Thanks Ken and Andromeda. I think I lucked out a little bit on this wire because I didn't really have too much pain. I popped Advil the first day, but on Friday I didn't have to take anything. The only teeth that hurt were my front incisors, but those weren't even that bad. I was able to eat pretty much anything as long as I kept the food on the molars. It feels like the wire is sticking out of the back bracket a little too far because my inner cheek is getting irritated. I really don't want to go back into the Ortho to get it trimmed because I feel like I am in that office every week! Then again, I did pay a lot of money for this, so I guess I should take advantage of the services. I think I will use wax for a couple days and see if the irritation goes away.
As for movement from the new wire, I haven't noticed any changes. My lower canine, which is slightly crowded, hasn't budged at all! What will my ortho do if this tooth doesn't move? Will he put a spring on it?
Blake
Blake24 - Braces Story
Moderator: bbsadmin
Been a long time, but here is an update
So, wow, it has been a long time since I have updated this. I thought I would drop in a talk a little bit about how I am doing.
I am closing in my 1 year mark with braces in about a week. So far the journey has been interesting, to say the least. My teeth have made tremendous progress in my eyes (which are the only eyes that matter at this moment). The right upper arch is not as far down as I would like it to be, but it is making slight progress every day.
I experienced 1 hiccup a few months back. I had been wearing elastics for a few months, only at night. When I came in for my next appointment my ortho decided to move me up a band size on my elastics, but he still wanted me to wear them at night. Well, about a week or so went by and I woke up one morning, took out my elastics like I always do, and sat down with a cup of orange juice. When I took my first sip of the ice cold juice I felt an excruciating pain on my upper right canine. It felt like someone ripped out my tooth. The pain only lasted for a half a second, so I figured it wasn't a big deal. My theory was that the elastics had been pulling my teeth down pretty aggressively during the night time, and because my arch wire is heat sensitive then maybe the cold cold juice made the tooth quickly retract. Anyways, about a week went by with me feeling the pain every once in a while, until it stopped hurting completely. Then the worst thing happened. I woke up one morning and noticed that the upper right canine was a gray color! I quickly went to my dentist who performed a vitality test to see if my root was sensitive to cold...it was not. He told me that my tooth had died on me and that I will need to have a root canal. My ortho assured me that this is a very rare thing and probably had nothing to do with wearing elastics. To make a long story short, I now have a dead canine that is turning dark, am awaiting a root canal on the tooth, and will have to internally bleach it to get the color back to what it used to be. Sucks huh? You spend all of this money and of course things don't go the way they should.
Enough about the problems! Here are a few update pictures. I only have update pictures through November, 2009, and my teeth have changed a lot since then. I have an ortho appointment on Friday and I am sure they will take pictures. I will try to update with my most recent photographs sometime soon.
What do you guys think?!
This is December, 2009
This is July, 2009
This is November, 2009
I am closing in my 1 year mark with braces in about a week. So far the journey has been interesting, to say the least. My teeth have made tremendous progress in my eyes (which are the only eyes that matter at this moment). The right upper arch is not as far down as I would like it to be, but it is making slight progress every day.
I experienced 1 hiccup a few months back. I had been wearing elastics for a few months, only at night. When I came in for my next appointment my ortho decided to move me up a band size on my elastics, but he still wanted me to wear them at night. Well, about a week or so went by and I woke up one morning, took out my elastics like I always do, and sat down with a cup of orange juice. When I took my first sip of the ice cold juice I felt an excruciating pain on my upper right canine. It felt like someone ripped out my tooth. The pain only lasted for a half a second, so I figured it wasn't a big deal. My theory was that the elastics had been pulling my teeth down pretty aggressively during the night time, and because my arch wire is heat sensitive then maybe the cold cold juice made the tooth quickly retract. Anyways, about a week went by with me feeling the pain every once in a while, until it stopped hurting completely. Then the worst thing happened. I woke up one morning and noticed that the upper right canine was a gray color! I quickly went to my dentist who performed a vitality test to see if my root was sensitive to cold...it was not. He told me that my tooth had died on me and that I will need to have a root canal. My ortho assured me that this is a very rare thing and probably had nothing to do with wearing elastics. To make a long story short, I now have a dead canine that is turning dark, am awaiting a root canal on the tooth, and will have to internally bleach it to get the color back to what it used to be. Sucks huh? You spend all of this money and of course things don't go the way they should.
