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hi *melissa*, Andromeda, Miss Smiley and acd . thx for your comments and support. It means a lot..
Those gaps in the uppers just got to start closing. If a double power chain and elastics won't do it, I really don't know what would!? I recall that during extraction of my premolars both teeth in the upper jaw broke during extraction leaving the roots in the gums. (surgery... ouch!). I hope that it doesn't mean that my upper jaw bone is made of some never-seen-before-on-the-planet inflexible bone material. Would be kind of ironic.....
As to the elastics I use them obsessively and my self-discipline in elastics matters is impeccable! I never forget to use them. Never forget..... hehe
My ortho has promised me that I will brace-free before Summer. That would be 3½ months to finish up. I don't if the time frame is realistic but I hope it is. It should be. it must be.
Ok.. I know... need to relax and immerse myself in more useful activities in stead of obsessing about my gaps and future debonding. So that's what I will do now. I'll be back soon, though
Danish
metal braces on: 4 Oct 2007
Tx for: crowding
debonded on: 24 Jun 2009
Danish, I read your entire story and my have your teeth come along way. Gives me hope that's for sure! One i finish closing small gaps on the uppers I am done too, so I am in the same boat as you.
Hi Megan11, thx for your comments. I see what you mean about Chris McCandless... Hehe. I guess that I need to ask my father why he never told me about his trip to the US..!! Hehe
Danish
metal braces on: 4 Oct 2007
Tx for: crowding
debonded on: 24 Jun 2009
Hey ,
I just saw your entire progress and you got some wolverine like healing abilities because those choppers have moved pretty fast.
I consulted with this one orthodontist who kept telling me that in the case of extraction the MINIMUM time was 2 years and look at you, barely nipped the year and half mark and you look like the next adjustment is going to be your last trip to the ortho.
Anything you do differently ? do you have a fast metabolism ? anything peculiar?
I am just kidding , maybe I am subconsciously jealous you never know
LOL
Cheers
Hey wallywest - I don't think the minimum treatment time is 2 years just because you have to get extractions. Maybe in your case the min time will be 2 years for some other reasons in combination with the extractions, but not everyone with extractions has to have them on that long. I shouldn't have mine on for more than 14 months total (I'm at 12 now) and I had 2 bicuspids extracted. My extraction gaps have been completely closed for several months - I think it usually takes around 9 months for them to close depending on how big the gap is. Anyway, thats just my two cents.
Danish - looking forward to hearing how your adjustment goes next week! I have mine Monday. I'm hoping for good news, but we will see....
wallywest - hehe. Thx but no Wolverine powers here unfortunately. I think that progress at this point is way to slow (although my ortho disagrees and says that I'm right on track).
Andromeda - Yeah, I'm excited too. But I don't think that I will get a debonding date just yet. At my last adjustment my ortho wouldn't be more specific than debonding 'before Summer'. Seeing that my gaps are not closed it will probably be end of Spring and literally just before Summer!? Aaaarrrrggghhhh What to do but be patient, right? However, I'm looking forward to hear about your debonding arrangements. (I'm already jealous! haha )
Danish
metal braces on: 4 Oct 2007
Tx for: crowding
debonded on: 24 Jun 2009
Andromeda wrote:Hey wallywest - I don't think the minimum treatment time is 2 years just because you have to get extractions. Maybe in your case the min time will be 2 years for some other reasons in combination with the extractions, but not everyone with extractions has to have them on that long. I shouldn't have mine on for more than 14 months total (I'm at 12 now) and I had 2 bicuspids extracted. My extraction gaps have been completely closed for several months - I think it usually takes around 9 months for them to close depending on how big the gap is. Anyway, thats just my two cents.
Hi Andromeda,
You are right , it is not necessarily 2 years , but i was referring to cases with 4 extractions. How does it feel to be at the brink of the journey.
