Are your kids getting to the age where you need to start thinking about whether to "brace" them for the possibility of orthodontics?
Thirty years ago, many parents opted to pass on orthodontic treatments for their children. Financial limitations may have been the leading reason, or as in my husbands case, because he told his parents that he didn’t want braces (who ever does?) so they never pushed it with him. He was the baby of 5 children so they were probably thrilled. He was a 14 year old boy at the time and obviously not capable of making such a decision that would later impact his life in a big way. It just wasn’t a necessity years ago.
But today there are so many choices when it comes to orthodontics. There are of course the traditional "railroad track" braces that most kids get at about age 12; there is the 2-phase orthodontic treatment that has gained quite a lot of attention in the past 5 years. The child usually receives the first set at around age 9 depending upon the number of baby teeth that still exist. They wear them for approximately a year, then get them off until enough adult teeth are in place to get them back on for the last phase at about age 11. By the time most kids are going into their full set of traditional braces for a 2 year period, the 2 steppers are getting out of theirs. This fact is undoubtedly a major factor in the popularity of 2 step orthodontics. Being the mother of a 9 year old and a 12 year old, I can tell you it is much easier on a 9 year olds self image, then it is on a 12-14 year olds. There is Invisalign, which uses a series of clear aligners that are custom-molded to
fit. The virtually invisible aligners gradually reposition your
teeth over an extended period of time. However not everyone is a candidates for this procedure. Then there is a newer orthodontic option called Fast Ortho. Which I will explain in detail later in the post.
Today, orthodontics seem less of a luxury and more of a necessity; they are almost a passage into adolescence. In a Country that is so appearance conscious, how could we not provide our children every opportunity to insure their self confidence and success?
But what about those children from 30 years ago that didn’t get the opportunity to correct their smiles? How does it impact an adult to get braces? I can tell you, as my husband (the 14 year old boy who didn’t want braces) is living through the experience right now. His story began this past winter when he decided to check into getting his bottom teeth capped because they had ground down to the point of almost exposing the roots due to his misalignment of teeth. Much to his surprise, the dentist told him that in addition to his teeth being too crowded to get porcelain veneers or crowns, that he also had TMJ and would likely need full dentures at an early age. He told my husband to avoid this fate, he needed FULL ORTHODONTICS! NO WAY my husband thought. He is a business man and was humiliated at the thought of wearing "train tracks" for 3 years. This is where the story gets interesting…The dentist after hearing "hubby’s" reaction said he had heard of a relatively new procedure called Fast Ortho, which was a combination of oral surgery with traditional braces application for an expedited result. You see dramatic results in 3 months and complete the process by the 6th to 8th month; that’s it, straight teeth in just a few months. Now THAT he could deal with. The cost for the procedure in our case was about double the cost traditional braces. I am about to share his journey that began last week in Dr. Chris Parks office, a young and cutting edge periodontist in Maryland Heights, MO. He is the only Periodontist in the St. Louis area performing this procedure. "Hubby" was his 6th case.
Ok, here’s where I have to warn you, there are some graphic images that are not for the faint of heart. Some of the photos contain some blood and show exposed bone and tissue. This is an amazing procedure so if you have a strong stomach, please read on…
Fast Ortho is a patented procedure that was introduced in May of 1998 at the 98th Annual Session of the American Association of Orthodontics. The actual company name is, Wilckodontics, Inc., which acts as a teaching mechanism to train and certify clinical specialists in the proper delivery of the Wilckodontics® System. The Doctor that my husband was recommended to had performed 5 previous procedures so my husband called most of them to hear from them their experience and results. All of them were thrilled with the results and every one of them said they would do it again. Most of the previous patients were back at work within 4 days of the procedure. That was all "hubby" needed to hear, he was ready to proceed. So, If you are ready here’s what the procedure entails….
(Last Warning…the photos will get more graphic as we go along!) We’ll start with the before surgery, after brackets photo.
