My Damond Braces Story

[Dub100za]

Hi everyone!

I'm a male in my mid forty's. I finally decided to bite the bullet and proceed with the ortho's recommended plan. First, just a bit of background...

As a child I remember my mom taking me to the ortho who suggested jaw surgery due to a slight underbite. My mom never went through with it which resulted in me never getting braces and growing up with overcrowded & crooked teeth. I've always been self conscious about my smile. In my 20's and 30's I never even considered the option of adult braces. A couple of years ago I went to an oral hygienist following a dentist appointment who advised me to go to an ortho as I had healthy teeth, but needed to straighten it. I advised that I was to old to consider it and she stated that she had patients well in their sixties etc with braces. Since then I however I was more aware of my teeth and also felt that my teeth were getting more crooked with every year.

Fast forward a couple of years I finally got down to making an Ortho appointment. First Ortho offered lingual braces & orthogantic surgery to correct the slight underbite with estimated 14 month treatment time. Went for a second opinion and ortho disagreed with first opinion advised that my chin/jaw aligment was normal, but that there was lower lip tension. Suggested extracting two bottom premolars to correct overcrowding and create space to move lower teeth back. Damon braces offered with Damon clear for front upper 6 teeth. Estimated sentence time 12 to 18 months depending on how wast my teeth move. Given the two above options and experience/reputation of second Ortho I decided to go with second option.

My journey starts today with the removal of the two bottom pre-molars following the fitting of the braces two weeks from now. Fairly apprehensive about a) the tooth extraction and b) wearing braces as a working and socializing adult , but realize that it is something I just have to do and that I would (hopefully) reap the benefits on many levels in future. Reading all the many stories on this forum helps a lot.

Will keep you updated with progress.

[atrixa]

How did it go? Are the braces on now?

[Dub100za]

Hi sorry for the delayed update. Hope to be a bit more diligent with my updates going forward. Also apologies for the typo in the subject line. Not sure why there is a "d" at the end of Damon... in the subject line Tried to correct, but seem unable to edit my posts so just have to live with it I guess...

Anyway, back to the teeth...so yes I went for my extractions of bottom two pre-molars which was not exactly the most pleasant experience I've ever had to say the least. I was in the chair for a long long time...not sure how long it was but well over an hour. The ortho first applied a local anesthetic to the area. He then took various pictures of my teeth. Then he proceeded to remove the right bottom pre-molar first. Urrrgghh first time I had teeth removed since my baby teeth so although I could not feel anything the cracking sound in my skull was not very pleasant. It took quite a while for him to remove it wiggling it to the left and right continuously until finally it came off. Then he proceeded to the left one wiggling it and again wiggling it for a looong time. Poor little fellas did such a sterling job over the past 40 years, were still very healthy and were not planning on going anywhere. Ortho even apologised at one stage saying that these guys are sure sitting tight. Then the tooth broke he had to get in there with special equipment in order to remove the tooth. Finally he managed to get everything out and I was out of there minus two teeth and a prescription for painkillers and some kind of oral mouth wash that I wash just supposed to gently wash in my mouth after brushing. Boy did I need those painkillers!! Day 1 to 3 wasn't that bad, but from day 4 to say 10 was really the pits. Had trouble sleeping at night and just kept drinking painkillers which I never use normally.

Atrixa, thanks for asking and the answer is yes. Finally two weeks came and went and I had my next appointment with the ortho to put on the Damon braces. Compared to the extractions this was a breeze. Metal ones apart from 6 top front ones, except...there was an issue here as well. My top left lateral incisor is so skew due to overcrowding that when the ortho put on the clear bracket it broke when he put the wire in. He removed it and replaced to with a metal one as it is stronger. However, the metal one broke as well He then said he was going to try one more time and put in another metal bracket and low and behold this time it worked...

So I've actually got 5 top clear ones and the ortho said he'd replace the metal one with a clear one once the tooth has straightened a bit.

I have been braced on the 27th January, thus for three weeks now. I'm taking photos every Friday to compare in order to see if my teeth have moved. I have felt my bite change, but so far I have not seen any evidence of teeth moving Guess I'll just have to be verrrryyy patient....

