The Last Stretch

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#1 Post by **caitlin1120** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 5:24 am

Anyone in/past their final stage of treatment feel like the last stretch draaags on?? I'm at 14 months now, out of an estimated 18, and my teeth have been pretty co-operative and are basically straight now except for a maybe 0.5mm gap on my upper right side. I'm happy that everything is moving along but now that I know what my teeth look like when they're straight I'm becoming so impatient to get them off!! I know I still have to wait for them to stabilize and my ortho may want to tweak some areas, but I just feel like a kid at christmas

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Anyone else feel like they are running out of/ran out of patience at the end?

#2 Post by **revontuli** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:22 am

If I had only a few months to go I'd be antsy too! I'm feeling impatient and I'm only 2 weeks and 2 days in braces. :-/

#3 Post by **felicia** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 10:58 am

I have 5 months left, I am still wearing my elastics at night. Every time I go in for my appt. my ortho does something to the wires. I stopped seeing movement loooooooong time ago....I am getting anxious...I DREAM OF FEBRUARY, MARCH OF NEXT YEAR....

#4 Post by **Star** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 11:26 am

I have only about 4 months to go and at my last visit 2wks ago I was told by my ortho that my teeth are as straight as their gonna get. We're basically just working on getting my cross bite fixed and trying to do something about my upper teeth that are now flaring out fixed. I go in next Wed to have impressions done again so he can see just how much improvement has been made and have another adjustment.

#5 Post by **Noodle1** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 1:07 pm

4/5 months left is the hardest, things just don't move as they did at the start and it still feels like a long time but it does go trust me! I've been given my debanding date in just over a month, think it's going to be the slowest month ever!!

#6 Post by **VA5** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 2:17 pm

I agree. I am supposed to be done sometime in the winter (which i'm hoping means 3 more months). But, I actually have a lot more stuff that needs ot finish so I actually don't know how this is going to be done by then. I sometimes get scared that these gaps on the top are NEVER going to close! I thought this was the easy part.. my ortho kept saying that closing the gaps is the fastest part of the treatment, compared to everything else. Um, not really! I read somewhere they should move 1-2 mm a month? There is absolutely no way that's going on with my teeth. I'd say 1/2 mm a month. At best. It's very frustrating.

#7 Post by **haywire** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 2:43 pm

i've reached the home stretch too, on my next adjustment i'm suppose to get the debrace date, somewhere in november

just found that about this on the last adjustment, before that i thought that i'm gonna finish in spring (just my opinion, because i didn't really get an estimate at the beggining)
i'm so nervous about this next and maybe final adjustment !!!

#8 Post by **macgirl4ever** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 3:26 pm

12-18 months felt like forever and I know I posted my most negative post around month 16 or so when my mouth HURT and I felt trapped in my braces. I now have a little less than 2 months until everything comes off. I am really trying not to think about it because that makes the time go incredibly slow.

#9 Post by **VA5** » Wed Sep 29, 2010 3:29 pm

I have a question. How long should all the teeth look PERFECT before they can take the braces off. If my braces really do come off in the winter, then I'm thinking my teeth will be PERFECT (as in no spaces, bottom comletely level--not it's not level yet!) for a very short time.

Maybe I'm not making sense.. how long does it look like they have NOTHING left to work on in your mouth (at least to your visible eye) before the braces come off? I was always under the assumption there was a retention phase while in braces, but is it possible to just take them off right after things are done, and retain with only retainers??

#10 Post by **Justiz** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 1:28 pm

I agree with all of you!! The time definitely does seem like it goes waaay slower towards the end. I had an adjustment today and tomorrow is my first year in braces. I was given an 18 month timeframe and was told today I had about 6 months to go, maybe sooner depending on how quickly rubber bands could close a tiny overbit that's left over from earlier on in treatment.

I feel like I can't see as much movement as before and I keep agonizing over when the BIG day will be. I feel like in the beginning with all the changesit makes it more worth it but I find myself just getting extra impatient and being more sensitive to everything they do!

Hopefully debanding day will get here quick!!