The process started for "hubby" almost 2 weeks ago (Thursday) with a trip to the Orthodontist office of Dr. Donald Ellit of Chesterfield, Mo. He prepared "hubby" by placing the brackets on his teeth. Clear brackets on the top teeth but because "hubby’s" bottom teeth were so small and crowded, he had to use the traditional silver brackets for the bottom as they are slightly smaller than the clear. Piece of cake. No pain, and hyped up for the big procedure that would take place the next day.
Friday morning, he took the prescribed medication (antibiotic, steroid and valium) and off to Dr. Parks office we go! Getting a little nervous now and the valium wasn’t kicking in yet, but ready to go.
After arriving, Dr. Parks proceeded with numbing the bottom teeth. The last few procedures that Dr. Parks performed, he did both top and bottom at the same setting. This time he opted to do one arch at a time thinking it might be easier on the patient and himself, since the procedure is usually 7 & 1/2 hours long and you are just under a regular local (novocaine) anesthesia. Yes, that’s what I said, just the regular shots for numbing like you get for a cavity. You are not put under a general anesthesia for this procedure. Now that the novocaine has been administered he is good and numb, and the gums now have to be completely cut away from the teeth and pulled down to expose the bone under his teeth. The underside of the tongue also has to be cut to allow for the tongue to be lifted farther out of the way.
Now that everything is exposed and prepped, the bones around the roots of each tooth are cut to encourage the rapid movement when
pressure is applied through the braces. Then a bone powder of sorts is applied to help with the regeneration of the bone tissue. After all of the sculpting is complete, the gums are stitched back into place. Phase 1 (bottom) is now complete. Now its nothing but a liquid diet until the stitches are removed. Phase 2 (upper) is planned in 4 days. Over the weekend "hubby" recovered enough to return to work on
Monday. Tomorrow starts phase 2 and he is wishing now he would have done both arches together.
When the morning came for the uppers to be done, "hubby" was a little more nervous since he now knew what to expect. He comforted himself a little because the doctor told him the bottom was the worst of the two procedures since it entailed the tongue cutting too.
Unfortunately, this was not the case for "hubby". For some reason he was feeling it still during the procedure and more and more shots of novocaine were administered for
pain. He then reacted to the novocaine and became hyper sensitive. Doctor Parks says it was "hyper analgesic shock" due to the trauma
that his body was still processing. This simply means he was experiencing a heightened sensitivity to pain.
The next 3 days were pretty rough. He was reacting to his pain meds and getting into a depression. But Dr. Parks made a house call that lifted his spirits and releived his fear of infection (we have been very impressed with his concern and bedside manner). His swelling was a lot more intense with the second go around. By now the all liquid diet is adding to his depression (my husband is very thin and lives for food) so we had to come up with ways to have him swallow very small bits of food whole to ease his misery. No chewing allowed and no blended foods because the particles
could get caught in the stitches and cause infection.
Today, he went back for a final extra procedure due to how his teeth need to move (not everyone needs this extra step). Two small screws had to be placed above each canine tooth. Rubber bands will attach to these screws to replace the need for a night head gear. Still reacting to the hyper analgesic shock, he couldn’t sit through the procedure and only received one side today. The doctor and orthodontist have decided that he needs a longer recovery period before continuing with the second screw.
"Hubby" says if he had to do it again, he would have had them do it all at once. The 2 step method was too drawn out and too many trips back have dampened his spirits. Also, a big part for him is it extends the time period on the liquid diet. He sits and watches the Food Network and gets more and more distraught about his liquid diet.
That brings us up to date for now. We are 6 days post-op from phase 2 and "hubby went back to work! He is already seeing some movement on his bottom teeth! That’s always encouraging!!! I will post photos of his results as he progresses towards "Movie Star" teeth. If you have specific questions for the doctor, leave them in the comments and I’ll try to get the answers for you from Dr. Parks.
The details of this procedure is meant to encourage adults who need braces, not to scare you. There are avenues to a straight smile. If you always rebuffed the idea of braces due to the 2 to 3 years of having a "metal mouth" and the psychological impact it might have on you, then consider Fast Ortho as an option! Or better yet, do whatever is possible to get your kids in braces while they are still kids!
