My name is Melissa, I'm 21 and live in Quebec, Canada. I wore a palate expander for a while when I was in elementary school but back then, my parents couldn't afford braces so the treatment never actually progressed anywhere. Around March of last year, a friend referred me to a new dentist who also does some orthodontic work (he only takes on cases that he knows he can complete successfully, otherwise he refers his patients to someone else). I told him that I wanted braces and we started the game plan.
I have a narrow palate and both sets of teeth are crooked and crowded (between the first premolars, mostly), so I had to get all four of my wisdom teeth extracted (all at once! ouch!) in early May 2007 and I had a bonded palate expander cemented onto my top teeth towards the end of September 2007. I got braces put on my bottom teeth sometime between then and January and then had my two bottom second bicuspids extracted in February and a sort of loop put on either side to start pulling my teeth backwards. My dentist told me that at my next appointment, he would fix my palate expander because it had come loose for the second time; he'd already removed and re-cemented it once, so I was under the impression that he was going to do the same thing and that I'd then finish my one week of turning (damn! damn! one week!) and then have to wear it for another month or two. But no! Surprise, surprise! I went to see my dentist on the 18th and he said that he was going to remove my palate expander and install the braces on my top teeth. "But I still have a week left to turn on my palate expander," I said meekly, fearing that he had made a mistake. He said that it didn't matter (after all, one week equals to about 1mm) and that if he needed more space later on, he'd use something different. "Ah!" I cried in joy, but he must have mistaken my joy for panic, because he quickly reassured me, "IF, IF I need more space, it's not planned!" I could have cried, I was so surprised and happy. (The palate expander has been the bane of my existence since I got it. It gave me a prominent lisp and made me feel completely self-conscious and hideous and gross, not to mention that since one side had come unglued again, it had started collecting bacteria and stuff in the space between my teeth and the plastic tray that I couldn't clean, so my mouth always smelled almost as foul as it tasted - YUCK!). So I've been living with braces on my lowers and uppers for three days now and I'm completely thrilled about it. I'm going to have my upper second bicuspids extracted eventually as well and then my top teeth will be pulled back and straightened out just like my bottom teeth are being pulled back now. I guess most people don't look forward to extractions but I can't wait.
Just a while ago, before I got my palate expander out, a friend of mine asked me if I was going to get clear braces on the top. I said no, my dentist only does metal braces (but again, if you want ceramic or any other type, he'll refer you to someone who can do that for you). Besides, I don't really care, it's not a big deal for me to have metal braces. She was like "But you can change dentists and get clear ones, there are plenty of dentists you could go to," and it was in that moment that I realized how much I really enjoy my relationship with my dentist. He's respectful, gentle, funny, charming -- he always calls me "princess" or "beautiful" which makes me feel like I'm five years old but in a really good way, like he's very fatherly and caring. Plus, we've already been past that point where I made a little scene at one of my appointments and started crying out of sheer exhaustion and disappointment (after being told that I'd have to wear a palate expander for so long before I could get my braces on) ... I apologized at our next appointment and all was right again, but yeah, he was really gracious, understanding and respectful about my feelings and he was super-quick to forgive my outburst, haha. But to get back on the point: that was also the moment when I realized that no matter what other people think of me having braces, I really don't care. Now that I have them on my lowers and my uppers, I can't stop looking at myself in the mirror and smiling like an idiot. I may still have deeply flawed teeth, but I feel much more confident in knowing that my dentist and I are well on our way to giving me a beautiful smile.
In the past couple of days, I've had a couple of fears like "What if I don't like the way my teeth look after everything's finished and the braces are off?" but I'm trying not to worry about that. I trust my dentist, he knows what he's doing and I know I can ask him anything about his plan and my progress, no matter how stupid a question I think it might be. The last time I mentioned one of my fears to him (would the expander and braces really change the shape or structure of my face? -- his answer was no, not enough to be noticeable), he encouraged me to ask him anything I want to know about my teeth, because he thinks it's really important for me to be reassured, informed and confident. Lucky me, to have such an awesome dentist!
Finally braced and loving it - pics forthcoming.
Moderator: bbsadmin
Sounds good Melissa. Post some pics!
Braced 5-27-06 - 18 months with braces
Case 1 - minor crookedness
Envision Composite Brackets
M1k3y's introduction with photos
M1k3y's journey with photos
Debranded 3-20-08
Case 1 - minor crookedness
Envision Composite Brackets
M1k3y's introduction with photos
M1k3y's journey with photos
Debranded 3-20-08