TuZZi's 18 years of waiting are finally over! -Update Jan 10

[TuZZi]

Well my mouth is a little less sore today, but I still can't chew anything or drink anything even remotely cold or hot. I went in and got my wires clipped this morning, since the assistant forgot about them yesterday. I had a little laugh when she said "sorry kiddo!" She's a newbie, I'll have her broken in soon enough

Now my back molars are really bugging me.... I'm not sure if it's aggravated just where she cut the wires, or if it's the actual bracket that is doing the damage, but I have nasty marks on my cheeks by those 4 teeth, and it's making my cheeks ache as well. I guess it's back to the wax for tonight!

As fas as the power chains go, I swear the gap on my right bottom is noticably smaller now than it was yesterday.

[alexa]

Wow! Your teeth are looking great!

It must feel great to get that excess hardware outta your mouth and move on with your orthodontic journey...nice chains!

--alexa

[Gennel]

Wow!
I know your last pic of you is not a closeup but I can see major changes and it looks great girl. Take some closeups outside and they will be very clear. I would love to see your progress.


Gennel

[Gennel]

oops ,sorry I actually posted without reading all the posts. I just saw your closeups and the progress is amazing. There is no other word to describe it.


Gennel

[TuZZi]

w000 w0000 it's been a year baby! I'm totally excited.... went to the ortho today, and felt like throwing a party afterwards!!

I got my wires bumped up, powerchains taken off and wire ties used instead, and FINALLY got some coloured ligs again!! Ah I'm like a new person! hehe

The only downer was my ortho said "well you're about halfway done, I told you a year and a half to 2 years right?" I made sure I said, "no way Jose, you said a year and a half, maybe shorter," but he didn't seem to remember that. Maybe my braces won't be off before my 10 year reunion after all

Oh well, thought I'd pop in and say hello.... I haven't been on in like FOREVER! Pics of my new blue ligs to come tomorrow hopefully

[M1k3y]

Give us an update Tuzzi.

[TuZZi]

Phew! Yet again I can't believe 4 months has gone by since I posted to my journal!

Well, things have definately changed in my mouth since my 1 year "Braceaversary" - the most noticable (to me anyways) is the fact that my front teeth are now even across the bottom, and one isn't quite so pointy, as they were all shaped at my last appointment. There were noticeable grooves along the bottoms of my teeth that are no longer there.... they finally look pretty even!

At my last appointment, the ortho actually asked me what I wanted him to fix next, so I told him I'd like my molars to get closer together (top to bottom) so I could actually use those teeth to chew with soon. So he took out my wire, bumped it up to a better one, threw some kinks into it, twisted it around, and then stuck it in.... and holy was there a lot of pressure all of a sudden! It was a great feeling though, I love it when I get adjustments.... it just feels better knowing the braces are working! Once again, I'm elastics free for this month, but that should change next week at my next appointment.

What has happened (that I can remember) since my last post:

**I got my upper molar bands taken off, and brackets put on instead due to inflamed gums from the metal.
**I used elastics on my left side from september to the beginning of december.
**I had Pan x-rays done to see how my roots are measuring up. Holy what a difference from my original x-rays.
**Saw that my wisdom teeth are more crooked now than ever before... so they may have to be wired in soon too
**WON AN ORAL-B SONIC COMPLETE TOOTHBRUSH!!! My ortho has a draw for one each month, and I finally remembered to enter my name, so I was totally stoked to hear I won!! Just as my other brush was starting to fade as well.
**Made my jelly blue ligs turn my own shade of "Radioactive Ninja Turtle green" after a curry dish and mustard on hotdogs at a birthday party.
**Had my teeth shaped or "shaved" at my last appointment. My ortho made my front teeth straight across the bottom, and also rounded the edges a bit. Didn't hurt one bit.

Well, enough with the words.... the pictures can speak for themselves

Once again... this is where I started, August 31, 2005:


Jelly blue for September:


Radioactive Ninja Turtle Green!!


