JN_Woods's Story (With Picture Updates)

[JN_Woods]

Hello everyone. I'm 24 and just like a lot of you I couldn't get braces because my parents didn't want to pay for them -- they thought I didn't need them plus they are pretty expensive. So, here I am at 24 paying for it on my own. I know I have some pretty bad crowding, especially on the bottom, but no one I know realizes how bad because I don't smile much and the way I talk doesn't show my teeth. Everyone thinks I'm making a huge mistake and wasting a bunch of money, but not me! I wanted to document my experience both to see my progress and so others can see how braces could benefit them.


I went for my initial consultation on 8/23/05 at 10:30 AM and went ahead and had them do the additional xrays and molds while I was there. I went back on 8/31/05 at 9 AM for the spacers (8 of them). Boy, these things are brutal. I was fine the entire first day, but the next morning I woke up at 7 in terrible pain. I'm doing better today and can eat some semi-solid food now. I'm ready to get this started, so my next appointment is 9/7/05 at 9 AM (the day after my root canal on my crown) to get my upper braces on and get the bands fitted for my expanders (then my spacers go back in), which will go on the following week. I can't believe how much worse my teeth are than I had realized. The models of my teeth and pictures show how much help my teeth needed.


Problem List (according to my ortho):
-Crowded Teeth
-Crooked Teeth
-Posterior Crossbite on Right Side
-Posterior Crossbite on Left Side
-Deep Bite
-Lack of Proper Front Tooth Function
-Back Teeth Meet Abnormally
-Severe Malocclusion



Cost: $5433 (no insurance)
-includes all visits, braces, expanders, retainer, plus visits for 2 years after braces come off


Treatment Elements:
-Braces on Upper Teeth
-Braces on Lower Teeth
-Expander on Uppers
-Expander on Lowers
-Rubber Bands at some time
-Extended Part-time Retainer Wear (1 year FULL TIME)


Treatment Length: 24-27 months
-might be extended because I am considered "complex" (worse than severe)


Here are some pictures from my initial consultation that I scanned from my treatment sheet - my teeth are NOT that yellow. Please don't mind my many fillings and my crown!

Front 8/23/05


Left 8/23/05


Right 8/23/05


Upper 8/23/05


Lower 8/23/05




I'm so happy I found this site before I begin my braces journey.

[LisaH]

Welcome! I'm sure you're going to be so happy with your results. I look forward to following your progress. Take care, and warm salt water rinses every night really help the pain and move things along

[jennielee81]

HI and WELCOME!

My upper arch looks almost like yours from the "inside" with the hourglass shape: http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/j ... inning.jpg

It has rounded out nicely but I don't have any new pictures that really show that...maybe next visit to my ortho.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!! Can't wait to watch your progress.

Jenn

[JN_Woods]

Thank you Jenn and Lisa. I've already been trying out the salt water rinse. Jenn, my upper arch does look like yours. I had never thought about it, but it is hourglass shaped.

[JN_Woods]

9/6/05
I was *supposed* to have a root canal, but I went in to see my dentist and they did another x-ray and he started poking around my teeth. Well, since I had spacers on my teeth were kinda sore, then he poked the most painful tooth I had (2 away from the "bad" tooth). He said the x-ray wasn't conclusive and since he couldn't poke around he said we'd better wait. Good news to me! Maybe when the braces correct my bite, that will fix the problem.


9/7/05
Brace day! Well, at least for my uppers. Since my spacers were so rough last time (hello, blood) the assistant took out my spacers one tooth at a time to fit my molar bands. After we were finished with my 4 molars and their bands, she took an impression, then off with the bands (yeah, I bled a lot--more than last time) then the spacers went back on, which hurt worse than when they first went on but the pain soon faded. Then my face was stretched out and they began. The etchant was absolutely foul. The whole process didn't take that long--maybe an hour. When they took off my face expander thing, my lips felt my braces and oh boy did they feel huge and uneven. They looked better than I was expecting. They didn't put my upper wire in yet because I go back next week to get my expanders and molar bands, so I have these things in my mouth and they aren't doing anything!

I glanced at my ortho's info sheet about me. I need a quad-helix expander on my upper arch and a bi-helix expander on my lower arch. Hawley retainers on top and bottom. I have 3M Unitek Clarity ceramics on my uppers. I have chosen SmartClip (self-ligating) metal for my lowers, but I'm debating about regular metal ones so I can choose colors. I'm nervous about that right now but I think once I get settled that I'll want to play around with the colors. I have a few months until they put my bottoms on (but they already have the SmartClips with my folder).

