My 6 Month Smiles

[allymac]

Hey guys, I'm new to all this but I'm going to use this through my treatment to hopefully help others going through or thinking of going through 6MS.

I have an overbite from sucking my thumb and one front tooth sticks out significantly more than the other because of sucking it at an angle.
I'll try and get a before photo up.

Is anyone else going through 6MS?

Ally

[allymac]

I’m writing my story on here because I decided to straighten my teeth using “6 Month Smiles”, and when I was researching it I really couldn’t find much information that didn’t involve glamorous, tanned, beautiful people who already seemed to have a perfect smile. So I thought I’d write this to hopefully give some honest insight into the process for anyone wanting to know more.

Ok, first thing’s first: Why get braces?

Well, I sucked my thumb until I was 18 (yes, I know, so embarrassing), which left me with a large overbite. In a way, I’ve kind of grown up accepting that my teeth stick out and it didn’t bother me too much. The thing is, when you suck your thumb you usually favour one thumb over the other, which leads to sucking at an angle and therefore one front tooth protruding more than the other. That one tooth in question got so far forward that it has overlapped the ones either side. I will try and put a photo up.

So, I originally wanted to try Invisalign but was told it wouldn’t help my case, and I didn’t want train tracks on for two years, so 6 month smiles it was! The process involves tooth coloured brackets and wires, and, as the name suggests, dramatically cuts down the time scale compared to traditional traintracks. It took about an hour and a half to get the braces and bands and everything on, and was a painless experience. I wouldn’t even say it was uncomfortable. Just a little salivary!

If I’m honest, the first thing I thought when I saw them was “JESUS!” They feel and look huge and you wonder how you’ll ever be able to close your mouth. Or chew. Or speak. Or smile… But I just took a second to breathe and remind myself why I’m doing this, before running away and checking them out in my car’s rear view mirror. “Hmmm,” I thought, “it seems they’re not as big or noticeable as I first thought”.

So I left happy, pain-free and excited for straight, white, beautiful teeth (hopefully!).

I’ll get some pics up.

Ally x

[allymac]

I don't know how to upload photos on here, but there's a photo of my teeth before braces and one of day 1 on here:
http://6monthsmilesblog.wordpress.com/

[allymac]

I have been in a lot of pain for the past 5 days! I've really struggled to eat, drink, talk and sleep.

But yesterday I decided that enough is enough and went to the supermarket to sort myself out. I bought: cocodamol, neurofen, stuffed pasta, sausage and mash, soup, cold drinks and an ice pack. And gosh do I feel better! Eating really soft foods is much easier than trying to eat normally, and the tablets really take the edge off. I also bought some Colgate mouthwash with hydrogen peroxide in which someone on this website recommended and it feels amazing when I use it (but perhaps its pyscological!) and its helping my ulcers heal.

Much happier today! anyone else currently doing 6MS?

[Lalaloo]

I am on upper lingual braces since 1st of november.
Congrats for the decision to get braced and goodluck on this journey!

[Anna5]

Good luck on your journey!

[Anna5]

Just wanted to encourage you and tell you that I were a thumbsucker as well (even longer than you!
Here is my progress after 7 months, hopefully this can encourage you a bit:

http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... 13&t=45801

I am sure your teeth will be improved a lot in the coming 6 months, good luck with your treatment!

[allymac]

@ lalaloo - Thank you! Good luck with yours too I would love to see some photos and hear how you getting on!

@ Anna5 - thanks for your reply! Oh good, I kept my thumb sucking addiction quiet so it's nice to "meet" a fellow thumb sucker! It was so interesting to read your story; especially because I can see some similarities in our teeth, like a gap at the front on one side. Your teeth after seven months look AMAZING!! A smile I can only dream of having! If my teeth at the front come together like that I'll be very pleased On that thread you weren't completely happy though; are you happy now or still want to tweak a few things?

I'm currently on day 7. It's 7pm here in England and I have only just noticed that I didn't put any wax on today! Trust me, a week ago I couldn't even contemplate life without wax! And to make up for not eating for a week, I just ate a very large McDonalds. I'm still quite self conscious but I think that will just take time. Everyday I think about the braces a little bit less. I have noticed a difference already! My front two teeth have moved down and closed my bite a bit. (Although I check in the mirror every three minutes so maybe I'm imagining it!) How long on average does it take to see a difference? The only thing is, I have overcrowding so I'm having that thing done where they file down each tooth by 1mm to make more room, but that's not until next month. In the meantime how can my front teeth move back and down to meet my lower ones when there's no room?! And why don't they do the filling the day the braces go on? My front teeth already overlap the ones around them, I'm scared they'll start overlapping even more!

Ally

[allymac]

Maybe a small change?!

[Anna5]

Thanks for your reply! I think I definitely already see a small change! For me, the first week in braces was the hardest (pain, discomfort, self consciousness), after that it is getting better I promise!

I would love to follow your story becasuse we have so many similarities.

I am sure your ortho will be able to close your open bite, because it is not that big. Do you also have other issues, like a crossbite? I am happy that my ortho fixed my anterior open bite, but I still have an open bite on the right side of my mouth (left on the pictures) and I am not happy with my crossbite (my upper jaw being smaller than my lower). I have a narrow upper jaw, but to correct that would require surgery and I am still not sure whether I want to take that route. Perhaps I should just be happy with my smile like it is now?

I hope your ortho can give a result that you are happy with. To be honest, 6 months may be a bit short to fix all your issues, but there surely will be heaps of improvement!

[allymac]

Okay the weirdest thing just happened.... My lower wire felt lose and when I felt it I realised its come out of the metal bracket at the back. The little white part that was glued to the next tooth along had already come unstuck a few days ago so I pulled it off.

But then.... THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED ON MY TOP BRACE!! what's going on?! So both wires have come out of the brackets on the same side! Luckily I have an appointment tomorrow morning anyway.

I hope this makes sense; I havent got used to all this brace lingo yet.

[allymac]

If anyone's interested, I've just updated my blog
http://6monthsmilesblog.wordpress.com

Ally : )

[Anna5]

WOW, that is a HUGE improvement in such a short time!!! I am sure your end result will be positive!

[allymac]

Day 1 at the top and day 14 at the bottom

[allymac]

thankyou Anna5; it's good to see an improvement because these few weeks have been quite a rough ride! Seriously, I have a new found respect for anyone who has braces now!
And sorry for taking so long to reply to your other post! Yes, I have quite a bad crossbite, so I wear one elastic band in the day and an extra two at night. They attach to the outside of my bottom teeth and the inside of my top teeth; I'm not EXACTLY sure what they do because I'm very new to all this but I know it's something to do with my crossbite haha! Thanks, I hope I'm happy with it too; 23 years is too long to hate your smile!

I think your teeth look great now! I think that in this day and age, there is so much pressure put on people to look good. When we read magazines, we see models with perfect, white, shiny teeth, and most of the time they're probably photoshopped! Anyway, my point is, we can aim for perfection all our lives, but we can never get there. Even if you fixed what you see as the "problems" with your teeth now, you might then decide they're not white enough or something else. What I'm trying to say is that I think you teeth look great to me (also, I just showed my mum your before and after photos and she said "WOW!" and thinks your teeth are amazing) and I'm sure there are many, many people out there who would love teeth like yours. BUT on the other hand I completely understand that you might have an image in your mind of how you want your smile to look, and if you're not happy with them then it makes total sense to have further work done, because at the end of the day, it only really matters how YOU feel it. Either way though, whether you leave them as they are or make some more changes, you'll have a great smile