1 month pics! woohoo!

[metaljen]

Hi everyone. My name is Jen and I got my braces on 6/4... so far all is going well. Of course I had considerable sensitivity for the first 3 days, but since this past weekend, everything is back to normal as far as eating goes I found this site while searching for info about braces and how they work. I have been lurking and reading many of the stories and it's GREAT to know I'm not the only adult with braces! Your stories and pictures are very encouraging.
Okay, so a little about me:
I am currently a SAHM to a little 8 month old boy. Previously I was an RN at a private practice. My hubby and I have been married for 3.5 years and we also have two 4 legged children, Cairo and Brutus.
I do have a selfish purpose for posting... I have a question about my treatment... (I'll go ahead and warn you, I'm a control freak and I have to understand every aspect of my treatment and care... needless to say, my ortho has been very helpful, but I'd hate to bug him too much!)
I have crowding of both my uppers and lowers as well as a Class II malocclusion. Despite this, the ortho says no teeth need to be extracted... anyone else experience this same thing? You see, when I was 16 and first considered braces, I was told I'd have to have surgery, get 4 extractions, and would be in braces for 3-4yrs. This time when I went for a consultation, I was told no surgery, no extractions, braces for 22-24 months...... How can there be such a major difference in diagnosis??
And one more question... My ortho describes my facial profile as "full". To me this says that my profile is "normal" but I thought with an overbite any profile would be off somewhat...? Sorry if I seem too anal... !!Anyhow, here are my before pics... (the middle pic is my ortho's office name so I blocked it out)



I can't wait to begin to see changes! Anyhow, thanks for reading my post!!
Jen


Edited: Had to resize my pic, sorry if I caused anyone comp trouble!!

[alexa]

Hi there!

I'm not an orthodontist, so I can't really answer your questions from a professional standpoint.

What I can say is that you find that many times people seek several consultations and one doctor will say they need extractions and another will say they don't. In some cases it's simply a matter of preference in how the ortho wants to treat the case.

Another thing that is possible is that perhaps your teeth situation has changed from when you were a teenager.

Like I say, I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm just a patient like you, but your teeth don't look severely crowded. I mean, yes, there is crowding, but all of your teeth fit into the arch. I had four extractions when I got my braces, but I had teeth that had been so crowded that the teeth had started growing in outside of my arch. Maybe your ortho just has a good plan on how to make space for your crowding. If you're really concerned, just ask him. I know you don't want to bug him, but it's your treatment, and that's a major question. Certainly something that your ortho should field since he gave you the diagnosis this time around!

Good luck, and welcome to Archwired!

[lea72104]

Congratulations!!! I'm glad to hear that you have started this journey with us! I have the same fears of bugging my orthodontist. Fortunately my orthodontists office is really understanding. I have seen a few adults in the office when i have been there for appointments (seeing as i'm only 20, the others are a little older). They understand that adults have far more questions than teenagers do about their treatment. If you think about it, when teens are getting there work done, a lot of the parents are asking questions. They're used to it!!!! I agree with Alexa when she said it's a possibility that you're teeth/mouth has changed since you were 16. Also, each ortho is different. Did you have any previous consultations?? As long as you are comfortable with you decision with this ortho that's all that matters!

Lea

[metaljen]

Lea and Alexa-thanks for your replies!
Yes, I really like my ortho and he is well known in my community for doing good work. But, being a nurse, I know what it's like behind the scenes at a doctors office... but I suppose I should just get over that, huh?
Anyhow, I'm very comfortable with the decision he made, I guess I just got so excited about NOT having to have surgery that everything else on my mind was completely wiped away. And then at my next appt. I was more anxious because I was actually going through with it. I guess it won't hurt to get a little more detail during my next visit at the end of July.
I'm sure that my jaw/teeth did change a bit after my first ortho consult at 16. It was almost immediately after that that I had my 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed, so that definetly could have changed things.
may I ask one more question? What does the term "levelling" mean? I think I have an idea, but want to be sure... Thanks so much for the warm welcomes!

[goldmetal]

My situation is EXTREMELY similar to yours. Like you, I was told a long time ago that I would have to have extractions(4) to make room. However, when I actually started treatment last Fall, the ortho told me the goal is no extractions. I am 6 months into treatment. So far so good! It is looking like there will be no extractions. I will be in treatment for 24 months. The ortho told me from the beginning that it will be highly unlikely I will be done early. Good luck to you!

[Lisa65]

I'm not an expert, but your occlusion doesn't look like a class 2 (I might be missing something though so please correct me if I'm wrong!) Your top molars are not occluding in front of their bottom counterparts like this



They look like this, which is a class I



Your arches look pretty good, so maybe if you're not having extractions it's just going to be a case of widening the arches with braces to make room for your slightly crowded front teeth.