I'm slightly concerned that my teeth won't be good enough when the braces come off. I know my lower jaw is kinda short and when I asked the lady who made all of the arrangements (financial, choosing my type of braces, etc.) she kinda acted weird about the outcome. Has anyone else dealt with this? I guess I'll be happy with any improvement but I'd love to have perfect teeth.


9/7/05 Pre-braces




9/8/05 The day after



9/11/05
How am I handling the braces? Okay. The night I got my braces and the next day were painful. My ceramics have little hooks on the canines and molars. One of my molar hooks dug into my cheek and gave me a little sore, but the salt water rinses really helped it heal. I wore wax 24/7 for the first day-and-a-half, but now I'm doing fine without. I'm kinda glad that I got a test run with just the braces because I know next week with my expanders is going to be rough. I'm not sure if the wire will bother me or not. I've been eating anything I want and the braces aren't bugging me. I had steak fajitas last night (gross to clean out though). The spacers aren't even bugging me too much anymore. My lips are outrageously chapped right now, especially at the corners, and I'm blaming the braces. My boyfriend says they are cute on me (let's hope he doesn't have a fetish). He's so lucky because he has perfectly straight teeth and never had braces, plus he's never had a cavity (and he never flosses).

I told you my teeth weren't that yellow.


Would you consider my "Brace Day" the day I got the brackets on or the day they put in the wire?

Jen

[MadeIn1984]

Congratulations on beginning your journey. I, like you, also don't have dental insurance. I'm also paying about the same as you and getting the same deal.

I'm sorry to hear about the discomfort, but as the old adage say "No beauty without some pain." lol Or something like that.

I'm sure everything will turn out well. I'm crossing my fingers for ya!

[braceface1230]

First off, I'd like to say I don't think that you're teeth looked bad before the braces. They have a little different "way" about them, but in a very symetrical way. But I can see where you would want more of an arch. Braces will definately help achieve that. It'll be exciting to watch the process. Good luck!!!

[JN_Woods]

Thank you MadeIn1984, KK and Mookyyzed for your words of encouragement.

9/14/05
I got my expanders and archwire this morning. As soon as she put in the wire I felt pressure. I'm really feeling it now! It's not a ton of pain, more like an achy kind of pain. I've been eating real food, so it isn't too bad. I did try to bite into a White Castle tonight and it was bad, so I just had to rip it up and put it in my mouth.

I noticed a yellow spot on my wire between my 2 front teeth in my picture, so I had my boyfriend check it out with a flashlight and there is indeed a spot there. Is this normal? I don't care because it took a flashlight to see it, but I'm just curious. They used a size 18 Thermal wire on me (a round, flexible wire) because my teeth are at different stages; it will probably stay in after my next adjustment. The expanders will probably be in about 6 months.



9/14/05 My new wire


9/14/05 Upper expander


9/14/05 Lower expander



Also, I checked out the 3M Unitek site about the SmartClips brackets (self-ligating) that I had chosen for my bottom braces and it said you can use ligatures there, but I asked at the ortho and they said they don't do that but I still had time to switch to the regular metal brackets. I'm not sure if I'll be brave enough to do colors or not, but I think I'd like the option.

Does anyone watch South Park? You know Stan's sister Shelley? Well, when I say "stupid turds" I sound just like her, seriously. I'm really having trouble with words like that--my tongue catches on my expander.

[**shinyhappybraceface**]

I had a color (I think it was yellow?) marking the center of my archwire, as well as several colors marking certain brackets. I was assured that, after a few brushings, they'd go away, but I couldn't take it.

I brushed once and they were still there - then I immediately brushed again. Then I scratched the color off with my fingernail. Gross, I know, but it was like wax - came right off.

[JN_Woods]

Thank you KK and **shinyhappybraceface**. My yellow mark on my archwire is gone. I'm still learning about all of this!


9/18/05
Flossing is definitely different with braces (well, mostly the archwire). I'm still trying to get in around my molar bands. I used some Glide threader floss on a couple and got in there and out popped some glue. I called my ortho and they told me I could use a WaterPik back there, so I bought one and I'm trying to figure it out. Boy is it messy and noisy.

