My Damon Clear braces journey!

[onwardsandupwards]

Okay so it has been a couple of days since I got my elastics and I'm pleased to say my mouth has adjusted pretty quickly and I'm not in nearly as much pain anymore. Still some discomfort with chewing - anything harder than bread or pasta is off limits so I'm sticking to smoothies and soups for a couple more days. General achiness has gone though which is a relief.

I don't know if it's just in my head (probably) but I swear my extraction gaps have begun to reduce already. Probably very wishful thinking at this point....but my tongue is convinced!!

Here are my latest progress photos - so excited to compare these with some in a few months when the overjet starts to visibly reduce.

Month 1 / Month 8 (now)









And here's a slightly clearer view of my current elastic setup:



I hope you are all doing well with your own progress & best of luck to those just starting out - I promise it gets easier!

[swisscat]

Wow, great progress! You must be so excited!

[onwardsandupwards]

I have to admit, these past 9/10 days have been the hardest of my braces journey to date (except perhaps the first couple of weeks...). The elastics are making me feel much more self conscious than I anticipated, particularly when it comes to eating food with other people around - I feel like I have so many things stuck in and around my teeth and elastics constantly which makes eating feel so awkward. It has also made me feel really reluctant to smile and laugh as much as they feel so awkward and obvious in my mouth and I really don't like it I am sure I am being far too sensitive and need to just get over myself but I just had to share my frustrations as I have not found it quite as easy a transition as I'd hoped.

On the positive side though I do feel they've begun to make a difference already!

Wow, great progress! You must be so excited!

Thanks swisscat I am feeling very pleased with my progress so far and I already feel like they've made a difference in just over a week which is very exciting!

[27braces88]

I'm dreading elsstics for this exact reason. I've nerve been really comfortable with my braces and feel that elastics may make it worse.

Sorry I can't offer any support, I'm not there yet. But hopefully you'll get used to them soon. It'll all be worth it in the end

[onwardsandupwards]

I'm dreading elsstics for this exact reason. I've nerve been really comfortable with my braces and feel that elastics may make it worse.

Sorry I can't offer any support, I'm not there yet. But hopefully you'll get used to them soon. It'll all be worth it in the end

Thank you 27braces88! I am sure you're right - every day I'm feeling less aware of them which is good. I had lunch with a friend yesterday and she didn't even notice I had elastics until I mentioned how awkward I was finding them - it was a much needed reminder that literally nobody else is paying nearly as much attention to your mouth as you think they are!

Good luck with elastics when you do get them! I promise they're really not that bad, I know that my anxiety is the only thing causing me discomfort, not the elastics themselves. If you do find yourself feeling self conscious just keep telling yourself it really isn't as obvious as you think it is and even if people do notice, they really don't care. At the end of the day it's only for a very short time in the scheme of things and like you say, it will all be worth it in the end

[onwardsandupwards]

Thought I'd come and do a quick update before my adjustment this weekend

I'm pleased to say after my last post I adjusted really quickly to the elastics and I soon forgot they were there at all, except for when they lovingly decide to snap against my face when taking a bite of something I couldn't tell you the number I've snapped, swallowed or accidentally pinged across the room while trying to replace them... my apologies to the cleaners at work who keep finding suspiciously tiny elastic bands scattered around the bathroom

My extraction gaps feel like they've closed up quite a lot just in the last 6 weeks which is very encouraging and I'm excited to see what my ortho says about the progress on Saturday. My upper midline however seems to have shifted quite a bit to the right, I might be thinking it's worse than it is, but everything feels very misaligned and strange at the moment. I'm at an awkward mid-point where I feel like my teeth have taken several steps backwards from where they were but I'm sure once the elastics have finished doing their job everything will start to be aligned up properly again.

Generally just feeling a bit frustrated/bored/impatient with my braces and sooo jealous of everyone who is on the final stretch (can't wait to see all of your beautifully aligned and healthy smiles! )

I have less than 5 months to go until I will have had braces for 14 months, which was my earliest estimate of removal... definitely not getting my hopes up for that as I still feel like I have quite a way to go, especially with my bite & getting extraction gaps completely closed up, but we shall see.

[onwardsandupwards]

Wow it has been a loooong time since I posted an update I hope everybody is doing well & making excellent progress

I've officially had my braces now for over a year, wahoo! The time has absolutely flown by. When I first started this, the thought of 14-18 months in braces felt like an absolute eternity but now I'm nearing the finish line and I don't know where the time has gone!!

About 2 appointments ago, I asked my orthodontist how long he estimated I had left and he said about 3 months That takes me to around November (and my birthday!) which would be around my initial estimate of 14 months. I'm trying not to get my hopes up TOO high, but I can't help feel so excited at the prospect of having my braces off by the end of the year.

Since getting my elastics for the first time in April, my extraction gaps are now so close to being closed, I never thought I'd see the day The right gap closed up really quickly and was more or less done by July. The left gap has been much more stubborn and still has a little way to go. I feel like this is the last hurdle holding me back now before some final tweaks and the big de-bracing.

My current set up involves double elastics on the left side to continue closing up the remaining gap & one elastic across my right hand side to keep that gap closed. I'm also wearing class 2 elastics at night time. I was wearing the class 2s full time from April-July, had a break for about 4 weeks then started night time wear about 3 weeks ago.

So without further ado, my latest progress pics! These honestly make me feel so delighted. Before I got braces I would never ever ever have been able to imagine myself with straight teeth, so it is such an amazing feeling to see how far they've come in such a relatively short space of time.