I seldom drop responses, but after reading through a bunch of remarks here Love Shak, Baby
Thanks for commenting Dr. Parks. Jim has been very impressed with your knowledge and skills and trusts you immensely. You have done a great job and we highly recommend his services if you are in the St. Louis metro area. Can’t wait for his final cosmetic finish and to post the pics for all to marvel!
Hi, I am the doctor that did Mr. H’s Fastortho procedure. First, I want to say thank you for the kind comments. I frequently get patients that look me up and say they read about me on this site. I would like to briefly and generally address some of your questions and comments. The major risks of the procedure are infection (less than 1%), damage to adjacent teeth or structures (avoided with careful pre-op planning), failure of the teeth to move (same as above), and post operative esthetic compromise. There are some reasons not to do the surgery and if they are ignored, you end up with a pissed off patient and an unsatisfactory outcome. I hope you discussed your concerns with the person that did your surgery and voiced your concerns. I split Mr. H’s surgery into two procedures which led to him “feeling” the second procedure more than the first from a phenomenon called secondary hyperalgesia. I have not recommended split procedures since Mr. H’s surgery. He was great about things, but if I could go back and do it over, I would have done it all at once. That aside, he had a great final result and I will send the pictures when he is finished with the cosmetic side of his case. I definitely recommend a knowledgeable orthodontist you are comfortable with. I can honestly say I have never had a patient regret the procedure in the 3 years I have been doing it. And to the 15 year old, I personally don’t do a lot of cases that are below 18 because most of the time the parents are footing a hefty enough bill financing braces and getting their child out of braces before prom is not always a priority. To the disappointed fast-ortho patient, I am sorry you are disappointed in your progress. I hope whoever did your procedure is following your progress and can give answers to you legitimate sounding complaints. In the pre-op work up, I say that either the patient or I can request a second procedure known as a “bump” at little to no cost if there is an area that is not progressing as planned. I also should say that not every case is 6-8 months. Sometimes shaving 2 years off treatment still leaves the patient with a year and a half of orthodontic treatment. Anyway, thanks again for your kind comments. Chris Parks DDS
i had wilckodontics performed on my upper arch 13 months ago. i dont mean to sound discouraging but i am not pleased with the outcome. i was not properly prepared for the pain and length of time i would be out of work. i sincerely believe that this procedure is much too painful to be performed with only novacaine. i am 4 months past the date of which i was supposed to be out of braces and still have quite a length to go. my gums are much more pronounced than prior to surgery and do not look normal. it may have just been a bad experience on my part but it is an uncomfortable and expensive procedure with what i think to be misleading results. make sure you completely trust your orthodontist who will be the main part of your wilckodontics outcome.
I was wondering that this procedure is so painful.anyway,i think the result was good enough for the pain he had gone trough.
-heather-
I won't comment on the risks, because I am not a medical professional and don't really know all the risks involved. But, I do know that it did work and my husbands teeth moved rapidly. They were ready for removal after about 7 months.
His issues were a little out of the ordinary because he also had to have an implant that didn't take the firs time around. He is still awaiting the cosmetic part of his journey that has taken much longer than anticipated, due to the delay caused by the implant failure. That is why I don't have the "After" pictures posted yet. Hopefully he will be ready for his veneers soon and then you will see the vast difference in his smile.
He is very happy with the results, and the discomfort that was involved from the surgery, to him was worth avoiding the alternative of wearing braces for nearly 3 years.
Let us know if you move forward so we can monitor your experience as well. If you are in the St. Louis area, Dr. Chris Parks comes highly recommended.
Hi,
I am considering this procedure. What are the risks if any? Are you happy with the results?
Hello.
I am currently 15 years old and debating on if I should get this proceedure done or not. I would much rather wear braces for 8 months instead of 2+ years, however, I am not a huge fan of being in a lot of pain.
