TxState1023 - My Exciting Journey with Damon Braces

[TxState1023]

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure where to start or what to write, so I'll simply begin by stating the obvious. I have "less than perfect" teeth. Scratch that... they are messed up! I haven't been happy with my smile or teeth for a very long time. But thanks to a dental plan, some serious green backs, and a bit of courage... they don't have to stay that way. This is my tale of being in braces.

I initially was very apprehensive about joining an online community, posting a journal on a message board, and putting up pictures of my teeth. I don't even like looking at them. But I read a few user's journals and quickly realized that this could be just the thing I need to feel better about my situation. I learned ALOT just by reading some of the posts, maybe I can learn a bit more with help from a few members.

My Story: I'm a 24 year old male working a professional, healthcare oriented job that requires me to interact with a small team of very talented, very driven, and very smart folks with different educational backgrounds. Our team works with other teams in our department and other departments within the institution. I am constantly talking to people... in person and on the phone, and was extremely nervous about getting braces. My teeth have always been a problem. Just what I needed to get people to look at them more... braces! I decided that after my teeth and gums were healthy that I would get braces to help straighten my teeth. I was not very concerned with the whole "profile" at first, I just wanted them to be straight. Based on my needs and my ortho's reccomendations, I went ahead and got fitted with Damon System II braces on June 5, 2008.

This is a picture of my upper teeth that I took the first day I had the braces put on. Notice how my midline is off and there is intense crowding with my left lateral incisor and canine (right side of the photo), and to a lesser degree on the right. I a spring coil connected to push and make space for the lateral incisor to come forward, I'm assuming. I don't even know what the two tubes between the central incisors are or what function they serve. I also do not have any 3rd molars on the top.




This is a pic of my lower teeth. I don't think they are as bad as the top but I could be wrong. Once again I have some crowding going on with the lateral incisors. Although you can't tell, I have my 3rd molars intact. I am a wimp, sissy, all those bad things... I told my ortho that I wanted straight teeth without extracting them. They hurt coming in but do not bother me anymore. I was told that the Damon braces might be able to do the trick, but that they might have to come out. AHHH!!!




This is a picture with me biting down as far as I can. Because of the position of the top left lateral incisor, my bottom teeth would have hit the bracket. So I have this massive buildup of composite on my bottom 2nd molars that doesn't allow me to bite down all the way. So far, this has been the toughest part of the adjustment. I can't chew ANYTHING!




This is just a test shot of the lower teeth. I wanted to try and get a clear shot of the brackets but I think I was unsuccessful. Again, I have a spring coil down here to presumably make some space for the incisor and I don't know what the tube is inbetween my central's.




The journey has been a painful and stressful one thus far. My girlfriend thinks I'm regressing back to a teenager, my coworkers must think I'm drunk half the time with my slurred speech (I can't even say Slurred Speech without laughing at myself), and I've got an intern under my care that I talk to all day who smiles when she hears me ramble on. She heard me speak clearly for two days without braces and then, BAM, I'm a comedian. It should be fine, though. Right? RIGHT?!?! I sure hope so.

I will go ahead and end this post now. It's late and I need to brush/floss/rinse/wax for a solid 15 minutes before I can hit the hay. If you want to know anything about my experience with the Damon system, please don't hesitate. I'll get an Avatar and Counter later.

TxState1023

[OhNicole]

Hi TxState and welcome to AW! Firstly, to answer your question, yes it'll be OKAY! You've made a great decision for yourself and you'll be very happy with the outcome, extractions or no. I haven't got my braces on yet but here's the way I look at it. I didn't want to do it at first because I work in an optometrist's office, which is a fairly professional place. I am 21 so people already treat me like I am too young to know my job - I was afraid braces would make it even worse. But you know what? I hate to smile and when I do people are already looking at my teeth, so why not draw more attention to them because I am fixing the problem? Besides, it's only two years and then I will be smiling my perfect smile as often as possible!

So good luck, stay the course, and don't worry too much!

[TxState1023]

I really appreciate the warm welcome and reassurance from the both of you. It's nearly been three weeks since I've had them put on and I am feeling much better than I did the first couple of days. I couldn't chew a thing! I restricted myself to protein shakes and meal replacements, soup, fish, and soft fruits for the first week. Not only were my teeth sore, but the molar buildup would only allow two points where a complete bite could be achieved. I had to completely relearn a new way of chewing, which made my meals longer in duration and smaller in quantity. Things are better now, though. I can eat mostly anything with the exception of a tough steak (and all the things you are supposed to avoid when wearing braces anyway). I was accustomed to eating a sandwich for lunch most days out of the work week, but now I've found that the bread gets stashed away in and around the archwire and brackets. I have to brush immediately after eating or I feel like my teeth have something like caramel sticking on them.

The majority of my soreness is localized in my lower central and lateral incisors as well as my upper canines. I am assuming that this is where the most movement is occuring. I do have two questions that I was hoping someone could help me out with regarding the process thus far.

