My Damon Clear braces journey!

If you want to share the detailed saga of your braces story, this is the place to do it. You can use this forum as a braces journal, editing and updating your posts as your treatment goes on. Remember to also visit the main ArchWired.com site for additional stories from other readers!

ATTENTION NEW MEMBERS: Do not post full-face photos or personal contact information on this website. We have had problems with people re-posting members' photos on fetish websites. Please only post photos of your teeth, not your whole face. Keep your email and your personal information private. Thank you.

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onwardsandupwards
Posts: 78
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 1:01 am

My Damon Clear braces journey!

#1 Post by onwardsandupwards »

Hello :D

I already posted an brief intro to my story of braces here http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... =3&t=48914 and have posted more detail on my blog at http://jellythetot.blogspot.com for anyone interested in the back story.

Here's my progress so far, 1 month in!

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^ You can really see the wire has straightened out here where my canine has moved :D

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Not a huge amount of movement yet but I'm super excited to see my uppers start to rotate!

User avatar
aspiromusings
Posts: 213
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:01 am

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#2 Post by aspiromusings »

Congratulations on taking the plunge! you can definitely see some movement esp. on the sides =)

I too had my upper premolars extracted and really a few months into the treatment only regret not doing this whole brace business a little earlier - that said I still got a little emotional reading your blog because almost everything you said resonated with my journey particularly the bit where you said you looked into the mirror and got a little sad :(

Still, it is reassuring to know we are not alone :D

Hang in there, we will both end up with beautiful smiles!
Blog - http://aspiroisbraced.blogspot.com/

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Top Braces on 20th March 2015

Bottom braces on 28th August 2015

Top premolars extracted 25th April 2015

Debraced 15th December 2017 :D :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :-*

onwardsandupwards
Posts: 78
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 1:01 am

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#3 Post by onwardsandupwards »

aspiromusings wrote:Congratulations on taking the plunge! you can definitely see some movement esp. on the sides =)

I too had my upper premolars extracted and really a few months into the treatment only regret not doing this whole brace business a little earlier - that said I still got a little emotional reading your blog because almost everything you said resonated with my journey particularly the bit where you said you looked into the mirror and got a little sad :(

Still, it is reassuring to know we are not alone :D

Hang in there, we will both end up with beautiful smiles!
Thank you! Absolutely, this forum has been amazing for reassurance when I've been feeling down - knowing there are others going through the same thing really helps!!

We will have beautiful smiles! As I said before yours is looking great already :D I woke up with major soreness in my upper teeth today so I am hoping that means things are really happening up there :tingrin: Have you noticed you still get pain in certain teeth randomly? I feel like I should have stopped getting pain by now but I keep getting soreness in different teeth almost on a daily basis!! :shock:

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aspiromusings
Posts: 213
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:01 am

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#4 Post by aspiromusings »

onwardsandupwards wrote:
We will have beautiful smiles! As I said before yours is looking great already :D I woke up with major soreness in my upper teeth today so I am hoping that means things are really happening up there :tingrin: Have you noticed you still get pain in certain teeth randomly? I feel like I should have stopped getting pain by now but I keep getting soreness in different teeth almost on a daily basis!! :shock:
Yes I get random pain on random teeth all the time, its normal I think as different parts move at different speeds to adjust to the wire :-*
Blog - http://aspiroisbraced.blogspot.com/

Image

Top Braces on 20th March 2015

Bottom braces on 28th August 2015

Top premolars extracted 25th April 2015

Debraced 15th December 2017 :D :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :-*

onwardsandupwards
Posts: 78
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 1:01 am

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#5 Post by onwardsandupwards »

I had my first adjustment this morning! I'm now on stronger wires & all of my uppers are now bracketed & wired up.

Besides the fact I have got major aches going on and can no longer chew, I'm thrilled with my progress so far :D

Here are my official (almost) 8 week progress pics, courtesy of my orthodontist.

