Dynaflex Sag-2000 expander, gold upper and lower braces

[nirrad78]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Darrin, I'll be 30 in March, 2008. I have never been happy with my teeth and I have always "secretly" wanted braces. I have always been ashamed of my smile and hid my teeth everytime. I figured it wasn't worth that time or money for a perfect smile. Then the TMJ problems started.

It was mid June and I developed what I call my "tired" jaw. It was if I had been talking all day and my jaw was tired at the end of it. It was never in the mornings, but always in the evenings. It progressed until my temples hurt everday, I had intense pressure in my ears, and I had severe headaches. I would have to come home from work and go to bed most times, just to get rid of them. I finally went to my Medical Doctor, he first touched on a problem with my TMJ problems and prescribed a steroid. Well that was the wrong thing to do because within a week I could only open my jaw about a 1/2 inch. Somehow it had just made it worse. I had to heat my jaws on a off for about a week before I could open it fully again. I then turned to my dentist who referred me to my orthodontist.

BITE PLATE:

She made me a bite plate that I wore 24/7, It was a removable acrylic device that I wore all the time except when I ate. Within 48 hours I felt HEALED. I didn't have the pain anymore. To make a long story short: with further treatment from the ortho she advised, that the only way to fix the problem was braces....... Its a rather long story, so I'll just get to the pics.

Pre-Braces.



SPACERS:



Oh, I almost forgot. I'm wearing an expander.... It's a _______, *well fill in the blank*. It took some getting used to. This is a non-surgical palate expander for an adult. I haven't found anyone that actually wears this device on this site, but I have seen plenty of before and after pictures from my ortho and you can see them on this PDF http://www.dynaflex.com/pdf/Series2000-2008.pdf

I can't tell you the technical terms, but it's supposed to expand the bone by creating a slow and constant pressure on the bone. See there are no screws to turn. There are 4 titanium springs that slowly expand and unscrew the screws, thereby slowly opening the expander and keeping it there. It stretches the bone and new bone "weaves" (fills) in the gaps. (yes very technical).

here is a pic of the expander.



My next post will be a progress report. I've actually been in the braces/expander for three weeks already, but this post is long enough as it is.

[nirrad78]

It has been 3 weeks since the expander went in. I can eat again!!!!!!! my first meal was a big mac with no pickles or lettuce. It was the best thing I think I ever tasted.

It has been hard getting used to it, but I AM getting used to it. I had 3 days of intense pain over Christmas.... I still don't really know why. My ortho said she thought my teeth were moving too quick and had become hyper-sensitive. She gave me somthing called Gel-Kam, which is a flouride gel and soon the pain went away. I have been fine since.

well here is a pic the day the braces went on and my "normal" bite:



see how my top front teeth tuck behind my bottom teeth.

Here is me holding my mouth open.... in this pic my teeth are not touching, I am just holding them there.



and this is today..... about 3 weeks later. Can you see the results..... I can.



If you look closely, you can just see a small gap forming at my two front teeth.... look close. My expander is working!!!!!!


I will try to continue to keep this updated. My mind changes so much from day to day... I want to write this down so I remember why I did this.

[pearls]

the gold ligs look cool!

your big macs have pickles!?!?!? in australia they don't have pickles, just lettuce, cheese and a sauce which is similar to tartare so it probably has pickles in the sauce!..... interesting.

good luck with your treatment! expander seems to be working well

pearls

[KateinCO]

That is absolutely amazing progress!! Also, I really like the gold brackets ... I think the silver ones I have make my teeth look really yellow. The gold highlights how nice and white your teeth are.

That expander is an amazing device. It looks a little scary, but it is obviously working!!! I wish my teeth would move as quickly as yours. Good luck!!
Kate

[Andantae]

I know you did this to address your TMJ issues, but the icing on the cake is that it's obvious from your nice teeth that you are going to end up with one fantastic smile to boot!

[nirrad78]

Pearls, yep our big macs have pickles. I usually like them on there but they were alittle hard to bite when I had the spacers, so I didn't even want to try it with the expander.

Katien. The gold really works for me. I have brown/blondish hair and I think they compliment me really well.

Andantae. Ultimately, I want my jaw fixed and to never experience that pain again. But yes, having straight teeth is going to be wonderful.... I already have a bigger smile and it's braced so I can't wait to see it when the braces are off.


I've been having a really good couple of days. I'm eating well and I think I've finally got a good routine at cleaning this thing. I can see progress everyday.

For example. Today when I woke up my back molars were touching. 3 weeks ago, they didn't even come close.

Another reason I am really excited to get through this process is the palate expander. I have seen many before and after pictures of adults with my expander that have palate expansion, (skeletal) not just movement of the teeth. I see lots of comments from people saying that palate expansion without surgical assistance is not possible. But I have seen the results first hand and been assured by my ortho that this is possible. I can see some results after only 3 weeks, but before I swear by it, I want to show a picture of my upper palate before and after the expander to show MY palate results.

[nirrad78]

I had my first adjustment yesterday. My ortho sat down, looked at my mouth and said "man, your teeth move fast". I think she was alittle suprised at my progress as well. As for the first adjustment.... OUCH. I won't lie, it hurt. She made the bottom ligs figure eights, she said this would help those teeth rotate some. The pain only lasted last night. I'm fine today.

[nirrad78]

I had my second adjustment today. Things have been going pretty well and the ortho was impressed with the results. I did not get a new wire, just a re-tie. She did say that my expander will probably come off, not next ajustment but the one after. So about 6-8 weeks. Here is a pic of the expander after 2 months.

[Kara]

Dang!!!!!!! How long have you had your braces on again??? Your teeth DO move fast! That's awesome! My ortho said my teeth moved fast too. I'm hoping they move BACK fast too now. I just posted new pics from my recent appointment! Seeing the picture of your spacers in the beginning makes me want to cry. God I hate them things. That's got to be the WORST part of it all. I think I had to get them a total of four times! They would fall out because of how quickly my teeth move and then I'd have to get them again because they moved back before I could get in to get my bands. It sucked.

That expander is just unreal. I can completely see the difference between each set of pictures. That's amazing! I really like the gold ligs too. I dont have ligs so I like to see the different colors that everyone gets.

I look forward to following your story. Amazing progress! Man... a big mac sounds sooooo good right now... with extra mac sauce too. Yum! That may have to be my first splurge when I feel that I can chew again!

Good luck with the braces!
Kara