My journey (expander, then braces)

[Featheryy1221]

WOW! Such an awesomely striking result!!!!! Your teeth are amazing, that is crazy good!!

Yes I am loving brace free life...nothing gets caught and lips easily slide together haha! I remember the first 3 weeks I did the same thing, couldn't stop looking in the mirror. Lots of people comment still, although the effect wore off for me my teeth are still great I guess!

Hopefully people will make lots of nice comments with that smile of yours. Still Can't believe it. Model teeth! lol

Enjoy your new smile.

PS any idea on what kind of retainers you're getting? And did you get bonded retainers too?

Haha thank you! My ortho is very, very pleased with my result and the two assistants that were really involved with my case can't believe how different my teeth are. Haha. The one couldn't believe it was already debrace time. My friends and family keep commenting on how great they look as well.

I'm sure I'll get some comments at work because a few of the long time customers that are old always would comment on my braces, and it was always completely out of the blue.

I'm so glad that things have been going well for you. And glad you're still liking not having them. You sure you don't want them again and they can rip out a chunk of your lips again? lol. Just kidding.

As for retainers, I'm supposed to get essix retainers made. I'm also supposed to get a bite splint made. My ortho wanted me to have one because he said adult patients are prone to retainers breaking and I guess it'll help keep things in place? Idk. Not really looking forward to it. Haha.

If only our teeth would just stay in place without retainers....

[parsleysage]

OMGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are no longer a brace face!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations! That is sooooo awesome. Your teeth are gorgeous like a Hollywood star haha! So are you just hanging out without a retainer right now???

[Featheryy1221]

OMGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are no longer a brace face!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations! That is sooooo awesome. Your teeth are gorgeous like a Hollywood star haha! So are you just hanging out without a retainer right now???

Thank you parsleysage!

I actually got my retainers today.

They. Are. The. Worst.

Seriously. One: the top one takes forever to put on and take off!!! The bottom one is super simple.

Also guess what? Mine CUT THE GUM where one of my upper teeth are, so blood is CONSTANTLY in my retainer and I look like I got punched in the mouth. How am I supposed to go to class and work like this?!

I can't talk normally because my upper retainer has WAY too much plastic on the roof of my mouth. I feel like I'm back to where I was when I got my expander!

And finally my bite doesn't close with the retainers in, so I have a constant open bite and won't get to show off my true smile.

Also I only get a 15 minute break at work, so I'm not sure how I'm going to have time to take out my retainer, eat, brush my teeth. I didn't even have time to brush with braces.

Blahh. I kind of wish I still had braces on. Hahah.

Also this posts sounds really negative. So I'll try to turn it around with the fact that I still love my results and I'm thankful to be done. I just am not a big fan of my dumb retainers. Haha.

[parsleysage]

Ack!!! I've definitely heard that retainers are a pain. Regarding the gum thing, in the past I have seen advice to file them down with a nail fail so they're not so sharp. So sorry Hun but hopefully you'll get used to them soon!! Retainers are for life... sadly! But better than our teeth moving back!

[Featheryy1221]

Ack!!! I've definitely heard that retainers are a pain. Regarding the gum thing, in the past I have seen advice to file them down with a nail fail so they're not so sharp. So sorry Hun but hopefully you'll get used to them soon!! Retainers are for life... sadly! But better than our teeth moving back!

Oh yeah, definitely better than them moving back. I think mine are cutting there because the retainers dip in there due to extra plastic, so I'm going to call them today to see if they can fix that.

Yesterday was just a tough day all around to get through, so I'm trying to have a more positive attitude.

My index finger has started to get a blister on it from trying to get my retainers off, but I think I'm starting to get the method for getting them off. For now though, I'm just not going to eat at work until I get quicker at taking them out.

I go back August 4th to have a retainer check. Until then I'm in them 24/7. Fun times. I'm hoping they'll let me move onto just nighttime wear. But that's probably being too optimistic. lol.

[Featheryy1221]

You were right about the nail file, parsleysage. Called the ortho office and they just said that it was "due to my gums being swollen," (no, there's more plastic over that tooth than the other ones but whatever, I'll go with that lol). And that I should use a nail file to file it down and i should do warm salt water rinses. So I bought a new nail file and started to attempt to file away. It kind of worked.

Here's my smile in retainers. I can't close my bite completely which is kind of annoying.

[buffon85]

I love your smile! this is what I would call a perfect result or a crest smile!! maybe you should consider a new career!

[brownknightrises]

Sweet!

[Featheryy1221]

I love your smile! this is what I would call a perfect result or a crest smile!! maybe you should consider a new career!

Haha. Oh yeah I could totally be a toothpaste model. Lol. thanks so much though. They do look pretty freaking amazing.

[Featheryy1221]

After a couple weeks in retainers, I have to say, I am getting used to them. Retainer life > braces life x infinity.
Yeah, they're annoying because right now I'm in then 24/7, but they're not horrible.