My two front teeth are pretty sore and I can't bite into anything too well, but I can eat almost anything as long as I cut it up. I've had a couple hamburgers with barely any discomfort.

Are lower braces more painful? I'm wondering if the people who are having trouble eating are getting their upper and lower braces at the same time.

How do you handle your dental cleanings? Do you have your archwire removed at your ortho, get your cleaning then go back to get your wire put in. I read on here that I should get my cleaning before my adjustment because I might be sore.

The expanders aren't messing up my speech too much (hmmm...maybe that will be lower braces, too). I'm still figuring out how to say some words, but for the most part no one is noticing. I think most of the problem is when my mouth gets flooded in spit.

Self-ligating or traditional metal braces on the bottom? I'm just not sure. I'm looking at more than 2 years with braces, so even if the self-ligating work slightly faster would it make a difference? I'm guessing no. I have a while to think about it, but I'd like some input!

I keep thinking my teeth are already straigtening out, but I guess they could be shifting my teeth back to their pre-spacers positions.

I am actually kind of liking this brushing after every meal and snack thing. I'm sure I'll get tired of this quickly, but I like not having a nasty aftertaste in my mouth after eating. We had Chinese food last night and my boyfriend was griping about how nasty his mouth tasted, while mine was tasting fresh and clean. I did get busted in a public restroom brushing and the chick glanced at me and kept going. That's not so bad. I was pretty nervous about that.

You should definitely get a DentaKit! I ordered a couple and they are so perfect. Lynn has excellent customer service. When my sister gets her braces, I'll get her a couple.


Thank you for all of the encouragement and tips!

Jen

My 1st adjustment is 10/20 at 9:30 AM, 11 days before my birthday. Great. They wanted me to come in 3 days before my birthday, but that's too scary for me.

[JN_Woods]

Your question about which day is your b-day ... I really have no idea as I got my uppers with archwire at the same time. Is interesting, coz I'm sure some would say it's when you get the wire, as the brackets aren't working till then, but I've also read that the braces are 'sharper' etc without the wire and ligs ... so maybe it should be from when your braces were put on! Will be interesting to hear what others think about that one!

KK: Yes, the brackets were a lot sharper without the archwire. They also felt a lot bigger in my mouth. Unfortunately, they are a lot more difficult to floss.

[JN_Woods]

10/20/05

First Adjustment! My upper expander was widened. I felt instant pressure. My ligatures were changed. I didn't think I had much staining on my ligs, but when I saw them next to my new ones they looked gross. They look kinda gross in my pics, too. The lig changing wasn't painful, but there was some pressure. My archwire wasn't changed. I got a 5 out of 5 for my dental hygiene (5 being the best).

My teeth were sore for a few days, but nothing too bad.

My next adjustment is November 30th. They are popping off my lower expander to expand it (the upper was widened in place).




Here are some new pics!

Full View, 10/20/05 before 1st adjustment


Side View, 10/20/05 before 1st adjustment


Upper Arch, 10/20/05 before 1st adjustment


Lower Arch, 10/20/05 before 1st adjustment




So far, I'm pretty happy. I think my front upper teeth look great. I have a little discoloration, but at least they are straightening up. My side view is kinda rough. My ortho said they were going to give me an overjet to ensure that I won't bite of my lower brackets whenever they go on.

[JN_Woods]

I forgot to mention that when I first got the braces on my molars on my right side only touched, then both sides were touching. Yesterday, my left side only molars were touching. So weird. Ah, movement.


Jen

[stargirl]

Ooh! Looking really good.

Just wondering, how did they expand your upper expander in place? Sounds sort of painful!

I know what you mean about molars touching/not touching off and on. As of right now... (let me check!) Yes, only my left molars touch! I can't wait for the day that my bit will finally be corrected!

[JN_Woods]

Ooh! Looking really good.

Just wondering, how did they expand your upper expander in place? Sounds sort of painful!

I know what you mean about molars touching/not touching off and on. As of right now... (let me check!) Yes, only my left molars touch! I can't wait for the day that my bit will finally be corrected!

Stargirl,

They took like a pair of pliers and twisted or bent the wire. It did not hurt at all and I know that sounds worse than it actually was. No pain, but I felt instant pressure.

I can't wait until my molars touch, too!

Jen