Good to hear on your progress and that the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter!!
I tried to post a pic of my band configuration but I don't know how to do that. Well, before I get on with that, I want to announce that my braces were finally removed last Wednesday! It was such an emotional roller coaster that I went home and cried at the end of the day lol.
Let me start with my ortho texting me early that day to POSTPONE my appointment because she hadn't gotten the final OK from my surgeon...(In my opinion, she didn't want to come in after Brazil's loss - she's Brazilian)...I convinced her that the surgeon was on board and had even asked me 1.5 months ago when my braces were coming off.
Then in the office chair, I get my final check by the overseeing faculty (I did my ortho treatment at a university clinic in case you forgot) who said that one rear molar isn't touching quite they way they would like - the occlusion was a tad bit eensie weensie off...and asked if I could go 5 more weeks. My vacation saved me. He said it was no biggie and things would probably close up OK afterwords anyway. The ceramics on top came off pretty easily, as did most of the regular braces on the bottom. The bands on the molars were a bit more stubborn, but no excruciating pain. Oh, I popped a couple advil just before my appointment to be safe. That was all of 10 minutes. Then for 1.5 hours I was getting off all the cement/glue stuff. It wasn't too bad but loooong. My jaw got cranky at this point. Then came several sets (yes, SETS) of pictures, impressions, pictures, etc. etc. 3 hours later, I was on my way to lunch with our local legislator.
I also left with the invisalign-like retainers that I was instructed to wear 24-7 (save for special occasions). Glad I have it, though mine was kind of thick and I still talk a little funny. I also pick up regular retainers at my one month check. I think when I get both, I'll wear clear on top and regular on the bottom so my teeth aren't 10 mm apart because of plastic.
The retainers aren't bothersome, just slobbery when removing them. Make sure you take your case with you EVERYWHERE. That way there isn't even temptation to leave them in a napkin! The annoying thing (fortunately we were used to it bc of braces) is that you have to rinse and brush after every meal, unless you want to put the clear retainers on with food stuff on your teeth. Yuck!
I may have overdone it on my first day of freedom - I slept on my side, at a salad....talked a lot. And now I'm paying for it. My jaw joint on the left is suuper cranky. And my soreness is still there in the mornings. Baby steps.
I went to my regular dentist immediately afterwords for a cleaning and to ensure none of my babies were about to fall out after all this hard work they endured. And I came out almost unscathed. I did end up with a slightly grayed tooth which the dentist will monitor. He said we won't be able to tell if it's a dead tooth until a year later or it darkens rapidly. I am super sad about it, but it's not terribly noticeable and will pray it heals. The other thing is that I still have hypersensitivity on my left lower gums and lips and chin. It really sucks. If it gets better that's great otherwise, I might have to ask for something to be done, bc it feels like a pack of needles when chewing, brushing or rinsing water on that side. It was agony in the dentist chair because of that.
Was it worth it....I actually don't want to answer that right now. The possibly deadened tooth, the hypersensitivity...and not to mention I had a long thin face to begin with and this did not alleviate that one bit. My midline is half a tooth off to the left and my chin points 10 degrees more to the right...sigh...
Last thing - I had like six rubber bands before my braces came off. they were in a box in the back molars, a triangle with the top incisors, and diagonals from the lower bottom to the top incisors. Boy did that suck. Glad that's over.
But, no more braces!!
but I hoped I answered all your questions, and if I left out anything, let me know!!