My uppers on my last day (Nov 7) of jelly blue and green:


November's colour - PURPLE! I had to see why KK liked it so much... I loved it!


Closeup of my new shaped teeth - notice the difference between this pic and the last....


My new grill:


I'll post my new colour pics next week after the 10th. Still haven't decided yet... but I think it's time to make a bold choice before I don't get to make one anymore!!

[SimInsomniac]

That's a tremendous improvement in your smile! The final result will be fabulous I'm sure.
It's also very interesting looking at your progress in this time, because I had my braces put one whole day before you. Yours look nicer though. The shaving has made them look so finished! It can't be long left for you now.
Hope all goes well.

Sim

[M1k3y]

Amazing!!! I love how your teeth looked very after the shaping process. If I may ask how do they "shape" your teeth? I do plan to have this done but I'm curious as to what is done.

[TuZZi]

Thanks for the encouragement guys, I knew I could count on you

As for the shaping, all the ortho does is grab a tool much like a rounded polisher or manicure tool and buffs out the edges, grooves, pits and any sharp spots you may have. The procedure may be called contouring, or re-shaping at some practices, and it can be done by cosmetic dentists, or some regular dentists for usually $50 to $350 a tooth. I <3 Google

[TuZZi]

SOOOOOO I had a pretty boring adjustment today. Ortho #2 was there, so nothing really productive was done compared to the last couple visits.

I was basically re-tied with pink and purple ligs, and told to start wearing elastics again. I now have a Class 2 on my left side, and a triangle on my right... AGAIN... same configuration I've had before.

Here's my new pics. SAME DAY UPDATE BABY!!

Awww aren't they cute?!?!?! I'm not usually a pink OR purple person... but I like them!


I wanted to get my bottom teeth shaped today so they'd match... but only Ortho #1 does that.


Definately going to need some perio after I'm done... my gums are still receeding... just not as bad as they were.

[TuZZi]

SOOOOOO I had a pretty boring adjustment today. Ortho #2 was there, so nothing really productive was done compared to the last couple visits.

I was basically re-tied with pink and purple ligs, and told to start wearing elastics again. I now have a Class 2 on my left side, and a triangle on my right... AGAIN... same configuration I've had before.

Here's my new pics. SAME DAY UPDATE BABY!!

Awww aren't they cute?!?!?! I'm not usually a pink OR purple person... but I like them!


I wanted to get my bottom teeth shaped today so they'd match... but only Ortho #1 does that.


Definately going to need some perio after I'm done... my gums are still receeding... just not as bad as they were.

[TuZZi]

SO I am officially the laziest person on earth, and haven't shared with the rest of you my progress since JANUARY 2007?? My gosh! I'm sorry! I can't believe I didn't update this page since then!

I was officially set free from my wires June 12, 2007! So more than a year has gone by and there's no turning back! My ortho and I are very impressed with the results, and my before and after pictures, and molds are on display at the office to show the magnificent results!

I am now wearing a bottom bonded retainer, as well as a removable one on the top, which I have worn a lot more than I figured I would when this whole process started. If I have my retainer out for even an hour or two, it is tight when I put it back in. My ortho told me to expect to wear the retainer for the rest of my life because my teeth shifted so much, and I was too old for the bones to set once I started But oh well!

I am a lot more confident and smile pretty much continuously now! Everyone makes remarks about how much of a brighter person I am.... which is weird hearing as I'm really bad at taking compliments! (That comes from years of growing up as an ugly child with messed up teeth! - never believe what you hear... no matter how nice it is!)

Now, I have some pictures, but I will have to add them later this week. First, I must remember what picture sites I can remember the passwords for!

I promise I will be back in a couple days....I hope everyone else is having a great braces journey, and thanks for all the previous feedback!!

[Tlal23]

AMAZING!!

But where's your update that you promised?

[Matilda]

Holy smokes! This thread left me with my mouth hanging open!

Absolutely OUTSTANDING results!

Too bad TuZZi isn't around anymore, I'd love to see the after pictures.