Last week I got Expose and Bracketing tooth surgery. I am sixteen years old and I have had braces for a little over a year now. My orthodontist made room for my canine tooth on the left side of my mouth, but it got stuck. It was not necessarily impacted because you could see some white, but the gum was sill too thick for it to move down. This tooth wasn’t bothering me, but it wasn’t coming down on its own. My orthodontist sent me to an oral surgeon. I was very scared, but I made my first appointment, which was a consultation. He looked at my x-rays and I scheduled when I wanted to have the procedure done. I had it done five days later. I had the procedure done in my surgeon’s office. This procedure is a very straight forward and common. It only took 30 minutes. In my case I had the gum on top of my stuck canine tooth lifted up to expose the hidden tooth underneath. Once the tooth was exposed, my oral surgeon bonded an orthodontic bracket to my exposed tooth. The bracket has a miniature gold chain attached to it. My oral surgeon guided the chain back to the orthodontic arch wire where it will be temporarily attached. Once my tooth comes down, which can take up to a year. My tooth is really close to my dental arch, so it should be a shorter amount of time. Now you’re probably wondering how all this felt, well it was uncomfortable, but not too bad. I first had this numbing gel place on my tooth for a few minutes. This was to numb my tooth for the local anesthesia needles. I had a few of them, but only felt two. I felt just a pinch. Some people can choose to be put to sleep, but in my opinion I didn’t feel this was necessary. If you are scared you can have some happy gas, but I didn’t need any of this. Then when I was all numbed up he started the procedure. All I felt was some pressure and scraping. I also had to get dissolving stitches. There was some blood, but my oral surgeon’s assistant sucked it right out. It was over before I knew it.
It sounds a lot worse then it really is. After he was finished, there was a limited amount of bleeding. My oral surgeon’s assistant gave me a pamphlet on directions I must follow for a week after surgery. I couldn’t have any foods that were sharp like chips, or crackers. I also couldn’t have any food that would get stuck in my teeth like salad, oranges, or grapes. Also, if you smoke or drink alcohol you cannot do this for the week after the procedure. My oral surgeon needed to see me one week after surgery and then my orthodontist will see me right after that to pull on the gold chain and start the process. When I got home I put some ice on my lip to prevent swelling. The numbness wore off within a few hours. I was not supposed to exercise or lift anything heavy for a week. I rested and watched television. I did get an ear ache and headache, but nothing too terrible. When the numbness wore off I toke Tylenol, which worked fine. I also had to rinse with this prescribed mouth wash my oral surgeon prescribed for me to take twice a day for a week. I brushed my teeth very carefully with a soft tooth brush, not electric. Every day my tooth got better and less sore. I can’t wait for my healthy tooth to start coming down and eventually have a beautiful smile!
