My journey back to the dreaded dentist started recently after not going for six years due to that fear again. Why? Because my teeth were black and brown and I assumed they were rotting and I was thinking of getting veneers or dentures. I had to have a deep cleaning and after that, my teeth looked fine and the dentist said I only had a lot of stains. Once again, they suggested braces. If my teeth weren't in such a bad shape as I thought they were, I decided to take that plunge after years of running away.
My cousin suggested an ortho where she and her whole family (husband, son, daughter) got treated. At the consultation, I was told that it wasn't necessary to remove teeth as my crowding is minimal and was planning on doing IPR on me, which I sighed in relief because I didn't want any extractions. I have an overbite and crossbite and my back upper molars stick out of the arch that I never used them to chew. I was sold on this ortho and I got a discount for being referred by my cousin.
I decided to get the traditional full-metal brackets, which seems uncommon for adults. For one, I already have metal all over my face and ears. More metal isn't going to kill me. If I'm not embarrassed by having 16 piercings, then what's so bad about having a metal mouth? And I already look like a minor and they make me look even younger. And yes, it's fun changing the colors.
I got the top on Sept. 9 of this year (I forgot to take a before pic...OOPS):
I got the bottom on Oct. 15:
Unfortunately, the next day, the bracket on the bottom rotated tooth came off during an exam for wisdom teeth extractions. It didn't count against me because the machine for the pan x-ray bumped into my mouth and the dentist contacted the ortho. The ortho felt that the bracket wouldn't stay on due to insufficient room, so she put a coil spring to open up some room and I will have it for several months:
By the second adjustment for the top and first for the bottom, not much visible changes except for the bottom three, which are now aligned. On the next adjustment, they will reposition the bracket on the bottom tooth that still sits higher.
My bottom teeth either moved forward or my top moved back, to the point where my top fronts sat right on top of the bottoms. I kept smacking them whenever I ate or talked, so the ortho assistant placed molar buildups:
Sorry for the poor quality of the images. Most of the changes were felt rather than seen. Hopefully I can notice more as time goes by as I just started.
