Sim's Story - The Nightmare is Over! Naked pics!

[SimInsomniac]

Thanks for the reassurance on the colour Karen. Some days I like it others I don't. It initially got bad reception from my friends and family but they're my braces and I'll have what I like.
It's wonderful to hear from you again Linda, your right about the hooks, I would never have known they were there if he didn't tell me at the time.

I've passed the 18 month mark, and while it's sad that it's been this long this is probably the most exciting period so far. Within a day or two (!!!) my bite began changing for the better. It seems more deep now, that I almost hit the lower incisor brackets, but also I can feel molars touching! It's overall more comfortable to bite down than before andI enjoy biting down on the molars to make noises. Music to my ears, all in the name of progress. It's amazing to think this is all because of a small wire change which from which I hardly felt any more pressure than before. So much early changes and having to wait until May is very annoying. Maybe if I found an excuse to go in sooner he'd move onto another step in treatment early.

Bite photos:




Not a good one...



Sim

[Granola]

Hi! Just read through your story (fun read). Sorry you are feeling disappointed in passing the 18 month mark that you hoped you'd not be in braces for. I know in the end you'll be glad that it took the time it took, because your teeth and bite will be in even better shape than they are already. They really are looking fantastic. I like the turquoise powerchain very much.

Hope that May appointment is here before you know it.

[SimInsomniac]

Thanks Karen, Granola and Linda!

Haven't posted here for a few weeks and I'm a bit snap happy lately! So I have some more photos, clearer than before because I'm using my new digital SLR camera!

Bite is still good, and it seems the time has flown. I can't believe it was a month ago I was last at the ortho, and only just over a month until I'm there again.

Bite frontal view



Right side bite



And the left (grrr sorry about the food! )



Anyway, I may update again in another few weeks if there's much to report.
Thanks again for the support.

Sim

[SimInsomniac]

Hi Meryaten, Karen and Linda! I'm very flattered.

I found last night that some of a bracket has been chipped off slightly on a lower central incisor. I notice it was on those last photos. While it isn't major, I want it looked at before May so I tried to get an appointment with my ortho. I found he only does 1 day a week! And he's the practice manager... Therefore the soonest I can see him is April 12th!
No wonder all my appointments have to be so far apart. It's made me worry that the remainder of my treatment is going to go on longer than necessary at this rate.
Rant over, at least it's sooner than May and who knows, if I'm lucky he might get rid of those blue powerchains and give me elastics early! That's my faint hope anyway.

Sim

[SimInsomniac]

Wow! I was just looking through some old photos and I finally found a slightly better before picture. I practically had fangs! I really don't remember my teeth pre-braces, it's been too long.



And trying to get the same angle, but around 22 months later (this was a few months before treatment began!)



It's photos like this that make the journey all the more worthwhile.
Just something I wanted to share before I go in to my ortho again next week.

Sim

[SimInsomniac]

Well today I went in for an "emergency" appointment to check if my chipped bracket was a cause for concern and try and scab a new powerchain as well.

As it turned out, the bracket isn't causing any harm to my progress so it was left as it is. The good news is I got my new powerchain, and I decided to play it safe and go clear! It looks fabulous, so much better than silver and blue, it's hardly noticeable.
Sadly, no proper adjustments were made. I had a slight hope that I'd be started on elastics or begin tweaking early, but seeing as I'm going early May my ortho wants to leave that appointment as it is and move on then I think. He did however think my bite was looking great and I agree, it's amazing that just a wire change can move my teeth down so much in under 2 months.

I asked a vague question about my remaining duration. Rather than ask for months I simply wondered if I'd be naked by the time I'm 18 (November) and he seems very certain of that! And even if it did go past then I won't have to start paying. Good news all around.

Couple of photos...





Sim

[joney]

Wow Sim

Your teeth look pretty much perfect to me. Don't think you have much longer left. By the way I had fangs too! Great to write that in the past tense.

Regards
Joney

[jenfire]

Your teeth are looking great! It's awesome that you will be done by your 18th birthday.

[SimInsomniac]

Thank you ever so much joney, jenfire, Linda, Karen and Ken! Glad you like the new look.

The encouragement and the new powerchain seems to be doing an amazing job. Having the change has given my teeth the push (or pull literally!) they need and I'm gap free! At least I think so, all my extraction gaps are no more, there is contact between my remaining premolars and canines.
This feels like a huge achievement, being one of the main objectives of treatment. This leaves only my bite and tweaking to be sorted out so May should be the start of the Elastic Saga. The excitement just keeps coming!

