So I have read a lot of these forums over the past couple of months and it has been about a year that I have seriously wanted braces. Come today, I finally had them put on, so here I am preparing this thread wearing my Damon braces with the social six being clear brackets (Well not all six are clear as you will find out).
First, my ugly popcorn teeth before braces ...
Me smiling wide
Top row (After 2x second premolar extraction in preparation for braces)
Bottom row (After 2x second premolar extraction in preparation for braces)
Showing off as much teeth as I can
So you can take the time to guess what my issues are for fun, otherwise, here are what my ortho has listed as my issues.
- Moderate dental openbite
- Protrusion of upper front teeth
- Significant crowding in both arches
- Several rotated teeth
- Crossbite of the teeth
- Narrow upper and lower arches
My treatment will consist of extraction of 4 premolar teeth (done), full upper and lower braces (now on), elastic wear as required and I will be reassessed in 8 or so months for possible miniscrew insertion to intrude the molars.
Estimated time: 18-24 months with the potential for minimal overbite after braces. I must also have my wisdom teeth re-evaluated after treatment (I admit I am a bit scared if these affect my alignment post treatment)
The whole process of getting braces went like this
- Call up and ask for a consultation, first I had my xrays booked, went in and got this done (took 5 minutes)
- A few weeks later I had my actual consultation with my orthodontist, I had photos taken of my face/head/teeth and had all my issues spoken about and possible treatment options. Jaw surgery was mentioned but I really did not want this option. My xray images had measurements drawn all over them and I did not have imprints or moulds of my teeth done like I have seen mentioned here.
- After my consultation and I accepted the treatment plan I booked in with my dentist and had 4 premolars extracted across two appointments
- A few weeks after that was today, brace day. Relatively easy process, just keep your mouth open for 1 hour as your teeth get polished, cleaned and brackets put on.
So here are pics of day 1 with my braces
Big smile
Showing as much of my teeth
There are a number of things to note. First, none of my rear molars are wired yet, I am only wired up to the extraction site, this is because my overcrowding is so severe my ortho has opted to concentrate on opening up room at the front first before closing the extraction gap.
You might also notice the springs on the lower wire. This is because of my severe overcrowding so my ortho will use these spring to spread two pairs of teeth out and then take the springs out and attach the wire to the teeth behind the spring you see in the picture above.
The final thing you will notice is that 2 of my social six teeth don't have clear brackets on them. This is because there is to little room to adequately place the clear brackets on them, so right now they have these small metal brackets to better align these teeth. These brackets will only be in place till my first or second visit in which case my ortho will remove them and replace them with clear brackets.
Its been almost seven hours with braces on and I have had little to no pain, just the usual discomfort of having a metal mouth for the first time, I came home and had chicken schnitzel for dinner, yum!
If you have any questions feel free to ask. I will update this as time goes on and will of course add more photos in the coming months.
Thanks
So the open bite of mine is now starting to be treated (was planned to treat this later on), I have to wear two elastics that go from my top arch to bottom arch for 12 hours a day, not a problem for me and I guess the earlier I start with elastics, the better?
