Well, I’m certainly aggravated and depressed. Late Saturday a crown came off a back lower molar. Luckily I already had a regular cleaning scheduled yesterday and my dentist was able to put it back on.
But during the appointment we discovered (1) the tooth under the crown cracked when it came off and is now “compromised” and I could be in danger of losing the tooth if the crown comes off again (2) I lost a filling in a lower canine on the other side with some decay plus there’s a cavity in the next tooth so I’m getting them filled on Thursday and (3) the upper incisor that was being damaged by the lower crooked tooth is more out in the open and is fragile so I have to be very careful biting anything. Most of the reason I’m even doing aligners was to keep that tooth from damage. Down the road we’ll have to strengthen it.
The dentist can’t say if the aligner could have caused either issue. The crown was less than four years old; same with the filling. I dropped by the orthodontist’s office - she wasn’t in but one of her staff assured me it was highly unlikely the aligners were a direct cause but unusual issues can arise when teeth move. I’ll discuss it more on my next visit.
Argh. I feel like going on an all liquid diet. And never chewing again. No caramel apples for me!
Nearing the end and no more tooth issues of significance. My orthodontist decided moving that back molar wasn’t integral to my treatment so she had her staff clip off that part from the rest of my aligners. My dentist still calls the molar “compromised,” whatever she means by that. I think it means any more cavities and the tooth is kaput.
(Side note - my orthodontist sent my fancy x-rays to a radiologist for “a general scan for pathology including TMJ and airway analysis”. Turns out my airway is constricted, my c-spine has mild degenerative changes, and I have stable and severe degenerative joint disease DJD, which I gather means my jaw bone has deteriorated in the past, partly due to teeth movement over the years. Yikes. So my fingers, feet, toes, and jaw bones are disintegrating . Luckily all my major bones are fine. But now my primary physician wants me to have a sleep apnea analysis, although I don’t have other symptoms.)
My dentist did find a cavity during my cleaning last week - behind my top incisor. Apparently it was hidden by the jammed together teeth and didn’t show up on the last x-rays? I’d be interested in @dentmom4 ‘s take on this!
So…on Feb. 6 I get the buttons taken off. On Feb. 7 my dentist will do full x-rays to see how far the cavity goes into my incisor (!) and any other issues. I’m also having her whiten my teeth. Then I have to wait a week to get the cavity filled (to let the whitening color settle, I gather, so the bonding material can blend) and restorative work done on the neighboring incisor, which is fragile. I also may have a chip filled on my cavity incisor since I need bonding anyway so shouldn’t be too much more. I’m a little unsure about that since I’ve had the chip since I was seven! But what the heck, might as well get it all done, right?
Then a temp aligner from the orthodontist while they scan and order permanent aligners, and ta-da! Done! Altogether about seven months so not too bad.
And realized a couple of weeks ago that I can whistle again! I lost the ability a few years back. Gets easier by the day.
@Marilyn RE the “compromised” tooth. Not just more decay, but bone loss and tooth chip/fracture. No point in moving an iffy tooth any more than necessary because you will compromise it more. You are right—it’s on the way out.
RE the cavity: yes, when teeth are overlapped and severely crowded, cavities get hidden, and are usually found when the decay becomes large enough to cave in and look like a hole. Very hard to see on an X-ray. Sometimes the dentist can see shadowing that would indicate a cavity without an X-ray, but difficult. Plus we don’t generally take xrays on front teeth more than every 5 years unless there is a problem. The checkup xrays show decay between your teeth that are behind the eye tooth.
Glad to hear the end is in sight! Hopefully your cavity is small and not a problem. And yes, now is the time to do the elective dentistry you want! Always easier for the dentist when the patient has straightened teeth.
Thanks so much for the useful info @dentmom4 - I told DH that there was an expert on CC! I already lost the opposing back upper molar several years back and with my little mouth I didn’t put in an implant (after appropriate consultation). So when the lower one goes, I’ll let it go. Hopefully not too soon though!
Also glad to know the dentist didn’t just miss the cavity. It certainly makes the timing more difficult since obviously I don’t want to leave it very long - but do want to do the whitening. Now I just have to coordinate all the appointments. I never really was bothered much by how my teeth looked (they weren’t obviously bad; just dingy and a bit uneven), but it will be fun to have straight white even teeth!
I am bumping this up to see how everyone is doing, and to ask if you have any more reviews. I have pretty bad staining of my front teeth (not sure why) and I am increasingly dissatisfied with how my front 4 teeth look. My dentist has mentioned Invisalign for a few years to me and I always thought it was too much hassle or I was too old.
