- Joined
- Apr 3, 2012
- Messages
- 4
I am 29 years old. I had a Class 2/Class 3 Malocclusion...basically an open bite to where my upper teeth were behind my lower teeth when I closed my jaws. Also, all of my teeth were slanted inward on top and bottom.
I decided to go to a cosmetic dentist, because I didn't want the $50K surgery and broken jaws. Like millions, I am congenitally missing my upper lateral incisors. The cuspids behind them instead grew halfway into where the lateral incisors should have been. So I had gaps on either side. My cosmetic dentist put me on a year of Invisalign, and I'll soon have completed my second year (which was another year of refinement trays). My teeth have improved greatly. My upper central incisors were moved as far as we could safely get them to the front of the gum (they are now in front of my lower teeth like they should be when I smile), my bite has improved with the Invisalign and the large gap between my upper central incisors has closed - all of which the orthodontist and a previous dentist said couldn't be done. The cuspids have been moved back and there is room on either side for a lateral incisor now. The original intent of my cosmetic/implant dentist was to do dental implants. Well, the cuspids moved back to free up more space for the incisors, but the roots are slanted and in the way, so we can't do implants.
A fixed bridge was an option (apparently it would be 2 3-unit bridges on either side). But I'll lose those central incisors and cuspids on the top, which we just spent two years getting where we wanted with the Invisalign. They are actually looking pretty good now, but with a bridge, I'll lose all 4 of those healthy teeth in getting them ground down to bridge the missing incisor on either side. To me, that is a really big deal after all that I have been through with Invisalign.
I know that I do not want anything removable like a partial denture, flipper, etc.
I have researched Cantelever bridges and Maryland bridges. To my understanding, Cantelever seems "stronger"...but the tooth is just hanging in the air. That makes me wonder if it is even pressing up on the gum far enough (like a fixed bridge would) or if it is visible not even touching the gum if you look at the gum closely.
Is my best option really the fixed bridge? Is this kind of anxiety about losing those 4 healthy teeth normal? I think about the future and "What if I don't have insurance and aren't working at 60+ and need new bridges every 20 years?"
I think my biggest concern of all is this: If I do get a fixed bridge, I'm on Invisalign refinement trays now. My dentist said that we may not have to complete all of my tray sets...we just need a slight amount more of space on one side for the missing incisor. So I would go in, get my "before" impressions. They would grind my teeth down to the peg shape for the bridge. Then take more impressions, I presume, for the bridge. Then in an hour or two, they would have made a temporary bridge in their on-site lab. I'm concerned about what would stop all of these top and bottom teeth from moving back to where they were. The bridge would only cover the top 4 teeth and have the fake teeth in between. Will that temporary bridge be strong enough to keep these central incisors from opening back up to the big gap they once had, and will those cuspids try to force their way back, since the roots are still where they moved from? If I have a temporary bridge with teeth on it...my Invisalign tray won't fit on my upper teeth anymore from that day onward. It apparently takes weeks to get a bridge back. I could wear my bottom one only, but it's so horribly awkward to wear that one by itself and makes tallking feel nearly impossible. How would this be dealt with? Then even when my bridge comes back after a few weeks, they would fix it to my teeth and then take more impressions for retainers...which would likely take a few more weeks. So that's what...6 weeks for the other non-touched teeth to move? How would this work? If I leave my Invisalign out for over an hour, I can see the gap in my front teeth opening up and feel that my trays got tighter just when I had them out to eat.
I decided to go to a cosmetic dentist, because I didn't want the $50K surgery and broken jaws. Like millions, I am congenitally missing my upper lateral incisors. The cuspids behind them instead grew halfway into where the lateral incisors should have been. So I had gaps on either side. My cosmetic dentist put me on a year of Invisalign, and I'll soon have completed my second year (which was another year of refinement trays). My teeth have improved greatly. My upper central incisors were moved as far as we could safely get them to the front of the gum (they are now in front of my lower teeth like they should be when I smile), my bite has improved with the Invisalign and the large gap between my upper central incisors has closed - all of which the orthodontist and a previous dentist said couldn't be done. The cuspids have been moved back and there is room on either side for a lateral incisor now. The original intent of my cosmetic/implant dentist was to do dental implants. Well, the cuspids moved back to free up more space for the incisors, but the roots are slanted and in the way, so we can't do implants.
A fixed bridge was an option (apparently it would be 2 3-unit bridges on either side). But I'll lose those central incisors and cuspids on the top, which we just spent two years getting where we wanted with the Invisalign. They are actually looking pretty good now, but with a bridge, I'll lose all 4 of those healthy teeth in getting them ground down to bridge the missing incisor on either side. To me, that is a really big deal after all that I have been through with Invisalign.
I know that I do not want anything removable like a partial denture, flipper, etc.
I have researched Cantelever bridges and Maryland bridges. To my understanding, Cantelever seems "stronger"...but the tooth is just hanging in the air. That makes me wonder if it is even pressing up on the gum far enough (like a fixed bridge would) or if it is visible not even touching the gum if you look at the gum closely.
Is my best option really the fixed bridge? Is this kind of anxiety about losing those 4 healthy teeth normal? I think about the future and "What if I don't have insurance and aren't working at 60+ and need new bridges every 20 years?"
I think my biggest concern of all is this: If I do get a fixed bridge, I'm on Invisalign refinement trays now. My dentist said that we may not have to complete all of my tray sets...we just need a slight amount more of space on one side for the missing incisor. So I would go in, get my "before" impressions. They would grind my teeth down to the peg shape for the bridge. Then take more impressions, I presume, for the bridge. Then in an hour or two, they would have made a temporary bridge in their on-site lab. I'm concerned about what would stop all of these top and bottom teeth from moving back to where they were. The bridge would only cover the top 4 teeth and have the fake teeth in between. Will that temporary bridge be strong enough to keep these central incisors from opening back up to the big gap they once had, and will those cuspids try to force their way back, since the roots are still where they moved from? If I have a temporary bridge with teeth on it...my Invisalign tray won't fit on my upper teeth anymore from that day onward. It apparently takes weeks to get a bridge back. I could wear my bottom one only, but it's so horribly awkward to wear that one by itself and makes tallking feel nearly impossible. How would this be dealt with? Then even when my bridge comes back after a few weeks, they would fix it to my teeth and then take more impressions for retainers...which would likely take a few more weeks. So that's what...6 weeks for the other non-touched teeth to move? How would this work? If I leave my Invisalign out for over an hour, I can see the gap in my front teeth opening up and feel that my trays got tighter just when I had them out to eat.
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