An adult’s life isn’t easy and between one thing and the other time slips away. As I mentioned I was originally following treatment in Colombia and it was going fine but then I moved abroad and was not able to visit my orthodontist, the last thing he did was –something I shall regret for the rest of my life- do premolar extractions on my upper jaw, that was in 2010 (see one of my previous posts).
In my new home country I kind of tried with two (2) orthodontists but I was not truly happy with the alternatives or options given. One of them even quoting $3,000 as if I was starting from zero and was really way out of a reasonable amount ($1,500 is regular).
Time flew, last time I think beginning of last year the upper brackets where getting painful so I had them removed. The orthodontist (that had not begun treatment) was reluctant to also remove the lower ones so I left it there. Was another reason why I chose not to proceed with them. I spent all this time worrying about those lower ones, what to do, which options I had and lately VERY worried a cavity may had developed under the lower front teeth.
And today, six years, eleven months and three weeks (almost 7 years!!!) something wonderful has happened. I chose another orthodontist and I had my lower (what was left) brackets and wire removed and again a profilaxis.
Thanks God all went well and I had been worrying too much for no reason. The teeth were okay, it was not painful to have the brackets removed and my teeth didn’t chip or come lose as I was fearing!.
This picture shows my current state of affairs, my teeth are still not aligned and the premolar extraction has not closed much in the past 4 years due to stop in treatment.
In (1) on my upper teeth you can observed that despite the fact I had not had braces above for nearly a year or so, they are still together. Remember a few years ago I had a painful surgery there to remove the frenum and pull the two upper front teeth together and align them vertically (each was pointing to their respective sides). In (2) on the lower front tooth I have an issue where my root has gotten exposed. Perhaps partly for having braces for so long.
The picture on the right was also taken today but from straight ahead instead of from below (to appreciate misalignment).
In this one it is easier to see the few aesthetic reconstructions that were done to the front upper teeth that had lost some of their shape due to a bad bite. Additionally one can observe the issue with the exposed root that has not been addressed and to its left the small white thing is a periodontal implant that was done to protect the root of the other tooth (cost me $400). Hopefully one day I can have my root covered again.
What’s Next?
To begin with, I must have yet another panoramic X-Ray done so that my new (and final) orthodontist can determine what the treatment plan is.
At this moment he suggested not applying any braces to my lower teeth since they are already aligned –although some separation in between them has resulted from treatment- that comes as a relief, they have suffered much already.
He proposes wearing braces on the upper teeth for a year at a cost of $610 without having screws installed on my gums, that comes much cheaper than the $3,000 quoted by my former candidate and much less pain. Ah yes, instead of going for Damon braces again this price will be with Transparent (ceramic I think) braces.
Now, he says the gap of the extractions –again, I regret having them done- will not be closed because it he does it then my profile will change and my nose will drop down a bit and since I have no plans on having jaw surgery or genioplasty as suggested by former orthodontist, it seems okay. It appears the idea is to close part of the gap to make it more aesthetical, align them better to the lower teeth and prevent that the gap causes two of the lower teeth to raise and fall due to the lack of an upper constraint.
All in all I am optimistic again, I am confident of my new choice of orthodontist, I feel like a new man for a while now that I have no braces and my teeth are all smooth and without gadgets.
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