Move Over - Making Space

Move Over - Making Space

November 20, 2014 @ 9:05am

The process of making space for the brackets to be placed on the top row of teeth began.  Promptly at my appointment time I was greeted by a sweet assistant who took me back to the rear of the orthodontist office into a big beautiful semi-circle room that was surrounded with full view of the gorgeous landscape through windows that seemed to go on forever - from floor to ceiling.  The view was breathtaking and served as a great distraction from the "spacing" process.  

Within 5 minutes the spacers were put in and I was on my way.  I was amazed that there was no pain involved with having the spacers put in but was cautioned that within a few hours I might have some discomfort.  And if by chance one of the spacers came out I was to call and come back in to have it replaced.  

So with blue spacers in place, I'm making space in my life for braces.  

The Decision Process - To Brace or Not to Brace

The Decision Process - To Brace or Not to Brace

Filled with resistance and frustration I know I must decide whether to move forward with braces or to seek other options.  So I begin my decision making process by talking to my previous dentist. Dr. Moffett in Mandeville and Dr. Tatum in Hattiesburg. Both agreed that the best route to correcting the issue is braces.  The other options are:

1. continue on the present path of cracking and breaking teeth with the possibility of losing teeth (leaving gaps in the bite)
2. replacing the crowns and attempting to shape my teeth to realign my bite and chewing patterns
3. remove 8 of my back teeth (4 on top and 4 on bottom) replacing them with implants or some other type of denture
4. bracing and realigning my teeth

Once I really considered the expense and possibility of losing teeth permanently - It really didn't take long for me to see that the logical decision is to be proactive and brace my teeth.  Yet on the inside I'm not happy about living with braces for 18 months.  

When I was 9 years old, I had all my back baby molars pulled and as soon as my adult molars came in braces were put on my teeth for almost 3 years.  It was a long process and a difficult one.  I realize that the bracing process has advanced and changed tremendously in the past 40 years and I'm praying that this time around will be much easier.  

After making the decision to begin the process, I called Poppy at Dr. Sherman's office and we set the schedule to begin. 

November 20th - Put in spacers to make room for brackets on the top. the bracket will allow Dr. Sherman to install a stabilizing bar on top to balance the force of the MAPS Attachment which will be used to exert force to move my top back teeth into my gum line. 

December 2nd - Remove spacers to make impressions for the brace design and replace the spacers.

December 8th - Put on the braces and the upper stabilizing bar and begin moving teeth.

Within 6 months - have Dr. Regan, the oral surgeon put in the MAPS Attachments into the right and left side of my upper jaw bone.

Meet Dr. Sherman, The Orthodontist

Meet Dr. Sherman, The Orthodontist

Two days after my 52nd birthday I found myself sitting in the dental chair at Dr. Sherman's office. Dr. Sherman has a well-established orthodontist office on Bluebonnet in Baton Rouge, a main thoroughfare just 15 minutes from my house and not far off my travels to and from work.  The distance from my house or LSU where I work is a critical consideration for ALL my daily adventures given the enormous traffic issues in Baton Rouge.

Similar to Dr. LaCour's office, Dr. Sherman's office is friendly, organized, aesthetically pleasing, and most of all professional.  I was greeted by two very nice young ladies who work the front reception desk - both have beautiful teeth and cheerful smiles.  My appointment began promptly which I much appreciated given my tight schedule, yet the appointment took about 2 1/2 hours - but the assistants kept me very busy during that time taking a complete dental history, along with taking a full set of pictures and X-Rays.  My initial introduction to Dr. Sherman did not happen until after all the evaluation measures were collected and put together for "us" to review together.