Enough about the problems! Here are a few update pictures. I only have update pictures through November, 2009, and my teeth have changed a lot since then. I have an ortho appointment on Friday and I am sure they will take pictures. I will try to update with my most recent photographs sometime soon.
What do you guys think?!
This is December, 2009
This is July, 2009
This is November, 2009
Hi Blake,
I've just returned after a long absence from AW too. Not sure why I let it go so long, but it's great to be back and checking in on everyone's progress.
I am so bummed to hear that your canine died on you! That's really too bad. At least you can salvage it with a root canal and don't have to have it pulled.
Other than that disappointment, you seem to be making excellent progress. Your pics show a real improvement. You must be happy about that for sure!
I've just returned after a long absence from AW too. Not sure why I let it go so long, but it's great to be back and checking in on everyone's progress.
I am so bummed to hear that your canine died on you! That's really too bad. At least you can salvage it with a root canal and don't have to have it pulled.
Other than that disappointment, you seem to be making excellent progress. Your pics show a real improvement. You must be happy about that for sure!
Click on WWW to see my braces story.
August 16, 2007 - Braced on top
January 3, 2008 - Braced on bottom
August 16, 2007 - Braced on top
January 3, 2008 - Braced on bottom
Catfish: Thanks for the complement! Yeah, the canine thing was kind of a set-back, but oh well.
I had an adjustment a few weeks ago, and let me tell you, it was the worst one I have had. The pain was excruciating. I felt like my teeth were made of glass, and were going to shatter at any moment. I couldn't eat anything solid for about three days. I am glad that is over.
My ortho has put me on my second to last wires, which are pretty thick at this point. He also put me on a power-chain on my upper front 6, and he put on 4 rubber bands that are intertwined through a few brackets on my uppers and lowers. My front teeth were touching the brackets on my lower teeth and my ortho said that the intertwined bands would pull my lower teeth down a bit to give me some clearance with the brackets. I am also back on an elastic in order to pull my bite together on the right side. The elastic goes from my back molar to lower incisors...wow I have a lot of stuff in my mouth right now!!
My ortho informed me that my braces can be off by October or earlier, which means I would be ending my sentence 4 months early! So far this has been an interesting ride, and I can't wait to see how it ends.
Blake[/quote]
I had an adjustment a few weeks ago, and let me tell you, it was the worst one I have had. The pain was excruciating. I felt like my teeth were made of glass, and were going to shatter at any moment. I couldn't eat anything solid for about three days. I am glad that is over.
My ortho has put me on my second to last wires, which are pretty thick at this point. He also put me on a power-chain on my upper front 6, and he put on 4 rubber bands that are intertwined through a few brackets on my uppers and lowers. My front teeth were touching the brackets on my lower teeth and my ortho said that the intertwined bands would pull my lower teeth down a bit to give me some clearance with the brackets. I am also back on an elastic in order to pull my bite together on the right side. The elastic goes from my back molar to lower incisors...wow I have a lot of stuff in my mouth right now!!
My ortho informed me that my braces can be off by October or earlier, which means I would be ending my sentence 4 months early! So far this has been an interesting ride, and I can't wait to see how it ends.
Blake[/quote]
Tom,
Yeah, big time bummer about the canine. If the internal whitening doesn't work then I am definitely going to get a vaneer. Thanks for the comment about my arches!
Soooo an update...I was supposed to go in for an adjustment last week, but I got super busy at work and had to re-schedule. I took some updated pictures of my current configuration of PC's/bands/progress before I go in for my next appointment. I don't have much time to sort through the good pictures, so here are a bunch!!
Let me know what you guys think!
Blake
.... pictures as of 04/03/2010, about a year and 2 months in!!
Thanks for keeping up with me!
Yeah, big time bummer about the canine. If the internal whitening doesn't work then I am definitely going to get a vaneer. Thanks for the comment about my arches!
Soooo an update...I was supposed to go in for an adjustment last week, but I got super busy at work and had to re-schedule. I took some updated pictures of my current configuration of PC's/bands/progress before I go in for my next appointment. I don't have much time to sort through the good pictures, so here are a bunch!!
Let me know what you guys think!
Blake
.... pictures as of 04/03/2010, about a year and 2 months in!!
Thanks for keeping up with me!
