Metal Mouth Message Board

I've had my braces on for a year, but I REALLY don't feel like I have that much progress with my teeth. Everybody else seems to have such a quick progression, and well... I don't. Plus, my teeth are getting WORSE in some aspects. My right front tooth on the top now sticks out a lot more than the rest, and this was never an issue. I don't know, what do you think?


This is before my braces... sometime in 2004.


About two months after being braced, March 2005.


May 2005


September 2005


And this is what they're like now.

Somebody encourage me, because I'm feeling like there's never any change and I'm going to be trapped in these things forever. [/i]

Your teeth look so awesome!

There has definitely been a lot of progress!

Sometimes I know that I feel like nothing's happening, but I just remind myself that my teeth will eventually be nice and straight! You have to look forward to that!

Good luck with the rest of your treatment, and I hope you start to feel better about your progress.

Your teeth sure look beautiful in that last photo

Pixie wrote:I've had my braces on for a year, but I REALLY don't feel like I have that much progress with my teeth. Everybody else seems to have such a quick progression, and well... I don't.

I'd love to meet this 'everybody' lol

There are a lot of people who see progress quickly but there are just as many who don't. Your teeth look really nice to begin with so there's really not that much to improve from what I can see. Finishing touches take forever-the bite, midlines, etc. You won't be in braces forever, trust me.

Sometimes when things seem like they're taking absolutely forever, you just need to step back and put it all in perspective. As bad as it sounds, losing interest kind of helped pass the time for me. Develop new hobbies or further an artistic talent you have, anything to pass the time and keep your mind off your teeth.

It'll end.......someday......

Eve

What exactly is wrong with your teeth in the last picture? To me, that's what perfection looks like.

Pixie: I think your teeth look awesome! I don't know, but I think you may be frustrated because your teeth were pretty straight to begin with...so there's been a lot of progress with just a little movment. I think some others have lots and lots of movement that needed to take place, so the results are rapid and very noticeable. Anyway, just I thought. I think your teeth look awesome!

You need braces? Kind of surprised you got braces in the first place. Yeah they are slightly off, hardly noticable though. But like others said, the last pic looks good.

Evelyn wrote:

Pixie wrote:I've had my braces on for a year, but I REALLY don't feel like I have that much progress with my teeth. Everybody else seems to have such a quick progression, and well... I don't.

I'd love to meet this 'everybody' lol

There are a lot of people who see progress quickly but there are just as many who don't. Your teeth look really nice to begin with so there's really not that much to improve from what I can see. Finishing touches take forever-the bite, midlines, etc. You won't be in braces forever, trust me.

Wow! I totally agree with you EVE and pixie! OMg! I've had my braces for about 21 months and I still feel like I've seen very little progress!

Pixie: Your teeth are looking lovely! Very nice and straight! Congrats! I think like Stargirl said are teeth are improving we just really don't notice the movement!

Good luck!

-Hannah




Top braces: 4/28/04
Bottom braces: 11/16/05
Next Adjustment was 1/11/06 but now is rescheduled to 1/21/06

I definitely see progress there!! good job!

you also have very nice lips!


so yummy hahaha

Thank you. I guess I feel kind of silly when I take a step out of my own perspective, I've just been so aggravated with my ortho lately...

I know my teeth weren't that crooked in the first place and that might be why I feel like I'm not seeing much progress, but the things I needed corrected were less noticeable things-- the crowding on my lower teeth was getting painful in some areas and I originally had a very deep bite. (I couldn't even get my bottom braces on until almost 10 months after I first got the uppers...)

But thanks, I feel a lot better about this. Just one more year... one more year...

And... if my teeth look so good, apparently... why do I have at least another year estimated in these suckers?

Pixie wrote:And... if my teeth look so good, apparently... why do I have at least another year estimated in these suckers?

orthos always put a gigantic estimated time, in case something goes wrong... in the first year they should take x-rays again to see how is ur progress really going, there they can tell you how long you have to wait.

Yury

One reason you may have a year left in braces might be that you've only had the bottom braces for a short time, and you have a lot of bite work to be completed. They need the bottom braces to work on that, so the first 10 months you had just uppers was only working on aligning that arch, so now you have to work on getting both arches in tune with each other.

Just a thought.

For the record though, your teeth are looking swell!

Evelyn wrote:

Pixie wrote:I've had my braces on for a year, but I REALLY don't feel like I have that much progress with my teeth. Everybody else seems to have such a quick progression, and well... I don't.

I'd love to meet this 'everybody' lol

There are a lot of people who see progress quickly but there are just as many who don't. Your teeth look really nice to begin with so there's really not that much to improve from what I can see. Finishing touches take forever-the bite, midlines, etc. You won't be in braces forever, trust me.

Sometimes when things seem like they're taking absolutely forever, you just need to step back and put it all in perspective. As bad as it sounds, losing interest kind of helped pass the time for me. Develop new hobbies or further an artistic talent you have, anything to pass the time and keep your mind off your teeth.

It'll end.......someday......

Eve

I couldn't have said it better myself, Eve.

Teeth look awesome. Some teeth do seem to take forever to move. Kind of like adult children.