My Adult Braces

Teeth cleaning at periodontist

Rob — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:15:11 +0000

I had my three month teeth cleaning yesterday at the periodontist. It went very well. They started by rubbing a swab around all my teeth which turned them pink. The amount of pink indicated how much and where plaque was on my teeth. She said it was very good, only 2% plaque. On my previous visit my plaque had been measured at 10%. So apparently using the floss action head on my Braun Oral B toothbrush, and being more vigilant in my flossing has helped. Then she started to swab my gums with a topical anesthetic, it tasted like banana. Then she began the usual scraping and poking and prodding. Then she brought out this little sonic spray device. I’m not sure what it’s called. But it made high-pitched whining and sprayed very small amounts of water the pulsing action on my teeth at a very high frequency. Part way through the cleaning, the periodontist came and checked out my teeth. He seemed pleased, especially by my 2% plaque. They told me keep up the good work. The dental hygienist continued my cleaning. When she was done with the basic cleaning of all the teeth, she went back and flossed them and polished them. When I rinsed out there was no blood in the bowl. Yay. It’s always a good sign when there’s no blood in the bowl. I will keep up the work of brushing multiple times a day using the floss action brush head on my Oral B toothbrush, and the regular flossing.

Oral B Floss Action brush head

Rob — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:20:25 +0000

I needed a new brush head for my Oral-B Advanced Power toothbrush. The brush head on the toothbrush I keep at work on my desk was a bit beat up and probably should’ve been replaced quite a bit ago. It got pretty beat up from using it to brush my teeth while I had my braces. I’ve actually had my braces off for a while. So I walked over to the Target store near my work to see what they had there. I could’ve bought the same standard toothbrush heads that I had on the toothbrush. But they only had those in a single pack for about eight or nine dollars. They had some generic target brand toothbrush heads in a five pack but I’ve used some other generic brush heads for the Oral-B toothbrushes and was not happy with them. They did not fit onto the tooth brush snugly, and I was very hesitant to buy any more generic toothbrush heads. Looking around, they had other types of toothbrush heads. Some of those were in multi-packs. But the floss action brush heads looked intriguing. They had those in a four pack for $29. So I decided to go ahead and give those a try. I bought them, and brought back to work for my toothbrush. I was amazed at how differently it felt from my other toothbrush head. It had the little floss things and could I feel them getting into my gums. The toothbrush felt much rougher on my gums than the previous toothbrush head, which is fine. I probably need to work out my gums more to prevent bleeding when I go to the dentist for my next cleaning. I went ahead and left one of the extra heads at work and it took the other two from the four pack called and replaced my toothbrush head on the toothbrush at their new faucet. I’m excited to see what results I’ll have after using this for a while at my next dental cleaning which will actually be at the periodontist.

New retainer

Rob — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:16:29 +0000

I got my permanent bridge installed last week. So I called up my orthodontist to make an appointment to get a new retainer. The first appointment was only for about half an hour. I stopped in, she mixed up some paste stuff, and spread it into a mold, and fitted it into my mouth. After it was in there for a minute or so, she pulled it out. That was it. I made another appointment for the following week to pick up my new retainer.
This next appoint didn’t even take as long. I stopped in, and after a brief wait, they brought me into the back and had me try the new retainer on. It was the same as the previous one, a clear plastic molded to fit over my teeth. I put it into my mouth, and it fit perfectly. They gave me a new box too. I need to continue to wear these retainers every night for the next year. After that, he says that I only need to wear them every other night. I wonder if I need to wear them for the rest of my life? Or after a couple years, can I stop wearing them? Or maybe I will only need to wear them once a week?
Anyway, I don’t need to see the orthodontist for another six months. They didn’t even schedule an appointment. They will call me in six months to make an appointment.
My teeth are straight! And my bite is the way is it supposed to be. Yay!!!! One issue those is that now that my upper teeth come out over the bottom teeth like they are supposed to, instead of meeting them flush, it’s harder to chew my nails. Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? *scratching head*