Update:
I went in to my ortho about two weeks ago for an adjustment and got bumped up to my largest wire. I am not sure the specs of the wire, all I know is that it doesn't get any bigger than this, and man I can feel it. The assistance that was "handling" me must have been new because she couldn't get the new wire on for the life of her. She actually stabbed the inside of my mouth twice while trying to insert the wire. I guess her grip just wasn't strong enough and the pliers slipped off and went jabbing into my gum. Not a big deal to an adult like myself (I could handle the pain), but I can imagine the response a child or young teen would have if pliers went jabbing into their gums. My ortho decided to take me off of my power-chain for this 2 month interval because most of my major gaps have closed. I am still wearing the inter-twined rubber bands that stretch from my back molars to in front of my canines. He also instructed me to start wearing my elastics 24/7 to really jump-start the progress of my bite. Things seem to be coming together quite nicely now, and I wonder what he will say at my next visit.
Because I am on my largest wire, all of my future appointments will only involve slight bends in order to move particular teeth...so I guess I am really in the home stretch. Hopefully during my next visit my ortho can shine a little light on the October de-banding date. I am still hoping for a date before October, but we will see.
In other news....I finally had the root canal performed on my upper right canine. If you recall from my earlier posts, I had some sort of trauma on that particular canine which caused the nerve and the tooth to die. Once it died it started changing color to a dark gray-ish shade. My dentist performed the root canal from the back side of my tooth, so I did not have to go into my ortho to remove the bracket from the tooth. The hole made in the tooth opens up the canal chamber which houses the nerve/blood vessels, etc. My dentist then took small file type instruments to clean out all of the "dead" matter and to carve a nice canal that extends all the way to the tip of the root. After the inside of the tooth is cleaned, my dentist then inserted cement like material to fill the hole. The bottom portion of my tooth (the portion visible when I smile) was left empty so my dentist could insert bleaching chemicals in order to whiten my tooth back to its original shade. I have already gone in to change out the chemicals twice. I am hoping the next time I have to go in is the last so that my dentist can permanently close the root canal hole. I am not experiencing much pain from the procedure, just some soreness, but nothing like the pain I have gone through with my braces adjustments...which I am sure you can all relate to.
Well, my bite and my teeth are looking better every day. One small step at a time.
Blake
I went in to my ortho about two weeks ago for an adjustment and got bumped up to my largest wire. I am not sure the specs of the wire, all I know is that it doesn't get any bigger than this, and man I can feel it. The assistance that was "handling" me must have been new because she couldn't get the new wire on for the life of her. She actually stabbed the inside of my mouth twice while trying to insert the wire. I guess her grip just wasn't strong enough and the pliers slipped off and went jabbing into my gum. Not a big deal to an adult like myself (I could handle the pain), but I can imagine the response a child or young teen would have if pliers went jabbing into their gums. My ortho decided to take me off of my power-chain for this 2 month interval because most of my major gaps have closed. I am still wearing the inter-twined rubber bands that stretch from my back molars to in front of my canines. He also instructed me to start wearing my elastics 24/7 to really jump-start the progress of my bite. Things seem to be coming together quite nicely now, and I wonder what he will say at my next visit.
Because I am on my largest wire, all of my future appointments will only involve slight bends in order to move particular teeth...so I guess I am really in the home stretch. Hopefully during my next visit my ortho can shine a little light on the October de-banding date. I am still hoping for a date before October, but we will see.
In other news....I finally had the root canal performed on my upper right canine. If you recall from my earlier posts, I had some sort of trauma on that particular canine which caused the nerve and the tooth to die. Once it died it started changing color to a dark gray-ish shade. My dentist performed the root canal from the back side of my tooth, so I did not have to go into my ortho to remove the bracket from the tooth. The hole made in the tooth opens up the canal chamber which houses the nerve/blood vessels, etc. My dentist then took small file type instruments to clean out all of the "dead" matter and to carve a nice canal that extends all the way to the tip of the root. After the inside of the tooth is cleaned, my dentist then inserted cement like material to fill the hole. The bottom portion of my tooth (the portion visible when I smile) was left empty so my dentist could insert bleaching chemicals in order to whiten my tooth back to its original shade. I have already gone in to change out the chemicals twice. I am hoping the next time I have to go in is the last so that my dentist can permanently close the root canal hole. I am not experiencing much pain from the procedure, just some soreness, but nothing like the pain I have gone through with my braces adjustments...which I am sure you can all relate to.
Well, my bite and my teeth are looking better every day. One small step at a time.
Blake
. Wish ya the best of luck!
