I've been (semi-obsessively) lurking these forums in excitement reading other people's treatment stories as adults. I felt like sharing mine as I will be beginning my 2nd journey with braces!
A general dentist performed my ortho treatment a decade ago on my dramatic preteen self. At the time, my teeth were in horrible condition-- so bad that some relatives gave me the nickname of "butterfly winged teeth" due to how flared and crooked my central incisors were alongside all the surrounding teeth.
Two years after that set, they came off. "Yayyy, good teeth finally and won't have to deal with those annoying contraptions anymore!" 10 years later would prove me wrong of course.
Seven years back to a different general dentist for an overdue teeth cleaning, he noticed an oddity when I swallowed. He informed me of a tongue thrust, appalling me, since my previous general dentist had never mentioned any sort. I researched fervently about the tongue thrust and realized that I had an open bite with semi-overjet. I thought I had noticed some off things about my smile prior to that cleaning!
Went to two initial ortho consults. The first suggested jaw surgery or orthodontics alone; he's qualified, well-known ortho in my local area, but I didn't sense as much confidence from him in fixing my open bite with minimal invasiveness. Also, wasn't the biggest fan of his staff either.
The second one is a younger ortho and his staff made my friend and I feel incredibly welcomed and entertained during our visit. He surprised when he confidentally stated he'd fix my open bite via the usage of TADS to intrude the molars + extractions of the 1st bicuspids. I loved everything about my first visit there and will pursue my treatment with him for ~18-24 months.
The next time I visit they'll be able to brace me top and bottom to get this journey finally started!
I cannot express how thrilled I am be doing something about my open bite; so tired of being able to stick 1/3 of my tongue through the gap, spaghetti noodles slipping out when I play with the bite, the lettuce left behind in burgers, and having a top arch visible only smile because I disliked seeing the bite.
I may post pictures here now and then, but I created an Insta account to photo document my journey. You can find me with the username @archwirejourney. Can't wait to start this journey with the rest of you! Please comment with your own stories or any questions about my treatment