Dental bridge

Rob — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:16:35 +0000

I had arrived early for my teeth cleaning appointment today. Fortunately they were able to get me in. I had asked the dental hygienist about whether my dental bridge had made it back from the lab. She looked at the chart, but it didn’t say anything. She said the dentist would know.
After she was done cleaning my teeth, she left the for a bit. When she came back, she they had gotten my bridge, and they would install it now. Cool!
They took me to another room. There was going to be a little bit of a wait, so they turned on the flat panel TV for me. So I sat an watched Law & Order until the dentist was ready for me.
After a bit, the dentist was ready for me. He apologized that he would have to numb me up again. He used the topical anesthetic first, then shot me up with Novocaine. Again, it hurt like an SOB as the needle worked it’s way in so deep. Ack!
The actual installation was quick and straight forward. He removed the temporary by wiggling it back and forth. He cleaned up the post teeth. He fit the permenant dental bridge and gve me a mirror. The color matched nearly perfectly.
He used some sort of cement to glue the bridge in place, and then cleaned up any excess cement. Then without warning, he announced he was done.
I mentioned the tooth that the dental hygienist said was fractured. He looked at my chart, looked at my teeth, and said it was not an issue at this point, but we would keep an eye on it.

Teeth cleaning and depth of gums measured

Rob — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:46:16 +0000

I was schedule to have my teeth clean today. I forgot all about it until they call last week. I added it to my calendar on my computer at work. But then I call out sick today due to a cold. I couldn’t remember when my appointment was. I thought it was at 2:30. But it turns out it was a 3pm. I asked if they wanted me to come back. But they said no, and they got me in then with a different dental hygenist.
She took me back to a room. The first thing she did was to measure the depth of my gums. She poked a little probe into my gums, and started ratling off numbers to another woman who wrote them down. It was rapid fire like 2-2-2-2-3-2-2-2-3-3-2-3-4-2-2-2… I was mostly 2′s and 3′s. But I had a few 4′s and a couple 5′s. The 2′s and 3′s are what I wanted.
After that, the teeth cleaning was fairly normal. Though with my cold, I had a hard breathing when she used the ultrasonic scaler which was spraying water into my mouth as I struggled to breathe through my nose.
She said she found a tooth with a fracture. It was next to a filling, and she thought the dentist would likely replace and expand the filling.

Bridge color matching

Rob — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:14:14 +0000

Yesterday I had my appoint to had my new permanent bridge installed. But before the dentist glued it in, he had me check it out with a mirror. The first thing I noticed was that the color was slightly different. The bridge was a little more yellow than my natural teeth. So my dentist arranged to have me visit the lab that made the bridge. The woman who would do the coloring was leaving for the day, so I need to call today to make an appointment.
So I called her this morning, and arranged to meet her around lunch time. The office was only about 15 minutes away. I arrived on time, and sat in the front for a few minutes till she was ready for me. Her name was Angie, and she was very nice. She had me sit in a dentist type chair. She compared the bridge to my natural teeth, and started painting on it with a tiny brush. She spent maybe 10-15 minutes working on it. When she was done, she took it back to bake it.
I took a nap and waited. Eventually she was ready for me. She had me hold it up and check it with a mirror. It looked very close. She even painted on some white streaks/wear marks I have on my front teeth. Then she had me go outside to compare then under sunlight. They still looked very close. I understand it is difficult to match tetracycline stained teeth, as they aren’t one solid color. The outside is sort of translucent, with a sort of a grayish interior. But she did a very good job. She decided that she would make some small subtle changes to improve it even more. Then she would put a clear coat on to the tooth and bake it on.
She said she would send the bridge back to my dentist tomorrow. Not sure when I will be able to get it installed. I am guessing I will hear back from the dentist tomorrow or maybe next week.