Before (day braces were put on) / After (today)

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(apologies for the grim extraction areas & staining :yuck: )

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And one by me:

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NeilH
Posts: 841
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 1:46 pm
Location: UK

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#6 Post by NeilH »

That's really good progress with nicely rounded arches and I can see the extraction gaps closing already. Hope the soreness goes away soon.

onwardsandupwards
Posts: 78
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 1:01 am

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#7 Post by onwardsandupwards »

NeilH wrote:That's really good progress with nicely rounded arches and I can see the extraction gaps closing already. Hope the soreness goes away soon.
Thank you Neil, I hope so too! Good luck with the final stages of your journey - your teeth are looking really great! Fingers crossed for a new year braces removal!

metalliKa
Posts: 486
Joined: Tue May 05, 2015 7:25 pm

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#8 Post by metalliKa »

Your teeth are turning in such a short period of time! Before you know it, you'll be off braces!
Offenses: Skeletal and Dental Class 2 malocclusion
Sentence: 12-15 months
Jailed: 3/24/15
Released: 5/24/16
Life behind brackets: http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... =9&t=48554

onwardsandupwards
Posts: 78
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 1:01 am

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#9 Post by onwardsandupwards »

Hello all! I had my second adjustment a week ago so thought I'd post a quick progress update. 3 and a half months already!! :)

Before (around 1 month) / Now (3 and a half months ish)

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The gap has gone! :jump:

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Movement has slowed a lot recently and I'm also much less obsessed about checking my teeth for movement every time I spot a mirror these days :lol:
Since my front teeth have straightened out so quickly any changes happening now are much less noticeable in comparison. The focus seems to be on my molars and getting everything lined up back there too, as they weren't all joined on the wire initially.

I know this sounds sadistic but I'm itching to get a move on with closing my extraction gaps & fixing my overjet now, even though that will mean the dreaded elastics. I know I will definitely regret saying this as they sound like hell on earth :D

I hope you're all doing okay and looking forward to Christmas! My next adjustment will be in the New Year so I'm very glad I will be able to enjoy all the festivities and food with no adjustments and pain to worry about!

xxx

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newbite
Posts: 378
Joined: Sun Jul 13, 2014 11:53 am

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#10 Post by newbite »

Your teeth look wonderful! I don't know how I missed your story, we had very similar front teeth (and that rotation seems to be rare!). Your teeth have moved so fast!! I wonder if having the extractions helped with that?

My front teeth refused to rotate out until about six months in when I first got a rectangular wire. They basically laughed at the puny round wires. And, boy, did they hurt when they moved!! I totally feel your pain.

It looks like your front teeth aren't worn down very much in the middle. Lucky! Mine were very worn down (like triangles) and the ortho could only shave off so much or else they would have been too short. I'm getting them bonded in two weeks. Woohoo then I actually will have *normal* front teeth!

You are going to have a great result. I've had my braces off about two weeks now and I can barely remember what my teeth used to look like. Thank god. I think that particular rotation of the front teeth is one of the worst because it instantly makes the smile smaller and I, for one, perpetually had a shadow between my front teeth as if I had a giant gap and tiny front teeth.

Best of luck with the rest of your treatment! :jump:
•Braces placed August 14, 2014
•Deband November 11, 2015
•Permanent retainer top and bottom
•Essix retainers top and bottom 16 hr/day for a year and then nightly afterwards.

My story: http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... 51#p455351

NeilH
Posts: 841
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 1:46 pm
Location: UK

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#11 Post by NeilH »

Hi, it looks like you are making great progress and I really like the detailed side by side photos, I wish I had done that! Don't worry about the elastics to close any gaps or to fix any overbite or overjet, I had power chains and class 2 elastics and they were absolutely no issue at all. I know everyone reacts differently but I can honestly say the powerchains did not hurt at all and the class 2 elastics only took 5 minutes to get used to and produced great results really quickly. The more you wear your elastics the quicker the results so you might as well embrace them as part of the rich orthodontic experience.

onwardsandupwards
Posts: 78
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 1:01 am

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#12 Post by onwardsandupwards »

newbite wrote:Your teeth look wonderful! I don't know how I missed your story, we had very similar front teeth (and that rotation seems to be rare!). Your teeth have moved so fast!! I wonder if having the extractions helped with that?

My front teeth refused to rotate out until about six months in when I first got a rectangular wire. They basically laughed at the puny round wires. And, boy, did they hurt when they moved!! I totally feel your pain.

It looks like your front teeth aren't worn down very much in the middle. Lucky! Mine were very worn down (like triangles) and the ortho could only shave off so much or else they would have been too short. I'm getting them bonded in two weeks. Woohoo then I actually will have *normal* front teeth!