Danish - I wouldn't be too jealous just yet - although my ortho did say I'd get my debonding date on Monday, I am skeptical... I still see a lot of issues with my teeth and I don't think my teeth have moved as much as he wanted them to since my last adjustment. I'm very hopeful since he did promise a date, but I don't want to let him take these off until I'm happy (never though I'd hear myself say I'd be willing to extend my own treatment time)... gosh, haha. I'll definitely let you know how it goes.
wallywest - I guess I dont understand why 4 extractions would take more treatment time than 2 extractions. Each single extraction closes in about the same amount of time as any other on a given person, so if 1 extraction gap closes in 9 months, it should take about the same 9 months for 2 gaps to close, and also about 9 months for 4 gaps to close - since they are all closing simultaneously right? I don't know, that is just the rationale I am using in my head but it may not be right... As far as being at the brink of the journey, as I was just saying to Danish above, I'm not sure how close I really am. I peeked at my orthos computer last adjustment and it said estimated debonding date = April 5. He said he'd give me a real debonding date at my adjustment this coming Monday but I just don't know. I'm excited to get it but hoping against hope that all my teeth issues that still remain can be taken care of in time. It's not just little things - my bite is completely off and open in many areas which I think means I should have gotten elastics a long time ago but all I can do is wait til Monday and see what the plan is.
Hey Danish! Cant wait to hear how your appointment went today. I had mine yesterday and my ortho totally did NOT give me a debanding date like he said he would He said I'm still at least another 10-12 weeks away instead of the 4 weeks I had left in my original estimate. He gave me rubber bands to fix my bite and a new archwire with hoops, and he said to wait and see how far I've progressed next time (April 7) and I might get my removal date then... sigh. Now I will probably have them on til end of May, beginning of June
I'm going to try to be as good as you are at wearing the elastics, even though they hurt sooo bad. I know it's like the one thing I can do myself to help the process along, so I want to do a good job! I got the strongest elastics they have.
Let us know what's going on with you and maybe we will be getting our braces off around the same time now? That would be cool
Sorry to hear about the new estimate. I know exactly how you feel! You just want to hear those words from the ortho about the debonding date!!!!! My adjustment was rescheduled for Friday so I will be back shortly with an update (although progress is next to zero ).
looking at your pics it seems that you will finish WAY before me. At this point I'm not so optimistic about being able to finish before Summer, eventhough my ortho appears to be very confident about this. Well, we'll see....
Danish
metal braces on: 4 Oct 2007
Tx for: crowding
debonded on: 24 Jun 2009
Ah I see, well I'm sorry to hear that you don't seem to have had much progress since last time Maybe it's more than you think though. It's odd that you say you think I'm looking further along than you, because to me, your teeth look so much closer to being done than mine do! I think maybe we are looking at eachother's teeth for our own problem issues and of course they are not there. I look at yours and see how nice your bite is looking and how far apart my molars and bicuspids are from touching and keep thinking it will take forever for mine to look like yours! I also see how nice your front top teeth come down in front of your bottom teeth, and mine right now are sitting on top of one another - seems like it'll take ages for that too! All I really see with yours are some spaces but I don't quite understand why it would be taking til til summer to fix that. I know different people's teeth move differently though. I apparently have stubborn teeth when it comes to vertical movement, but horizontally they move very fast. I had a .5mm gap close literally in less than 12 hours yesterday after my adjustment! Haha maybe we can take my horizontal movement and your vertical movement and put them together for the perfect set of teeth! Hehe
I recall that during extraction of my premolars both teeth in the upper jaw broke during extraction leaving the roots in the gums. (surgery... ouch!). I hope that it doesn't mean that my upper jaw bone is made of some never-seen-before-on-the-planet inflexible bone material. Would be kind of ironic.....
I think that progress at this point is way to slow (although my ortho disagrees and says that I'm right on track).
What to do but be patient, right? 
However, I'm looking forward to hear about your debonding arrangements. (I'm already jealous! haha 
He said I'm still at least another 10-12 weeks away instead of the 4 weeks I had left in my original estimate. He gave me rubber bands to fix my bite and a new archwire with hoops, and he said to wait and see how far I've progressed next time (April 7) and I might get my removal date then... sigh. Now I will probably have them on til end of May, beginning of June 