Permanent bridge color didn’t match natural teeth

Rob — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:10:19 +0000

Today was my appointment to get my permanent bridge installed. I arrived at 2:30 and sat in the waiting room for a while, then they brought me back. The dentist was finishing up with another patient, so I took a short nap, then he was ready for me. They numbed me up with novocaine. Again, this hurt, because they really had to get it deep. It almost felt like the needle was going to come out my nose.
Removing the temporary bridge was easier than I expected. He simply clamped on to it with these needle nose things. Forceps? Wiggled it, and it came out, and went sailing across the floor. He fit the new bridge in. Then he pulled it out to make slight adjustments to it. After a while, he put it in, and gave me a mirror. I looked at it, and found it didn’t quite match the color of my natural teeth. It was bit more yellow. He looked, and agreed. I am wondering now, why he didn’t notice this himself before he had me look at it. Maybe he thought I would accept it?
Anyway, he reinstalled the temporary bridge which had broken. But he managed to fix it. I have the permanent bridge in a box out in my car. I am going to call and make an appointment with the lab that made the permanent bridge. They should be able to fix it to more accurately match the tetracycline stained color of my natural teeth. Hopefully they can do it tomorrow.

Got my temporary bridge!

Rob — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:55:57 +0000

This morning I had my appointment to get my temporary bridge. Before they started to remove the remains of the old bridge, they took some molds of my teeth as they already were. They had me keep my retainer with the prothetic tooth in.
Then they used topical anasthetic to numb my gums. Then they gave me novocaine. This hurt some as they really had to get the needle deep to get to up by my roots. The dentist said I had long roots. Then he started putting notches on the old crowns. I had a little pain from the vibrations, so they gave me some more novocaine.
Once there were notched in the old crowns, he used a tool to pry apart the notch which broke off the old crown. At least this is what it looked like from my vantage point.
He clean up the teeth that were under the crowns. He said there was a little decay, but nothing major. Then there was some more molds taken.
They squirted some stuff into one of the molds, and this was to become my temporary bridge. He said it was made of acrylic. The permanent bridge would had metal inside and porcelain and would stronger.
The dentist pulled the temporary bridge out of the mold and cleaned it up. They glued it to the old teeth that were under the old crowns. He seemed to spend some time coloring it and they used a uv light to set the color stuff.
When I looked in a mirror, the results were great. I can’t wait to see what the permanent bridge looks like. Since the temporary bridge is made of acrylic, it’s not as strong. So I need to be careful about eating anything hard or sticky with those teeth.
I have an appointment in a few weeks to get the permanent bridge. The bridge is costing me about $1700 out of pocket. The insurance company is covering about 40%.

Insurance will cover my bridge!

Rob — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 01:08:29 +0000

I got a letter in the mail today from the insurance company! They will cover my replacement bridge. Well, at least part of it. They will cover 40% of the porcelain bridge crowns, and the porcelain pontic. Seeing that these cost about $950 each, that is a heck of a savings. They wont cover the retainer core buildup, whatever that is. I talked to the receptionist at the dentist office, and she said that I might not even need the buildup. That they include that on all bridge pre-estimates just in case it is needed.
I made an appointment to get my bridge replaced in a couple weeks. Apparently it will take a couple visits. One they will remove the old bridge, and take molds, and give me a temporary bridge. Then another appointment a few weeks later to get the permanent bridge.

Will insurance cover my bridge?

Rob — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:58:36 +0000

When i got my braces, they had to cut my old bridge into parts. But now that my teeth are straight, I need to get a replacement bridge. I had the dentist send in for a pre-estimate of coverage. I waited and waited. Finally I got a letter from the insurance company saying that it was being denied because they had no record of that tooth being removed in the first place. I had that original bridge put in when I was a kid. It was there for about 30 years. And I am not sure there ever was a tooth in that location. What ticks me off is that I had upgraded my insurance to cover my braces. And I left it upgraded in anticipation of needing the bridge! It would suck if they don’t cover it. The dentist is going to write a letter to the insurance company explaining the circumstances of the bridge being destroyed. Hopefully they will cover it.

Waterpik Ultra Dental Water Jet

Rob — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:11:51 +0000

I bought a Waterpik WP60W about 3 years ago. I have been very happy with my purchase. But then the hose broke. I managed to fix it, but it broke again. I fixed it again, and it broke again. Apparently the plastic gets brittle or something. I considered buying a new hose, but it would cost about $10-15 including shipping to buy an actual Waterpik replacement hose. Chances are the new one will get brittle and break after a while too.
I found a I could get a whole new Waterpik Ultra Dental Water Jet (WP-100) for about $41 with free shipping from Amazon.com. I checked a few local stores, and found the Waterpik Ultra Dental Water Jet selling for about $50 or more. Even in the current Target ad, they had it on sale for $49.99. So I decided to go for the unit at Amazon.com.
It is totally redesigned, and looks like it will have a small counter footprint.
I may look for a new hose for the old Waterpik. Maybe I can get a different hose for cheaper. Maybe I can try a hobby shop or something. It looks to be smalled diameter than aquarium air hose, but I will check.
I have been very happy with my Waterpik, and credit it with helping to keep my teeth and gums healthy.