Thanks, Goki! I appreciate the compliment. I am nearly a month in with my largest wires and I think I am making some really great progress. The gaps in my bite have really closed up quite a bit. I have been wearing my one elastic on the right side pretty consistently. My ortho wants me to wear it 24/7, but I find it difficult to wear it all day. I wear the elastic every night when I go to sleep, and probably a couple of additional hours during the day. I think that the elastic is definitely doing its job and I can't wait to see what my ortho says about my bite the next time I go in.
Despite my progress, my patience is beginning to wear thin. I really really really really want these things off!!! I can't wait for the day when I get these little metal pieces removed, and my teeth buffed and whitened. I am sure I won't stop smiling for a month. It's strange, however, that I can't imagine my teeth without the braces. They are a part of my mouth, something I have learned to live with. I guess you really can get used to anything with enough time.
I am constantly analyzing the smiles of other people. I can always tell whether someone has had braces in the past or not. And the funny thing is that I can really tell when someone didn't wear their retainer. It is almost sad how many people I know, in their mid-20's, that had braces in their past but now want them again because of how much their teeth have shifted. I am going to be obsessed with wearing my retainer when the time comes.
Anyways, thanks for reading my rant. I will update with some pictures soon so you can see my progress.
Blake
Despite my progress, my patience is beginning to wear thin. I really really really really want these things off!!! I can't wait for the day when I get these little metal pieces removed, and my teeth buffed and whitened. I am sure I won't stop smiling for a month. It's strange, however, that I can't imagine my teeth without the braces. They are a part of my mouth, something I have learned to live with. I guess you really can get used to anything with enough time.
I am constantly analyzing the smiles of other people. I can always tell whether someone has had braces in the past or not. And the funny thing is that I can really tell when someone didn't wear their retainer. It is almost sad how many people I know, in their mid-20's, that had braces in their past but now want them again because of how much their teeth have shifted. I am going to be obsessed with wearing my retainer when the time comes.
Anyways, thanks for reading my rant. I will update with some pictures soon so you can see my progress.
Blake
Hi Blake, thanks for dropping by my story. Just had a quick read through of yours and I didn't think your pre-treatment pictures were too terrible but wow, how fantastic are your teeth looking now!
I know what you mean about people not wearing their retainers - I think sometimes with things like braces, being a bit obsessive is going to get you the best results.
I know what you mean about people not wearing their retainers - I think sometimes with things like braces, being a bit obsessive is going to get you the best results.
Hi Lewick, thanks for checking out my story, and thanks for the comments.
I had an adjustment two days ago and things are looking pretty good. My ortho moved the placement of the elastic that I am wearing right now. I am already on my largest wires, but this time around my ortho made some very slight bends in the wire in order to adjust some specific teeth. He also informed me that my next appointment will be an x-ray appointment, meaning that we are in the home stretch! So he still predicts a late 2010 de-banding date, probably around the end of October. I think the time will fly by.
Looking carefully at my teeth I can't really see much room for improvement. My left and right sides don't exactly fit like a puzzle piece when I bite down, but I think that is because I have a baby tooth on the bottom that makes my bottom arch asymmetrical.
Blake
I had an adjustment two days ago and things are looking pretty good. My ortho moved the placement of the elastic that I am wearing right now. I am already on my largest wires, but this time around my ortho made some very slight bends in the wire in order to adjust some specific teeth. He also informed me that my next appointment will be an x-ray appointment, meaning that we are in the home stretch! So he still predicts a late 2010 de-banding date, probably around the end of October. I think the time will fly by.
Looking carefully at my teeth I can't really see much room for improvement. My left and right sides don't exactly fit like a puzzle piece when I bite down, but I think that is because I have a baby tooth on the bottom that makes my bottom arch asymmetrical.
Blake
I just got back from my Ortho, and the day I have been waiting for has finally come. I got my de-banding date scheduled!!! The official day is Wednesday, October 20th, at 1:00 PM.
78 days and I will finally be brace free. That would put my entire treatment time at 20 months and 18 days, shy of the original estimate by 3 months and 12 days.
I can't help but mention how excited I am, and I know many of you have felt the same.
Blake
78 days and I will finally be brace free. That would put my entire treatment time at 20 months and 18 days, shy of the original estimate by 3 months and 12 days.
I can't help but mention how excited I am, and I know many of you have felt the same.
