Higgy's Story--Awesome Appt--February 12, 2008

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#1 Post by **Higgy** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 10:14 am

So, here's my story

I'm 25 years old, and up until age 24, I had never had ANY dental care, nor did I understand dental hygeine. It finally occured to me that I wasn't happy with my smile, so I decided to do something about it....the treatment began. In January of 2006, I had 2 root canals done, in February 2006, I had an apicoctomy done and a 3rd root canal. Beyond that, I've had the normal (at least I think normal) cavity fillings and such. When my dentist and I sat down with my treatment plan, orthodontics were at the end of that plan, a goal neither of us was sure we would get to. But here we are. I finished all dental work in July, and had a cleaning. In August I moved across country to start graduate school. I've done consults with several orthodontists here and have found one that I really like....and one who's treatment seems appropriate. No extractions necessary, no spacers, and best of all, no expanders (which was something another orthodontist had recommended). My bite if off, which leads to TMJ pain, which is a focus of the treatment. I have a bottom front tooth that is 70 degrees off, as well as a canine tooth that is 180 degrees backwards. I've had my records done other than the molds, and on September 20, the upper and lower braces will go on....estimated treatment time of 24-36 months. But...this is my smile...and it's one I want to keep for life, so it's worth it!

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#2 Post by **Higgy** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 7:02 pm

This site has been incredible to read over the past few weeks, as I prepare for braces. I have read a lot of stories of people who have overcome a lot in order to have health and attractive teeth. I'm not quite sure how to put in a picture, or I'd show you what they look like now. But thanks everyone for the support and the inspiration!

#3 Post by **Higgy** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 11:34 pm

Ok, so here's my attempt at posting pictures after having read the other board again....seems to easy....so we'll see..

This is my smiling face...I love to smile!

A lame attempt at showing both uppers and lowers in one picture!

Here you can see the bottom teeth which are too crowded.

Here's one of the upper and lowers showing the midline being off, which is something I had never noticed till I read a post here about them!

A downward view of the bottoms.

A upward view of the top arch, showing the gap.

This is way cool, was easier than I thought....hope that shows you all what my progress started out as...and hopefully in a short time I'll look back and think wow, what a change!

#4 Post by **Higgy** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:24 am

Well, it's BDay.....along with so much else, have been nominated for student government, so will have to give a speech this morning, thank goodness that's before the braces go on! But then I do leave straight from there to get to the orthodontist. My appointment is for 1pm and they said to plan for about 2 hours for the molds and brackets. Wish me luck!

#5 Post by **kisses14** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:08 am

Good Luck!!! Let us know how it goes!!!

#6 Post by **Higgy** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 4:36 pm

So....I'm home, and it's been quite the ordeal....things are uncomfortable, but not painful...at least not yet, they said that tomorrow I would be sore probably. I have speed brackets top and bottom, with a spring on the bottom to help make some room. They can't bracket my lower left front tooth yet, since there isn't enough room. I attempted to eat, but alas, it's not happening....thought not because of pain.....they put this stuff on my back molars, to make it so that I can't bite down on a bracket....well.....I can't chew anything becuase the rest of my teeth, don't touch....I'm hoping I can get that figured out, as I couldn't chew even the softest of things tonight. Will try to get a picture or two for you a bit later.

#7 Post by **Jillianleab** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 10:00 pm

Congrats on getting braced! Glad to hear you aren't having a lot of pain, but it does sound frusterating that you can't bite down...

Looking forward to seeing the pics!

#8 Post by **Higgy** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 10:28 pm

Sorry, the pics aren't the best, I haven't quite figured out how to get the right angle....and I couldn't figure out how to get a good pic of the molar things.....they're driving me up the wall....can't close my mouth properly...can't chew....yuck. What you can see in this pic is the spring they put in for the bottom tooth.

Here's just a view of the tops and bottoms....the canine in this pic was extracted and replanted today...but thankfully has had very little pain associated with it.

#9 Post by **Higgy** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 11:28 pm

Hygeine.....difficult.....

I've learned two things tonight....first, what you want to stay in your mouth...ie...saliva...doesn't.....and what you don't want in your mouth, like toothpaste foam, is impossible to get rid of.....the floos threading is really difficult, and I have a bracket that is simply too tight to allow it through, the rest was uneventful, except for one tooth that really yelled out when I flossed around it...the bottoms are more tender that the tops, probably becuase of the spring.

#10 Post by **Higgy** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 5:06 pm

So....good news.....I went ahead and called the on-call number for the orthodontist, and asked about these molar things....and was told that they shouldn't be making chewing impossible...and they shouldn't be making the teeth above them hurt....so they're taking those out tonight....he's gonna meet me in an hour, but we'll have to make sure that I don't bite on the brackets either....will let ya know how it goes.

#11 Post by **Blonde_Metal04** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 5:58 pm

Hi Higgy, just catching myself up with you..
Congrats on starting your journey, you will be tender for a while but make sure to take KK's advice...
It's good that your getting the eating thing fixed because bite turbos are not fun. I was initially biting on a couple of brackets, but my ortho sanded them down so they weren't in my way...
Make sure to let us know how it goes!
Take good care

#12 Post by **Higgy** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 7:28 pm

Bite turbos....so that's what those are called! Well, I went in and did the traditional "open" "close" "ah".....that's all it took for him to see the problem, I have a cross-bite and the bite turbo was really whacking it out! So...they're gone! Adios! I can now touch my teeth...which hurts, but hey, its improvement! So now as I type, I munch on spaghetti-o's

#13 Post by **Higgy** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:00 pm

Thanks, it's amazing what the difference is! Things don't feel normal, but by no means are they as rough as they were! So in two days, I've had the bracket fall off twice in the office....and had bite turbos put in....and then taken out.....I think I've had my share of experience until my adjustment....which isn't until November!

#14 Post by **Higgy** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 4:14 pm

Is there ANYTHING that won't get stuck in these things? LOL, what an annoyance!

#15 Post by **Higgy** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 3:50 am

Yeah...still early that's for sure! I'm not to the point yet of chewing much at all....things are sensitive yet....the molars bump the brackets so I feel it every time I close my mouth, but the front teeth are very sensitive to pressure just yet....but have happily found many things now that I can eat pain/discomfort free....spaghetti o's are great if I'm in the mood to do a lot of clean up later, lol....but ramen noodles are wonderful.