Once all the facts, images, and information were ready for evaluation and discussion Dr. Sherman's assistant, Poppy invited me into a very nice room with a large monitor on the wall connected to a computer. Poppy and I visited for a few minutes until Dr. Sherman joined us.  Dr. Sherman is an attractive 60+ year old man with a gentle hand shake and a sincere presence. He began our meeting by asking questions about my dental history and the struggles I've been having with cracking teeth. Then Dr. Sherman asked Poppy to show the images (x-rays and pictures) on the monitor so that he and I could review them and discuss them. He looked at each image carefully and explained what he saw and asked me to compare it to how I feel when I bite or chew.  Once we discussed all the images Dr. Sherman began a physical examination.  He examined my face, jawline, movement of my jaws, lips, mouth, smile, teeth, and then my bite and chewing patterns.  

After about 20 minutes of completing a physical examination and reviewing my jaw bone structure in the x-rays he said.......

"Let's see, How old are you?"  ~ Dr. Sherman

"I just turned 52." ~ Me

"Hummm if you were under 50, I would recommend jaw surgery to properly align your jaws and bite.  But over 50 years old we will need to look at other options." ~ Dr. Sherman

In my head...."WHAT!!!!! NO WAY, I'M NOT HAVING JAW SURGERY!"

Then the discussion began. Dr. Sherman explained using the images for support and demonstrating his evaluation by moving my mouth - I'm only biting/chewing on 4 teeth. These four molars are a combination of crowns and my teeth.  My other teeth never touch and that is causing the four teeth to continue to crack and break along with chipping the sides of the surrounding teeth.  Reviewing my previous dental records and images (over the past 20 years) my teeth have shifted and a whole host of issues have resulted - including a dynamic minimally functioning bite.

Dr. Sherman explained, the best option for my age is to use braces to move my teeth into a better position. And to install MAPS Attachments to pull my upper back teeth back into the gum line so my front teeth will meet and work properly. The process will take about 18 months followed by 6 months of wearing a retainer.  

Assessment and Referral

Bracing for an Adventure

In the past 6 years I've cracked 5 teeth, had two root canals, and broke two very expensive crowns. To protect my teeth from further damage I wear a night splint to prevent clinching and grinding as I sleep each night. About a month ago, I chipped one of my most expensive crowns which lead me to   seek "real" answers and solutions to stop the damage and continued expense of repairs.  

The week before my 52nd birthday with the highest recommendation from my former dentist in Mandeville, I visited my new dentist, Dr. Chad LaCour in Baton Rouge.  Dr. LaCour's office is located within 20 minutes from my house which means everything in Baton Rouge because of the heavy traffic patterns.  From the moment I called to make the appointment with Dr. LaCour I knew I had made the right choice.  Dr. LaCour's office staff made me feel at home from the moment I walked in the door. I felt as if I had known them for a very long time.  The first visit was comprehensive including many X-Rays, pictures, impressions, a close evaluation, and a rich discussion about my fears and goals for my dental care.  At the end of the visit Dr. LaCour explained that he would need a little time to review my complete case and to collect information from my previous dentist and then he would like to meet with me to make a plan for my treatment - together. Dr. LaCour seeks a collaborative partnership with his patients and that all decisions for treatment would be agreed upon by both of us.  This was music to my ears.  With my Type A personality, I am unable to allow others to decide my treatment and care plan.  Yet, I welcome a collaborative partnership.  

After the initial visit was complete, I was scheduled to return the next week to meet with Dr. LaCour to discuss his analysis and recommendations for treatment.  We met in a conference type room where we could view images of my teeth and x-rays so that Dr. LaCour could provide a visual perspective of his analysis and better present his recommendations to resolve my dental issues. 

Dr. LaCour carefully described his assessment of my teeth and providing a complete analysis of the situation with recommendations.   

Dental/Bite Issues

1. My bite is limited to four molars.
2. Lower back teeth bite too far behind the upper back teeth
3. Lower jaw tends to be less developed than upper jaw
4. Open bite tendency
5. Moderate protrusion of upper front teeth
6. Front teeth do not touch when biting down
7. Functional shift of jaw to the left when chewing
8. Jaw bones issues as a result of intensity of hitting on only four molars

Recommendations

1. Referral to Orthodontist  

As I left Dr. LaCour's office I thought to myself - "Who gets braces on their teeth at age 52?"  Could that really happen to me?