And so it begins.. aka Christin's story (pics! updated7/06)

[hooray4mediocrity]

My apologies.. I was waiting for my darling to get a better camera (so I could steal it, no less.. and then he had to send it in for repairs already)... so I'm back to bad pics.. anyway...

Now 2 adjustments into it.. I must say that I wish I would have taken pictures last month.. My teeth seem to be going straight, and then rocked to one side, then straight again.. at least they are moving, but it seems like they are going to have to look worse before they look better...

For example, in the picctures of my side gaps.. (granted, my lower gaps are almost fully closed now, due to power chains- hooray! Although one is particularly slow these days..).. but.. my upper gaps are CRAWLING along. I've worn these elastics for almost 3 1/2 months with little movement.. and now my one canine is pulling away from the pack! argh!


But it still looks better than the old..

It also worries me that I won't have enough teeth to fill the gaps they made.. so I hope I dont have a gappy smile when I'm done with this!

However, my worries are probably a bit premature.. My top teeth still have an overbite, so maybe they all will move back more.. we shall see..

Until then.. here are the newest lovelies.. in comparison to a couple old ones as well..

Old fake toothy grin... Jan 06


New look from the front.. July 06


different angle..

I'm starting to be able to bite sandwiches (which is in itself a small feat!) and see an arch, instead of a jumbled mess!! Also, notice the darling shark tooth still does not want to join the party and play nice...

Last, the other side.. old pic


and now.. progress!

[hooray4mediocrity]

for your kind words, bracedagain and KK! I am happy with the progress, but like us greedy americans, I can wait for more! (You know, bigger, faster changes, whiter teeth, etc.. argh!)

One question though.. to anyone that wears elastics, do you break them often? At first, I was breaking the left elastic 2-4 times a day.. My ortho's assistant told me to change both of them when that happened, so there would be an equal amount of tension on both sides (although I'm only supposed to change them in the morning, if nothing snaps!). I had been worried, as I know changing them too often can actually slow the process down. Then last time I had a different assistant, and she said she changes hers at least once a day, or everytime she eats.. ? Who knows.. maybe I should remember to ask my ortho next time he swings by for 5 minutes.. ha