LP's Speed braces story *adjustment update* Aug 31

[LP]

Hi everyone,

I've enjoyed reading some of the stories here and decided I would create my own. I guess I'll start with a little bit about myself. I'm 32 years old (33 next month) and have always wanted to get my teeth fixed. I've always had crooked upper teeth, but my lowers were fine until my mid-teen years when I had a stubborn baby canine removed and the dentist didn't put a spacer in. All of my teeth shifted over to close the gap and the canine grew in behind all the other teeth. I'm my adult years all the other bottom teeth have started shifting around even more, and the top ones seem to have gotten worse as well.

Enough was enough. I have a messed up bite which caused TMJ, my teeth always hurt, and they look bad too. So 8 days ago today I took the plunge and was fitted with top and bottom Speed braces. Mere hours after having the braces put on I went to the dentist for my extractions. I go back in 6 days to have a new wire put in that goes all the way to the molars.

I have no ortho coverage and being a single mom with no child support made this a really big decision for me. $6400 is a big chunka change but I'm sure it's going to be well worth it. (Please.....tell me it's worth it )

Anyways this site is fabulous and I'm sure I'll be sticking around . Thanks for all the help already!

Here are some starting pics (a couple are kinda fuzzy, but it gives you an idea of what's going on).



Here's me



Fuzzy, but it kinda shows what's going on with the lower teeth.



REALLY fuzzy, but it shows that dang canine.

Thanks again, and I'll update when ther's something worth updating about.

[LP]

Thanks Linda

The braces I'm in aren't Damons. The brand name is actually Speed Braces. I'm not sure how similar or different they are, but I'm thrilled with how tiny the brackets are

And yes...I WILL be smiling...with teeth showing, which is new for me.

[toon-town-brace-face]

LP - here's something you might get a kick out of:

Three weeks ago I got my top Speed Braces (I get my bottoms in three months... they want my tops to fill out the arch first I guess to avoid tagging the bottoms). I turn 33 in August!

I found those mushroom hooks to be a bit of a pain but I used wax for the first week until my cheeks toughened up a bit.

Anyway, I'm convinced it's worth it (even with 101 weeks to go )!



Take care!

[LP]

That's too funny toon-town-brace-face. AND, you're a fellow Canadian too. I'll have to follow your progress for sure.

The mushroom hooks haven't really bothered me (except for my lip getting caught on them when I smile ). It's the ends of the wire that are killing me.

[LP]

They have these little stoppers on the end, but the sharp part of the wire sticks out of the end. The part sticking out hasn't gotten any worse at all since I got them, it's just really rough and sharp. YOUCH!

I go see my ortho next wednesday for my new wire so I will talk to him then.

Thanks

[LP]

Well...went back to the ortho today just to get the wires extended all the way to the back teeth....or so I thought. Turns out I have power chains (3 links) over all the 4 gaps from the extractions. OWWWWIE!!! I can't believe how far they stretched that tiny little 3 link piece of rubber. I'm also in awe of how much pressure the powerchains put on the teeth.

They also used a smaller guage wire this time (14 NiTi). The other one looked sort of rope-like with visable 'twists' in it. This is a smooth wire with bends in the front. Are these bends to accomodate for the extra wire needed when the teeth are pulled backwards?

I had new pictures take today and although there is no progress yet (I wasn't expecting any as the wire was only on the front teeth) I will post them because they are much clearer then the previous pictures.

So here's me at day 15 (which is the new day one...I guess)







And in case I didn't say it clearly enough alreadY.....OWWWIE - THESE THINGS SUCK! But I am so glad to have those stoppers with the sharp bits of wire gone. Instant relief there.

[toon-town-brace-face]

It looks like some progress has been made!

I go back the middle of next month to get brackets on the back teeth and new wire too... this first "Supercable" like you had in the previous pics wire is uber-flexy-twisty and doesn't really seem to do much. I'll know more about the bend in the next arch wire after my appointment.

Good pics BTW!

[LP]

Well - it's been a month now since getting braced and it seems a good time to post an update. I have noticed a lot of movement already and am just thrilled with the way things are shaping up. My archwire is so much straighter now. My 45 degree angle front tooth have moved so much I can actually run my tongue along the back of the tooth for the first time.

When I first got the braces, my top teeth would smash into the bottom brackets, now they come no where near them. My two front teeth used to hang lower then the others and they seem to be levelling out now. The centre of my bottom teeth is shifting nicely too. The only thing not progressing is the closing of the gaps. There is no sign of being able to put a bracket on the lower canine for quite sometime...but everything else is making up for that. The new pics were taken about 4 days ago and there has even been more change since then.

Day 1


4 weeks (please excuse the bit of candy in my front teeth - I had just brushed too, I'd take new ones but my camera is in the shop)


Day 1


4 Weeks

[jenfire]

Your progress is quite good, LP. Just curious (since you have "Speed Braces")-how long is your treatment time? Good luck with your treatment! Please keep us posted.

[LP]

I was told treatment would be 18 to 24 months. I'm crossing my fingers for the 18 months

[Dramagyrl]

LP,
Congrats on seeing so much progress. This is one of the best parts about the braces I think, is seeing so much progress in such a short time.
You and I got our braces on the same day, but you already had an adjustment right? I don't fully understand the speed braces, so does it mean a lot more ortho visits for adjustments or what?

[LP]

Hey Dramagyrl,

With the Speed Braces I only need to have an adjustment every six wekks. I have already gone in once because I had the extractions done the afternoon I got the braces on. So I waited two weeks for that to heal and then went in to get wires that went all the way to the back of my mouth and to get power chains where the teeth were pulled.

Still waiting to see your pictures.

[LP]

Wow KK 10 weeks between adjustments? I thought the standard time between adjustments was 4 weeks?

They say that the treatment time can be greatly reduced with the Speed Braces (basically the same thing as the Damons), but I'll buy that if and when it happens. The main reason I got them is the Ortho said so many positive things about them. They are so tiny, it takes 5 mins to change my wire as there are no ligatures. The wire can slide around within the bracket so as the teeth move the wire isn't held there with the ligs. Food doesn't really get caught in them, and one of the big things for me was that the memory alloy metal is always moving the teeth. I also like there there are no 'tightening of the wires'. I just go in and get a whole new wire when my teeth are ready for one.

I agree the name of the bracket is confusing. 18 - 24 months seems a pretty standard length of time, but I am impressed with how 'speedily' they are moving right now.

[momofbrock]

Congrats on deciding to do this for yourself! I'm also a single mom of a little guy... if it weren't for my tax returns I never would have been able to get these nasty buggers put on... the monthly payments will be rough but I'll pinch by.... I think my smile/self esteem is worth it!!!

Your progress is lookin good! Keep the pictures coming!

[LP]

Well....I've been away for a while (summer's SO busy) but I had to come back and check in and update since my adjustment on Tuesday. I've had my wires changed once before but that was only two weeks after the braces were put on - they gave me time to heal from the extraction done the same day as being braced before they really started shifting things around.

I went in on Tuesday and had the powerchains removed and now I'm wearing elastics. One on each side from top canine to bottem front molar, and at night I put two more on over the bottom gaps. My first premolar hasn't moved at all so I'm still without a bracket on my canine

Things seem to be going well though. Lots of tenderness so I know things are a-movin'. I'm so thrilled with the progress I've made so far and can't wait to see the final results.

Since the canine isn't moving yet I'll just post a pic showing my front teeth:





And for dramagyrl...here's MY lotus flower tattoo (ok - there's more then just a lotus flower )