Meet Dr. Regan - The Oral Surgeon
Oh my goodness, my oral surgeon looks like Elvis Presley. Dr. Regan has a very large oral surgery practice. When I entered the office I was surprised by the size of the lobby and the number of receptionists at the desk, I bet there were 5-6 receptionist! I was impressed because all the paperwork is done electronically - no papers to sign. Given the large size of the office and the number of receptionists I thought for sure that the wait would be long but it was not. The assistant called me back within 10 minutes. She took a few x-rays and printed them right away on our way back to the room where I met with Dr. Regan.
When Dr. Regan walked in the door I was shocked. He looked exactly like Elvis. I suddenly believed Elvis was alive. Dr. Regan was a very polite man and showed great interest in getting to know me and my treatment plan. He carefully reviewed the x-rays and did an examination of my mouth including my bite, teeth and jaws. Within minutes he began to calm my fears explaining that the procedure and anchors he would be installing would help to resolve my biting issues thus stopping me from cracking more teeth.
Dr. Regan explained that he would be using MAP Attachments to help move my upper back teeth into my gum line. MAP Attachments are small titanium attachments (plates) that are secured to the upper jaw. They are different from the TADs commonly used with braces. These anchors require an oral surgeon to make an L-shaped incision in the upper gum tissue and then to strategically place the MAP Attachment securing them to the upper jaw with several rods. Once the MAP Attachment is secured a small "loop" at the end of the attachment is left outside of the gum line and the incision is stitched around the loop. The healing process takes a few days. A few weeks after the attachments are installed the orthodontist can attach tiny coils to the MAP Attachment to help manipulate the back molars into the gum line.
Why this type of treatment? MAP Attachments are used as an alternative to having jaw surgery. After age 50 dentists and oral surgeons try to avoid jaw surgery which is a great thing!
I left Dr. Regan's office feeling relieved and ready to move forward with the procedure when the time comes. This procedure will not be done for several months. First Dr. Sherman will put on the braces and get the teeth shifted into the position they need to be before moving them up into my gum line.
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