Comments on: Life Lessons From Wearing Braces http://www.matthewwegner.com/life-lessons-from-wearing-braces/ Technology, unicycles, and the occasional rant. Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:05:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Matthew http://www.matthewwegner.com/life-lessons-from-wearing-braces/#comment-5 Matthew Sun, 13 Jan 2008 07:17:59 +0000 http://www.matthewwegner.com/life-lessons-from-wearing-braces/#comment-5 I should mention current status too--my left wisdom tooth is already occluding with the lower molar (I can chew with it). The other wisdom tooth is on the arch wire and should be down pretty soon. Hooray for elastics! I should mention current status too–my left wisdom tooth is already occluding with the lower molar (I can chew with it). The other wisdom tooth is on the arch wire and should be down pretty soon. Hooray for elastics!

]]> By: Matthew http://www.matthewwegner.com/life-lessons-from-wearing-braces/#comment-4 Matthew Sun, 13 Jan 2008 07:15:52 +0000 http://www.matthewwegner.com/life-lessons-from-wearing-braces/#comment-4 Oh yeah, I didn't mention it in much detail--by the time I realized I had the upper 3rds they had already collided with the root structure of the neighboring seconds and destroyed them (the shadowy area around the point of contact in the x-ray is decay). First they had a periodontist check them out, but he said they were basically a lost cause. The plan then became extracting the 2nds and replacing them with the 3rds via orthodontics. The surgeon who removed the 2nds said he couldn't even find some of the roots... Back in Northfield, early high school, the guy who removed my impacted lower wisdoms said I didn't have, nor would ever have, upper thirds. Oops! I went for a few years without dental care, though, so the whole thing is pretty much my fault. I'm sure yearly x-rays would've seen them coming before they did much damage :/ Oh yeah, I didn’t mention it in much detail–by the time I realized I had the upper 3rds they had already collided with the root structure of the neighboring seconds and destroyed them (the shadowy area around the point of contact in the x-ray is decay). First they had a periodontist check them out, but he said they were basically a lost cause. The plan then became extracting the 2nds and replacing them with the 3rds via orthodontics. The surgeon who removed the 2nds said he couldn’t even find some of the roots…

Back in Northfield, early high school, the guy who removed my impacted lower wisdoms said I didn’t have, nor would ever have, upper thirds. Oops! I went for a few years without dental care, though, so the whole thing is pretty much my fault. I’m sure yearly x-rays would’ve seen them coming before they did much damage :/

]]> By: elder http://www.matthewwegner.com/life-lessons-from-wearing-braces/#comment-3 elder Sun, 13 Jan 2008 05:06:06 +0000 http://www.matthewwegner.com/life-lessons-from-wearing-braces/#comment-3 interesting that your dentist didn't suggest simply extracting those pressing (and slightly impacted?) 3rd molars. Given that they are uppers, they could be removed in two minutes with a simple local anaesthetic, and probably at much less cost than enduring braces again. Unless, of course, there were other very good reasons to keep those molars, or the braces were needed for other reasons again. interesting that your dentist didn’t suggest simply extracting those pressing (and slightly impacted?) 3rd molars. Given that they are uppers, they could be removed in two minutes with a simple local anaesthetic, and probably at much less cost than enduring braces again. Unless, of course, there were other very good reasons to keep those molars, or the braces were needed for other reasons again.

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