Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi All

I posted a message recently about my reluctance to post photos. Anyway after much thought I decided to bite the bullet. I have my appointment with the ortho next week for x-rays etc. At the initial consult he said he could straighten these crazy teeth without extraction. Quite frankly I am amazed by this. He said he might need to take one out on top to fix my midline. This would mean that I would have 12 teeth on top and 16 on the bottom.

I can't believe I'm posting these pics but what the heck!

As you can see my bottom are really really overcrowded, my top midline is off on top as I had one molar extracted as a teenager and I think I have what is termed an openbite.

Is there any hope for me? I have looked on this site for similar without extractions but it is a bit of a needle in a haystack.

As I said please be gentle, the experience of people here will help.

Thanks
Joney


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Hi Joney,

Believe me when I say you will be stunned at what can be done with brackets, wire, bracket adhesive and rubber ligatures. The beauty of orthodontic work is the way that it is progressive. It doesn't take much movement for you to see that something is happening.

Good luck with the treatment and it's always nice to hear from another 'Englander'!

Hi guys

Thanks for the kind responses and words of encouragement. KriegeR I hope it goes well for you on Sept 11th, not long now. I am originally from Ireland but have lived in the UK for 22 years (since I was 19) so I suppose I could be classed an Englander now, it's definitely my home!

Bracedagain, thanks for your kind words, I feel a bit relieved now that I have posted the pics and I look forward to hopefully posting some good update photos in the future.

Thanks
Joney

Joney, like KriegeR said, you'll be amazed what can be done with braces, ligs, powerchains, elastics.

I went into this with a mild underbite and overcrowding in my upper arch, too much space downstairs, a cross bite, and a lateral open bite (both sides) of at least 3mm. After 7 months, the underbite is gone, the crossbite is gone, the crowding upstairs is much better, and we're currently working on closing the open bite. Over a month of wearing box elastics, the progress has been excellent. Even I am amazed.

So go for it.

Hi Joney! Well done for posting pics. I was scared too - I hate my teeth. But remember, that is the one thing we all have in common here - we are unhappy with our smile!

I'm sure you will be amazed what the ortho can do to better your smile. Good luck on the journey!

Joney, Please don't be shy about posting pics,we all had the same frustations at first.Just remember we are all here for the same reason of having a better bite or smile . Braces are just a bitter pill to swallow for some of us. We are all here whether to here your concerns or questions or share in your joy. We are here for You!
Tin Indian-over and out

Of course there is hope!! Good luck!

Believe it or not , I know your smile will look amazing! You got nicely shaped teeth, even if you have crowding. I have severe crowding on uppers and lowers and got braces June 14,2006 .
I know taking the plunge to post pics is soooo difficult at first. To me it was like getting naked in front of the world lol. My estimated treatment is 2.5 yrs.

Take pictures after every adjustment. You will see amazing progress this way. I did that and I did not notice that my front tooth that was severely overlapped had totally moved nicely!


Gennel

Joney,

I was a lurker for a while and was debating about whether to post pics or not. But I realized this is the only place where I can openly show my teeth and not have people grossed out, because we're all in this together. Keep on a'truckin!

Joney, you have great teeth. You will be amazed at how quickly they will move. There's lots of hope! Once you get over the hump of feeling comfortable with them, I'm sure you'll feel better about them.

I agree with ghotieyes. It is the one place that you can post pics of the inside of your mouth without someone saying, "GROSS!" I don't feel comfortable sending any of these pics to my family/friends, but here, you'll find people are very kind and non-judgemental.

Good luck with your journey to a tremendous smile. Take lots of pics ... if not to post, just for yourself so you can see there is LOTS of hope!

I'm not sure if he's still around on the board (I haven't seen him post for a while) but I'm sure he wouldn't mind me linking this... check out Dodger's pre- and post-braces photos. The difference is absolutely amazing.
viewtopic.php?t=4097&highlight=dodger

Thanks for all the kind word guys

Lionfish I'm a bit unsure of all of the terminology but it sounds like great things are happening with you teeth.

Zondrae I really hope I will be amazed too.

Tin Indian Thanks for the encouragement.

Leslie022 I'm silly to doubt that there is hope. You would think I would learn from all the positive stories on this site!

Gennel Thanks for the compliment. Hope your treatment is going well and your daughter's is too.

Ghotieyes and Braced4asmile I agree, in any other place we would all be viewed as very strange indeed.

Swellen I agree Dodger's story is inspirational.

Lucyloop thanks for the compliment. I did visit the hygienist last week so my choppers are extra clean. I will definitely check out the NHS.

Thanks again everybody.

Regards
Joney

Joney, I actually think you have goegeous teeth, they're a great shape, size and colour - they just got a little confused with their allignment, many teeth do! I think you will be amazed at how easily they will straighten out with some brackets and a wire - and I think you have a potential hollywood-gorgeous smile in there!

Good luck with everything!

Hi Joney,

Congrats on taking the plunge and posting your pics!

Your arches look VERY similar to mine -- in fact, your bottom arch is nearly identical to mine, with the same teeth in the same positions!

I've seen very satisfying movement up top in the past four months since I've been braced. I've only had my bottom teeth braced for the past two weeks, and I'm anxious to see what happens there. (OK, scrap "anxious" -- try "horribly impatient"!)

Please keep us up-to-date with your progress -- it'll certainly be encouraging for me too!

your pictures look just like mine did 2 years ago...only i have a bigger mouth

i'm 3 teeth lighter today and just a couple of years later, the top braces were removed.

it's just not possible to tell you how elated i am....you'll feel the same way!

i'm marking last Wednesday as one of the happiest days in my life....top 10 stuff! Go For It !!!!!!!!!!!