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Finally going to the dentist seems to have made me feel worse

  • Thread starter Thread starter beam88
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beam88

Junior member
Joined
May 30, 2018
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Hi all:

I went to the dentist for the 1st time in 10 years. They said I needed a scaling & rooting and nothing else. My teeth are severely jacked/crooked/crazy looking and very, very yellow, so I asked, "What about everything else?," and they said they I was a candidate for braces.

So a few weeks later, I have Invisalign, but I'm more nervous than ever, especially because the communication hasn't been great from my dentist. They are an anxiety-friendly office, and I unfortunately have huge issues with bringing topics up or speaking up, which I would assume is a common thing with anxious patients. So I never mentioned whitening, because I had no idea what to expect in these appointments, and I just thought at some point they would provide whitening options or realities.

So now I have attachments for Invisalign, which look awful and more pronounced because of the yellow. I would honestly rather have a mouth full of snaggle-teeth that were white than the opposite. Whitening was always my priority. I know I should have said something earlier. But when I called to ask what my options were now, they basically said I have to wait 10 months to get the braces off and then do bleaching trays in office. I even asked if we could just take the attachments off and bleach and then put them back on when it's done (days? a week?), but they made it sound like it would mess up the trays we already ordered? I'm only 2 weeks into Invisalign so I don't see why it would matter.

But what really drove me crazy was that I mentioned that I was under the impression that my teeth probably won't respond to bleaching because they are translucent and wet-looking, which I understood to mean that the dentin was showing through, or the enamel was eroded. Which will usually only be fixed by bonding or veneers. The dentist said he'd never heard of what I was talking about. Ermmm.

I am at the point now, and have been for awhile, where I'm so humiliated that I barely see anyone, and my whole goal in this process was to get my life back. I desperately need a better job and to see my friends again, and I just can't do that when I look like this. My self-esteem is at an all-time low. And I'm not sure going to another dentist would help since they don't have any of the Invisalign information. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? If I could just improve ONE thing at this point, it would help so incredibly much.

Thanks.
 
Hi beam88,

wow.. sorry to hear what you are going through, it sounds like there have been quite a few things that went wrong with the communication! I totally get that you didn't feel confident to ask, but since your dentist is the only person who knows which steps will be necessary and what it means, he should also be the one to think of which challenges this might bring with it and communicate this in advance.

If I got it right, your attachments are very visible now because of the contrast between their color and the color of your teeth?

I am not a dentist and do not know much about braces, but what I do know is that you are a customer and that clear braces are not the cheapest thing to have and 10 months are a long time. This are enough reasons for the practice to take your wishes seriously and do their best to make you happy. I could imagine that if things are ordered and the attachments placed, it might be a huge effort to change anything, but even this should then just be a question of additional costs. A 'no' is no answer from any dentist to any problem, you should always be given some options and choices.

If I were in your shoes, I would see a different dentist to get an opinion. No matter that they do not have any of the Invisalign information, they might at least be able to see what's happening and give you some information or advice about how to process or communicate with your current practice.

So far from me as a non-dentist and non-experienced, hope you get replies from some members who are familiar with clear braces and hopefully you find a solution for this soon. One thing is sure: if you are not happy with what your dentist did, then it would be good to keep looking for solutions.

Hang on there, all the best wishes and keep us posted
 
Thank you so much for your support. I appreciate it. I think I was a little taken aback when I asked them about it, because they just asked if I had something "coming up," like a wedding, etc. I don't know who would be comfortable waiting almost a year for an easy fix. I have "need self-esteem" coming up, lol.

As far as I know, it takes about 30 minutes to take the attachments off, and as long as my braces aren't off longer than a few days, I can't see what difference it makes.

Thanks again.
 
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