Shelby's Story :)

[llehsal]

So finally, I begin my own braces journey. I am a 25 year old female who needed braces for quite some time now. Unfortunately, life, financial status, friends deciding that I don't need braces, among other things, prevented such from happening. It was never first priority at any point. Some time in 2009 however, I realised that things were making a turn for the worst and something had to be done.

After months of research and my discovery of ArchWired, I made my first appointment with an orthodontist. From my understanding, I have crowded teeth. Both top and bottom, mainly to the front. However, after seeing three orthodontists, I realised things are much worse.

The first Ortho, saw me, took x-rays and photographs. She told me I would need no extractions as I already had my top left wisdom removed along with my right third molar. She gave me a cost and I was on my way. The 2nd consultation was a few days after, no X-rays were taken, a simple look at the teeth. My prognosis was I would need my for first Bicuspids removed and that would be fine, given a price, on my way. My third consult (the one I decided to go with) took X-rays, photos and moulds then came with his prognosis two weeks later.

All in all, my case is this (for those of you who know the jargon of orthodentistry) - fair crowding at the top (mainly my left central incisor), and moderate crowding at the bottom (all 4 incisors a jumbled mess). A 9mm overjet (in other words, bucked teeth to a certain extent), along with a Class II relationship on my right and a Class I relationship on my left (my top and bottom arch on the right is misaligned).

I was given three options, A - remove all 4 bicuspids for an easy fix of all my problems with a risk of having my facial aesthetics changing. B - use and expander with some filing of teeth (no extractions), that was not plausible with my jaw structure. C - remove my left central incisor and fix my crowding and my overjet, but not the misalignment (which I am fine with). So my decision was option C.

Regarding the missing molar at the back, I can either leave the space and have an implant, denture or bridge. Or, I can close the gap. I chose to close the gap.

I will remove my tooth and get a filling done between now and June 8th and will let you guys know how its been (look out for me screaling in the Metal Mouth and Dental Do-Dads forums)

I chose to go all metal as people will know I am wearing braces anyway and I am not keen on having to be extra careful with ceramics. Photos will be posted soon of my before....and after extraction (yuck!). So look out for those.

See you guys soon

[catgyrl]

Hi Shelby!

Congratulations to you on finally being able to get this show on the road! Don't you hate it that other people telling you you don't need braces actually prevents you from getting them? I went through the same thing, and I wanted to tell them "You have perfect teeth, so you won't understand."

It sounds like we have similar issues, including the overjet. Mine is about 6mm, along with some crowding on the bottom. What's your "sentence"? Mine is 2 years, but I had a dream last night that I got them off in 6 months. HAHA Yes, it was definitely a dream.

You have to extract your central incisor? Pardon my ignorance, as I don't know all the tooth positions by heart yet, but isn't that the one right in front? You are a brave soul, and I bow to you! I didn't even want them to pull the one that they did - that nobody can even tell they pulled. But you (and I) must have trust in our orthos that they know what they're doing. I must've asked mine at least 5 times "You're sure this gap will close... right??"

I look forward to following your story! Take care.

-Cathy

[llehsal]

Hehehehe

Hi catgyrl!!!

Yes!! Its one right in front

My sentence is 18-24 months. Brave is an understatement...I am petrified!!! Thanks for the words of encouragement. Will keep posting (pics) soon!

[HeyBuckey!]

Hi Shelby,

I more than likely spelled your user name wrong it's two L's right? As you can see I am very anal about weird stuff like spelling. Anywho! I can't wait to see those pics soon!

Congrats on taking the BIG plunge! It is a huge plunge indeed. To tell you a secret both me and my 22 yr old sister got braces last September and my Mom isn't all that thrilled about it and thinks we could have waited until we move to NC this summer. She does consider it a little vain to worry about our teeth and she believes we neglect other things that are "more important" but truthfully she presented the opportunity and I took the chance! And then my sister did!

Support is always necessary but it's those people who say negative comments about why your doing what your doing that make you second guess yourself. Now I just (no offense to my Mom) brush her off and go on with my business when it comes to my teeth. It's not life or death but it is very embarrassing to have to hide your smile or jut your bottom jaw out to make it look like things are going well. So I definitely applaud you for going for it! You got past all of it and now your my hero!