Blake
What excellent progress! I just read your story from the beginning to your update, and it has been fun reading 
. All I can say about the whole girl thing is that I'm a girl (albeit a married girl lol) and I have always found it an attractive thing if someone takes care of their teeth. I felt that way when I was young and I'll probably always feel that way, a smile is one of the first things I notice about somebody.
Also, as I was reading about your unfortunate incident with your canine, I am thinking I might need to find out about internal bleaching too. I had a root canal on a front tooth due to trauma from a car accident, and the tooth has darkened considerably. I don't always notice it, nor do other people, but dentists or orthos always do. If it can be internally bleached and then the canal refilled, I'd be much happier with that as an option, I want to avoid anything like veneers or crowns because I don't like the idea of losing any more of my tooth and then having to worry about replacing the restoration(s) years down the road. As long as you still have your natural tooth, small repairs can be made that don't break the bank suddenly. Are you happy with the results of internal bleaching, and how long does it take, or does it just depend how quickly the tooth responds to the bleaching agents?
Good luck with your early debond date! It's always exciting when you find out you get done early!
. All I can say about the whole girl thing is that I'm a girl (albeit a married girl lol) and I have always found it an attractive thing if someone takes care of their teeth. I felt that way when I was young and I'll probably always feel that way, a smile is one of the first things I notice about somebody.Also, as I was reading about your unfortunate incident with your canine, I am thinking I might need to find out about internal bleaching too. I had a root canal on a front tooth due to trauma from a car accident, and the tooth has darkened considerably. I don't always notice it, nor do other people, but dentists or orthos always do. If it can be internally bleached and then the canal refilled, I'd be much happier with that as an option, I want to avoid anything like veneers or crowns because I don't like the idea of losing any more of my tooth and then having to worry about replacing the restoration(s) years down the road. As long as you still have your natural tooth, small repairs can be made that don't break the bank suddenly. Are you happy with the results of internal bleaching, and how long does it take, or does it just depend how quickly the tooth responds to the bleaching agents?
Good luck with your early debond date! It's always exciting when you find out you get done early!
Hey alimommy, thanks for checking out my story.
I would definitely say that the internal bleaching helped, but I still notice quite a bit of graying to the tooth. My dentist and ortho told me that the fact that a bracket was hiding the majority of the tooth makes it difficult to gauge the results of the bleaching.
I think it took 4 bleaching sessions before we finally gave up. The difference between 3 and 4 was minimal. I think the results vary based on your teeth. After I get the braces off I plan on doing some Zoom whitening, so hopefully that will help.
Soooo the countdown is still on! I get my braces off in 6 days!!! I can't believe this is coming to an end. I am glad that I have been so busy at work lately that I haven't really been thinking about it, so the time has been flying by.
My ortho told me that he is fitting me with the clear Invisalign "style" retainers on the top and bottom, and that I can use the retainers as bleaching trays if I want. I am also getting fixed with a permanent lower retainer.
I am almost there!
Blake
I would definitely say that the internal bleaching helped, but I still notice quite a bit of graying to the tooth. My dentist and ortho told me that the fact that a bracket was hiding the majority of the tooth makes it difficult to gauge the results of the bleaching.
I think it took 4 bleaching sessions before we finally gave up. The difference between 3 and 4 was minimal. I think the results vary based on your teeth. After I get the braces off I plan on doing some Zoom whitening, so hopefully that will help.
Soooo the countdown is still on! I get my braces off in 6 days!!! I can't believe this is coming to an end. I am glad that I have been so busy at work lately that I haven't really been thinking about it, so the time has been flying by.
My ortho told me that he is fitting me with the clear Invisalign "style" retainers on the top and bottom, and that I can use the retainers as bleaching trays if I want. I am also getting fixed with a permanent lower retainer.
I am almost there!
Blake
Hi Blake24.
I, too, have the same baby tooth as you, except on both sides of my lower arch. Off the top of my head, I don't recall anyone on this forum whose ortho decided to leave their premolar baby teeth in -- it's refreshing to see that I'm not alone.
I, too, have the same baby tooth as you, except on both sides of my lower arch. Off the top of my head, I don't recall anyone on this forum whose ortho decided to leave their premolar baby teeth in -- it's refreshing to see that I'm not alone.
08 Apr 2008 - Front teeth braced.
...
30 Aug 2010 - New bracket brand placed on upper four incisors.
Initial Ortho Sentence: 18-20 months.
...
30 Aug 2010 - New bracket brand placed on upper four incisors.
Initial Ortho Sentence: 18-20 months.