Cost: Approx. $2,500 (with cash discount)
Additional Add-ons: Acceledent
I originally had braces when I was younger (to fix the same area and problems), however my mom never got me a retainer and stopped my treatment early (why, I have no idea .... ) so basically the tooth moved back to it's original place. I decided, at 26, that I wanted to fix my teeth again (thanks to a 5 y.o. asking me why my teeth are crooked), and decided to commit to braces.
I looked into Invisiline, the Incognito, and ceramic braces. Due to cost, pain, convenience, and fast treatment, I settled with ceramics on top, and metal on bottom (when I smile, you can't even see my bottom teeth). After some online research of personal reviews, I bought an Acceledent unit second-hand, and have used that up until the last few months.
Where I am now: I am at approx. 9 months, and am anticipating getting them off around April (the 12 month mark).
Treatment progress: My progress has actually gone really well. I don't know if it's because of my teeth, Ortho., or the Acceldent, but I have used the Acceledent religiously (even doubling the time on some days), up until the last month. I've gotten so close to finishing and kept forgetting to use it so I just stopped. But I honestly think it really helped me speed up several phases of the treatment. For example, my Ortho. told me that it would take approx. 3 months to move my tooth forward (the one that is pushed back), and it actually moved forward and in the correct position in approx. 6 weeks. I know it still takes time for your teeth to solidify in that new space, so just because it looks straight doesn't mean it's ready, but that's pretty quick. The first few months seemed slow to me, the middle months things flew by, and now I'm waiting to finish the last leg of my treatment.
Cons: The hardest part of braces for me have been the damage to my lips and the insides of my cheeks. There were a few months were chewing was just painful because the wire would always cut my cheeks when they moved. The pain was actually not too bad, with the exception of my last fitting. She tightened both the top and bottom, and I just wanted to rip my teeth out (and I have a high pain tolerance). However, that was the worse I felt, and in 3 days it was fine. Another con was the stains. I love, love, LOVE coffee, but it really stains my ceramic braces and the clear bands. I have had to work in a pretty rigorous brushing and whitening routine to make sure my smile still looks nice. Nothing looks worse then YELLOW metal mouth.
I keep those travel brushes in my car for when I drink coffee on the go, always brush at home after coffee, and have a travel whitening stick ($6 at Walgreens) that I use after I drink coffee on the go. I also whiten at home often, and do a baking soda brush to help increase whiteness. Suprises: I've actually found the clear ceramic braces to be almost pleasant. They are hardly visible in photos, and are easily edited out. I also think I rock them pretty well
They are a bit thicker/bigger than the traditional metal ones, so they push your lips out a bit and gives me a cute pucker. Hey, gotta look at the pros right?I've been tracking my progress with pictures, which has been pretty fun. I'm trying to find fun ways to get through these last few months, and keep imagining how great my smile will look!!! Good luck to all y'all with braces, and if you have any questions - feel free!
Also, I'm looking at selling my Acceledent once I'm finished with it. If anyone is interest, let me know!