Getting my braces off!

Rob — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:11:25 +0000

I had my orthodontist appointment this morning. On my last appointment, the orthodontist asked if was planning on getting a bridge or an implant to replace my missing tooth. I told him that I had no idea, and that was why I had a whole dental team (dentist, orthodontist, periodontist). He said I should talk to my dentist, and find out what I should do. He took x-rays, and wrote a letter to my
dentist. A few days later the dentist called and left a message for me to call and make an appointment, but I kept forgetting to call (or procrastinating it). With my appointment today, I forced myself to call the dentist. So I called and made an appointment for November 5th.
My orthodontist appointment was at 9:30. The doctor was happy with how my teeth are doing, and said to make an appoint for about two weeks away to get the braces off! Way cool! I told him about the dentist appointment, and he said make my next appointment a week after the dentist appointment. So I made an appointment for November 10th when they’ll be taking my braces off. Then I made another appointment for a week later (November 18th) to pick up my new retainers. One retainer will be for the day and have a prosthetic tooth, and the other will be for night and will be designed to breathe or something like that. I asked the orthodontist if I would have to go for a week with a big gap in my teeth after my braces have been taken off, and before I get my retainer. He said to make yet another appointment for the afternoon of November 10th where I can pick up a temporary retainer that will have a prosthetic tooth in it.
So after three years, I may finally be getting my braces off! It still depends on what the dentist says. If the dentist decides on either a bridge or an implant, then he might want the teeth moved a millimeter this way or that way. So I have to wait to find out what he says.

Waterpik hose broken

Rob — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 02:10:46 +0000

The other day I wen to clean my teeth with my Waterpik. I turned the Watepik on and something was wrong. Water was spraying on the wall. I thought I had the tip pointing in the wrong direction, but no. The hose was broken just below the handle. I didn’t want to have to buy a whole new unit just for a broken hose. I searched around the net and found I could get a new hose, but I thought I could use the hose I had. I just needed to figure out how to reattach it to the handle. I tried to figure out how to open the handle. I came close to hitting it with a hammer or prying it apart.
I continued searching, looking for into on how the replacement hose was supposed to attached, but I couldn’t find any instructions. I did find a replacement handle. I started thinking that I couldn’t reattach the hose to the handle I had. I ordered the replacement handle.
When the replacement handle came, I saw how it attached to the hose. I decided to see if I could use the old handle. I cut off the hose where the break was. There is a little plastic piece where the hose entered the handle. The piece locks the hose in place. Using a knife, I pried up the little piece to release the lock. The with the piece locked up, I pulled it out with some pliers.
Now with the lock removed, I needed to remove the small piece of hose. The hose is pushed onto a small plastic tube. I tried pulling the hose off, but that didn’t work. I ended up using a sharp pointed knife to slice the hose off the small tube. That worked.
I cleaned up the end of the hose. I slid the small plastic lock piece onto he hose. Then I pushed the hose onto the small plastic tube in the handle. Then I slid the lock piece down, and locked it into place.
My repaired Watepik works great. I still have the unused replacement handle. Not sure what I will do with it. I will probably just hang onto it in case the handle I have breaks.

Rubber band only at night now

Rob — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:10:09 +0000

I had my orthodontist appointment a couple days ago. He was very happy with how my teeth are doing. The top front teeth are over the bottom teeth. The end is in sight. I don’t have a time frame or anything for getting them off, but I am getting there. I still have the powerchain on the bottom teeth. I have been wearing a rubber band on the right side. The orthdontist said that I only need to wear the rubber band of night now. He mentioned something about the band for my next visit. Something about half. I can’t see wearing the rubber band for half the night. So maybe I will be going to a smaller size rubber band? I am currently wear the super heavy rubber band.
When I get the braces off, I will have to have my prosthetic tooth replaced. Right now I have a fake tooth attached to the wire. I will have to have a new bridge made or something.
On another front, my poor wife broke a tooth. A molar in the back. She says it doesn’t hurt, but the feeling of it bothers her. She tried calling our dentist, but they are closed this week for vacation. They have an emergency number on their answering machine, but like I said, it isn’t hurt her. So she is waiting till next week. Meanwhile I got her some wax for her to use.