1.) If you scroll to the pic of my lower teeth and find the spring coil, you'll see that it is pushing the central incisor and the canine apart. But in what direction is this being accomplished. Will the spring coil make room for my lateral incisor by only pushing the canine and following teeth back? How about the other way? Will it push both of the teeth equally apart? I'm nervous about this because I feel as if my central incisors are being jammed together, eventually making them more crooked. Has anyone ever heard of treatment that makes your teeth slightly worse before they get better?

2.) The molar buildups have been the hardest thing to adjust to. I can apologize for my slurred S's and F's, apply dental wax to brackets that are cutting me, and brush/floss like a madman when food gets stuck everywhere... but how do I adjust to an ever changing bite that does not feel normal? I find myself waking up in the morning with jaw discomfort from grinding and biting down. I even feel like I've worn the composite down in such a way that I can complete my bite (teeth on teeth) by sticking out my lower jaw as if I have an overbite. This may be adding to the discomfort. Can biting down on the composite and grinding cause damage to the enamel of my upper teeth? My dental hygienist said that the composite would wear before my teeth ever would, which was nice to hear, but for some reason I am convinced that my general dentist will one day look at my upper molars some months later and tell me my enamel has been worn. Does this occur??

Thanks again for listening to my rant. I'll update the pics at 4 week intervals, though I doubt I will see much movement in my first month. You never know, though.

[kibblesnbrit]

Hello there,

first of all, what are damon braces? what makes them different from normal ones?

As far as your treatment goes...mine sounds somewhat similar. The right side of my mouth seems to be pretty good as far as my back teeth go, but there are springs on the top and bottom left side. I keep thinking the same thing as you, how is he going to make enough room to move my bad cainines into place by just moving my teeth milimeters to the left? when i look in the mirror I can't see any gaps or spaces so i have no idea how it will work. I know that may not be reasssuring but at least we have the same concern...
my ortho does not want to do extractions on me, instead he has shaved down little gaps in between my teeth (that are not visible to my eyes though). However..maybe our ortho's know what they are doing.

And as far as your bite in the night..i was worried about the same thing. my two front teeth already aren't great on the bottoms though because they got chipped when i was younger so they are filled in a bit on the bottom..I'm thinking about porcelain veneers when my braces are off. But what I did to help with the grinding in the night and to make my mouth not hurt was put a big chunk of wax over my bottom two teeth and kind of moulded it over the tops of them as well. that way in the night my top two teeth hit that and instead hit the wax..which is much better. And it feels like it is WAY worse at first because your teeth are so sensitive. so it feels worse than it is.

Check out my story too- maybe we can ponder how these teeth will move at all together!

Brittany
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[Miss Smiley]

1.) Has anyone ever heard of treatment that makes your teeth slightly worse before they get better?

2.) My dental hygienist said that the composite would wear before my teeth ever would, which was nice to hear, but for some reason I am convinced that my general dentist will one day look at my upper molars some months later and tell me my enamel has been worn. Does this occur??

1. Oh boy, that should be a standard that ortho's tell the patient. YES!!! Sometimes, things will look worse before looking better, after all, your teeth are being rearranged. Like making room for new books in a book shelf. You take things out, rearrange them into whatever order you want them. I know I have definitely been through the "OMG I think it's getting worse" phase.

2. Enamel is pretty strong stuff, it's enough to wear away my amalgam fillings and not my teeth.

[Miranbrady20]

WELCOME TO AW!!! I'm glad to see that your here and that your joining all of us with our stories! Im very scared to get braces myself and I am also getting Damons! My ortho said that it will move my teeth with out the need for extractions! so i'll have a full mouth of teeth hehe... Im 23 and im getting my braces in about 3 weeks.... it feels like its never gonna happen and i cant even imagine what it will feel like with them on but i guess ill find out soon enough!... keep taking pictures and dont be afraid to share! we wanna see your progress!

[pennysfbay]

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your treatment! I bet you'll be surprised at the progress you'll be able to see at the 4-week mark. Most people who post here seem to see a lot of movement early in their treatment.

I'm 33 and going through my second round of braces. I got my last ones off like 20 years ago. I have ceramics on top and bottom, and my ortho is guessing I'll be in braces for 18 months.

I'm only a week my treatment, so I'm just getting started. Last Tuesday I got them on in the morning, and that afternoon I had to lead a team meeting. I kept slurring over my words and things were coming out wrong and then I'd end up grinning like I was 12. It was embarassing but my coworkers were nice about it and know that I'm still getting used to the new hardware. It's challenging in a professional setting to feel 100% confident and "grown-up", but I'm finding that most people don't notice, don't care, or can totally identify with what you're going through (or wish they'd had the guts to do it themselves). We have an important client presentation in about an hour and I'm worried about that too, but I'm sure I'm worrying for nothing.

Best of luck and keep us updated on your journey!