DesertCat's Story

[DesertCat]

I guess since this is the first post, should give some info of where things will be starting from!

Main starting issue:

Wayward/misplaced top left canine.

AKA off in the wrong *time zone*. Literally. See, Mr. Vampire Fang is, *cough*, between/in front of my bicuspids/premolars.

Everything else is, more or less, a bonus. Next biggest thing is probably moving my right side wisdoms forward. And then other than that is more 'normal' things, like lateral incisors (both upper and lower) being behind the centrals/canines; rotated (outward) lower canines; rotated (inward!) lower 1st bicuspids; lower 2nd bicuspid in crossbite (the one under the wayward fang). Hopefully also decrease my deep-ish bite.


Info I remember from initial consult (in December of 2009):

- Midline is 1.5mm off: 0.75mm to the left on top, and 0.75mm to the right on bottom.
- Top right 2nd bicuspid will be straightened 'back' side forward (figured).
- Oh, and 'mild-moderate' crowding on top, 'moderate-severe' on bottom.
- Class I bite (at least when I bite down, although have to pull my jaw back to do that--but when I do my molars meet properly lol) and supposedly will need/get elastics to keep this.


Now for the 'so far' journey/history:

Should have actually had braces when I was ~11-12 years old or so, but for various reasons didn't. Although since 'not then', not only did not go back to the orthodontist, but I wasn't even taken back to the dentist after that! Why, no clue, other than that my mom hates going to the dentist. Ugg.

Fast forward ~17 years.... More or less been saving up for braces (and other dental work) for a long time, as I knew I'd eventually need them due to the misplaced canine. And decided job or no job (presently unemployed!) that would get all the dental stuff done/started last Dec (2009)--which includes braces! And, well, did!

And guess what? Same ortho! Actually, that's kind of weird... But on the plus side before my canine was movable...and looks like it should *still* be movable! And he's had a fair number of years more experience, which I guess is also good.


But, anyway, to where I am now: Almost all of the dental stuff has been done since around April or so. Do have to get a (very recently) chipped incisor fixed once that tooth is straightened. ...and a root canal/crown on the 1st bicuspid that's by the misplaced canine...and that can't be x-rayed until the canine is relocated and not in the way.


Brace day is Friday, June 23rd 2010, at 8:40 am. Sentence is expected to be 24-30 months.

I'll post some 'before' pictures Thursday, probably.

[DesertCat]

And...not Thursday quite yet (or it isn't in my time zone, anyway!), but might as well post these now instead of stressing over it tomorrow!

First, just 'normal' (no smile, smiling no teeth, and sorta smiling):


'Bite' and relaxed/normal:


Upper and lower arches:



I would also put up 'side' pictures (to better show the gap where the canine was), but can't seem to get the left one decent looking due to Mr. Fangy...

The two right side 2nd molars were extracted in mid-February. Since then, the upper one has moved a TON. The lower one has also moved some (not near as much as the upper, though) and is no longer gum covered. And the 'baby' canine tooth was removed in early March, as he was in too bad a shape to remain as a placeholder.

But as can see, Mr. Wonky Fang makes anything resembling a smile (or not!) lopsided! And why I posted those first few. Hopefully that'll get a bit more 'even', as being told I have that 'mysterious Mona Lisa smile' isn't exactly my favourite description! And gets a bit old.


And...less than 36 hours to go now... Getting a bit nervous! Or excited. Not sure...

[mlholl19]

Your teeth don't look nearly as bad as you described them! Good luck tomorrow, I know it's nerve wrecking. I couldn't sleep the night before I got my braces on. I got the tops on first (thank goodness) and the bottoms on during my first adjustment. Make sure you have some soft foods handy like applesauce, pudding, soup, yogurt, oatmeal, and such because you won't be able to chew. I also found pancakes to work pretty well too. Sometimes you have to go back to those trusty old favorites after adjustments too. Also I'd recommend keeping some advil or some pain reliever on hand, not trying to scare you but you should just be prepared because your teeth will get sore within a few hours after getting them on. Time will fly before you know it and you'll get used to them, then you'll be so happy that you got braces you'll wonder why you waited so long. Good luck on your big day!

[shinyRiver]

I had trouble finding Mr. Fangy at first! I was like does this person have an impacted canine? Whoa! Nope! There he is!

Did you have a baby canine there (where your Mr. Fangy should be) at one point? That is so strange that there is the perfect space for him there, yet he decided to take a vacation in an entirely different time zone... ? Silly tooth!

I think as long as all is well with your gums in that space, your ortho should be able to pull that bad boy forward and down with a couple of strategically placed wires and powerchains! I wish Mr. Fangy a speedy journey!

I hope all is going well with your new braces!

