petitcanard's journey

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#16 Post by **petitcanard** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 9:19 am

mikesmile - Hi there! Thanks so much, I hope they look good at the end too

:) When do you start treatment again? And second time for you - meh. I guess when I'm feeling pathetic and self-pitying, I can remember some people have to go through this more than once and I shouldn't complain!! Hopefully they can get your bite issues and such resolved quickly. Yes, turbos thuck, fingers crossed they find a less annoying torture for you! Not sure if you'd need them, if you don't have an overbite - you might get to escape them. One can hope, anyway. Keep us posted on your journey #2!!

Faeyrdust - Thanks a bunch! Yes, the indirect (or whatever he called it) method was nice, as I think it takes less time and less mucking about with your mouth wide open. Although the whole process still took 2 hrs?! Eck. I'm waiting not-so-patiently for the sensitivity to die down so I'm not clinging to the ceiling every time I brush.

I think it's just the last bracketed molar, on 3 out of 4 sides, either along the gumline or along the top of the bracket. I've not lingered long enough to find out, but it's not much fun. Any advice?

Eating is getting a bit easier, although not being able to chew presents challenges! Curries are saving my life right now, nice & squishy - I'd probably charge off the nearest cliff like a lemming if I was consigned to soup and yogurt.

#17 Post by **petitcanard** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 9:36 am

Faerydust - I'm tho thorry! My thpelling thucks today

#18 Post by **Faerydust** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:27 pm

For sensitivity try using sensodyne or any other brand of toothpaste designed for sensitive teeth and use a soft bristled toothbrush. I normally use a SonicCare brush, but had to switch to a manual brush for the first few weeks because my teeth were way to sensitive to the vibration.

It'll get better in time!

#19 Post by **mikesmile** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:41 pm

Heh petitcanard, Thanks for inquiring. Yea, a 2nd time for me

..I better keep my sense of humor throughout this!! I'm not sure when exactly when my treatment will start. My first consult is in 4 days, then I'm sure a records appointment will follow. The orthodontist is actually my wife's ortho. She had braces already, and has a retainer appointment at the same time. It's all in the family, I guess! I'll definitely report back to you guys as things progress.

Mike

#20 Post by **Grover** » Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:06 pm

Update time!

#21 Post by **petitcanard** » Fri Nov 20, 2009 11:14 pm

Faerydust - thanks! I currently use Sensodyne Pronamel and I also have a Sonicare; I think maybe they spread the etchant a bit too close to the gumline and a few teeth might have a bit of recession... maybe that's what's causing the sensitivity. Now I just have to stop neurotically scrubbing my gums off!

mikesmile - you'll have a spouse who understands the process, that's fantastic!! My poor husband keeps forgetting, and doesn't understand why I'm so surly when he's eating winegums or licorice and offers me some...

Grover - update... hrm! Wish I had something wildly exciting to report

Your facebook bravery threw my cowardice into sharp relief so I bit the bullet and posted a pic, we'll see if any of the crew notice. One friend already emailed me with the flattering response of "you dork". Huh. I'm meditating a suitably crushing reply. Of course, he pulled off metal braces like a movie star a few years ago. Jerk. LOL!

Other than that, I couldn't figure out why all of a sudden my braces were cutting up my cheeks out of the blue. I was on the road all this week, and realized it's eating in public that's doing it - trying to "chew" (such as it is) in a non-bovine fashion isn't the easiest task and the facial gymnastics result in cheek-hamburger. I guess I'm stuck with pablum when I'm in society!

Other than that, I've not had any pain and have been enjoying playing with my crunching, clicking teeth. Very ladylike.

My teeth are definitely moving - nothing too visible yet other than a crooked incisor on the bottom starting to move into place. Stuff is going on up top even though I don't see any movement; there's definitely more space and flossing along the top isn't the curse-inspiring chore it used to be. I also think I have a bit of an overjet now, although it's hard to tell with the turbos since I can't close properly. Wish the snaggletooth would move!! That puppy bothers me the most.

Anyone else notice that your teeth seem to discolor between the brackets and the gumline quicker? Or is it just me? I suppose my curry and red wine diet isn't helping, now that I think about it.. I'll have to fetch the baking soda and peroxide... gag.

The lithp is still the bane of my existence. I had to do a lot of public speaking this week, which embarrassed the hell out of me. Thank god I'll likely never see any of those people again!

That's about it in my boring little corner of the world. I'll give it another week or so and take another round of pics, maybe something miraculous will happen in the meantime...

#22 Post by **mikesmile** » Sun Nov 22, 2009 8:38 am

hey petitcanard...You're right, I am lucky to have such a supportive wife (who's just recently gone through braces) and you can bet I was very supportive when it was her turn. Too bad we couldn't have been braced at the same time

...but nonetheless, she's excited about me getting braces.
You mentioned your snaggletooth. My wife had one of those, and I remember it did take a little while to move...I also noticed during my first round with braces that the smaller teeth seem to move the quickest. I'm remembering that for all of us this whole process takes patience...
Keep smiling!.....& hey - just wondering - does your husband find your lisp cute? My wife lisps right now 'cause of her new retainer, & I find it so adorable!
See ya

#23 Post by **petitcanard** » Sun Nov 22, 2009 10:25 am

Hi mikesmile!! That's so cute that your wife and then you are going through the process, one after the other! I keep trying to convince my husband he should join the club (to no avail, haha). He is being really supportive, so I'm lucky. He does tend to forget I have them at times, mostly when food is involved. I think unless one has experienced turbos or bite ramps, the concept of "no, really - not a tooth in my head touches... I really and truly just can't chew" is pretty foreign

It's comforting to know the snaggle does eventually move! I look in the mirror every day and go "What?! They're not straight yet??? What's up with that!!!" I read somewhere that one starts to see the real movement a couple months in so I'm holding on to that. I guess at the end of this journey I will have achieved some skill with patience! (I have none at the moment)

Unaccountably, my husband seems to find the whole braces thing really cute - especially the pink ligs! He likes the lisp too... weird! Having you guys find us attractive through this really does help, because I - for one - tend to schlep around the house feeling distinctly troll-like these days. Having someone reassure us that we're still attractive really helps the cause

:) So yay to those supportive husbands!

