In December I met with Dr. G, the first orthodontist I would meet with. On the first visit he took x-rays, photos and molds. He seemed to be a nice guy with a nice office, and he explained to me about a new braces system, Damon, that had come out since I had braces years ago. I don't remember the specifics of it, but they are supposed to be better, faster, and less painful.
In the beginning of January I went for the consultation with my mom. I called a few days before the appointment to make sure that he was ready. At the appointment he seemed confident he could do the job and seemed to know orthodontics. He however had not consulted with LF, who I knew wanted to speak to him, I have been and continue to be in close contact with LF. Dr. G did not know where my teeth were. Granted, the two teeth covered by the cap can be a bit deceiving, but there are two teeth side by side, he thought that one was in front of the other. He also started talking about a periodontist, which had never been mentioned and said I could need jaw surgery, also never mentioned. He just didn't seem to be working with this team that was being created, he seemed like he was operating on his own. When I left he said he would get in touch with LF, which he should have done BEFORE I came. I wasn't impressed and neither was my mother. I should mention that his cost would be $7,500., which I thought was a lot for a guy who I wasn't impressed with.
I consulted with LF, told her that I didn't feel comfortable using Dr. G. She decided to talk with him about the case, if for no other reason then to get a gauge on what his thought process was. She didn't seem overly impressed with him either. She did some asking around and it was recommended that I see Dr. K.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Oral Surgeon
On the recommendation of LF I made an appointment with Dr. S, an Oral Surgeon, for November of 2008. At this appointment Dr. S took pictures and molds of my mouth, he was able to scan the x-rays that I had from my appointment with LF. I really liked Dr. S he was nice and knowledgeable about Clefts.
The first week of December I went back to meet with Dr. S, this time I took my mom with me since I knew that at this visit Dr. S would be explaining options to me. First he spoke to my mom and I about the state of my teeth. I am missing a tooth on the top where the cleft palate is (my left side) it's the one that should be next to my middle teeth - the lateral incisor. The bridge/crown was adjusted to make the the left canine look like that missing tooth. He showed how my dental line has more of a V shape instead of a rounded shape and spoke about the mobility of the bridge/crown. We also discussed my goals: not to necessarily have a prefect mouth, but to have a more permanent solution to my bridge/crown.
He then went to discuss what I could do with my teeth. He explained to me that he did not think that I needed a palate expander and that the same goal could be reached by getting braces. He said at some point a bone graft would be needed as the bone graft that was done when I was younger was no longer there. Apparently, with a bone graft the bone that isn't used basically dissolves, you can now, on an x-ray, see a gap in my bone where my cleft palate is. Depending on the plan that was developed I might need at least 1 implant. I was a little taken back by all this work, when I walked in to see LF in July I never thought about the idea of getting braces, a palate expander or a bone graft. But ever the trooper since I was born, I went with it and started to really think about doing these things.
My next step was to meet with an orthodontist, Dr. G was recommended.
The first week of December I went back to meet with Dr. S, this time I took my mom with me since I knew that at this visit Dr. S would be explaining options to me. First he spoke to my mom and I about the state of my teeth. I am missing a tooth on the top where the cleft palate is (my left side) it's the one that should be next to my middle teeth - the lateral incisor. The bridge/crown was adjusted to make the the left canine look like that missing tooth. He showed how my dental line has more of a V shape instead of a rounded shape and spoke about the mobility of the bridge/crown. We also discussed my goals: not to necessarily have a prefect mouth, but to have a more permanent solution to my bridge/crown.
He then went to discuss what I could do with my teeth. He explained to me that he did not think that I needed a palate expander and that the same goal could be reached by getting braces. He said at some point a bone graft would be needed as the bone graft that was done when I was younger was no longer there. Apparently, with a bone graft the bone that isn't used basically dissolves, you can now, on an x-ray, see a gap in my bone where my cleft palate is. Depending on the plan that was developed I might need at least 1 implant. I was a little taken back by all this work, when I walked in to see LF in July I never thought about the idea of getting braces, a palate expander or a bone graft. But ever the trooper since I was born, I went with it and started to really think about doing these things.
My next step was to meet with an orthodontist, Dr. G was recommended.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Introduction to my mouth
I'll use my first post to introduce what this blog is about. I'm a 30something woman who was born with a cleft lip and palate and am trying to trying to "fix" my mouth. This blog is to tell the story of my journey while I try to do this. This journey started about a year ago so I have some catching up to do, which I will do in the first couple posts, and then you can follow me as I take the journey. I'm not going to use the names of any of the doctors, but if anyone would like that information you can contact me by email at giraffe1 (at) optonline (dot) net
As a child I did have a good amount of dental work done including having braces for 4 years, 8 months and 1 day - not that I was counting. My teeth are in pretty good shape right now, they work, and they look ok. There are however some underlying issues. A good 5 years ago or so I had a bridge/cap put on two of my teeth - the left canine and left bicuspid. It certainly looks better and it has been holding up well, but it's never fit quite like my original teeth did and there was a bit of chipping at the top of the crown.
About a year ago my mother met a new dentist, LF, and told her about my teeth and past dental issues, she was interested in my case and I went to meet with her. Last July I met with LF and she did a work up on me, she explained that the crown is lose and eventually will have to be replaced and will eventually need to anchor onto more teeth and then be replaced again. It became obvious that this crown/bridge was not a permanent solution, and I was interested in what would be a permanent solution. LF presented my case at Grand Rounds at the North Shore Dental Clinic. It was recommended that I see an oral surgeon about the possibility of a palate expander and a bone graft. This is when I first started to realize that this would be complicated.
As a child I did have a good amount of dental work done including having braces for 4 years, 8 months and 1 day - not that I was counting. My teeth are in pretty good shape right now, they work, and they look ok. There are however some underlying issues. A good 5 years ago or so I had a bridge/cap put on two of my teeth - the left canine and left bicuspid. It certainly looks better and it has been holding up well, but it's never fit quite like my original teeth did and there was a bit of chipping at the top of the crown.
About a year ago my mother met a new dentist, LF, and told her about my teeth and past dental issues, she was interested in my case and I went to meet with her. Last July I met with LF and she did a work up on me, she explained that the crown is lose and eventually will have to be replaced and will eventually need to anchor onto more teeth and then be replaced again. It became obvious that this crown/bridge was not a permanent solution, and I was interested in what would be a permanent solution. LF presented my case at Grand Rounds at the North Shore Dental Clinic. It was recommended that I see an oral surgeon about the possibility of a palate expander and a bone graft. This is when I first started to realize that this would be complicated.
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