Orthodontic appointment

Rob — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:09:26 +0000

I have my orthodontic appointment today. Yet more minor progress. The orthodontist seems happy with how things are going.
I knew one bracket had come loose from a tooth on the upper left. I realized this a couple weeks again. But from where it was at, I didn’t think it would have much impact, so I didn’t bother to call them to get it fixed. They told me that I could have come in early, no problem. Apparently the bracket had come loose on prosthetic tooth as well. It must have come off, whent hey removed the ligature or something. I never had a problem with it.
On my last appointment, they had installed a powerchain on my upper teeth. This time, they installed regular ligatures on the upper teeth, and I now have a powerchain on the lower teeth.
Also at my last appointment, the orthodontist had me wearing a "heavy" rubber band (4mm, 4 oz) on my right side to pull the uppers forward. This time however, he wants me to wear a "super heavy" rubber band (4mm, 6oz) on the right side.
The wire was sticking out the back on the lowers. I told them about it, and they tried to trim them, but there wasn’t enough to trim. They used a drill with a de-burring tool to smooth them down a little. Those wire ends scare me a little. I already ripped the crap out of my tongue one time when it got snagged on the end of the wire. I was seriously bleeding for a while, and my tongue was sore for days.

Another teeth cleaning, another cavity…ack!

Rob — Sat, 31 May 2008 02:08:37 +0000

I had yet another teeth cleaning yesterday. It seem like I just had my teeth cleaned. I had to check my calendar to see. But my last teeth cleaning was back in February. I get it seems so recent because of all my other visits to the dentist. One visit to the dentist to verify that I had a cavity. Then my normal visit to the orthodontist where a bracket was removed. Then another visit to the dentist to have the cavity filled. Then my next regular visit to the orthodontist.
Anyway, I was back to the dentist yesterday for my teeth cleaning (every three months). The teeth cleaning seemed to go okay. But when the dentist came into look at my teeth, he was poking and prodding around in mouth and found another small cavity on the back molar. So now I have yet another dentist appoint in July to get that cavity filled.
My next orthodontist appointment is scheduled for about 2 1/2 weeks from now. I have no idea what he is going to do next. Not sure if plans on putting the bracket back on that he removed. And if he puts it on, will it interfere with the dentist filling the tooth. Oh…it’s such a sordid mess.
I wouldn’t mind getting the bracket put on if I can get a rubber band put on that side. Having a rubber band only on one side is just wierd. At least if I had rubber bands on both sides, it would be symetrical and ballanced. Yeah, I am wierd!

Moving top teeth forward again

Rob — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:55:06 +0000

Last time I was at the orthodontist, my upper teeth had moved forward. So he put on a powerchain to close gaps. Well the gaps have pretty much closed, but the upper teeth moved back some in the process. This time, he installed a longer powerchain, and is having me wear a rubberband on the right side. The rubberband is attached to the back upper molar, and to one of the lower teeth towards the front. So hopefully this will help pull the uppers forward.
Last time he also removed the brack from the back molar on the left to give the dentist access to fill a tooth over there. The tooth was filled. But the orthodontist decided not to repalce the bracket at this time. Not sure why not. Seems liek it would have made sense to replace the bracket so I could have a rubberband on both sides pulling the uppers forward.
I asked him about the intermitent toothaches I have been having since getting the tooth filled. I asked for details, and said I should wait another month. If I am still having them, call the dentist. Fortunatly the toothaches have been occuring less and elss often. So hopefully everything is alright.
I can’t believe that I have had these things on for about 2 1/2 years now! Wow!

