Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi all - I decided to start a thread here so I can monitor my progress (hope thats ok).

Short intro - Im 31 and had braces from 15-17. I dont even remember what my smile looked like when I got them off except that everything was pretty much perfect but about a year later things relapsed (jaw growth, crossbite formed, open bite formed, wisdom teeth came in and crowded the top arch significantly. They grew in impacted, got infected and I have had all 4 removed).
I saw an ortho locally at age 24/25 who gave me some options to fix the relapse:

1) I either needed surgery to fix my bite with braces before and after... OR
2) A tooth removed and then braces to fix everything

Needless to say I didnt like either of these options.
Years later - I find a new ortho for a second opinion, and I just totally loved her office and the staff there - and additionally, she claims she can fix everything with NO surgery and NO teeth being removed (although she would do some IPR - but really - thats BETTER than getting an extraction). She was also part of a study group with other orthos where she showed them my case and they all confirmed "profile looks fine - she doesnt need surgery" (*phew!*).

So now I have Innovation C for a sentence of 18 months (not too bad!). I dont particularly like them (I prefer how Damon Clear look if I am being honest) but I think as progress keeps going, I will just be happy that things are working

If you are interested in my "stats" - here they are:
PATIENT'SCHIEF CONCERN: Relapse from prior orthodontic treatment, crowding, open bite
EXTRAORAL ANALYSIS
Facial type: dolichofacial
Facial structures: symmetrical
Facial profile: straight
Chin prominence: normal
SMILE ANALYSIS
Maxillary incisor show when smiling: 7 mm
Mandibular midline 2mm to the right
OCCLUSAL ANALYSIS
Right side class III molar,right side class III canine
Left side class I molar,left side class I canine
Mild maxillary crowding, mild mandibular crowding
Overbite: -3 mm, overjet: -1mm
Flat curve of spee
Anterior Crossbite
SKELETAL/TMJ EVALUATION:WNL
RADIOGRAPHIC FINDINGS: WNL
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:Active tongue-thrusting habit

ComprehensiveOrthodontic Treatmentfor 18 months
Position brackets incisal on upper anterior teeth
Tonguethrust habit spikes on upper and lower anterior teeth
Level and align, elastics
Finish/Detail
Retention with upper/lower essix and upper/lower lingual fixed



So here is a 2 week progress pics. I plan on updating every week if there is anything significantly different:

Welcome, your braces look great! Your journey is starting a couple of months before mine, but I have a similar open bite and cross bite. Looking forward to seeing your progress as I'll probably be follow a similar treatment plan. Let me know how annoying those tongue spurs are, as these were mentioned as a possible part of my treatment plan as well.

HummerMan3 wrote:Welcome, your braces look great! Your journey is starting a couple of months before mine, but I have a similar open bite and cross bite. Looking forward to seeing your progress as I'll probably be follow a similar treatment plan. Let me know how annoying those tongue spurs are, as these were mentioned as a possible part of my treatment plan as well.

Thank you! I have been trying to get used to them best I can. Pretty happy things will start moving soon.

And thats great you mentioned your own teeth - Ive actually been hoping to find someone in a similar boat as me. It would be really cool to compare methods our orthos use. Im curious how she will fix the crossbite (and the horrendous midline shift I have on the bottom).

Ill let you know about the tongue spikes when I get them in. She knows I am not looking forward to it, lol!

When do you get your braces on?

Mimo1985 wrote:
When do you get your braces on?

Don't know yet. I saw 3 orthos for consultation. One wanted me to set a tentative brace date before leaving the office, which I did for July 19. Another had me go see an oral surgeon (done yesterday) prior to putting together a treatment plan. I see him again on June 7. Based on my schedule for the next few weeks, July 7 is probably the earliest I could get them on.

HummerMan3 wrote:

Mimo1985 wrote:
When do you get your braces on?

Don't know yet. I saw 3 orthos for consultation. One wanted me to set a tentative brace date before leaving the office, which I did for July 19. Another had me go see an oral surgeon (done yesterday) prior to putting together a treatment plan. I see him again on June 7. Based on my schedule for the next few weeks, July 7 is probably the earliest I could get them on.

Ah ok - I wish you the the best of luck! Im sure you are eager to get things moving!

Here is an update from Day 17. Not a huge difference but I noticed one tooth has moved more forward. My boyfriend actually noticed it first.

Today is actually day 20 and the only thing I can tell is that I feel like my teeth feel squishy - if that makes sense. I can basically eat everything I want to which is good - except the last couple days my bottom arch has been a lot more sensitive. It seems that things are more loose - Im anticipating the one month mark to see how things look.

Hi all - I have a short 3 week update with pics.

Things are moving I think!
Not a lot but some. Bite is getting closed more, but I also think the accelerated speed is also due to my bumpers being ground down. I have a tooth touching in the front that I haven't felt touch in ages.
Im looking forward to having the top arch open up more. The top crowding is something Im really excited to see straight.


Other things - I predict I will need them to reinstall cement bumpers in the back (*groan*). The right side is starting to hit brackets, and until they start fixing the crossbite I think they will have to keep those on. Bummer for me - but Im already sort of used to them so it shouldnt be too bad.


Please excuse the yellowness of my teeth - it has to do with the brightness adjustment on my iPhone camera.

Hi everyone -

I had my 6 week visit a little earlier than planned because I managed to break a bracket off in the back (so I saw my ortho at week 4) but she decided that everything was moving so well that we didnt need to change the wire or replace the bracket.

She changed by rubber band positions to 4 - 3 - 3 and now the bands are more towards the back than in the front. I told her I was having some strange contact with some teeth in the front and she assured me over time the front will start to overlap the bottom teeth and fix the open bite. For now it just feels a bit awkward.

Anyway here are my photos! Pretty happy to see one of my teeth that was pretty far back has positioned in the front now.

Your teeth move at warp speed!!!

CCinBraces wrote:Your teeth move at warp speed!!!

I know its creepy isnt it??

Well this week things have been slowing down a lot - not much movement from my lower arch but there are probably some subtle things moving around. I apparently and not getting a wire changed out just yet but Im hoping by month 4-5 maybe the teeth will be reasonably straight/ish.

Wow! So much progress! Congratulations

Month 5! Teeth are looking pretty nice so far. Still need to work on the slip and get those teeth tucked under but were on our way

Looking great!!

Wow fantastic progress. I guess you will get your braces out faster than you think

Hey all! So I miscalculated my ticker down there and I actually am halfway through treatment. Im at month 8 and have another 8 theoretical months to go.

I saw my ortho today and she switched out my wires on both top and bottom for some pretty hefty ones. Previous to this current set, we had to rebond some brackets to help align the roots of the teeth. My xrays showed this needed to be done so we did that, and now we are progressing to the heavier wires wit the roots having been aligned.
She also added a silver chain for the bottom teeth (I am really hoping this helps tuck the bottom teeth under the top on the left side - that gap totally annoys me).

She mentioned also I will be able to switch to Invisilign in 3 weeks for a very minimal cost if I wanted (which I said I would love to do). So I will post one last photo in another three weeks to show you guys my progress with the Daemons!