Life Behind Brackets

[buffon85]

i have the exact opposite of a dry mouth i feel a little uncomfortable chewing gum but i miss it soo much!

[metalliKa]

i have the exact opposite of a dry mouth i feel a little uncomfortable chewing gum but i miss it soo much!

buffon, a moist mouth is better than a dry mouth, any day! Hope your braces journey is trotting along as expected.

***
I did a whole post of my emergency visit to the ortho that led to my 5th adjustment with a lengthy discussion about AcceleDent vs. gum chewing...archwired timed out so I lost everything I have been typing for the past 30 mins. I'll come back maybe in a day or two to rewrite what I lost...maybe. In the meantime, some progress pictures taken after my adjustment this morning...


8/12/15, 7/24/15

No wire change.
Upper arch: Old steel ties left on front two centrals to allow for more movement. New ligs. Power chain will go on next adjustment to close gaps.
Lower arch: Old steel tie on right lateral taken out and power chain replaced. New steel ties on both 1st premolars where new power chain stretches across. You can see the large gap between my right lateral and canine has closed significantly.
Ortho said I'm right on track and may even get my braces off before March...thanks to gum chewing!

[NeilH]

That's some good progress!

[metalliKa]

That's some good progress!

Thanks, Neil!

***
Date correction: 8/11/15

[TheProfessor]

Your teeth are looking great! You are having some really fast progress!

[metalliKa]

Your teeth are looking great! You are having some really fast progress!

Hi Prof! Thank you! Honestly, I believe my teeth can move much quicker had my ortho changed my wires at every visit and I asked him why. He said teeth movement is a gradual process for better result and the risk of gum recession or root resorption is less. He'd like me to avoid gum surgery by not hastening my treatment.

His method is kind of archaic but hey whatever to keep my teeth in tip top shape. So far I am actually on track so I'm happy.

Is it just me or do my teeth look dingy? I wonder if hosting my photos elsewhere disrupt the color calibration.

[Prometheus]

Hi MetalliKa, Looking good! I wish I had similar progress but my bite problems are mostly due to messed up molars so it's slow going. I noticed in your photos that your ortho positioned the brackets towards the very edges of both your top and bottom front teeth. My ortho positioned mine in the opposite fashion, at the bases of the front teeth in both rows. This makes the arch wire curve down in your case, and up in mine on the top row; and up/down on the bottom. I was never told the reason why. Did you ever get an explanation for the bracket location from your ortho? -Prometheus

[metalliKa]

Hi MetalliKa, Looking good! I wish I had similar progress but my bite problems are mostly due to messed up molars so it's slow going. I noticed in your photos that your ortho positioned the brackets towards the very edges of both your top and bottom front teeth. My ortho positioned mine in the opposite fashion, at the bases of the front teeth in both rows. This makes the arch wire curve down in your case, and up in mine on the top row; and up/down on the bottom. I was never told the reason why. Did you ever get an explanation for the bracket location from your ortho? -Prometheus

Hi Prometheus! Thanks for stopping by! Yes, I had wondered about the placement of my brackets as well and keep not remembering to ask my ortho why he positioned them the way he did. I've done tons of research online about bracket placement but found nothing. I'll be sure to ask on my next adjustment...probably need to write it down on a post it to remind me.

How is your treatment coming along?

[Prometheus]

Thanks for the reply MetalliKa, I need to ask about it myself, but I keep forgetting to do so. My treatment is coming along very slowly. I was told things are finally starting to move after 5 months, although slowly. My bad bite and tilted mandible has caused the disc in my left TMJ to become displaced and I have bone rubbing against bone, the pain is very intense so I had really hoped things would move faster, but alas it is not the case. I don't have any pics that show much, my front teeth are straight due to 14 months of Invisalign about 6 years ago. The problem is with my molars that are tilted, rotated and not level. When I started this journey only two teeth in the back of my mouth touched one another top to bottom.