I'll take my first gapless photos soon, once I get food out of my mouth.

Sim

[SimInsomniac]

As promised, pics!

Upper Arch


Hope those overlapping incisors get sorted soon.

Right side



Left side


May not look completely shut but they meet towards the back.

Sim

[SimInsomniac]

9th(?) Adjustment

So I went in today to get adjusted, seeming pretty sure things were going to be moving on again. Very short wait, there was only one other person in the waiting room: must be a record!
I did the usual open, bite, open, etc. My ortho thinks my bite is looking great, but it just needs that little bit more of a push to get full occlusion at the back, the left side more than the right. As I guessed, this meant one thing: Elastics!
It's a very easy to remember configuration... From my hooks between the laterals and canines to both of my first molars, making a triangle. This is 24/7 except when cleaning or eating if I prefer. I haven't tried putting them in yet, I've kept what he put in at the time and so far no dangerous elastic bands flying out of my mouth. They didn't seem as bad as I thought, although now I've tried eating it's a very weird sensation not being able to fully open my mouth, not to mention my teeth being tender. The tenderness isn't helped by an adjustment to the upper wire. I asked about my overlapping front incisors and he's apparently made a bend in the wire. It must be a very small and discreet bend because I can't see any change in the wire at all, but I can definitely feel it! I hope this sorts out the incisors, although it seemed my ortho wasn't going to do anything about them before I brought it up.

Finally, I got some good news at the end of my adjustment... I go back in about 6 weeks. My date was originally June 14th to have a new adjustment, but I've literally just remembered I have work experience that week and I don't want to put that aside for this, so I'll see if I can get an appointment the week before with my ortho. He said that when I go in again, we could probably talk about getting the braces removed! If things go to plan, I'd hope that means maybe a July debracing date. Sounds like an amazing start to my summer holidays, freedom all around!

I'll get some photos up at some point, maybe I'll wait until I see some noticeable changes to save me effectively posting the same photos as before.

Sim

[SimInsomniac]

Hi Linda, Meryaten and Karen!
Thanks for the replies. It's been a much easier ride than I thought so far. I've had no irritation on my cheeks so far, and there's very little tenderness now. I'm trying to get my mouth to adapt to them as soon as possible by eating normally with the elastics and so far so good, just some snapping bands.

As I promised, I've got a couple of photos of the configuration.







Oh, and I got my next appointment set for June 7th, so let's hope these elastics pull those teeth together plenty between now and then!

Sim

[Granola]

Wow, things are looking really great there!

I'm rooting for you (bad pun, I know) for a July debrace date!

[SimInsomniac]

Thanks Meryaten, Granola, Karen and Linda!

I'm pretty stoked at the moment. Elastics are my new love, even if they break a lot! I wanted to show some comparisons between from before elastics to now, just over a week after getting them.

Right side




Left side






Subtle changes but pleasing nonetheless. I've been good with wearing them, taking them out for eating now because I was getting through at least 2 pairs of elastics a day with the tearing food caused.

Sim

[SimInsomniac]

Thanks Karen, Meryaten and Linda!

Karen: It is really motivating! Maybe it also helps that I am in control of the progress to an extent. And so far it seems to be paying off!
Meryaten: Interesting to know about what type of elastic they are. I like the sound of "finishing"!

I can't wait for my appointment Thursday next week. I don't think I'll get a date sadly, because things aren't quite there yet. But who knows? I can hope! My bites certainly feels good, there's no noticeable changes from the last photos but my premolars are soooooo close to meeting at last. In fact I woke up this morning with a slight pain in one of them so I think they have been meeting when I clench in my sleep.
Will the discomfort stop once they're used to contact?

I'm also starting to plan to ask for some aesthetic changes. The triangle between my central incisors still bugs me. We talked last time about this and he was quite quick to dismiss it, saying it was "perfectly normal" but he could make those teeth "more square" if I really wanted it. I'm guessing that's some form of IPR, so I think next time I'll pursue the idea and see what he thinks the impacts will be. I don't want to mess things up when I'm getting so close!
I'll also see if he can shave down some of the lower incisors edges to make them more straight. Of course, if he thinks it will do more harm than good then I can live with them as they are. These are just little things that bug me, and I think this is the time in treatment to ask.

I'll next have photos after the adjustment, in the mean time I think I need a new avatar.

Sim