More about teeth

[Spiky Bugger]

@Sheanie , who knows of these things

I got Invisaligns. But I wasn't terribly compliant, got about halfway through the trays, and then...got two new crowns and the Invisaligns didn't fit anymore.

And then I got refitted and got a new $et of Invisalign$.

And then I got sick and never wore them. But the first tray fits, so I COULD wear them. And I have a couple of times. But not consistently.

And today, the stupid crown I got two years ago (and so insurance won't cover this) needs to be redone. My old dentist would have redone it for free...but I moved, and even if I went to him to redo it, the two trips there and hotels would cost as much as getting the new crown close to home.

ANYWAY...does anyone have any idea if I'm going to make the Invisaligns unusable again? Do we know if they CAN make a crown the will fit under the existing sets of trays...or am I out a couple of grand (again) IN ADDITION TO the crown?

I think I'm depressed.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Well...now I'm even more depressed.

This tooth had a complicated root canal ten years ago. In the middle of it, endodontist stopped and said, "This root is cracked and the work we are doing could last 20 minutes or 20 years...your call, continue, or an extraction?"

We continued. But today, as crown prep started, my dentist got upset because the tooth was now cracked all the way up.

I'm in the chair now...waiting for him to finish the extraction and refer me for an implant.

Lousy day.

 

[DianaCox]

I feel your pain, almost literally. Except I made it through 24 crowns without needing an implant, though I was expecting to need at least one. I had one tooth that when the old crown was removed was found to have had a leak and extensive rot underneath, but he managed to save it. It is still very sensitive, but special toothpaste helps a lot.

Of course, I'm still in the middle of the last set of six crowns, with temps on them awaiting the permanent ones, so it ain't over yet. I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

The good news about an implant is that it saves the bone and COULD be the last restoration on that tooth you'll ever need. And the prosthodontist can make it not need the Invisaligns to straighten it.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I feel your pain, almost literally. Except I made it through 24 crowns without needing an implant, though I was expecting to need at least one. I had one tooth that when the old crown was removed was found to have had a leak and extensive rot underneath, but he managed to save it. It is still very sensitive, but special toothpaste helps a lot.

Of course, I'm still in the middle of the last set of six crowns, with temps on them awaiting the permanent ones, so it ain't over yet. I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

The good news about an implant is that it saves the bone and COULD be the last restoration on that tooth you'll ever need. And the prosthodontist can make it not need the Invisaligns to straighten it.

Uhm...is the "that tooth" you are talking about in that last paragraph your tooth or mine? "On account-a-because" (as Beaver Cleaver would say) MY tooth in question is history. He knew before he removed the crown that we'd be talking "tooth chunks" as opposed to "tooth." There was no longer any "there" there. I have photos and I may just email you one...lol!

 

[DianaCox]

ACCKKK - she DID send it - and I'm eating dinner.

(Not that there's much of a way to gross me out when I'm eating Charles' famous Dog Turd Stew for dinner - kielbasa, sliced and singed in the pot, and then cooked with Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice, a can of diced tomatoes, red bell pepper and something green - today, bok choy.)

 

[Sheanie]

Wow. So sorry to hear about your tooth misfortune. I've been trying to get my husband to do Invisalign since I first heard about it. He won't budge. Claims the rate of non compliance is too high. I disagree, because mostly adults get them, and DH deals mainly with kids in braces. But I'm a very huge fan of Invisalign, because they do not require cementing anything to the teeth, so no risk of decay around brackets; no elastics for the patient to place, just less PITA in general.

But they are expensive, as you have illustrated. Should I ever need braces, however, I will be getting Invisalign, no contest.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Wow. So sorry to hear about your tooth misfortune. I've been trying to get my husband to do Invisalign since I first heard about it. He won't budge. Claims the rate of non compliance is too high. I disagree, because mostly adults get them, and DH deals mainly with kids in braces. But I'm a very huge fan of Invisalign, because they do not require cementing anything to the teeth, so no risk of decay around brackets; no elastics for the patient to place, just less PITA in general.

But they are expensive, as you have illustrated. Should I ever need braces, however, I will be getting Invisalign, no contest.

My former dentist (we moved) is a cutie and has rules for kids who want Invisaligns. Essentially, he will gladly consider them for teen girls who are on Honor Roll at school. Boys, not so much. He says stuff like, "Speaking as the father of a teenage boy and as a former teen boy myself, I consider those patients to be prime candidates for traditional braces...because they have a tendency to be irresponsible pigs." He feels that teen boys, generally, lack the maturity to be compliant. (Which means, btw...I'm a teen boy.)

The down side of these for me is the risk of having some other treatment cause them to no longer fit...and if you use something like Bariatric Advantage Chewable Calcium, that's a lot of taking them out and chewing the calcium lozenge and then brushing and flossing. And if you take several calcium chews daily...it can get old. And, to be precise, they do glue to attachments (aka buttons or bumps) to the teeth so the aligners are locked into place.

I think they are great for responsible people. I'm not all that responsible...but I didn't want braces again.

For those who wonder why a woman over 60 would want braces: as we age, our teeth move and usually crowd in on each other. I had noticed that I kept slamming my uppers into my lowers...or the other way around...which was a new trick. My dentist told me that it was because things were getting a bit crowded. My sister is currently in braces for the same reason.

 

[Sheanie]

Teenage boys ARE pigs. We had one kid who got braces, only to proceed to remove the brackets himself with the eraser on his pencil during science class. By the third recementing appointment, I caught on, as I was his Lunch Lady (sucked to be him) and when we started charging his parents, the problem was solved. Boys are pigs. My own husband did not wear HIS retainer, and so has had braces twice. Same with our daughter, and so her retainer was a fixed one, not removable.

Normally braces are almost always cosmetic. But when the bite is causing chewing problems, it's necessary. Braces can cure (or cause) TMJ as well.

 

[DianaCox]

Hey Spiky - how's your toof?

Got my crowns finished today, and played around trying to figure out how to do a before, during and after (under the influence of anesthesia, making a goofy face trying to make them visible) to show my new lower chompers - I now have all "normal" sized teeth (if you can imagine, my upper front teeth used to be barely half that size - as you can extrapolate from the corresponding lower before pic):

After this project lasting 5+ years, I hope I am done with my prosthodontist for a VERY long time. And that he has no more children to put through college.

Besides looking better, I'm hoping they will no longer be so crumbly and sensitive to hot, cold, sweet, sour and just because.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

It's been a VERY long day. Tooth hole is apoarently healing and I was underprepared for how long that can take. Not a dry socket, but still dealing with a pseudo-clot.

So...your teeth...now that they really ARE pearly whites...and you barely smoked to begin with...you gonna keep them that way? Looks like real motivation.

 

[DianaCox]

I haven't had a REAL cig since last June. I am puffing here and there on an e-cig. I don't think the e-cigs discolor teeth - that's the coffee's doing. So there.