You are going to have a great result. I've had my braces off about two weeks now and I can barely remember what my teeth used to look like. Thank god. I think that particular rotation of the front teeth is one of the worst because it instantly makes the smile smaller and I, for one, perpetually had a shadow between my front teeth as if I had a giant gap and tiny front teeth.

Best of luck with the rest of your treatment! :jump:
newbite thank you so much for the lovely encouraging words - I spent ages scouring the forum when I first joined for people with similar teeth and yours seemed to be the only other! It really doesn't seem to be very common at all!
I have been low level stalking your thread since joining here and your progress gave me SO much encouragement. Your teeth moved so so quickly overall, even if the front two took a bit longer than you would have liked! I just checked your recent posts and saw the photos since you had the top braces removed and they look AMAZING! You must be so happy, and so excited to get the bonding done (though to be honest they look great as they are). I can't wait to see your final result :D Gets me all excited for my own debracing (only another year or more, woo....! :crazy: )
I know what you mean about forgetting how they used to look - I find myself looking in the mirror and forgetting how they used to be already and it has only been a few months, I won't recognise myself when they're off! :lol:
NeilH wrote:Hi, it looks like you are making great progress and I really like the detailed side by side photos, I wish I had done that! Don't worry about the elastics to close any gaps or to fix any overbite or overjet, I had power chains and class 2 elastics and they were absolutely no issue at all. I know everyone reacts differently but I can honestly say the powerchains did not hurt at all and the class 2 elastics only took 5 minutes to get used to and produced great results really quickly. The more you wear your elastics the quicker the results so you might as well embrace them as part of the rich orthodontic experience.
Thanks so much for the reassurance Neil, I really hope I adjust to them as well as you did! I am weirdly looking forward to the challenge, I know I will be diligent even if they are a pain at first (in every sense) but I know it will be worth it in the end. I feel really lucky to actually be able to get braces and experience it all, good and bad, so I'm 100% with you on fully embracing them!

onwardsandupwards
Posts: 78
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 1:01 am

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#13 Post by onwardsandupwards »

Wow It has been a looong time since I last posted here! Can't believe it's March already, this year is flying by!

I haven't taken any photos at all for over 2 months because movement has slowed a lot and is much more subtle day to day - but comparing December's pics with today's has shown just how much really has changed which is awesome :D

Progress comparison - Month 1 / Month 3 / Month 6/7

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Everything has really straightened out which is amazing, in only 6 months!

I had an adjustment on the 6th of Jan and my orthodontist bumped me up two wires which I think made a huge difference - was pretty sore for a couple of days but I think it was worth it! I also got a powerchain (ouch) on the bottoms to close up a big gap which had appeared between the front two incisors but it closed up nicely. I had the powerchain removed at my last appointment a couple of weeks ago and I was worried the gap would return again without it but all seems okay so far. Otherwise no major changes, went up another wire on the top & no change to the bottoms as they're more or less straight - just waiting for the top to catch up now!

Since my front teeth have straightened out the overjet seems to be even more obvious so I'm really excited to see that reduced once I start with elastics. Not sure when that will be yet though as my back molars are still being twisted into position.

If things are on track for 18 months I've now got less than a year to go now :jump:

NeilH
Posts: 841
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 1:46 pm
Location: UK

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#14 Post by NeilH »

What super progress, they are looking really good. It's amazing how orthodontics works, it seems so simple but the skill of bracket placement and selecting the most appropriate wires lies with the orthodontist to produce the fantastic result that we all aspire to. I'm sure you will get used to the elastics really quickly when you get them and will be motivated to wear them to get everything lined up perfectly in no time at all.

onwardsandupwards
Posts: 78
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 1:01 am

Re: My Damon Clear braces journey!

#15 Post by onwardsandupwards »

The elastics have arriiiiived!!!

I had an adjustment yesterday and finally got my first set of elastics (class 2) to correct my overjet. I've also got them going horizontally on either side to close up my extraction gaps, yaaaay!!

Definitely feeling them today though, I had to resort to painkillers for the first time in months. Perhaps I'm just really sadistic but I kinda like the pain, it feels like things are happening. I do not, however, like having to suck on bread until its soft enough to mush with my tongue.

I shall update again soon with some pics!

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