I hope all continues to go well with your braces, Jen!

[metaljen]

Lisa-I tend to agree with you, though, if it's possible, my molars do line up like a class I but my front teeth stick out like the Class II pic... But I guess that would be called and overjet...? But aren't malocclusions determined by molar placement? LOL I guess there's no sense in trying to figure it out exactly, I'm just glad my treatment now is more simple than it was. I have learned a lot in the past few days, however! It seems as if it's all about the arches!

Meryaten-thanks for the link, it is very helpful! Also, I read your story, it's pretty wild! You write well.

goldmetal-very cool, do you have pics to show your progress? I'd be interested to see them.

jt2lang-yes, I do believe those 3 things have affected my diagnosis and treatment... it's just nice to talk to people who have experienced the same! Thank you for your reply and welcome!

Karen-LOL hmm... an empty profile? You're right, that wouldn't go over so well with some folks If that's the case I'll take my "full" and be happy about it!

[newmetal]

Welcome to the site. Ive been a member for a year now and have found this forum to be more helpful than any website. Your teeth are a really nice shape so i predict you will achieve a perfect smile with braces. Once again, welcome.

Newmetal

[goldmetal]

goldmetal-very cool, do you have pics to show your progress? I'd be interested to see them.

Progress from Dec 2006 and June 2007

[metaljen]

Hi everyone, it's been about a month, and though my pics are of poor quality, I still wanted to update. There is no more discomfort, except for the occasional, "oooo, I should not have bit down so hard on that!" Occasionally I'm a little unnerved when I can feel that my teeth are a little loose, but I'm excited to see the changes my teeth have made... though I have to say, it seems as though everything happened in the 1st 2 weeks and not much has happened these last 2 weeks. Also, my bite seems to have changed, at first when I completely bit down, one of my incisors kept hitting a bottom bracket, then it stopped happening, now it's happening again! LOL, at least I know my teeth are moving! Anyhow, I've been lurking for the past month and busy watching the changes that are happening for all of you, so now it's my turn
Hope everyone is well, hope all the American's are enjoying their Independence Day (I so can't wait to bite into a yummy BBQ covered chicken leg!) and hope everyone else is doing well too!!

Here are my uppers pre-braces:


Here they are 1 month into treatment:


Lowers before:


and now:


Again, sorry for the photo quality, hope everyone is able to see the changes!!

[Samantha19]

Welcome Jen,

You will find as I did that the journy is the reward as far as braces are concerned.

Welcome again

[Whitters]

That's GREAT progress Jen!! Continue to take those pics to track your progress - most of the time that's the only way you'll notice any changes.

[acehigh]

Hello Metaljen! I also have an overjet/overbite, and was initially told I may need extractions. I'm over 6 months into treatment and it's going very well. I found out no extractions will be necessary. I'm wearing the InOvation C braces, along with elastics and a powerchain. My 6mm overjet is narrowing!! I notice my top teeth aren't sitting over the bottom teeth like they were 1/2 year ago. My bite is feeling so much nicer now also. My estimated treatment time is 18-24 months. I'm very glad I went through with this, because when I first had my braces put on I went back to the ortho's office to have them taken off!! lol.....I hit the panic button, but at least I admit it. ( The elastics I wear connect from the top canine to the second last molar on each side.....and they're not noticeable unless you flash a huge smile. Also, the powerchain across the top arch is completely CLEAR.)

[metaljen]

Meryaten, Whitters, and KK: it's wonderful to see the changes... at first I was checking out my teeth EVERYDAY for about a week, and it suddenly dawned on me, if I just take a detailed look every now and then, the delayed gratification will be better! Anyhow, I was surprised to see changes so fast, especially in my lowers, but definetly pleased. Things have slowed down a bit, but while my treatment is to last 22-24 months, I'm really trying to use mental energy and I'm believing for a FASTER time! I don't know if I'll get it, but I definetly think there's something to mental energy and focus But I won't be too dissappointed if it still takes 22-24 months, what's a few more months when you've been wearing them for 20, I think?

Acehigh: congrats on no extractions! LOL about the "panic button", I found myself saying "I wonder if I should have done this" especially after people kept saying "Why did you get braces, I never noticed your teeth were crooked..." My panic button was *almost* pushed on the day I went in to get the brackets placed... I almost cried! I think my ortho could tell... but he's a guy and I guess guys look at it differently. He just kept telling me that my results would make it all worth it, that once I'm done I'll never ever be ashamed to smile so that's what I remind myself of every now and then. Good luck with your progress, you're 1/4 of the way through! Have you posted pics?