I've been hanging about for a bit and thought I would start my own journal thread.
I'll start with the fact that I actually don't have my braces on just yet! But I'll be going in in January so I should have them on by the end of Feb! The joy.
So....Where do I start? Well I'm 23 years old and living in Melbourne. Ever since I can remember I've had my "bung tooth" - my parents simply did not have the money to fix it when I was younger. We're first generation Aussies and came from Communist Romania with a single suitcase between 4 of us.
As I've gotten older, the gap underneath my tooth has closed up completely and every day I think about how I'm one tooth away from a perfect smile. Its only now that I've finally gathered the funds together to do something about it.
Well okay, not ONE tooth, but three. My upper left lateral incisor is completely protruded from my arch at almost a 45 degree angle!! Eeep! And my two lower canines have rotated about 90 degrees.
I went to four consultations initially. The first one was very very bad....They wanted three or four of my teeth removed and only a "that'll do" result. I was very hesitant of course. Lucky I was taking KK's advice from over at the Aussie dental forum and going to get more than one opinion!!
The second ortho was great. He offered Damon brackets at a reasonable all inclusive fixed price and the confidence that he would not have to remove any teeth. The only problem was his practice is a good 15 minutes train away from me and rather inconvenient to get to if I'm to take into consideration working hours and my travel to work time of one hour in a completely different direction.
Third was with a general dentist in the CBD. He didn't really have orthodontic advise but he was very rushed and one of those pushy dentists that make you feel bad about your teeth even though you have excellent oral hygiene! He was going to refer me to an ortho and sent me off to get x-rays done.
Instead, I booked in at an East Melbourne dentist which is only 5 minutes from home. He wasn't an ortho either but a very very good dentist! He took x-rays straight away to determine where my wisdom teeth are. He told me I don't need any fillings and sent me to his ortho in the city.
And so my final consultation was my choice. He took molds of my teeth and discussed things with me. Admittedly, I forgot to ask what kind of appliances I might need
He said he'd be using self-ligating brackets on me too. I asked if they were Damons and he said "No, sometimes they work TOO fast - I use a different brand". Silly little me forgot to ask the name of those too...but they're completely clear and apparently smaller than the Damons so my guess is they are In-Ovation C's. I'm so glad because I'm really not keen on those coloured ligatures and I just want something that is as inconspicuous as possible.
I'm booked in for the 31st of Jan where he says he'll be taking photos and I'm not sure what else.
I really hope I don't need my wisdom teeth removed before the braces go on, but I'll see what the dentist says. My funds don't stretch that far yet!
Anyway - here are the only pics I could scrounge up. It doesn't show my bottom canines but as you can see, the incisor is quite annoying and visible! I don't like sharing my pics with friends cos I can't smile properly!
This one kind of shows how far out it is. Notice how all my other teeth are PERFECT??? Its so frustrating! Even my molars are nicely aligned and only need a smidgen of shifting.
And this shows how far out it sticks from the top. Most angles look terrible
I also have a severe midline shift, about 2 -3mm and about 4mm deep bite. The ortho says he'll make room by moving all my teeth OUT. If you look closely at this pic you can see the teeth closer to my bung incisor are a bit "caved in". I'm so desperate for a perfect smile! My teeth would be nice looking if they weren't so crooked! The ortho also said he's never ever seen a case like mine.
Anyways, wish me luck - I can't wait to show proper pics and get those braces on too.
