The Doctor Gets Braces (with pics) Updated 10/21/05

[BraceMD]

I am a 27 year old med student, and I had thought about getting braces for years. I was a school teacher for four years and I was always insanely jealous of my students' braces. My teeth weren't extremely crooked, but due to a severe crossbite I have only been able to chew with one side of my mouth for four years, so I finally decided to do something about it. Plus, being constantly surrounded by wealthy doctors with mouthfuls of straight teeth started to lower my self esteem...

I am in Damon 3's... my treatment is further complicated by the fact that I still have a baby tooth in my mouth... no adult tooth under it. It's my right lower premolar. The orthodontist has opted to NOT brace that tooth for now, but might in the future. I am afraid of losing it- I've never had a cavity and I would hate to lose an otherwise *healthy* tooth because of braces.

Here's my teeth the night before braces:



Here's a six week pic:

10 weeks:


3 months:


No movement since week 10 (if you notice, the 10 week and 3 month pics look identical, but I SWEAR they're not the same pic. Also, that's NOT food in my lower bicuspid brace, it's excess bracket cement that is hanging around after a bracket replacement).

So, I go for my first adjustment next week. I am apprehensive due to the bad experience I had when I went with my husband for a consultation (go to viewtopic.php?t=5704&highlight=husbands+teeth

to read about that drama.) I haven't been back since that, so we'll see.

[sunflr77]

Great progress so far. Your teeth moved tremendously in the first 6 weeks. I'm sure there were things happening between weeks 10 and 3 months but are not being picked up by the camera.

Best of luck with your treatment and your not so nice ortho. Keep us posted with how that goes.

[chrisd]

good for you, nice progress. hope the persoality clash with your ortho works itself out.
what has been the response in the hospital to being braced. i am a second year resident and am starrting down the braces trail for the second time here;-)
chris

[BraceMD]

Patients seem to pretty much ignore the braces. I actually have only done PSR interviews and basic history taking stuff (CC, HPI, etc..) since getting the braces and nobody has ever commented. I am a pretty talkative doctor (Okay, I'm not officially an MD yet but I will be!) and chat with patients a lot... I think they never get the chance to think much about my braces because I always get people talking. The docs and residents ALWAYS stare at them but nobody has said a word about them.

That being said, I bet the braces will be a hit on pediatric rotations.

Chrisd what's your specialty?

[chrisd]

[ The docs and residents ALWAYS stare at them but nobody has said a word about them. ]

too funny, as if they had never seen any before. lol!!
i am in my first year of radiology. finished up my transitional last year. both have been great.

3rd year of med school can be a drag sometimes, but fourth year is lots of fun ( you actually start to feel like you know something and can contribute to pt care... pretty cool). enjoy yourself, and if there is anything you ever want to ask about residency or choosing a specialty. id be happy to help with a nonbiased opinion.
good luck, and thanks for the response. i have my second consult for braces on monday, after 6 months of invisalign. i figure i would rather get everything sorted out now.
chris

[BraceMD]

First Adjustment!

It went well, I guess. For those of you who read about my evil orthodontist in the above link... well he didn't even mention the fiasco with my husband, thankfully!

One of the little "trap door" mechanisms on my Damon 3's broke, so they had to replace a bracket. Ouch! I am feeling no pain yet, but it's only been one hour so I am waiting. I'll post pics in a few weeks when there's more movement. I will mention that I was on a liquid/soft diet for the first 12 weeks of my braces... I have extra sensitive teeth, I guess. So I hope that I can handle this pain.

EDIT a few hours later...

Ouch. Pain. I took some Aleve and I REALLY hope that helps. I have a feeling I am going to be miserable tomorrow. I had surgery (for a non-dental problem) a few weeks ago and I have painkillers left... but no. Who in the world takes narcotics for orthodontic pain? I am kind of wimpy, I guess, when it comes to pain.

EDIT the next day...

I am still in pain and it's getting worse! My front lower teeth are aching terribly. The things we do for nice smiles....

[bbsadmin]

Just curious....what type of doctor are you planning to be...i.e. speciality?

[BraceMD]

Just curious....what type of doctor are you planning to be...i.e. speciality?

Not sure yet... I am leaning towards psychiatry, but I haven't yet tried everything out. I do not want to do pediatrics, I know that for sure!

[chrisd]

i hear that about peds. lol
ruled that one out quickly. i did always find psychiatry fascinating though. the construct of personality and when it goes ary. frustrated by never really getting a cure though. have fun\
chris

[BraceMD]

Update

Today is my 5 month anniversary of having my braces.





I'm not seeing much movement... and my crossbite seems to be getting worse! But, I'll trust my ortho to be moving my teeth at a fair pace.

I have a wire change in a few weeks and I'll post more then.

[weird_wired]

Wow - your canines(?) seem to have descended and got in perfect line really quickly!

[MadeIn1984]

Those are "speed braces", if I'm not mistaken. The brackets are smaller than mine.

Everything's looking really good so far. You're have naturally nice-looking teeth! You must be thrilled.

[BraceMD]

Thanks for the compliment on my "naturally nice" teeth, MadeIn1984! Yes, I am happy with how things are looking so far. Sometimes I wish my teeth were moving faster, but frankly I am so busy in med school right now that I hardly think about my teeth.

Yes, they're Damon 3's, "Speed Braces". I like them because I only need to get wire changes every 8-10 weeks.

[BraceMD]

The teeth are moving right along...

I'm happy with the movement... the top is slowly widening, via annoying elastics...


As you can see, as the crossbite gets fixed, I am developing a terrible open bite. This is because at this moment, on my right side, only the "points" of my teeth are touching. Chewing is a big problem on both sides right now... but I've learned to live with it.

My mouth and open bite smile are funny looking right now, but I'm confident it will improve. I'm thrilled! New patients that I see in offices and hospital rounds always are surprised by my braces.

[/img]

[Flora2006]

Great progress