

Last Thursday I visited my endodontologist. It looks like everything is fine with the root of my tooth number 21. The root canal treatment they did (almost 2 years ago) fixed the issue with the root of the tooth. I thought that was great news but now he will forward me to a periodontist. Something is still wrong with my bone next to tooth 21. I will explain more in detail later but this really doesn’t sound good.

As you know I already scheduled an appointment with a periodontist and orthodontist because worst-case I knew I would have to visit it. It is scheduled on 27th of January 2022. During that appointment my gum and bone structured will be checked & treated. One hour later I’ll have my first talk with an orthodontist to check the overall situation in my mouth.

by bracesat44

I’m back from the dentist!

I’m back from the dentist! This was my 3rd opinion and I have the feeling it was a good visit. The dentist explained me about my dental health and how I should proceed to fix some things.

First, my front tooth. It looks like it is still not stabilized and I should look into it asap. I received a letter explaining the situation and to get a second root canal treatment. So this morning I immediately made an appointment with an endodontologist. This will happen on November 19th.

Second, I have some amalgam fillings in one of my molar teeth. It needs to be removed and replaced with a “composite” type of filling. The main reason is to prepare my mouth for “eventually” starting to wear braces. See below. So I already scheduled an appointment to replace the amalgam too (February 10th 2022).

Third, My crooked bottom teeth. The dentist told me that the gum and bone health is good. If I want to fix my bottom row/arch I can receive orthodontic treatment. She told me that my bottom teeth will continue to shift and things will get worse in the future. The treatment is not urgent, but if I want to do it I shouldn’t wait too long. I also asked if it is common to get braces at my age. She told me not to worry about wearing braces at my age. She suggested to keep the orthodontist appointment (May 2022) and to decide later on. It gives us an extra few months to fix the other issues mentioned above.

Forth, Sooner than expected I received a 3D scan of my mouth:

  • 3D scan to get an overview of my dental situation
  • Front tooth 21 degrading. Bone loss.

But before I can go on I will need the endo-treatment again. Depending on that appoitment/treatment I will get a better picture on how to proceed. This situation brings me in a chicken and egg situation:

  • If I start wearing braces, the front tooth will automatically fall out because of the forces. So I will have to go for the implant.
  • If I don’t get the implant, the front tooth will degrade and will fall out in the next years. So I will have to go for the implant.
  • If I don’t start wearing braces, but I ask the dentist to remove the tooth, my implant will not look 100% nice. So I’ll need braces.

I really hate this situation. But it is what it is. Below I’m sharing you some pictures of my current teeth.

  • Amalgam filling (left tooth in photo) needs to be removed to prepare for (evantually) starting to wear braces.
  • Side view of my mouth.
  • Dead front tooth. Probably needs to be replaced with an implant.
  • Front view of my teeth. Here you can clearly see the bottom crooked teeth and my front tooth 21 that needs to be replaced with an implant.
  • Dead front tooth number 21.

What do you think after seeing these picture? Would you go for the braces? Please let me know or write a comment!

by bracesat44

In one day I’ll have my visit at a new dentist

Next Tuesday 9th of November I’ll have a visit at a new dentist. (As you noticed from my previous posts). They called me last Friday to remember me about the appointment at 8h30 in the morning. For sure I didn’t forget! Especially because this will be the appointment I prepared in my mind. I need answers on:

  • How to handle my front death tooth. Will it need to be extracted or do I need another root canal treatment?
  • If it needs to be extracted, what procedure to follow to get an implant?
  • And last but not least: Will I need braces?

It will be the first time I’ll ask about braces because I really want to fix my crooked bottom teeth in combination with the issues I’m experiencing with me top arch. This topic makes me nervous but it feels like I’m ready to go for it.

Will let you know how I experienced my visit to the dentist in my next blog post!

by bracesat44