Victor36: Officially Naked As Of 1 July 2008!

If you have finished with your orthodontic treatment and are wearing retainers (or will be soon), this is a special place to connect with others in your (enviable) situation. Ask a question or make a comment about life post-braces.

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victor36
Posts: 283
Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:40 am
Location: "The" Valley, CA
Contact:

#16 Post by victor36 »

From what I recall, the assistant said that the trays are too shallow. Didn't make sense to me since they completely cover all the tooth surfaces.
B-day: 02/06/07
Adjustments: 04/03/07, 05/30/07, 07/25/07, 09/18/07, 11/15/07, 01/10/08, 03/04/08, 05/08/08
Debonding: 07/01/08
18 month prognosis
Actual Treatment Time: 1 year, 4 months, 25 days
Click on the Image ↓↓ below for my story.

Shawnie
Posts: 292
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2005 10:12 pm
Location: Washington

#17 Post by Shawnie »

Hi Victor - First off I have to say your teeth are just beautiful!

About using your retainers as bleaching trays, my hygenist said that they could not be used for bleaching if they were straight across vs being cut to match your tooth and gum shape. I know that it is not good if the bleaching gel gets on your gums, therefore if the retainer was straight across part of your gum between each tooth would be exposed to the bleaching gel. I hope this makes sense.

Enjoy your new smile and let us know how the bleaching goes.
Braced - 10/04/05
Treatment - 30 to 36 months
Ceramic uppers, Metal lowers
Impacted canines-Crowding-Crossbite
6 baby teeth!
Canine exposure surgery of two teeth 3/29/06
2nd canine exposure of one tooth 11/15/06

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victor36
Posts: 283
Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:40 am
Location: "The" Valley, CA
Contact:

Thank you, Shawnie!

#18 Post by victor36 »

Shawnie wrote:Hi Victor - First off I have to say your teeth are just beautiful!

About using your retainers as bleaching trays, my hygenist said that they could not be used for bleaching if they were straight across vs being cut to match your tooth and gum shape. I know that it is not good if the bleaching gel gets on your gums, therefore if the retainer was straight across part of your gum between each tooth would be exposed to the bleaching gel. I hope this makes sense.

Enjoy your new smile and let us know how the bleaching goes.
Hi Shawnie, and thank you for your nice compliments!
My retainers are perfectly molded around each tooth so my only concern is that the plastic material will a) break down and not work as well, b) get cloudy/change color or c) all of the above. Just tried calling my ortho and the office is closed for lunch. Perhaps I should just start with some OTC products and go from there.
B-day: 02/06/07
Adjustments: 04/03/07, 05/30/07, 07/25/07, 09/18/07, 11/15/07, 01/10/08, 03/04/08, 05/08/08
Debonding: 07/01/08
18 month prognosis
Actual Treatment Time: 1 year, 4 months, 25 days
Click on the Image ↓↓ below for my story.

Lisa65
Posts: 3469
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:12 pm

#19 Post by Lisa65 »

<wolf whistles> :P

Victor, I've been away for a week, so I missed your big day. Your teeth look great, and how nice to see the face which frames them at long last :D

Any news about the whitening process yet?

jamie315
Posts: 64
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 10:39 pm
Location: PA

#20 Post by jamie315 »

Victor, Congratulations, your teeth look amazing, your ortho did an amazing job. Now have u whitened them, or is that another photoshop trick, either way they look great. Congrats again!

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victor36
Posts: 283
Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:40 am
Location: "The" Valley, CA
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#21 Post by victor36 »

Lisa65 wrote:<wolf whistles> :P

Victor, I've been away for a week, so I missed your big day. Your teeth look great, and how nice to see the face which frames them at long last :D

Any news about the whitening process yet?
Hi Lisa65! I postponed full-face pictures in braces because... well, you know why. No use dredging up the past. No news about the whitening process. I think I'm going to try some OTC products first (with the trays that they provide) and if I'm still not satisfied, I'll pursue it further with my ortho.
Last edited by victor36 on Wed Jul 09, 2008 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
B-day: 02/06/07
Adjustments: 04/03/07, 05/30/07, 07/25/07, 09/18/07, 11/15/07, 01/10/08, 03/04/08, 05/08/08
Debonding: 07/01/08
18 month prognosis
Actual Treatment Time: 1 year, 4 months, 25 days
Click on the Image ↓↓ below for my story.

User avatar
victor36
Posts: 283
Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:40 am
Location: "The" Valley, CA
Contact:

#22 Post by victor36 »

jamie315 wrote:Victor, Congratulations, your teeth look amazing, your ortho did an amazing job. Now have u whitened them, or is that another photoshop trick, either way they look great. Congrats again!
Hi Jamie315, and thank you! These are still photoshop tricks, although I have bought rembrandt whitening toothpaste and mouthwash and will probably get their 2-hour whitening kit as well... so that my teeth really look this white! hahaha
B-day: 02/06/07
Adjustments: 04/03/07, 05/30/07, 07/25/07, 09/18/07, 11/15/07, 01/10/08, 03/04/08, 05/08/08
Debonding: 07/01/08
18 month prognosis
Actual Treatment Time: 1 year, 4 months, 25 days
Click on the Image ↓↓ below for my story.

User avatar
victor36
Posts: 283
Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:40 am
Location: "The" Valley, CA
Contact:

Random Thoughts

#23 Post by victor36 »

Some random thoughts now that i have been brace-free for 8 days:

•When I bite down with the Essix retainers in place, the first point(s) of contact is the rear right-side of my mouth, presumably because both wisdom teeth are still back there. Not annoying, but I'm afraid that I may unconsciously chew through those contact points like a chew-toy.
•I have mastered pronouncing my S's so that I no longer sound like Cindy Brady.
•My teeth are still quite sensitive to cold in random spots. Attempted to bite into an ice cream sandwich and boy did that hurt! Mind you, it did not hurt enough to stop eating because after all, it's ice cream.
•I'm not experiencing "morning retainer breath" as some members of the board are. The ortho assistant said to brush the retainers with some mouthwash (I'm using Listerine) and it seems to do the trick to a) keep my retainers tasting minty-fresh, and b) prevent "clouding" of the retainers as can happen with toothpaste.
•I am either smiling more because people are noticing my smile, or people are noticing my smile because I am smiling more. I can't tell which. In either case it feels nice to finally have a smile that is worth showing off!
•I know that I said that I would put off gum contouring... but pictures reveal that the upper laterals still look mis-aligned because of so much gum structure covering the tops. It gives the illusion that they are still hiding in the back as they were pre-braces. Not as much, but still.
•I love how my teeth look when I smile with the retainers in place; they make my teeth look like I have caps/veneers!


That's all for now.
~Victor
B-day: 02/06/07
Adjustments: 04/03/07, 05/30/07, 07/25/07, 09/18/07, 11/15/07, 01/10/08, 03/04/08, 05/08/08
Debonding: 07/01/08
18 month prognosis
Actual Treatment Time: 1 year, 4 months, 25 days
Click on the Image ↓↓ below for my story.

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