Life Behind Brackets

[buffon85]

i though i had posted about your christmas braces!!! they were perfect!

i am looking forward to finish with the payments, 6 more! that is 6 months from now!
don't worry about the debrace date! just enjoy your life and the day will come before you know it!

[Lovelyteeth]

Wow.Your teeth look AMAZING. A stunning smile.

[metalliKa]

11th adjustment today.

It went pretty quick, in and out in about 15 minutes. No wire change, just power chains and ligs. Last adjustment, I asked the ortho if I needed elastics. He jokingly said if I wanted them, he can give them to me. ARgh! I spoke too soon! Today, I got rabbit and was instructed to double up on them only changing before and after every meal (as I'm typing this, I'm already on my third pair). It seems my right upper teeth are not sitting in between my lower teeth so the bands run from my upper lateral to my lower second premolar. Putting them on is not too much of a hassle, though trying to open my mouth is; feels like I have locked jaws. Ortho said we might go over the 1 year mark, which is fine by me. I'd rather my teeth have enough time to fuse and settle to avoid relapse.

So progress below...though I haven't seen much change in the last couple of months. I did want to point out that my front upper centrals and canines are somewhat extruded and intruded, respectively. I'd still like my canines to be shorter; however, I forgot to discuss this with him today. Definitely, this will be on the plate to discuss next adjustment if there is room for canine intrusion.



Lovelyteeth, thank you! Give yours 10 months and we will say the same about you!

buffon85, I kind of miss my christmasy power chains too. And it's so nice to go to the ortho and not have to bring my checkbook or credit card. Hahaha

Neil, my ortho has been super accommodating, always reminding me that he works for me because I'm the one paying him.

[NeilH]

Hi, I can't believe how fantastic your teeth look in such a short time! I'm glad you have had the opportunity to experience some elastics, I wouldn't want you to feel left out. Do you find it strange only having them on one side? I certainly did and couldn't wait until I was asked to wear them on the other side as well to feel more balanced. You can't have long now and if it goes over a year, I'm sure it will be worth it. Has it really been a year since you started, where has the time gone?

[metalliKa]

Hi, I can't believe how fantastic your teeth look in such a short time! I'm glad you have had the opportunity to experience some elastics, I wouldn't want you to feel left out. Do you find it strange only having them on one side? I certainly did and couldn't wait until I was asked to wear them on the other side as well to feel more balanced. You can't have long now and if it goes over a year, I'm sure it will be worth it. Has it really been a year since you started, where has the time gone?

Hahaha I should have kept my mouth shut and never asked about elastics. Now my jaw is aching!

Yes, wearing elastics on just one side does feel strange. Though it has only been a day, my jaw shifted already and now my left upper and lower don't touch when biting down. Did that happen to you too? And should I be worried that by my next adjustment, I'd develop an open bite or cross bite on my left? Things sure seem to be heading that way with the elastics.

I will make one year on 3/24 and still can't believe that one year went by really fast. It seems like it was just yesterday that I got braced. Must be old age shortening the time.

[NeilH]

Hi, I can't believe how fantastic your teeth look in such a short time! I'm glad you have had the opportunity to experience some elastics, I wouldn't want you to feel left out. Do you find it strange only having them on one side? I certainly did and couldn't wait until I was asked to wear them on the other side as well to feel more balanced. You can't have long now and if it goes over a year, I'm sure it will be worth it. Has it really been a year since you started, where has the time gone?

Hahaha I should have kept my mouth shut and never asked about elastics. Now my jaw is aching!

Yes, wearing elastics on just one side does feel strange. Though it has only been a day, my jaw shifted already and now my left upper and lower don't touch when biting down. Did that happen to you too? And should I be worried that by my next adjustment, I'd develop an open bite or cross bite on my left? Things sure seem to be heading that way with the elastics.

I will make one year on 3/24 and still can't believe that one year went by really fast. It seems like it was just yesterday that I got braced. Must be old age shortening the time.