[metalliKa]

Thanks for the reply MetalliKa, I need to ask about it myself, but I keep forgetting to do so. My treatment is coming along very slowly. I was told things are finally starting to move after 5 months, although slowly. My bad bite and tilted mandible has caused the disc in my left TMJ to become displaced and I have bone rubbing against bone, the pain is very intense so I had really hoped things would move faster, but alas it is not the case. I don't have any pics that show much, my front teeth are straight due to 14 months of Invisalign about 6 years ago. The problem is with my molars that are tilted, rotated and not level. When I started this journey only two teeth in the back of my mouth touched one another top to bottom.

You know, I believe ones memory starts to go down the drain after reaching 40. I just turned 45 and for the life of me, I've asked "where are my glasses?" when they are resting on my head more often than I remember where I last left my keys.

I do feel you on the slow progress, but as my ortho assured me, slow progress doesnt mean things aren't moving along. And remember, jaw and bite problems are slower to treat so give it time, in no time at all...you'll be in your finishing stage.

[Prometheus]

Mahalo nui loa! I just turned 59, and have to tell you, the short term memory continues to erode

[metalliKa]

Mahalo nui loa! I just turned 59, and have to tell you, the short term memory continues to erode

Aloha Prometheus! I gather you visit the islands often?

I guess if one day the condo happens to go down in flame...I can always blame it on my eroding short term memory.

I'm so over the novel idea of having braces. I can't wait 'till I get these off. I told my ortho the other day that I think I'm ready to debrace. He said, "No! You paid me all that money so you can have a beautiful smile so let me do my job!" A laughter ensued from the both of us.

[Prometheus]

We've been to the islands many times, we are avid scuba divers, it's really beautiful underwater there.

I am not yet sick of braces, I'm hoping they work some magic. My general dentist thinks I will still need surgery to repair the displaced discs in my TMJs. The orthodontist is more optimistic and is taking a "wait and see" approach. I'm hoping the ortho is right.

[metalliKa]

We've been to the islands many times, we are avid scuba divers, it's really beautiful underwater there.

I am not yet sick of braces, I'm hoping they work some magic. My general dentist thinks I will still need surgery to repair the displaced discs in my TMJs. The orthodontist is more optimistic and is taking a "wait and see" approach. I'm hoping the ortho is right.

Wonderful! The deep blue is quite amazing and a mysterious world of its own.

I agree with your ortho. Who knows? The braces may just correct your displaced discs and you may not need surgery after all. Here's to good progress with no surgery!

[metalliKa]

I am really annoyed right now! In the last week and a half or so, I had to make two emergency visits to the ortho due to fault of my own. I collided with another boarder when I was in the water and bent the wire between my lower 3nd and 1sy molars. Twenty minutes out of the water, I felt this immense pain in that lower left quadrant. I called the ortho immediately and they were able to schedule me to go in two days later. During this visit, the ortho decided to do my 5th adjustment...changing ligs, steel ties and power chain. OK...everything went pretty honky dory until this past weekend that I realized the bracket on the back molar was gone. It must have dislodged while I was enjoying a sandwich on ciabatta bread and swallowed it! Got another right away appointment. The ortho prepped my tooth for rebracket...changed my lower ligs...but then the power chain didn't go back on because he said the space between my lower right canine and lateral had closed. Well, in one day, the gap opened again! I debated whether I should call the ortho's office again but ended up not calling because I didn't want to become one of those whiny patients. Although I'm not too thrilled having that gap open again, I can wait until my next adjustment. By then, I'll probably get power chain on top too.

I don't know why I'm writing this...I always want to remain hopeful and optimistic. I guess at this point, I'm not seeing much improvement. I have this ideal of the perfect smile...but when I try to smile...I don't find it attractive at all. My upper centrals are too large (not to mention they have worn down over the years giving me that dreaded ^ look), my right upper canine is pointy and comes down too long. I feel I may not get the smile I envisioned in my head...that the IPR will make my teeth look fake and chicklet-like. Argh!