Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi, everyone

Before getting braces, my teeth are out of alignment from the center line of my face, when I'm looking at a mirror, it doesn't seem that bad.
But when I look at my photos taken by my friends and family, it's really quite obvious. Only my mom and my grandma are the one's who mentioned it to me, and are concerned on what I plan to do with it.

Along with my "out-of-alignment" case, I also have an extreme overbite. And it makes me look like Bugs bunny and that's what my friends sometimes call me. Me being socially anxious at times, just try to laugh it off or agree with things that they say about me, and make it seem like I don't care much. But deep inside, I'm really concerned about it and always thinking of ways to make my overbite more discreet by not smiling as much, not reacting as much to what people say, trying to not get as much attention to me, and always make my mouth closed.
It seems like my problem has reached the psychological level.

At first, I wasn't sure how it works, how to get it, do I have to call the dentist first for them to put my name in a log book or something... these are some of the questions that were lingering in my mind

Here are some photos taken before i got my braces

http://imageshack.com/a/img923/6067/GVgWGB.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/831/u4jPH8.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/1342/hkW2ts.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img921/408/au4o0f.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img923/7748/Yk0DC3.jpg

Some photos may show how my upper lip is dark colored, its just the camera
For some reason its darker on the pictures, I don't smoke lol

Here are the photos after getting my 1st premolar on my left got extracted

And this is me 2 days after I got the braces installed



And as you can see from these images I've got a "spring" instead of a "power chain"(i think thats what its called, the rubber bands)
I heard the ortho said that I might accidentally take the power chain off when I brush my teeth so she installed a spring instead

Please tell me what you think about it, any suggestions, concerns ...anything
I want to talk to people who experienced this kind of thing

Hi, welcome and good luck with your braces. I'm sure you are going to see loads of movement really quickly and will probably end up with a really lovely result. Extraction gaps can close fairly quickly, just trust your ortho, follow their instructions and enjoy the whole process. Good luck.

Thanks, yeah I was kinda doubting what my ortho is doing... I haven't seen/heard of anyone with Springs used to have their gaps closed. I have heard of using springs to open a gap for space though

Congratulations and welcome to the club! I had "closing coils" across a couple of very stubborn gaps for the last six months of treatment -- I think they are probably common. Your ortho doesn't want to move teeth too quickly, but in some cases they are necessary to overcome one's structural and biologic resistance. No one can peer into the future, but your ortho should be able to tell you what to expect -- and it may be less than perfection -- but completely acceptable to you. You just need to understand what he is hoping to accomplish. I did not expect perfection and was perfectly happy with my final result, nonetheless. Best of luck to you. Your friends will be very envious eventually .

djspeece wrote:Congratulations and welcome to the club! I had "closing coils" across a couple of very stubborn gaps for the last six months of treatment -- I think they are probably common. Your ortho doesn't want to move teeth too quickly, but in some cases they are necessary to overcome one's structural and biologic resistance. No one can peer into the future, but your ortho should be able to tell you what to expect -- and it may be less than perfection -- but completely acceptable to you. You just need to understand what he is hoping to accomplish. I did not expect perfection and was perfectly happy with my final result, nonetheless. Best of luck to you. Your friends will be very envious eventually .

Haha thanks for that encouragement! My case initially was that both my upper and lower rows of teeth don't have a 2nd premolar, except for my upper left. That's why my upper rows are not in centreline. She said that it has to be extracted so that my upper row can move to the proper centerline and to enable that same row to be pushed back to eliminate my extreme overbite.
PS. I also had 2nd opinion from other dentist and they said the same thing

UPDATE: Now on my 5th day with braces.

Seems like most of the pain have subside from my 4 front teeth and canines, both upper and lower.
They are the ones that are targeted to move to get them on the center line of my face and to get pushed back to eliminate my overbite.
But no more "pain" now... do the wires still "work". My ortho told me that the wires I have are temperature-sensitive. Maybe I should eat more hot food like soups and noodles?

My next appointment is on March 18...quite a long wait for me to get thicker wire.
Also, as you can see from the photos, my canine on my left is supposed to move back and fill the gap in place of my extracted 1st premolar and my ortho put springs, I still don't see much movement and it's worrying me especially now that there is no more pain on those teeth, it feels like almost nothing happened....haaaa

Don't expect to see movement quickly. You will be disappointed. It is a LONG process and to achieve the most appropriate result your orthodontist makes small adjustments over the course of years. From your pictures your case looks complex, so be patient. Results will occur slowly but you won't notice big changes. It's a series of small movements that line up teeth so that they function appropriately. Also, don't expect to have wire changes every appointment. The wire choices your orthodontist makes are strategic for your stage of treatment. You usually start out with thin round wires for leveling and alignment then switch to thicker square wires later. Also, no need to eat "warm" foods. That has nothing to do with it. Temperature sensitive simply means that your wire is activated when it reaches body temperature. The wire is always applying pressure even though you don't feel it so not being sore doesn't mean that your teeth aren't moving. Just an FYI, when you say overbite I believe you are referring to an overjet. That's when your upper arch extends out beyond your lower arch. An overbite is essentially a "deep" bite when you uppers extend down and cover your lower arch. Hope this clears some things up. Enjoy the process.

ruca2 wrote:Don't expect to see movement quickly. You will be disappointed. It is a LONG process and to achieve the most appropriate result your orthodontist makes small adjustments over the course of years. From your pictures your case looks complex, so be patient. Results will occur slowly but you won't notice big changes. It's a series of small movements that line up teeth so that they function appropriately. Also, don't expect to have wire changes every appointment. The wire choices your orthodontist makes are strategic for your stage of treatment. You usually start out with thin round wires for leveling and alignment then switch to thicker square wires later. Also, no need to eat "warm" foods. That has nothing to do with it. Temperature sensitive simply means that your wire is activated when it reaches body temperature. The wire is always applying pressure even though you don't feel it so not being sore doesn't mean that your teeth aren't moving. Just an FYI, when you say overbite I believe you are referring to an overjet. That's when your upper arch extends out beyond your lower arch. An overbite is essentially a "deep" bite when you uppers extend down and cover your lower arch. Hope this clears some things up. Enjoy the process.

Acknowledged! thanks for that. My ortho, like you said, didnt change my wires, although she said she will on our next appointment. Yeah my case would be an "overjet" where my upper teeth are protruding outwards and with a combination of it not being on the center line. thanks for the advice again.