Guess what I am getting for Xmas? My new Smile!!! (Pic)

[ibraceface]

I am so, so, so excited... after 4 years of many tears and frustrations, it looks like I will be getting my new smile this year for Christmas. I dont know if yall remember me posting a while back... but I was pretty frustrated. After going almost two years past my treatment date, I wasn't happy at all with my smile. After a couple of "come to jesus" meetings with my ortho.. she has finally gotten me to a place where I can look in the mirror and love my smile.

I still have a couple of things that need to be done (a few spaces, a few teeth that are literally a hairline off...and finishing my bite...) which I hear is all pretty normal towards the end of treatmment? I will need a good bit of tooth edge shaping and some bonding afterwards. If you notice, I have a pretty weird canine... it was impacted and never quite came in right. My dentist feels confident he can bond it in a way to make it appear normal. Anyways.. here is a sneak peek at my Christmas present... I am thrilled.



But, I wanted to ask yall... esp. those that have been in braces so long... do you absolutely fear getting them off? My worst fear is getting them off and not being happy. And for some reason, everyone tells me how wonderful my smile is, but for some reason... I still see some imperfection. I sometimes wonder if I have had them on so long that... mentally, I just dont see the same thing as everyone else.

Anyways... 4 years of blood, sweat and many tears (literally) later... I am finally getting these f**ing things off!!! LOL!!! Yay!!!

[stepher7]

I think your teeth look amazing! They'll be gorgeous when the braces are off and all of the minor cosmetic things you want are done. I honestly think that we are our own worst critics and will always see imperfections in ourselves that no one else would ever notice. I've also read that adults teeth don't move the way that children/adolescents teeth do, so I think a lot of people end up with teeth that are 99% "perfect" because there are some things that just can't be fixed or changed as an adult. I haven't seen your before pictures, but I'm assuming that since you got braces they didn't look as wonderful as they do now, so I say just focus on the fact that after 4 long years they're coming off and you'll now get to enjoy a beautiful smile for many more years

[benj]

Congrats to you!! I am also getting DB in 20 days, after 5 long years and yes I do have a few reservations despite how great my teeth look today. But its not that easy to change your perspective if you are used to looking negatively at something, and also because the changes in orthodontics are so gradual...

I always find it strange (but kind of awesome) when I see people today who have smiles I have admired a lot in the past. I mean people who had smiles I was kind of envious of before, and then realize that MY teeth are actually a lot more perfect looking now.

I don't like schadenfreude, but I also think I have deserved the right to feel great about how far I have come along with this treatment!

[ngarner0717]

Oh boy do I know how you feel lol. I had mine in for 3 years which included literal blood and tears lol. Was only supposed to be 2 but because of a stupid canine and a oral surgeon who didn't know what he was doing my treatment took much longer. I have posted my mishaps on the Impacted Canines Club. Mine came off almost 2 weeks ago and yes I have noticed a minor flaw but overall my teeth look 10x better than before so I just wrote it off. Also my Ortho stated she couldn't fix it anyways. I'm so happy to be out of those damn things I can deal with one little flaw that really isn't that noticeable to everyone else.

The only problem I'm really having is that I have to wear my Hawley retainer 24/7 for the next year. It is like being back in braces again however at least I can pop them out when I brush and eat.

Also your teeth look awesome

[kioteo2]

Congrats on the end finally being in sight! I wound up in braces only 6 months longer than the original two years that my ortho told me- I can't imagine 4 years in them. I got my braces off yesterday, and going in I wasn't really sure if I was truly ready for them to come off. I was ready in the sense that I didn't want a mouth full of metal anymore, but I wasn't sure if I'd actually be 100% happy with my new smile. Well, the brackets came off, my ortho removed the cement, I went to rinse and wash up, and my teeth looked amazing. So don't worry about it- your teeth right now look great, and once those brackets are off, they'll be beautiful.