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On the positive side, I now have two more appointments lined up, Aug 20 and Aug 30, and he said after the second one, he said that we should know more about the following appointment or two and really work on getting this done. He still didn't give me a date, but he did seem to think sometime in September is doable. Crossing everything! 
Good to hear that you at the stage of "getting them off". I had a appointment today and it was not time to ask my ortho what are her plains for me. Still have no uppers on. And don't know what teeth should do or should move now. Extraction hole is closed but it looks like there is still not enough room for my teeth to align perfectly. I have to ask her to spent me more time than a quick open, close, mhmm, look good...EmilyTravels wrote: ↑Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:18 pm Had an adjustment today. Still in the four elastics, full-time, but my bite is so much better when I'm wearing them, that I am glad the ortho didn't discontinue them.
The top wire with lots of bends in it was removed, and he had the tech add a figure 8 wire around my social six, I guess to keep gaps from opening up. Small gaps have opened up in front of each canine since my last appointment, I think because there are two elastics pulling each canine back. These gaps are not very noticeable until I floss.
An .18 ni-cad wire (with no bends) was put in over the figure 8. The tech. (one I've never had before) said the Figure 8 wouldn't hurt, but something sure hurts, because my entire top arch feels a lot of pressure and soreness already, not quite six hours later. She also had a terrible time getting the archwire out of the bracket on my premolar on the right side as the little thing didn't want to open (self-ligating bracket). She had to call another tech over to help. When it came time to put the new wire in, she held the gate open, while the other tech shoved the wire in. I don't recall any problems with this particular bracket before, but it may be a problem child from here on out. Usually it's the bottom arch that are so difficult to open, but there were no changes made there this time.
Ortho wants to see me again in one week. I already had an appointment for the 30th but changed it to the 27th -- fine with me. Next time I need to bug him again about debracing, as he didn't mention it today, and I was scared to ask. There were two younger people getting their braces off today when I was in there, and I felt so envious. That will be me soon, I hope!
Since the upcoming life plans are not movable and non-negotiable, perhaps you can tell your ortho that xxx date is the absolute last date you'll be in town and hence you need your retainers by that date. Then ask him to work backwards when to debrace you regardless of whether he thinks you are actually finished or not. You may have to sign some kind of a waiver that you are happy with the results and understand that treatment may not be 100% completed.EmilyTravels wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:29 pm I hear you! My ortho really tells me very little. I have to ask and pull it out of him. I am already over his initial projection of 8-10 months (almost at 12 now - will be in five days) so I do think he owes me a little more info! The thing is, I've already made all my payments, so he isn't getting any more money from me. That shows me that he really does want me to get the best result possible and isn't just in it for money. I appreciate that -- but I also want to know for sure when these things are coming off, as I have life plans coming up closer every day. I never dreamed I'd still be in braces in September. And I refuse to think about October! In June he seemed to think they were coming off this summer!
Alternatively, you can work out some estimates yourself. For e.g., say you are leaving town on 30th Sept, so latest you should get your retainers is 28th Sept, assuming you get your retainers a week after debracing, 21st Sept you must get debraced. You can go to your ortho and tell him you WANT TO BE debraced on 21st Sept and tell him to make whatever changes he needs before that date and to prioritize whatever adjustments that are more important for a functional and stable outcome.EmilyTravels wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 5:19 pm Totally agree. I have actually already given him my dates two appointments ago, but I don't expect him to remember exactly. I am going to keep reminding him at every appointment. He is seeing me much more frequently now as he does know he needs to do the last few small tweaks. I need to find out how long after debracing I will get retainers and work backwards from there, as you say.
Thanks!
Yes, this is what I am going to do. I know my dates, and I have mentioned them to him but not sure he remembers the exact details since then. I'm going in on Monday so hopefully he will be understanding. Thanks!assertives wrote: ↑Sat Aug 25, 2018 7:43 am Alternatively, you can work out some estimates yourself. For e.g., say you are leaving town on 30th Sept, so latest you should get your retainers is 28th Sept, assuming you get your retainers a week after debracing, 21st Sept you must get debraced. You can go to your ortho and tell him you WANT TO BE debraced on 21st Sept and tell him to make whatever changes he needs before that date and to prioritize whatever adjustments that are more important for a functional and stable outcome.
Yeah, I was a little surprised, but he is happy with my bite on that side, so I guess it was not as big a deal as if it had been on the other side. It's the molar so only really important at this point as a place to hook my class 2 elastic.
