Welcome to

On August 16, 2006 I had my 3rd adjustment. 4.5 months into the treatment, my teeth are officially messed up – no way back! (I really had no way back from the start because of the extraction.)

Very disappointing visit – the second upper implant was also loose and was removed. That’s 2 additional months added onto the length of my treatment. Have to wait for the bone to regenerate before they can insert new upper implants (even if the location of the new implants is different).

Both my midlines are off; upper arch is starting to shift to the right; spacing at the bottom; molar teeth are not in contact, getting harder to eat.

Just as I kind of suspected and was afraid of it, all the progress my teeth made in 2 weeks with implants has been reversed. Much thicker wire at the top was not able to hold them in place. I guess 2 weeks is not enough for the teeth to get “rooted” in the new spot, but still, a bit disappointing.

This is definitely a good motivation to wear a retainer when the braces are off! Teeth move very quickly.

My orthodontist just confirmed that it’s okay to use salty warm water as a replacement for Peridex (I was wondering about next time when they place the last microimplant).

I’m so happy about that – I can get my teeth cleaned ASAP without fear that they’ll just stain all over in a few weeks when I’ll need to rinse a lot.

I use about 1 teaspoon for 1/2 cup of warm water for rinses.

It’s been 3 weeks since I got the implants in, and 1 week since I got one upper implant out. The other upper screw was “kind of” loose, but not quite, and my whole upper left area (like, gums and above) looked red and inflamed and there was puffiness and inflammation around the upper screw.

I have been on an intensive anti-inflammatory regimen, rinsing with salty warm water every 1.5-2 hours, still using an eyedropper, because the screw is positioned so high above, I’m afraid when I simply rinse, the solution/water just doesn’t get up there. So I targeted that one spot during rinses.

I also took 6g of fish oil daily, vitamin C, and MSM, all of which decrease inflammation on cellular level in the entire body. I tried avoiding sweets and to get a lot of sleep every night. I had to stay up late a couple of times, and I actually noticed that the following day there was no change in the inflammation at all.

However, for 2 days that I slept in, I mean REALLY slept in, like 11-12 hours which is abnormal but I felt tired and like it was something I needed to do, the inflammation seemed to go down a lot during the day with no other changes! I think it’s important to let the body regenerate itself, give it as much rest as possible.

It’s the end of day Wednesday and just this Monday the screw was still a bit loose (I touched it gently with a Q-tip), but today it seems to be firmly in. The entire red area is normal light pink color, and there’s maybe 0.5mm of inflammation around the post.

I finished my Peridex bottle last Friday (2 days after my emergency appointment) and have only been rinsing with salty warm water. I’m sad to note that Peridex DID leave stains on the inside of my teeth, right on the gum line, that looks like tartar. My teeth constantly feel dirty now, so I’m going to get a cleaning ahead of my schedule (hopefully next Saturday, instead of in September). On the other hand, I will be getting the second upper screw fitted again in 5 weeks, and I’ll have to use Peridex for 2 weeks again. So maybe I should wait for that after all, and THEN get the cleaning done. *sigh* Don’t think I can stand the dirty feeling for another 2 months!

Well, here’s the news: 2 of 4 of my orthodontic screws got inflamed. One – more so than the other, and it also was very loose. I went in for an emergency appointment today and they had to take out the loose screw. Before they can put one back in, we have to wait for 6-8 weeks. This is an unexpected setback

In addition to the inflammation, I had deep grooves from wire ties cutting into my gums. In one spot gum even sort of receded (got lifted up). I was told it will go back to normal. I hope so!!! It’s on my upper tooth #3 and it’s right in the front and is very asymmetrical at the moment.

They took off the wire ties from the top completely. I now just have one screw at the top and a big ol’ red hole from the second screw. They re-tied the bottom teeth in a slightly different way so there’s not so much pressure on the gums. They also changed the wire at the top and put in a really thick, heavy-gauge one. I’m guessing this prevents the teeth from sliding easily back into the pre-implant position (my top teeth really moved in these 2 weeks, so it would be too bad if all the progress they made would be undone).

Removing the loose screw was a bit painful, so the doctor gave me one shot and then drove the post out with a screwdriver. I got a sad chuckle from seeing how assistants were afraid to even touch the screw, cause with only a bit of movement it would wiggle and I got a weird feeling in the bone, so I’d moan

Hope I can get the inflammation in the other upper screw under control. I’d hate to have to take it out, too and wait even longer. I was told to continue rinsing with Peridex beyond the originally prescribed 2 weeks. I got a bit of staining on a tooth from it, but they scraped the stain off today. I don’t mind the temporary staining, as long as Peridex helps. I know that most of the staining, if not all, can be removed by my hygienist at the cleaning.

I’m due for a semi-annual cleaning this September but I’d love to get cleanings more often while in braces (once every 3 months or so). However, it’s $100 every time and I keep telling myself I’ve already invested a lot of $$$ into my Oral-B Sonic Complete and Oral-B Professional.