I think it's sweet you find your wife's lisp adorable!

#24 Post by **mikesmile** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 7:03 am

Hi there petitcanard

How ya doing after 4 weeks in braces? Wow does time fly! You're probably getting accustomed to all your new hardware by now.

I'm anxiously awaiting my next ortho consult. Now that my mind is made up to get braces, the process can't happen fast enough & I have to keep reminding myself to be patient. My treatment is going to require some coordination between my ortho & dentist, so nothing can be rushed.

#25 Post by **Trish** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:01 am

Hey petitcanard...
congrats on making it a month! hope you are surviving! post some pix soon!
trish

#26 Post by **petitcanard** » Sun Jan 10, 2010 10:49 am

Trish and mikesmile, thanks so much for stopping by!

It's been 2 months now, time flies and I've been rotten about keeping up with posts over the last month and a bit. Life goes on, even with braces - who knew? LOL. But late Nov & Dec were crazy busy with travelling for work, and my husband & I have just returned from spending Christmas and New Years in San Miguel de Allende, a town in central Mexico to which my husband's dad retired about 20 years ago. If anyone is interested in seeing pics from this gorgeous colonial town, PM me and I'll send you a link to my FB pics (once I get them posted). We love it there, it was our second visit and we can't wait to go back

And another lovely bonus is that Mexican food is by and large nice & squishy, so I stuffed my face like mad and managed to gain back a few pounds! Yay, LOL. I soooo can't wait to get these @#$ turbos off, I'm hoping only another month or so. My first adjustment is at the end of this month, so I can't wait to see what the ortho says!

Running about like a mad thing, and travelling, have brought a couple things to light for me:
1) a waterpik is a life saver - I also received a portable one for xmas which was wonderful
2) I think I'll travel with the Sonicare next time too, as I do feel my teeth get much cleaner
3) my brackets still cut me up at times, but I realize it's usually just when I'm trying to eat non-squishy food in public and also when I'm dehydrated

Other than that, things are definitely moving around, more on the bottom than top so far although looking at pics, I see the top is moving too. I've developed the Dreaded Black Triangle on the bottom, and am wondering if I'll have the same on top.. hmm! I've also had gaps show up along the top left, which makes me very happy.. things are on the move

Anyway, blah blah, here are some before & after pics, respectively. I'll try to get caught up with people's stories over the next couple weeks, and hopefully everyone had a great xmas & new years!!

#27 Post by **mikesmile** » Sun Jan 10, 2010 12:44 pm

Hi petitcanard

Your teeth look great, hon! Look at that movement - it's really noticeable - especially the bottoms! Keep up the good work...

#28 Post by **petitcanard** » Sun Jan 10, 2010 6:38 pm

Thanks so much mikesmile!!! The bottoms were fun to watch because they moved very quickly and it was noticeable. My husband keeps saying he notices the change on top, but other than space being created - which I noticed mostly when flossing - I didn't think much had changed, so we took pics today and wow! I guess the tops have moved alot, and pictures are a great idea to keep track so I'm ever grateful to this site for the advice & support

You must be getting excited, you're on countdown now!

#29 Post by **petitcanard** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 11:02 am

I've been absolutely rotten at keeping up with the site

I have, however, discovered something that is a definite cure for tooth-obsession.. namely getting a puppy right at the start of busy season for work.. GAH!! The last thing on my mind is my teeth right now, and I've barely got time these days to cover the essentials! haha. Hopefully everyone is progressing well with their journey and coping with all the fun stuff that comes along with it

I'm hoping in May when work marginally slows down I have some time to get caught up.

Anyway, a really quick update here since lots has happened.. turbos came off at the end of Jan (

oh happy day!), my snaggletooth is getting pulled in and the hidden tooth has popped out and is now snaggier than the snaggletooth, if that makes any sense. Graduated up to a rectangular wire on my 3rd adjustment at the end of March (OMG, ouch!) as well as elastics. So, things are looking good here and hopefully the shock of the new torture of elastics wears off soon.

Here are some pics, just a comparison of the day after brace day and just after my 3rd adj (end of March). Also a quickie of the elastics configuration - top eyeteeth to bottom second-last molars (I'm sure they have a proper name). My top teeth need to move back about a half-tooth worth, to have my teeth meet in the "textbook" bite - I'm hoping that happens quickly!

#30 Post by **mikesmile** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 1:24 pm

Hi petitcanard

Thanks so much for the visit & your update. Funny, I was thinking of dropping you a line recently to see if all was well. Glad to hear it is...
I've been out straight myself - in my busy season at work too!

Your teeth are looking awesome!!! Glad to hear the bite turbos are no longer with you. I see you still prefer the "pretty in pink" ligs. They look cool... and "girlie".

Rectangular wire? ...that's a sure sign of progress... and it's great to see you're in elastics now. Later in my treatment I'll be wearing them too. The configuration that
my doc described to me will be almost the opposite of yours. Since I have somewhat of an underbite, they'll be worn to move my bottom teeth back.

Keep up the good work...

Estimate 12-14 Months