Buckey's unite

[Under Construction]

I had some similar experiences with people telling me I didn't need braces. Some were kind and others were just odd. My mom accused me of trying to be "perfect" in a very negative way. Uhm, why wouldn't I want to be the best I can be? A couple of very close friends said I shouldn't do it because my crooked teeth are like my signature feature. I thought, "You mean people think of me and think of crooked teeth? And somehow you with the lovely straight teeth think that's charming somehow?" In any case, we are all in this together so it's fun to commiserate. Good luck on your journey!

[llehsal]

Ok guys....so hear are some photos....not the best quality, but that's what I can work with for now, soon you will see my post-extraction photos...wow this is embarrassing, to see my teeth this way. My family were very surprised to actually see them in pictures, to see how bad they really are.


Top


Bottom


Together

Please excuse the yellow-ness of the teeth, I'm an avid dark tea drinker and curry eater...

[catgyrl]

Shelby-

Are these really YOUR teeth? Because other than the 4 bottom front ones (which should straighten up fairly quickly), I think they look really good. Seriously. I would kill for my top arch to look like yours. The tooth you need to extract - is it the center, left one (right in the photo)? Mine looks kinda like that...only the rest of mine look worse. haha And your teeth don't look yellow, at all. It's so funny, reading about how people describe their teeth, I half-expect to see pics of the teeth growing out of their nostrils or chin, or something. Yours look pretty good, so you should have nothing to worry about.

Don't worry about how "bad" you think they look. We're all in the same boat. I can't believe I posted pics of my teeth, showing just about every tooth with a filling or crown on it. One of these days, when I become independently wealthy, I may change some of those to porcelain fillings.

Cathy

[ashesgap]

Your top arch makes me jealous...really. lol. I have genetically missing laterals, so i have gaps...to me, they are huge, other people never noticed.
Your bottoms are crowded, i can see that...the military dentist had the nerve to tell my hubby (who's bottom looks exacly like yours) that his was a "natural" lean.....total crap.
I imagine that in a few months, we'll all be amazed at your movement. Really, I've noticed that crowded teeth move fast.
Don't worry what anyone tells you....just do what makes you happy.
I'll be keeping up with your story...can't wait to see how it goes.

[llehsal]

Hehehehe...thanks sooo much guys....I was so skeptical about putting them up when I saw the pics...@ Cathy, yes its the center left one...the one that's pushed back the most. Yikes!! I will definitely be keeping you guys updated. I remove the teeth on the 28th, but will drop in before that to let you know how my anxiety is going

[catgyrl]

Okay, I must be thinking clearer today, because I now realize that you're pulling (excuse me... extracting) the LOWER central incisor, not the upper one. I was wondering why they'd pull the upper one when it doesn't look much different than mine, and he never mentioned pulling that one. And how BRAVE you were to pull an upper, middle tooth. Now that I know it's the lower one, I feel better for you. I mean, it's not fun to pull any teeth, but at least if it's on the bottom, it's not as noticeable. And those teeth should straighten up pretty quickly. Phew!!!

[shinyRiver]

I think your decision was wise. Orthos are very obsessed with the midline matching up and everything being "perfect". But close is good, as I always say! Your teeth are very pretty despite the crowding. they look like they're in great shape! I think your case is going to progress fairly quickly. just stay away from clear, white, and light blue ligs or powerchains. And silver, unless you don't mind them turning gold! I have had a LOT of experience with curry stained powerchains!

[llehsal]

So I took out the tooth today in preparation for my installation on the 8th of June. Well it was a front central incisor and I must admit, that tooth was the hardest to get out not to mention the anethetic was not working so I had to get more, which was very painful (and I have taken out a wisdom and another molar before). I also had one filled and that was uncomfortable as well.

I now have a headache out of this world so I'm resting for now. Will update with pics soon.

[catgyrl]

Oh Shelby - I'm so sorry you had such a rough experience with your filling and extraction. I hope they gave you some good painkillers (stronger-than-ibuprofen-kind!). If not, you can have mine. I just got some Vicodin from the doc (been sick for over a week) and it isn't doing a darn thing...

Just rest up, and don't worry about posting pics yet. I'm sure it's not a very pretty sight right about now, anyway.

[llehsal]

Tomorrow is the big day!!!!!!! eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Wish me luck

[Bekah]

You will do great! I had crowding on the bottom almost exactly like yours. I know your teeth will move fast!

Welcome to the club!