So, I have two questions.
Was your husband in a lot of pain…I mean, I know there is some pain involved…but what kind of pain? ache like pains? unbearable pains?
and does he think this proceedure was well worth what he went through?
Thanks.
I can't wait to post the results. I will be pulling together a progress post that will show the results of the actual movement as soon as I can. But unfortunately, he needs cosmetic work done (which is what he went in for to begin with)before the final reveal. The before and afters wont be quite as impressive when he has a big temporary front tooth. He had a bridge removed so it left him with a missing front tooth. He is in the process of an implant right now which has to heal for 3 months before he can get the cosmetic phase finished. I'll post what I have soon. And yes, he has been very pleased with the results. The procedure is really taking off. The Periodontist that did it for him has been very busy with new patients.
I can't wait for the follow up! I'm soon to be 36 years old and am really interested in the procedure. Straight teeth weren't a priority to my parents – and I really didn't have the extra money until recently. I can't imagine possibly spending the next three years of my life in braces. I'd like to know your husband's opinion on his treatment.
I will have the post op photos up very soon in my follow up post part 2. Invisalign is very limited as to who can actually take advantage of the procedure. The question of long term periodontal health is a good one for the Dr. who performed this procedure. I'll be sure to include that answer in my follow up post. Since new bone is actually added during the procedure, I am assuming it will be a good long term outlook. Thanks for your comments.
I manage a dental practice and assisted for many ears – I've never neard of this method & we go to a LOT of continuing ed.
Where are the post op pics? I would never do this procedure and can't imagine why anyone would – especially with the many products like invisalign on the market that are typically 1 year long on ave. with NO cutting at all. What does this procedue do to long term periodontal health?
Yes, "hubby" will be getting both his upper and lower front 6-8 teeth either crowned or fit with porcelain veneers. He has been a trooper and now that the stitches are out he is thrilled that he went this route. I can already see big movement with his bottom teeth. Watch for up coming posts where I will be documenting his results.You'll be amazed!
What a champ! In the long run…his teeth with look amazing. Will he still have to eventually get crowns/caps/veneers as he originally planned? Or is his original idea out of the picture?
I am sure you will assist one some day Amber. I think this procedure is going to really catch on. Especially when everyone sees "hubby's" great results. No Pain, No Gain, right?
I agree. This is why I wanted to put this out there for all parents to consider. Teeth are so important and impact a persons self esteem soooo much. I can remember before I had braces (age 14) how I would hold my mouth in a certain (pinched) way to try to cover my teeth with my lips (like Renee Zellwiger lips). I was ALWAYS self conscious about my smile. Now, I never give it another thought. Glad you were a candidate for Invisalign. I'm sure you will have that fabulous smile you've dreamed about soon!
Whoa. I am totally glad I am using Invisalign. That looks PAINFUL!!! (p.s. I wish my parents would have gotten me braces when I was a kid. I think having crappy teeth all my life has had a worse effect on my self-esteem than a few years spent metal-mouthed as a kid would have.)
Wow! Fascinating. As a dental assistant, this stuff is SO interesting to me! Maybe one day, I'll have to privilege of assisting on a procedure such as this.
He has really turned a corner now. Just 6 days after the final phase and he is back to work and just about his normal self (which if you knew my husband isn't real normal to begin with- ha)Anyway, he is a new man and happy he went through the procedure. He is eating soft foods now so he is loving life! (gagging on those protein shakes at this point). He'll be getting veneers or caps after they come off on most of his front teeth so he really will have a Hollywood smile! I'll post the progress.
oh my goodness! be sweet to the poor guy as he goes through this. Two words: protein shakes!
keep us posted on progress.
Wow! What a story! My son just got done with braces and last year won best smile in school. Of course, his father and I take full credit for that after paying for 4 years of ortho work.
I think I would've just gone for the braces for the 3 years knowing the pain and the liquid diet. Although, I could stand to lose a few pounds. Tell "hubby" we can't wait to see his "hollywood" whites.