LeahRuth's self-ligating braces story *pictures*

[LeahRuth]

Hello everyone!!

After waiting years and years for braces, I finally got them in June. The journey so far has been a lot better than I expected... however, being the impatient person that I am, I spend a little time every day assessing my teeth in the mirror for any little sign of change!

The main problems:
-Crossbite
-Overbite (may require surgery in about a year, it's a skeletal issue... my bottom jaw is too short therefore my bottom teeth have flared out at an angle to compensate for the gap)
-SPACING!!


I've had 3 wire-changes so far, and each time they've upgraded me to a new type of wire (don't know if this change is normal or not... ortho. assistant said I'm "flying through the wires") I go about every 5 weeks and my next appointment is in November.

Oh, I also just got my 3 wisdom teeth removed on Sept 8th. Everything went well and it didn't interfere with my braces.


Finally, here are some extremely unflattering pictures of my mouth for you. Sorry for the quality of the self-cams, taking pictures inside my mouth isn't so easy!


Right side, taken at initial consultation



Now, 3 and a half months into braces



Left side, taken at initial consultation (my teeth close right on top of each other, and my cross bite)



Now, 3.5 months later... my teeth don't touch when I close my mouth, so it's really awkward.



Front... giant gap, and my lower jaw is really crooked.



3.5 months later, gap is closing & jaw is slowly coming into place




Top



3.5 months later. It was really hard to take a picture, but I hope you can tell that one wonky molar is almost in it's place with the help if a button & elastic



Bottom


Now: *I can't get the picture to resize for some reason, so here's a link to the HUGE!!! picture*

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/9231/p1020806q.jpg




There you have it!
I don't even know how all those gaps are going to be closed, I don't think there's even enough teeth in my mouth x_x

[delightfulde]

We have the same type of braces!!!! I felt that I was flying through my wires as well. I just believe that my dentist is doing a good job and the end resuts are going to be great. Keep posting!!!

-D

[LeahRuth]

Thanks for the reply. I hope my braces are actually as speedy as they claim ;D

[gacta]

What is the button/elastic like? I have a similar crossbite, and I believe I'll have to have something similar installed in order to fix it. Is the little button annoying? Are you biting down on the elastic often?

[LeahRuth]

It's actually not that bad. The first day or so it was weird having my tongue rub up against the button, but my jaw barely closes together on that side anyways so I don't bite through the elastic very often. I even eat with the elastic on, without any problems.

[LeahRuth]

Today was my 3rd adjustment on the top, 2nd on the bottom.

They were originally just going to change the wires, but then decided that they would add powerchains on the top, loops on the bottom, tie the loops to my brackets with smaller wires, and remove the button.

So now I've gained a couple fancy new torture devices, but I can finally stop wearing the elastic that was used to correct my cross bite on the left side.

4 months ago


Today



As you can see (or can't see) the powerchain is VERY subtle, behind my wires, and I can barely see it even when I've got my face shoved up against the mirror. We'll see how long it takes for them to get stained with delicious Korean food

Anyways, I'm going to go take some Ibuprofen & have a nap. As the woman was changing my wires she said "You're going to feel this" which is a lot harsher sounding than the usual "There may be some slight pressure." I'm guessing this translates to "have fun drinking your food through a straw for the next week."

[alibracket]

You have very nice teeth. They look very uniform and white. I like your central incisors (i sound like im flirting with your teeth) but seriously they are really nice

[LeahRuth]

Really? Thank you!! I try my best to keep them white, but I've always hated my central incisors the most. Hopefully that will adjust as I get used to the (good!) changes.

[jxds]

Your teeth are looking great. I'm glad you wore the button and elastic for such a short time, I wore just the same thing for like 6 months and it was really annoying!

Good luck!

[LeahRuth]

Thank you! It's such a relief to have the button taken off, but I keep feeling like I'm missing something in my mouth.

[LeahRuth]

Hey guys! My next adjustment is tomorrow, but I was going through my pictures from November 2nd and that's when I noticed the changes that have happened since I got powerchains on. So since I'm too excited and I'm patient to wait until tomorrow to update, I'll do it tonight!

6 weeks ago/Today



So the gaps on the bottom are still horrifying, but the top is starting to close.

But it's the left side of my mouth that I'm really happy about:

6 weeks ago/Today





Yay!

[LeahRuth]

I didn't realize the pictures would stretch the page so badly. Aisssh, sorry.

[LeahRuth]

I now have powerchains on my bottom teeth too.



Hopefully that large gap closes up pretty quickly.

[LeahRuth]

Had another adjustment this morning.
They just replaced the elastic powerchains top & bottom, and stuck the same wires back on. She had the trim the wire on the bottom which means things are moving!!

Basically all of my gaps are closed now, except for this stupid giant on one of the bottom. They'll keep me with these powerchains for 5 more weeks.

My next appointment should be.... painful. They're thinking of putting an even thicker wire on the bottom, and adding elastics to start fixing my bite. Sigh, should be fun.

[cheyeaitsxchelsea]

You have lovely teeth :]