Once upon a time I never had anything wrong with me. Never broke a bone (aside from a unofficial cracked rib), never was in the hospital for anything, I have 20/15 vision, and I've only ever had one cavity that was done extremely poorly at a very young age. So poorly that my following dentist said never needed to be filled in the first place and had to redo the whole thing.
Some day in early September of 2011 I woke up remembering I had something to do, but couldn't think of it until I was walking into work at noon. CRAP! I forgot I had a dentist appointment that morning and missed it. I called back immediately asking to reschedule and I was able to get in the very next day only I was going to have to see a new hygienist and dentist. So the next day I go and both of them took notice of the excessive grinding my teeth have undergone (forgot to mention that flaw earlier) and I explained I already have a night guard for it which I wear religiously every night. My wisdom teeth are fully grown in at this point and they were even improving my teeth by closing the front gap between my front two teeth. Or so I thought.
Both of them each noticed that the wisdom teeth were beginning to crowd my lower teeth and they noticed something I wasn't really familiar with or even noticed at the time but they said I had something called an open bite. They recommended I see an orthodontist for a free consultation saying they might be able to get some rubber bands to close the open bite. I was feeling a little offended almost or cheated. Why at 26 years old are they noticing this now and what was different 6 months ago when my actual dentist looked at my teeth?
So I went for the consultation about a week after the dentist appointment. They took X-rays and lots of pictures and the Orthodontist really didn't even take long to ramble off a list of things wrong with me after a few quick looks in my mouth and at the photos. Still in my head I'm thinking they'll just slap some rubber bands on there and I'll be good. Not so much. They mentioned the possibility of braces and I guess now I misunderstood what he said but I came away thinking that I'd have to get braces for 6 months and that was that. He mentioned the surgery but said it was completely optional and would be require a consultation with one of them but he stressed the fact that they aren't cheap and make sure insurance covers it.
Two weeks later I go in for the official results and they told me I'd be getting braces for 15-18 months (18-24 with surgery). They were recommending I go see an oral surgeon because it would be necessary to get the 'classic bite' relationship that we should all have. The insurance does not cover the orthodontic treatment at all. I received that news on 9/21st. My consultation with the oral surgeon is covered by my insurance fortunately, I just have to pay a $25 copay. That is actually 40 days after that news was received and is now today 11/1st. I've been so annoyed having to sit around telling everyone that I'm getting them and not really provide any detailed information about what the next step is. I can't wait for tomorrow (I haven't gone to sleep yet so it feels like tomorrow) to find out more.
Here is what I do know. I know I need to get my wisdom teeth out first, hopefully I can schedule that at the consultation. Once I've recovered, I need to get the braces which I'm assuming at this point won't even be until December some time. I'm just hoping it doesn't take another two weeks after tomorrow to get the news back as far as what exactly they are recommending and how much it costs and if my insurance will cover it etc. All that information will be for the next post. Below is a copy of my Consultation Report from the orthodontist office. It should sum up just about everything I have going on. I'll post some better pics tomorrow of myself as well. The one they have on there is terrible haha, but I should say thats actually my teeth completely clenched down so you can see the size of my open bite. Wasn't like a year or two ago.
Sorry for such a long first entry but I guess I'm just a little late in the game as far as posting so the next ones I'm sure won't be nearly as long. Let me know if you guys have any questions and I'll be glad to answer what I can. I know I had a ton even after my dentist appointment so just let me know.
Thanks for reading!
Tom
