Released on $539 bond

If ever I was into bondage, this is it! Dr G was able to do both teeth even though he was running about 10 minutes behind, woohoo! Ok, I'll get right to the before and after pics...

My uppers all together:


The right:


The left:


The arch:


Can you feel the drama?! The process was mostly painless. He used some orange looking goo at one point which I thought I could somehow feel burning a little on the right one but it was over quickly. No freezing was needed. The annoying part was mostly the burr and the pressure when he was applying the bonding material. My laterals are still quite sensitive.

April, Dr G's tech, first picked out a size and colour for me. She had a range of models to choose from and held a few up for comparison. She commented on how naturally white my teeth are and said that I am not run of the mill. I'm not like other guys, what can I say. ;o) She picked out a "D2" if I remember correctly. Dr G had a look and gave his approval. Then for each tooth it went something like this: use the burr to rough up the surface, apply an acid for 15 seconds to create microscopic holes, apply a few rounds of bonding material and cure each layer with a plasma light. Then contour with the burr and a grinding wheel. At a few points I must have had at least 4 instruments in my mouth at once, suction, water, gauze, a plastic guard sheet which was digging into my gums, and I think he was using some sort of form factor but I'm not sure as couldn't see it. All this while they were talking about meatballs and getting up at 5am to work out! :)

So as you can see in the pics, my central incisors have an overjet, but Dr W is now going to push them back into place, or at least I hope he is! As planned, my right lateral also needs some adjustment. Dr G purposefully left a tiny bit of space there.

Running my tongue along the back side feels wavy on the left one and like a ball on the right one. The right one still feels like it's not really hanging on to much in the bone, but I didn't expect bonding to change that. Hopefully once the spaces are closed it will feel more solid.

Dr G said that the bonding can last a few or many years and that it was a good solution for now. Once my braces are off he suggested that placing porcelain veneers would be a more permanent solution. Obviously once I'm recovered from surgery I will re-evaluate my smile and see if I want to make any additional cosmetic improvements, not just to my laterals.

Cost was a lot lower than I was expecting. $539 and insurance is covering 80%, and I have the option to cover the last 20% with my health spending account. Sweet! I may save it for other things though, I can handle the $107 difference.

The changes are impressive but I'm actually still feeling like I'm getting used to it. It's funny to realize just how built-in to my self-image that right lateral was. It still feels weird in my mouth and I need to keep looking in the mirror to burn it into my head that it doesn't look like that anymore. I'm looking forward to Dr W's adjustments to it as I don't feel it's perfect yet. And I do want perfect. I must keep in mind that the real perfect can't happen until after surgery though.

More pics tomorrow after I get this blasted bypass wire off!