Intermittent toothache after getting filling

Rob — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:31:54 +0000

When I got my teeth cleaned back on February 26th, the dental hygenist hist a spot that made me jump. I hadn’t had any pain or anything. The only sign that something was wrong was when she hit the spot with a metal scraper probe thing. She said she thouhgt there was some decay on the tooth but wasn’t sure since it was next to a bracket.
I made an appointment witht he dentist and they verified there was some decay on the tooth but I would need to get a bracket removed to give them access to the tooth.
So on my next orthodontist appointment, he removed the bracket, and I made an appointment with the dentist. All during this time, I never had any pain from the tooth unless it was being poked with a metal probe. Mayeb occasionally while brushing I might feel some discomfort.
On April 16th I had my dentist appointment, and he drilled and filled the tooth. But ever since getting the filling I have had an Intermittent tooth ache in that area. I am not positive it is the same tooth, but it seems pretty coincidental that I start getting a toothache on that area after getting the filling.
I am just a little peeved. Going from something that wasn’t bothering me, to getting it fixed and now having it bugging me.
The pain is sort of a dull ache that comes and goes. At times it doesn’t bother me at all. But at other times I get a dull ache. Last night I had a hard time getting to sleep because of it.
I called the dentist today and have an appointment for tomorrow morning to get it checked out. I probaby could have gotten in today, but I have been living with this for almost two weeks now, another day wont kill me.

Cavity filled

Rob — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:23:19 +0000

When I had my teeth cleaned a few weeks ago, the hygenist (at my periodontist iffice) hit a spot with a probe that made me jump about a foot off the chair. She looked but didn’t see anything at first. But looking closer she saw some decay next to one of my brackets. So I went to the dentist, he looked, and verified there was decay there.
So on my last visit to the orthodontist, he removed the bracket to give better access to fill the cavity.
My dentist appointment was yesterday at lunch time. I am still getting used to these new guys. I was with my last dentist for over 10 years, until he retired. I liked his hygenist, and people. I just don’t know these new people. Anyway, I was brought into back without much waiting. The dentist came in, numbed me up with some topical anesthetic. Then he gave me a shot of novocaine. I barely even felt the shot at all. It didn’t hurt. Then he got to work with the drill. The high frequency vibrations bothered me some, but no biggie. He didn’t drill much. I figured with the cavity in the back, they would use the silver amalgam stuff. But they seemed to use the white stuff, white composite fillings? My last filling was with this stuff, and it looks way better than the ugly silver fillings! I am more than happy to pay a little extra to have my teeth filled with this stuff.
My tooth hadn’t bothered me at all before getting it filled…well except when being poked with a probe. But it bothered me a little last night. I started worrying I was going to need a root canal or something. But the tooth feels better today.

Power Chain and new prosthetic tooth

Rob — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:00:00 +0000

At my last visit to the orthodontist, I thought he was going to start pulling the front teeth back together. But one of the side teeth had moved in, so he had to work on pulling it back out. So this visit, the side tooth was back where it was supposed to be. So he put a power chain on the front.
Also, one of my teeth is a prosthetic tooth. It was the center tooth of a three tooth bridge. But when installing my braces, he cut the bridge appart. The one tooth has been just mounted to the wire and pivots around a bit. Since it flips around on the wire, the bracket gets extra wear and tear. It has broke several times. Each time, they had mounted a new ceramic bracket ont hat tooth. But when they went to mount it on the wire it would fit funny. So they would grind it down a little to fit. After several times of this, the tooth was too small. A sort of nub. SO last time they said they would make me a new prosthetic tooth. Which they did today. They pulled out some samples. FOund one that matched the color of my teeth. With a little bit of shaping, the tooth blended right in. The top of the tooth is higher than the other teeth. But if I just smile, you cant tell. I actually have to lift my lip to see that it is higher on the gum line. But it looks much better than the nub that I had.
Also, on my last visit to the peridontist, they found a little bit of decay on one of the teeth near one of my brackets. Actually when she hit the spot with a probe, I jumped a foot out of the chair. Anyway, the orthodontist said I don’t need the brack on that tooth right at this moment, so he pulled it off. I called and made an appointment with the dentist to get it filled. That appointment is on April 16th. Then on my next visit to the orthodontist, I think he will remount that bracket.