CaliGirlie
07-31-2005, 02:31 AM
I am so completely perplexed about what to do.
It all started when I was about 13 and went in to get braces. I was told that one of my front teeth never grew in (top left, next to canine) and that they would push all of my teeth apart to leave a gap so I could get a fake tooth. Well, when my braces came off, they gave me a retainer with a tooth attached. It looked fake, but I dealt with it for awhile. I later ended up getting a retainer that you couldn't tell I was wearing, and the tooth looked much better, but still not totally real.
I'm 18 now and I had a Maryland bridge placed in January of this year. I really wanted an implant, but my dentist told me that my roots were too close together and if they went ahead with an implant they might hit a root and damage the surrounding teeth. There is also an indent in my gum above the missing tooth, because there is apparently no bone there. I asked if I could at least get a bone graft there to make the gum similar to the rest of my mouth so that the tooth could rest on it. He said no. But he reassured me that with a Maryland bridge they do very little grinding to the surrounding teeth, so I could always opt to have an implant in the future. I was told that if I wanted to have an implant now, I would have to get braces on my teeth again to "move the roots" further apart first. I am missing one of my front teeth! I can't just go around with braces and no tooth for 6 months. I got the bridge, and I'm sad to say that I am disappointed. My retainer before this looked more realistic. The tooth just starts too low and I think it looks really fake.
I'm in the process of moving out right now, I go to college, and I work part time at a restaurant. I cannot afford anything above $2000, but I HATE the way my teeth look. My insurance doesn't cover dental and I am at my wit's end. Has anyone had a problem similar to this? Any advice?
It all started when I was about 13 and went in to get braces. I was told that one of my front teeth never grew in (top left, next to canine) and that they would push all of my teeth apart to leave a gap so I could get a fake tooth. Well, when my braces came off, they gave me a retainer with a tooth attached. It looked fake, but I dealt with it for awhile. I later ended up getting a retainer that you couldn't tell I was wearing, and the tooth looked much better, but still not totally real.
I'm 18 now and I had a Maryland bridge placed in January of this year. I really wanted an implant, but my dentist told me that my roots were too close together and if they went ahead with an implant they might hit a root and damage the surrounding teeth. There is also an indent in my gum above the missing tooth, because there is apparently no bone there. I asked if I could at least get a bone graft there to make the gum similar to the rest of my mouth so that the tooth could rest on it. He said no. But he reassured me that with a Maryland bridge they do very little grinding to the surrounding teeth, so I could always opt to have an implant in the future. I was told that if I wanted to have an implant now, I would have to get braces on my teeth again to "move the roots" further apart first. I am missing one of my front teeth! I can't just go around with braces and no tooth for 6 months. I got the bridge, and I'm sad to say that I am disappointed. My retainer before this looked more realistic. The tooth just starts too low and I think it looks really fake.
I'm in the process of moving out right now, I go to college, and I work part time at a restaurant. I cannot afford anything above $2000, but I HATE the way my teeth look. My insurance doesn't cover dental and I am at my wit's end. Has anyone had a problem similar to this? Any advice?