But now I am thinking that with COVID, I am not going out nearly as much etc so maybe now is the time to do it? I can’t get a good idea of typical treatment time. Less than I year, I could suck it up. I can’t imagine doing it for 18 months or more.
I am just finishing up with AlignerCo, a DIY aligner company. I had braces before and have wanted to re-straighten my teeth for the last 10 years. I had a lower front tooth that was pushed back quite a bit, a torqued lateral incisor, and my two top incisors were noticeably uneven. It’s ALL fixed! I am totally thrilled. And for $900… It was totally worth it for me. I don’t color my hair, do my nails, any of that stuff. So I guess that was how I rationalized it.
Mine took 3 years!!! MUCH longer than expected. Dentist and orthodontist both estimated 2. They were not the greatest prior, but I didn’t think that bad either. I had braces as a teen, but they obviously shifted. So be prepared, and get several estimated for time as well as cost.
I am very happy with how it turned out, and very glad I finished up just before everything closed down. I only had to wear the aligners full time for six months because I was happy with “good enough”; didn’t need perfect. They said 6 to 9 months but I was very compliant so had the shorter timeframe.
My orthodontist was supposed to do a follow up, but everything shut down. They said to let them know if I had any issues. I ended up going to a new dentist since I got disenchanted with old one. The old dentist did the bonding and whitening, again just before everything closed down.
I saw my new dentist in late July, and he thinks things are going well. He also does Invisilign but I’m glad I had an orthodontist for my process.
But if you go in person instead of mail order, you will have people working in your mouth quite a bit. So you have to decide if you’re comfortable with that. Otherwise it’s certainly worth getting time and cost estimates. I agree that not going out to eat would have made it much easier.
This is timely for me! My daughter, first year medical student without dental insurance who has had some shifting of teeth since her braces came off in high school, asked me this week if I might contribute to a teeth-straightening fund as a Chanukah gift. I mentioned that since she’s under 26, I may be able to get her in under my insurance (which I have for the first time ever). I told her I would research it. Another provider that advertises a lot mentions a virtual review by an orthodontist. $$$ is important. Any provider suggestions besides Invisalign and AlignerCo mentioned above?
My husband did Invisalign about eight years ago. He made a mistake and did not wear his retainers. His teeth moved back significantly. So it’s very important that retainers are maintained.
Oh, this is good information! I am mostly concerned with my 4 front teeth and I think my bite is okay. My bottom front teeth have gotten a little crowded and that makes them harder to clean, but cosmetically they are okay.
I should definitely get an opinion from an orthodontist, you’ve given me hope that maybe this can be a shorter process.
@oldmom4896 I had a relative that did Smile Direct but as I understand it, you don’t really see a dental professional, so I am not sure I would go that route.
I didn’t clean mine with toothpaste as it gave them a cloudy white color instead I used denture/retainer cleaning tablets once every morning. You just soak them for 15min and they’re perfectly clean. What my dentist didn’t mention which could be helpful is that for swimming (as in laps) you take them out otherwise it could be a choking hazard. Additionally if they put the brackets on your teeth it can be hard to take your invaislign off. Defiantly invest in an invaislign removing tool. Makes the whole process easier.
Good timing, as I had my realignment yesterday. I now have posts on all my front teeth and 8 new sets. It’s been over a year. Covid added a few months as twice I had to wait 6-8 weeks each time for new sets.
I doubt others will see a difference. I wanted a front tooth bonded as I kept chipping it, and teeth lightened for a wedding. That led to dental asst noting that my lower jaw was moving forward, so when I bit, my lower teeth hit front teeth.
There is definitely a difference already. I still maintain my position that I am the least positive patient in the practice. The other older people are happy to finally be getting a good looking mouth. I know I’ll need inlays on all my front teeth as well as whitening. Still, I’m just too young to have allowed my jaw to continue to throw off my bite. As negative as I am, the staff is terrific and explain every step.
Oh yeah, my son got Invisaligns @age 30, as he saw changes. He didn’t mention this to me uNtil I was well into my treatment. (Wish he had shared sooner.)
Also, my patient was told she needed this treatment and was concerned about her appearance. When she realized I had them on, she proceeded forward.
I have now had Invisaline 10 days. This is immediately following six YEARS of orthodontia–one year of an expander and five of braces. My ortho died, they couldn’t find a practice buyer, then I wasted a year on a quack ortho who undid all the prior treatment.
So far, I’m very happy with these. I only have two attachments. The worst thing, by far, is getting them out. I have very short, soft fingernails. Definitely going to look into the removal tool.