I have found so much helpful information on here, thank you!
I am a 39 year-old mother of 2 who just had Damon braces put on on October 17, 2007. I originally had braces put on when I was in 7th grade. They had extracted all 4 second bicuspids at the time because my "mouth was too small" and they did not have the technology of arch expanding at that time. I wore the braces for 3 years and then had Hawley retainers, which I did not wear often enough. My family had moved right around the time I got my braces off and my mom did not find a new orthodontist at our new location, so I had no follow-up care. Then my wisdom teeth came in and appeared to crowd my teeth back into a less than perfect position. I did have my wisdom teeth pulled, but my teeth remained crowded.
Being a dental assistant for 8 years, I have always been very concientious of my teeth and I have been wanting braces again for a very long time but could never justify the expense. I recently started a new job at a company that has a fantastic dental plan that covers a major portion of adult braces, so I decided to take the plunge.
At my consultation they found:
-there is not enouch space for the upper and lower teeth
-slight overbite
-crossbite
-class 1 case
They gave me an estimated treatment time of 18 months, but the office manager that went over my case with me said I am a pretty straightforward case and that it might take less time; maybe closer to 12 months (I am hoping!). The doctor even said that with Damon braces, he can expand my arch (without an arch expander, that is placed on the roof of the mouth) and broaden my smile to compensate for my missing 4 teeth (yay!).
They placed Damon 3 brackets on my top front 6 teeth (half stainless steel, half clear; a little less noticeable) and Damon 2 brackets (all metal) on the rest of my teeth. The application was unexpectedly painful as my teeth are sensitive to cold and when the assistant was spray drying my teeth before the bonding, I about jumped out of the chair! (And I have a pretty high pain threshold.) Everything else went smoothly, except for the horrible taste of the bonding materials.
Walking out to my car afterwards and feeling like my mouth was 10 times its original size I was wondering what the heck did I get myself into?!?! I had no pain the first day, but the next week and a half afterwards were not pleasant. I basically felt like someone hit me in the mouth with a baseball bat and that, combined with my inner cheeks being raw from the rubbing, was not a pleasant experience. (I don't remember it being that bad when I was a kid, but then maybe adult cases are more difficult because the bone is more static.) I found it very difficult to speak as well, but things have gotten better. After the initial adjustment period and getting over feeling like a complete
dork, things are going much more smoothly.My lower four teeth have moved quite a bit in the short time I have had my braces and I am seeing spaces between them when before I had such tight contacts, I could barely get floss in between them. I haven't really noticed a change in my top teeth yet. I notice some days certain teeth are sore and lose and then they seem to tighten up and settle in a new position a few days later. I am wondering what my first adjustment will be like and I am not really looking forward to it if it will feel like the intial wire placement.
Here is a link to a slideshow of the progress so far; notice how the lower archwire has really straightened out, and that's in only 6 weeks! (my lower front tooth is grey because of a root canal related to trauma):