[DesertCat]

mlholl19 -- Most of what's 'off' probably isn't huge in and of itself, but it adds up! And, nope, definitely can NOT chew, although more thanks to the things on the back of my front teeth than pain! Although those are starting to ache. But does mean I might very well be stuck with soft foods for...a few months, or whenever my deep bite gets a bit better! So far all I've eaten are some waffles! The worst so far was flossing last night. Tonight I think I'll take some Advil first!


shinyRiver -- Nope, not impacted, just took a wrong turn. My lip pops over him for arch pics, and he's now more or less 'hiding' my 2nd bicuspid from view, so he kinda blends in with the rest. And, yep, had a baby canine there! He was extracted in early March, as he was in too bad a shape to remain as a placeholder. This was in mid-Dec around my initial consult and before all the dental work, and so also before the 1st bicuspid had his corner essentially removed:


Mr. Fangy has been trying to move lately (last year or so), and can kinda see how the baby canine had turned as a result. And no idea how well my gums are in there, beyond better than in December, as prior to some of the extractions (and the filling on the 1st bicuspid in late Jan(?)) I just plain couldn't floss as no room and that put me off from flossing back past my canines pretty much... Having enough bone in that area might be the bigger issue. But he wants to move, as I think one can see comparing the above pics to the 'immediately before braces' pics. And prior to Dec he was even higher/back a bit further.

Oh, and the 1st bicuspid in 'front' of Mr. Fangy also has a name: Mr. NARC...aka Mr. Needs-A-Root-Canal! And, yep, that area will be getting some extras, hopefully in about a week and a half. Didn't get 'em yesterday as my ortho had his time tied up with putting bends in my lower arch wire!

[DesertCat]

Got braces on yesterday, or, well, mostly! The wires don't span all my teeth yet. On the top, it's just left lateral incisor to right 1st molar, and the lower one just goes from 2nd bicuspid to 2nd bicuspid due to all the bends put in it!


Front:

Oh, and that's as far as I can bite down, due to the 'bite ramp' things! The bottom of my top incisors are level with the tops of the lowers, although it looks like they're not in that pic.

Upper and lower arches:



And best up close-ish pics I've managed to take of the lower wire and the bends (6 total) in it:

The left side (blurry pic) also has a slight bend in the wire between the canine and 1st bicuspid, and the 'bend' between the bicuspids is in an 'L' shape on that side instead of more or less straight down and back up.


August 4th I go back for (at least) a couple of lingual brackets and bit of wire that were planned to be put on yesterday...as ended up not having time after that lower wire was done up (after that, were at 140-150 minutes out of a planned 90-100!). Hopefully Mr. Fangy will also be connected then.

[shinyRiver]

D: You poor thing!!! I have never seen such craziness! You must be so sore- but I promise it gets easier. I remember my first adjustment of my lowers, (during which I actually heard my lower premolar root move- gross!) it was awful. I hated it. It was just rough. But it gets so much easier.

My lip hid only part of my high canine when I smiled. I remember when it was first coming in, I was about 15, and I was at a friends house and I laughed at something funny. And he actually yelped when he saw it. He was like oh my god, what is that?! And I was like -it's a tooth. A very misplaced tooth. And he was very alarmed and we were all embarrassed. It was awful. But now it's awesome, because that will never happen again. Because my canine is huge (and white- from being half-exposed in my gumline for six years) and exactly where it is supposed to be. It makes those first 3 painful months totally worth it...

[DesertCat]

shinyRiver -- Yeah, some areas are quite sore--mainly my mouth/lips. And most of my teeth feel kinda...that 'numb' feeling from pressure put on them mostly. Which is more weird than painful. Although need to take Advil to floss, as some of the tighter areas really hurt when floss is shoved between there (and a couple of places floss just won't go right now at ALL)! But only 'hurt' then, unless my incisors hit more than just a tap, and then, oh, wow, ouch!

The worst is probably the 'bend' in the wire that's between my right central and lateral incisors. Really nasty sore on my lip from that. Tad better than it was, but still stings pretty bad half the day, even with the wax blob. Makes talking hard from not really able to move my lower lip between the sore and the wax blob--sounds like I'm mumbling apparently. Ugg.

For me, most people that spotted my misplaced canine in high school actually thought he was neat! But thanks to comments when younger about my rabbit-like central incisors I just frankly completely stopped smiling or laughing at ALL as I was teased and bullied for enough other things, and not like I've ever had friends to do stuff with! But does mean possibly very few people even noticed it at all as my teeth just don't get shown very often...but those who did weren't freaked out by it, or if they were didn't show it!

[jenniebaby]

Hi Desert Cat
I have never seen the bite ramp thing before. Although I had heard of it. Very interesting , thought I would just drop you a quick note and thank you for posting a pic. It really amazes me how many different treatment possibilities are out there.
Take care and good luck with your new braces.
Jenn

[jensceana73]

Hi ,

Wowzees....I'm speechless on your contraption ....don't really know what to say other than, glad your here to show all of us what we COULD be going through.
I'm gonna shut the hell up the next time I want to complain about how my brackets are to close and look like one. Hope it isn't too much of a pain for you. Can't wait to read more on your progress!!!!!