Hi, no, I didn't get any issue but it was only a month or so of box seating elastics on one side and I think that side didn't quite seat right before starting anyway. Elastics work their magic very quickly and if you feel you are going too far, maybe a quick call to your ortho for advice would be worthwhile. It's funny, I asked about cross bite elastics too and my ortho agreed so maybe we are our own worst enemies at times. Good job we didn't ask about anything scarier!

[metalliKa]

I have definitely developed an open/cross bite on the right due to elastics on the left. I'll post pictures for comparison once I get the chance to after I make the call to the ortho's office tomorrow.

[metalliKa]

Today, 3/24, is my 1st braceniversary. Had an adjustment on 3/1, not much to update except been wearing triangle elastics (doubling in rabbit) on left quadrant to close slight open bite. Still wearing double rabbit on right. Have my next adjustment on 3/29 and will see if I'll have a debanding date.

Been not too enthused about comparison photos lately as not much is going on, on the surface anyways.

[metalliKa]

13th adjustment yesterday...

Upper: new ligs and power chain, wire stays the same. Ortho did file my upper midline so it'll close tighter. Argh, it was an actual file, very thin, that goes between the teeth. It felt like my two teeth were being saw like wood! Definitely a strange feeling!

Lower: new wire (20/20 SU, the thickest I'll be in said ortho), new ligs, no power chain.

I'm on triangular elastic wear on both sides, from top canine to lower canine and 1st premolar to keep bite down. Teeth are where they should be, bite is good, yet still no debanding date. Ortho said we are getting very close, just a few more finishing touches. *Sigh* My head tells me to be patient because all good things take time...my heart tells me otherwise! I haven't seen any major changes for a while so my impatience probably stemmed from that. Just need to get over this hump and know that the braces will eventually come off, soon.

[TheProfessor]

Hang in there, it sounds like you will be done soon! My ortho got me all excited by mentioning debracing appointments back in January--it was hard to be patient for 2.5 more months, but I did it and you can too!

[metalliKa]

Hang in there, it sounds like you will be done soon! My ortho got me all excited by mentioning debracing appointments back in January--it was hard to be patient for 2.5 more months, but I did it and you can too!

Thanks Prof! I shouldn't be whining as my treatment is relatively short compared to yours and others. But goodness, knowing that I'm in the homestretch makes the clock go ticking by so SLLOOOWWWW, like the end is eons away.

Maybe I'll try to muster the spirit in me to take progress photos soon.

[NeilH]

Hi, it sounds like you are on the home stretch now and have an ortho who is willing to spend time and effort to get everything just right for you. I'm sure it won't be much longer to go and will have a lovely result when finished. Post some photos soon, it would be good to see how you are getting on.

[metalliKa]

Hi, it sounds like you are on the home stretch now and have an ortho who is willing to spend time and effort to get everything just right for you. I'm sure it won't be much longer to go and will have a lovely result when finished. Post some photos soon, it would be good to see how you are getting on.

Hi, Neil! Thanks for dropping by! My ortho is awesome. He listens when I have something to say and is always agreeing with me in how I want my final result to be. Yeah, I know it won't be long now, but the last few months are dragging on and on.




I'm not particularly happy with my teeth right now. See that little gap on my left bite? It's there because the top and bottom laterals are shorter, so I'm not sure how wearing elastics is going to close that when the teeth should really be extruded. Also, my upper left canine came down too far due to the elastic wear. I'm going to ask that to be intruded and the laterals to be extruded at my next adjustment, which will only add more time to my treatment. *Yay*

As of last week, I developed a fissure or split at the right corner mouth. I don't remember having this in my life, ever. My diet hasn't changed so I'm not sure if it has anything to do with vitamin deficiency. I try keeping my lips moist and drink plenty hoping it'll go away, nothing. I read somewhere that sometimes it happens to people who have braces due to excessive drooling during sleep (I do drool at night since getting braced) and may require medication. I'm giving this another week and if it doesn't go away on its own, I will be going in for medication.

[27braces88]

Looking great. I'll be really happy if my teeth look like yours when I'm done.

[Lovelyteeth]

Wow. Your teeth look so perfect. How exciting the end is near. I remember reading somewhere where you said your ortho told you your teeth would move fast or something along those lines. Did he give you any reasons for this. Just curious.