Before: April (a couple of days after I got elastics) / After: Now

Left


Right


Uppers


Front


Elastics / No elastics (4 month comparison)


My next appointment is in 2 weeks so I will update soon after! I feel like I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel!!

x

[tillybrace]

your teeth are looking beutiful

[MetalAmy]

Your teeth look wonderful already! I'm thinking of starting a braces story myself.

[27braces88]

Looking great!

[onwardsandupwards]

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

Your teeth look wonderful already! I'm thinking of starting a braces story myself.

Definitely do! It's so wonderful being able to look back on your progress. Gives you a real boost when you're having a one of those days when you wish you could rip your braces out Best of luck with your own journey

[Shelleyt]

Your teeth look like the model teeth they use to advertise the Damon ceramics! So jealous- going to look incredible when they are off.

[onwardsandupwards]

Your teeth look like the model teeth they use to advertise the Damon ceramics! So jealous- going to look incredible when they are off.

Thank you so much Shelleyt! That's really kind of you to say. On the subject of getting them off... I have a little update. I have a debracing date... and it's next Wednesday!

I did have it booked in for the 2nd of November but luckily for me someone cancelled next week and I got to nab their spot instead

My teeth haven't really changed since my last progress update so the next photos I post will be after de-bracing! I'm SO excited but also starting to get a little nervous about the retainers. I've already been told I'll be getting permanent ones on top & bottom and I don't know how I feel about it as I've heard mixed reviews on them. If anyone has any words of wisdom they would like to share on their retainer experience then please feel free to share!

x

[cconant1833]

Your teeth look like the model teeth they use to advertise the Damon ceramics! So jealous- going to look incredible when they are off.

Thank you so much Shelleyt! That's really kind of you to say. On the subject of getting them off... I have a little update. I have a debracing date... and it's next Wednesday!

I did have it booked in for the 2nd of November but luckily for me someone cancelled next week and I got to nab their spot instead

My teeth haven't really changed since my last progress update so the next photos I post will be after de-bracing! I'm SO excited but also starting to get a little nervous about the retainers. I've already been told I'll be getting permanent ones on top & bottom and I don't know how I feel about it as I've heard mixed reviews on them. If anyone has any words of wisdom they would like to share on their retainer experience then please feel free to share!

x

Congrats on your de-banding day! I can't wait to see the pictures!

As you saw on my post, I had my permanent retainer placed on my bottom teeth yesterday. It feels REALLY strange but 1 day has already made a difference. In a month I'm sure I won't notice it at all (except when it comes to flossing!).

[onwardsandupwards]

THEY'RE OFF!!! Exactly 14 months after getting them on, I am free!!

I am so delighted with my result, I could never ever have imagined what I would look like with straight teeth before. I thought in the last few months I had some idea of how they'd look as I'd imagined them many times without the braces, but nothing could have prepared me for how amazing it felt to actually see my newly naked teeth for real! Such an wonderful feeling and really makes all the frustrations of the past year feel worth it.

** Ignore this next part if you aren't interested in the de-bonding story !! **

The de-bonding process itself was pretty straight forward, albeit not the most enjoyable experience ever. My excitement definitely helped any discomfort I felt Having the brackets popped off was uncomfortable but not painful. The metal brackets on my molars popped off instantly but the ceramics just did not want to budge at all. After a few tries however they finally gave in & luckily nothing shattered (I've heard this can happen with ceramics). It is very unnerving as they 'crack' the brackets off because it sounds like your teeth are breaking
Having the glue sanded off afterwards was probably the least pleasant part. It was completely painless but the smell was nasty and I could see the dust as the glue was ground down. Getting to lick my newly smooth teeth afterwards definitely made up for that though

Finally, I had my teeth rinsed & given a polish before my permanent retainers were glued in. This was a super simple process that was reminiscent of getting the braces put on. I have permanent retainers on the top & bottom front 6 teeth and will go back in 2 weeks to get impressions done for my removable retainers. I gotta admit, the permanent retainers are weird. It did dampen my excitement a bit after I felt their rough, bumpy surface and thought 'oh god, I'm never going to get used to these'. I am glad I waited til now to post here because I probably would've sounded a bit peeved before. However, it's now been 3 days and to be honest I've already gotten more or less used to them. It's very similar to when you first get braces on and it feels like the most obtrusive thing, but after a while I'm sure I won't notice them at all. Flossing them is awkward, but nowhere near as time consuming as it was with the braces. As far as I'm concerned, I am willing to dedicate a couple extra minutes of time a day in exchange for the added retention.

My orthodontist leaves 2 weeks after de-bonding to allow the back teeth to 'settle' into a more natural bite before making the removable retainers. After 3 days my bite already feels different - my teeth feel like they are coming together much more naturally and comfortably than they did before. I was worried initially because less than 24 hours after de-bonding I noticed while flossing that my extraction gaps had opened up slightly and there wasn't any contact between the adjacent teeth anymore. I contacted my ortho who reassured me and said some 'easing apart' is expected and should resolve itself. I'm going to have this reviewed at my impressions appointment so hopefully it wont be an issue. They don't seem to have moved any more since then so I'm crossing my fingers they will stay put until my appointment

WHEW THAT WAS LONG.

Now for the exciting part, the before/after photos!!

Before (Month 1) / After

Front


Left


Right


I'll be back with a retainer update in a couple weeks! X