On Wednesday 16th of November I finally received my final treatment plan. My orthodontist and implant surgeon finally made up their mind and came up with the final treatment plan. The implant surgeon sent me an email and a few minutes later my orthodontist called me to explain what will happen.

The main reason why they started discussing my treatment again is because I have sent them an email asking how the bottom braces will interact with the implant. My orthodontist convinced me to start wearing braces both top & bottom to get the best result.

January things will finally start

So they have decided to move on with the treatment as follows:

January 18th:

• Extraction of front tooth 21 at implant surgeon office.
• Installation of the implant (without temporary tooth) and install some bio material to fill some missing bone.
• Installation of a healing abutment.
• I will have to take the extracted tooth with me. The rest of the day I will have a gap at location 21.

January 19th:

• Appointment at orthodontist.
• My extracted tooth will be used as pontic. This means, the tooth will be attached to a bracket on my top-row archwire. This way the gap will be hidden.
• Installation of brackets and wire on top row (with the pontic). I will need the top braces for minimum 6 months.
• Installation of brackets and wire on bottom row. I will need the bottom braces for minimum 9 months.

After this procedure I will have to:

• Get used to the braces 🙁 (Oh my!)
• Wait for the implant abutment to heal (takes about 6 months)
• Optional: This step depends on the healing process. Checkup the tissues around the implant and gum correction (takes about 2 months)
• Checkup healing of implant. Then wait another 2 weeks minimum / 3 months maximum
• Installation of definitive porcelain crown.

Everything will be fine!

Summarised this means I will end up in full metal braces. So I will get braces installed on top and bottom teeth. My worst nightmare will come through. I have decided not to think too much anymore and to move on with the treatment.

Yesterday, I visited my general dentist (30 minutes appointment) to get my yearly checkup and as expected she was happy to see my gum and teeth are in good shape. She wished me good luck with the implant and braces and reassured me everything will be fine! Wish me luck!