I did not tell a lot of people that I was going to get braces and so far not a lot of people have noticed. My colleagues at work have not mentioned anything and I do not think they have noticed. This is what concerned me most prior to deciding on getting braces and so far it has not been as bad as I thought. Once the teeth straighten out a bit and I get my clear bracket I suspect it would be even less noticeable.

My teeth are a bit sensitive, no pain just pressure. I have not taken any painkillers since being braced. I used wax in the beginning for the wire poking at the back of my mouth, but haven't used wax for days now. The worst part for me is the eating as the amount of stuff that get stuck in these braces are amazing. As soon as I start eating I almost want to go brushing and use the water flosser. Thank you for water flossers!! My teeth hygiene has gone up a massive notch since being braced. I love to eat, can still eat just about anything, but feels like a massive chore each time. Eating out is a bit daunting and so is snacking. Hopefully I'll see the benefits on the scale, can do with a few pounds lighter. There must be some benefit to braces as so far it's not teeth movement!

My next appointment with the Ortho is due mid March and although I would've hoped to have seen some tooth movement already I really hope to see some teeth movement by then...

Sorry for the long update, but a lot happened and hope to be a bit shorter in future.

[atrixa]

I'm glad that your brace isn't hurting you, especially with all the pain from the extractions!

I'm with you on the food. I just had my first meal after my bonding appointment and my sandwich got to places I didn't know existed

[Jeska0113]

@Atrixa i hate eating sandwich bread !!it does get stuck and then i take forever to fish out the stucked (yes i just said stucked lol) pieces . as for dub100, 12 -18 months only ? Wow it'll go by in a breeze !

[Dub100za]

@atrixa Thank you, not sure whether it is actually a good or a bad thing that it is not hurting much. Kinda feel there must be more pain involved for the teeth to move. Haha, glad I'm not the only one finding food in my mouth after I've eaten - yuck! Still struggling with it and just want to brush directly after. Cannot wait for other people to finish their food so that I can excuse myself and go and brush and floss. Nor very sociable I know, but struggle to focus on a conversation when I've got food stuck in my mouth. My ortho said after a couple of months I'll carry on as normal and it would not bother me, not too sure however. I noticed that you are just into your braces journey as well, glad to see someone else going through the same issues, good luck with that.

@Jeska0113 sincerely hope it will go by in a breeze and that the timeline is correct. Currently I'm wondering due to the lack of movement! My bite is constantly changing so something must be happening although the visual evidence is not there at the moment or I just do not have an eye for detail.

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[Dub100za]

Hi All

So just wanted to give a quick update on progress so far. Not much to report unfortunately. I went for my first appointment with the Ortho 6 weeks after being braced on the 14th March. Was a bit disappointed as I did not get any new wires. The ortho did attach two (weakish) power chains to start closing the gap where my extractions are. That's it though, next appointment in 6 weeks (4 weeks from now).

It's been exactly 2 months since being braced. Teeth are sensitive and can feel my bite changing constantly. Still struggling to SEE major differences though, somethimes I think I'm seeing changes other times I think I'm fooling myself. Would've hoped to see more visible changes by know, but suppose I will just have to be more patient.

[BlondeCam]

Hang in there, the weekly pics will help! Bread is the worst and I also obsess with brushing and the waterpik as soon as I eat. Continued luck

[Dub100za]

Hi All, just a quick further update.

Went for my second ortho appointment post fitting on 21st April . Had to see another ortho as my ortho is booked off for 6 weeks due to a medical opp. Nothing much to report, still no new wires (was quite disappointed at that) apart from new, stronger power chains.

Apart from the lack of new equipment, the good news is my teeth have actually started to move probably from around week 10. Top teeth moved a lot to such an extend that it is probably around 80% aligned now. Looks a lot straighter than it has been so good progress. Movement of bottom teeth was almost non existent until about 3 days ago, but suddenly the rotated bottom left canine has finally started to turn slowly with a small gap opening up. The bottom right has still not shown any movement.

The extraction gaps and awkward bite are still there though. Expect the extraction gaps to be partly closed by rotating the bottom canines, but then hopefully the power chains will start to do its work to further close the gap & improve the bite which is my main concern at the moment.

So to summarize, slow consistent progress despite lack of wire changes. Extraction gaps need to start closing.

Next appointment at end of May, expecting (hopefully) new wires & power chains.