[DesertCat]

Jenn -- Yeah, I've not seen things quite like what I have in other's pictures as of yet! Bite turbos I think are similar, but they're metal I think? And more like vertical rectangular boxes, rather than triangles of...whatever.

And thank you! Hopefully everything will go well! The main thing will be relocating Mr. Fangy without too many (or too serious) issues. Or too much protest from his 'friend' behind/in front of him!


Ken -- Yep, it's got a lot of bends in it! It's definitely doing something, at least; or, well, at least to my left central incisor, and possibly also the canine on that side as I'm not sure it's *quite* as rotated, but it's slight!

And, yes, on being amazing how many different ways to do things! The main reason for the bendy wire I take it is my nickel allergy--so no nickel-titanium wires for me, which I think are a bit more flexible than the stainless steel. And, my teeth are apparently just enough out of line that can't 'skip' teeth and put those rubber tubes I've seen others get!


jensceana73 -- The lower wire isn't too much of a pain. Finally put a much larger glob of wax on the one bend that's bothersome Wed? Thurs? (between right central and lateral incisors--or the furthest to the right bend in the 'clear' close up pic) and got the sore there to *finally* mostly heal up! At the moment, the most bothersome things are the hooks on the upper 1st molar brackets!

And, yes, some of my brackets are quite close! Honestly wasn't sure if both the lower left canine and 1st bicuspid (whose fronts were at about a 90 degree angle!) would get brackets initially--the bicuspid's bracket is about 40-45 degrees off from the 'front' front of the tooth, but it's on there!

And as for the 'contraption'...I'll be getting some fun new things in a few days! Wed I should be getting at least 2 (*maybe* three) lingual brackets/bit of wire in that area. Not sure if Mr. Fangy will be hooked up then (coil spring and chain), or when my right side wisdoms will get their chains. And those will probably be more painful/bothersome than that lower wire--or I expect them to be, anyway!

[DesertCat]

Today got the couple of brackets and wire on the lingual side. They’re there to bring Mr. NARC ‘back’ further so Mr. Fangy will have room to move.





Oh, and in addition to the ‘new’ stuff, can see the bite ramps from the side, and that poor chipped and leaning lateral incisor a bit better, too...

No idea what kind or size wire that is beyond that it's square or rectangular rather than round, but I didn't hear what 'size' it was. Beyond clearly thicker than the .014 stainless steel that the other wires are, though! Know what brackets got used, but that's not that interesting.

Am a tad worried about the wire. Not sure, but I heard him say 'tini' which, er, TiNi? Or is there something similar and I misheard? If not, anyone know how much nickel is in a TiNi wire? If it's just another way of saying NiTi, are all NiTi wires a 50:50 (or so) combo? If so, that could be...ouch. I guess it's cover that thing thoroughly with wax if I react (or start to react)? And go by ortho Tues (closed Mon, and I likely won't react until late night Fri/early Sat), or no?


And now to wait to see if being prodded wakes Mr. NARC up. So far he’s just ‘tender’ when touched. Or, well, 'extra tender' like my lower right 2nd bicuspid was (which *had* a root canal done on it, whereas Mr. NARC *needs* one).

[shinyRiver]

Wow, you've had quite a month- and it's not even over yet! TiNi is just a different kind of alloy. It's got more flexibility than stainless steel in that it continues to deliver force on teeth between adjustments while steel can bend or give more easily in response to the pressure of bands pulling the wire toward the teeth. If you recall from my braces story, Mr. Wonky bent a 16/22 NiTi in his crookedest days. Maybe TiNi is stronger. ? http://books.google.com/books?id=5J0LFb ... cs&f=false

[DesertCat]

Oh, yes, not even a month yet! Almost 4 weeks for the bulk, and 2 weeks today for that bit of lingual wire. And I still have several teeth that aren't included and don't have any of the 'extras' beyond the bit of lingual wire!

Other than having to put wax on two areas continuously, the only major issue (not counting that I can't talk clearly...) is due to the lingual section. I've learned that it's a no-no to use my tongue to de-food any of the brackets on that side...unless I want all the tissue over there to swell/inflame, pushing up against one of my lower brackets! Ouch. At least my tongue doesn't react the same to it--it's just reddish and tingles where it touches the wire.

That I'm aware, TiNi = NiTi, ie, it's just a different way of saying 'an alloy with primarily titanium and nickel'. Although by that link, supposedly the force generated can be altered by either varying nickel content and/or different annealing temp, so possibly more or less titanium might be better at either returning to it's previous shape, or might 'work' longer or something. And, yep, I'm sure it's properties (particularly the flexibility/elasticity part) are why I ended up with it!

[DesertCat]

Well, 4 weeks in as of today! And thought would post some update pictures.

Oh, and 2 weeks, 2 days for the bit of lingual wire.

Front:


Upper and lower: