Brika's in Braces - 1st adjustment photos (7 weeks)

[lara]

Hey brika,

Awesome progress!

And congrats on being one of those nifty people who can use computer programs to turn pictures into movies. I could definitely use you around my house, assuming of course that you also cook and clean.

And replace the toilet paper roll when it runs out.

[brika]

Hey everyone! Thank you all for the kind comments! Sorry for my late response....

For those that asked:

I use a program called ImageReady (that came with Adobe Photoshop when I installed it) to make the gifs. If anyone else has that program, I'll be happy to explain how to use it!

Otherwise, you may be able to find a Gif Animator online, but I won't be familiar with how it works. But making a gif essentially involves taking two (or more) photos and setting them as "frames" to be played for a certain length of time, which most Gif Animators should be able to do. (To make the fading effect, I just added a couple more frames in between them, making the first photo a little more see-through each time.)

The trickiest part of it all is getting two photos taken from the same angle, so you can truly see the movement!
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Jenn S -- Aww, believe me, I understand why you're nervous to share your pics! But whenever you feel ready to, I'm excited to see the progress you've made!

ripchord -- Thanks! I only wish the top arch would move as much. Also, GOOD LUCK at your appointment today. I really hope today is The Day!!

catfish -- I will definitely keep up with my animation! I can't wait til the "movie" is done, I bet it'll turn out pretty neat! Also, that'll mean I'm done with treatment, haha.

lingualita & Nickk -- Thank you both so much! I'm so glad to hear my photos have been inspirational to you. It makes me feel a lot less weird about posting these out there for the world to see!

XXNECRAXX -- I can probably only really be of help if you've got the same program I do (ImageReady), but if I can help, let me know and I'll be happy to!

lara--I can't cook much that doesn't involve the microwave, but I can clean like the wind!

The toilet paper roll part is iffy.


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Sooo... not much exciting as far as progress goes, but it does look like the "slow" lower canine will be getting into line soon enough, and the "fast" one already has a gap opening up between it and the lateral incisor it's next to! I can tell a slight difference in the width of the space for my pushed back upper lateral incisor, but it definitely is moving at a snail's pace. A very, very slow snail! I'm hoping it'll be enough to get the pushed back one (he needs a name, lol) hooked in at the next adjustment, but somehow I doubt it. I'll just have to wait and see!

I haven't been able to get online much this week, but I'm gonna catch up on everyone's stories this weekend! I can't wait to read all the updates!

[Andromeda]

Aw what rotten luck that you were planning to catch up on everyone's stories over the weekend, and the boards were down all weekend! I'm trying to catch up myself, as I just realized they were back up. I had almost quit checking...

Hope those canines are movin right along (and you totally should name them, haha).

[brika]

Hey everyone! I had my third adjustment this morning -- my week 20 -- so I wanted to post a little update, as well as add a new frame to my little "movie" !

The highlights from my visit:

- My wayward upper lateral incisor is now bonded, woo hoo! (Before I even thought up a good name for him, too!)
- Upper wire went from .016 to .014 to hook in the wayward tooth.
- Bottom wire upgraded from a .016 to a .020.
- Ouch!
- No more power chains/"figure 8"s/whatever-they're-calleds... for now.
- The gap between that lower lateral incisor and the canine is bigger than the extraction gap now! (See the week 20 picture of my lowers) Weeeiirrddd.

Overall, my ortho seemed very excited about my progress. He kept mentioning how great my movement has been and saying he was surprised to see this much change in under six months. He also kept saying "keep up the great work" but I don't quite know how to relay that request to my teeth, haha. I'll certainly try, though!

Now on to the photos!

Today is my first day seeing the change too, since I haven't looked at/compared photos for a month+ now. I guess the 'novelty' of having braces has worn off...I'm actually not taking pictures every 10 minutes anymore!

(as close as I could get to match from the front)






I suspect the next time I update this there'll be some huge changes up top! I can't wait!
Thanks for looking!

[Andromeda]

Hi brika! Congrats on your third adjustment and especially on getting that lateral bonded !!!!

Seems like things are going great and how awesome that your ortho said you are progressing faster than he thought! Yay!

[Blake24]

Hey Brika, the teeth are looking great! Your bottom arch has formed up really well, and you must be excited about getting that tooth bonded!

[brika]

Thanks, Andromeda and Blake! I'm so glad he's finally bonded, but ohhhh am I feeling it this morning. Ouchies! But it's great to finally feel something happening...my teeth haven't felt sore in a while, so I wasn't sure anything was moving at all for a while there. It's weird to actually look forward to pain...but if anyone else understands, it's you guys!

[Memran]

Congratulations on getting an extra tooth into the party!

I like those animations, they reall show how well your teeth have moved. You must be pretty pleased with your progress for only 4 months!

[Tommm]

What an amazing change Brika! Conrats on your progress! I totally feel you on how the novelty has worn off. It's still pretty cool when you see the progress like that though.