Phobia developed after ortho treatment

[Misty777]

It all started about 4 years ago. I kept having pain in my two top front teeth. I was told that I night clenched. I tried several night guards with no relief from the pain in my two top front teeth. Finally I seen a different dentist at the practice who told me I was going to need to straighten the teeth because if I didn’t the pain would get worse. I decided to go with metal braces (it felt weird being 41 and in braces but I was desperate). I went to a recommended orthodontist and asked him if he was certain everything was healthy to put braces on, he assured me it was safe for me to get them put on. Fast forward 8 months I’m at an orthodontist apt and he takes x rays and says “is someone keeping an eye on this bone loss?” Frantic I asked what’s you mean? He states my top front tooth has bone loss. I decided to remove the medal and went to a different orthodontist to finish my treatment with Invisalign. After my treatment was done I felt this aching between tooth 7 and 8. This feeling got worse at times. I continued to wear my retainers and followed exactly what I was told to do by my orthodontist. Months later the pain was still there. I went to a periodontist/orthodontist to figure out what was going on. She placed a permanent retainer behind my 4 front teeth. The retainer ended up breaking 10 months later so I had her remove it. I also forgot to mention these teeth have slight movement, I am a year and a half out from orthodontic treatment but still have the aching and slight mobility in these teeth. This has me very worried and I think about them falling out or besoming more loose daily. It’s truly turned into some kind of phobia. I was told the pdl was widened by the braces but why hasn’t this gotten better? I’m so worried that I make myself feel physically sick.

 

[dentalnelly]

Teeth have natural mobility, they're not stuck in there like rocks and bone loss begins for everyone after 35, do you have any more details? What does your dentist say?

I've got a tooth that I think has a torn ligament so it's a bit mobile if I wiggle it on purpose (I don't and you shouldn't either, leave it well alone) but I've had it still in my mouth 10 years on so I wouldn't count your teeth down and out.

 

[Misty777]

@dentalnelly
Thank you for your reply. My periodontist said my roots are long but the ligament is widened. It aches often and consumes me because of the fears I have. Some weeks I can go a few days with no pain but it always comes back. This photo was take in November when my permanent retainer broke. At this appointment she didn’t seem concerned but I just don’t understand the consistent ache if all is good.

 

[dentalnelly]

I feel like you have a specific question you'd like a dentist to try answering. Might be worth asking @letsconnect to move this thread into that section so that they can see it and hopefully help.

I'm not medically minded at all but if your periodontist isn't worried, I'd be inclined to believe her as she's a specialist in her area. Do you trust her judgment? I say this because anxiety will always question everything but if you trust her, you can always try settling yourself with: I understand why I'm anxious but Dr X says this is fine.

TBH, I have given up trying to predict teeth. They get offended at the slightest provocation and then settle a year later. I think ultimately if you're this concerned you maybe need to talk to your general dentist and ask all your questions because being in the cycle isn't going to make you feel any better. <3

 

[Misty777]

@dentalnelly
I’m not sure how to move it. I’m new here. If you can will you please move it to letsconect?

 

[letsconnect]

Sure!

 

[Gordon]

This photo was take in November when my permanent retainer broke. At this appointment she didn’t seem concerned but I just don’t understand the consistent ache if all is good.

This is definitely not good.

Go to a general dentist ASAP. It looks to me like you have a suspicious area above the lateral incisor, there are signs of root resorption on this and the central incisor too. This needs further investigation pronto.

 

[Misty777]

@Gordon
I have been to the general dentist and also a periodontist several times monitoring this. There was definitely root resorption from the braces she said but the roots are still long. She said I am not in any danger of losing the tooth. Should I get a second opinion?

 

[Gordon]

Are the teeth vital? You really want a series of x-rays a few months apart to see if the resorption is ongoing or not, to make a more informed judgement. It really doesn't look good from that film though, sorry.

 

[Misty777]

Several x rays have been done and yes teeth are vital. Thank you for your opinion. I will talk to my dentist more about the root resorption. This image was taken one year ago showing the same as the one I posted a month ago. I am now a year and a half out of orthodontic treatment. I wear a retainer at night and that is it.

 

[Misty777]

This pic was taken before braces were placed in 2021. And the other one was taken 8 months into ortho treatment.

 

[mathew719]

Hello Misty, from the picture above your teeth look great. The root is long and it appears to have no bone loss. I can assure you your teeth are not going to fall out. The roots have to be much shorter and the teeth have to have a lot of damage to fall out. Try not to worry, I am sorry you are going through this.

 

[Misty777]

@mathew719
Thank you very much for your reply and kind words.

 

[Gordon]

Those films make things a bit less worrying, there doesn't appear to be much if any progression in that time frame
I'd keep nagging your general dentist to check regularly and maybe stick a few bucks into a savings account every month (if you can afford it) to pay for an implant if things go wrong