I will admit, some days I can't get them in as soon as I should. I've been hanging out with friends lately and we always eat and then we have drinks and talk so its not like I can have them in while enjoying some wine. Haha. I put them in as soon as I can though.

I'm trying to get better at it so my ortho doesn't punish me. To be fair it's only happened a few times. And it was all when I first got my retainer and was having trouble getting it out.

Getting the top retainer off can still be a pain. I have serious respect for people that wear Invisalign.

It's sooo weird seeing my teeth in braces and seeing old photos of me with braces on (or even pre-braces!).

I am just SO happy with my teeth!!! I'm sooo glad I did this. I have so much more confidence now and everyone I know has been commenting on that fact. I'm even in the dating field again, something I was always self conscious about before and was always super shy and didnt feel I guess, worthy?

Idk. This whole experience has done wonders for me, my happiness, my sense of self worth.

If for some reason you are on the fence about braces, just do it. It's a temporary part of your life for years and years of happiness.

Good luck to you all braces friends.

[Featheryy1221]

Here's an update on retainer life:

Last month a piece of my upper retainer broke off even I was taking it out early in the morning. It was the back piece on my right side. So I had to go in.
Instead of just making me a new upper retainer, they cut the chipped portion off and sent me on my way. Well, then it was extremely difficult to get out. I called the office and they told me to yank on other side and that should work.

It did. For three weeks. Then the retainer broke right down the line where my front teeth are.

Super cool.

So I had to go to the ortho and get a new one made last week.

Besides dealing with that last week, I've also dealt with reoccuring strep throat. I finally got better antibiotics that work, but I'm trying to be very careful with my retainers so they don't reinfect me somehow.

Anyway that's about it. These past few weeks have been insane and I'm over the retainer life problems. Though I never want to deal with braces. Ever.

[Featheryy1221]

I haven't been on here in forever, mainly because I never obsess about my teeth anymore. lol.
But I've been out of braces for almost a year now. Which it feels like longer.

I had A LOT of issues with the retainer life. My top retainers were impossible to get out and were constantly breaking. The staff would not listen to me, and instead of giving me tips to get it out or switching retainer types, they kept doing the same things. Finally my ortho gave me a bite splint in December, ahead of schedule.

When I got it, I asked if I was supposed to wear my bottom retainers with it. The new girl said "yes." So I wore it at night for about a week. Then I woke up to a cracked retainer on the chewing surfaces. I called my ortho office and another girl who has been working there longer said "you're not supposed to wear it with the splint." I said, "I was told to by someone in your office. I was trying to follow directions."

I missed my next checkup in January and honestly, I am so over my office and them not listening to my concerns.

And the fact that they hire in inexperienced people is very frustrating to me. The girl who told me about my bite splint also fitted it and it was not put on all the way at times, and I told her that. "Oh it's on." *bite splint finally cracks into place with me pushing on it.* "Oh I guess it wasn't on all the way."

So basically I don't go to my ortho office anymore. I can't stand going there knowing what I know. My upper and lower retainers are broken. The lower I can still wear, but they refused to remake a top retainer since "I was getting a bite splint." When originally I was supposed to switch on and off.

I'm just over them. Eventually I may go to another ortho at some time to get Invisalign for my bottom teeth (one has shifted slightly), but I will never go back to mine. It's frustrating having spent all this money.

But that's a bit of an update.

[carrieann]

Wow that is quite an ordeal! I hope you find a new ortho that will listen. What retainer do you recommend or would get if you could go back? Sounds like the clear ones were a nightmare! And what beautiful results you have!!!!

[Featheryy1221]

Wow that is quite an ordeal! I hope you find a new ortho that will listen. What retainer do you recommend or would get if you could go back? Sounds like the clear ones were a nightmare! And what beautiful results you have!!!!

To be honest, I may never go to a new ortho. Lol. I should really have gone back for my checkup but it was in January and it was snowy/my life was really too busy to make an appointment.

I think if I could go back, my teeth needed to "settle" a lot longer. They had just gotten my bottom teeth in place and then I got them off. No waiting time. Because I paid my bill, they decided "it's time."

Sometimes I wonder if I would have gone to this ortho knowing everything (the fact he hires people without training and teaches them how to do things on the job, the fact they don't listen, etc). I'm happy I did the expander option because even though that was absolute hell, it was worth it. I'm glad I didn't get four teeth pulled, I would have regretted it personally because my smile was SO narrow pre-braces and the spaces would have taken forever to close.

As for retainers, I needed something thicker, each time my ortho made my retainers in house the thickness varied. My bottom retainers are more thick, so I would have liked the top to be the same. I needed something I could grab onto when I was pulling down. My top retainer has this bit of plastic on the roof of my mouth, which actually makes it harder to take out in my opinion.

The bite splint is nice because it's really thick and it comes out easily, it doesn't cover my entire tooth. Just about 1/3 of my front teeth, and 1/2 of the rest. Lol.

Here's an updated smile pic. I'm a bit self conscious about how my one tooth now looks longer than my other lol.