Granola's braces journey-- retainer check 2/13/08

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#106 Post by **Granola** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 10:09 pm

Hi everyone!

Linda21, you won't believe this! Not only did the backordered portable Waterpik arrive, as I mentioned above, but a second new one arrived that very same evening. I immediately e-mailed the manager to let her know, and to arrange to have it picked up by the shipping carrier, but she told me just to keep it as a backup. You can bet I will remember the company next time I need an electric toothbrush or something similar. They really did take care of things in the end. Can you believe they send me three Waterpiks to replace the one?!

We are definitely like minded.

Things are pretty quiet with my mouth. The slight changes I had felt with my bite have completely settled. I'm in the final countdown to my appointment next week. This has been a long eight weeks!

I'm *really* hopeful that my lowers are stable enough for this gang tie to come off. But I promise to be patient if that is not the case.

I haven't posted any photos in a while.

My lowers as of a few weeks ago:

You can see that my left lower lateral (on your right) and canine still need to rotate, but otherwise things are looking pretty good on the lowers.

Here is a pic of the lower gang tie:

In the photo, you may also notice how my uppers are sitting right on my lower central brackets, which is what happened after the bite turbos came off.

I will update next week (if not sooner)!

Edited to see why my photos are not showing

#107 Post by **Granola** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 4:08 pm

Hello bracedagain and KK!

Yes, I am very lucky--and the wacky thing is that I actually did end up with three replacements! The first was the non-portable tank type (that they sent me about three days prior to mailing the two portable Waterpiks)!

#108 Post by **Granola** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 9:01 pm

Hi Linda21: 3 for 1 everywhere, I would love it! Thanks for your compliment about my teeth. I guess for all of the bad teeth genetics I was dealt, something good came through!

If only you could have seen the Chicklets look I had as a kid.

I'll be really curious if you happen to ask about the upper brackets resting on lower front brackets question (I forgot to ask).

7th Adjustment:

Uppers: I now have a new 16-x-22 SS wire!

My upper left gap (between the cuspid and lateral) has not closed at all. The left upper cuspid is still rotated. Next time they may re-bond the bracket in a more mesial fashion, to tip the root in the direction it needs to go. That is the same bracket that has been re-bonded (for better positioning) several times. They will concentrate now on moving my back teeth forward to close the gaps.

As the upper teeth move forward, I will likely see a gap form between my back teeth, and they will bracket the back teeth at that point to close the expected gap. My upper teeth have been moved back as far as they can be (reducing the overjet), so now the back teeth need to move forward to close up the gaps behind my laterals.

The ortho told the assistant to keep the old upper NiTi wire they took out today, as it will be used again later in my treatment. It is interesting that they keep and reuse the old ones rather than just use a new one. I wonder if that is a functional or a cost issue. Hmm-no big deal, just curious.

Lowers: The gang tie is gone! They put the same wire back in. My left lower cuspid and lateral are still rotated. My lower wire looks strange â€“ straight across the front six and than lowers down on both sides. I haven't seen it in a while! It will have that nice curved shape--one of these days! They will work on extruding the back teeth now.

Elastics: My Impalas are back(!) in a 3-4-3 configuration (an upside down triangle from upper cuspid and biscuspid to lower cuspids).

I'm already clenching!

Powerchains: On the uppers, instead of a full powerchain she only put it on across the front six (from cuspid to cuspid). That will allow the back teeth to start moving forward. I got my first powerchain on the lowers! That is very exciting for me, especially after the monthsâ€™ long holding pattern that my lower teeth were in. Thank goodness I have my Waterpik(s) at the ready.

My ortho said that my bite will never be a 10/10 i.e. perfect, but will be very functional and will prevent any further damage to my back teeth, which is what was occurring before I began this second course of treatment. For me, resolving the wear and damage that my bite and crowding issues were causing will be fantastic! The aesthetic results are a huge bonus, of course.

I go back in four weeks for a powerchain change (upper and lower), then back four weeks later for my next adjustment.

Concerns: I think both of my upper laterals appear to â€œlungeâ€

#109 Post by **Granola** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 9:13 pm

New pics (not the best quality):

Closed smile:

Open smile:

Uppers:

Lowers:

Elastics (view of right side):

Elastics (view of left side):

Powerchains (scary view):

#110 Post by **Granola** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 10:31 pm

Hi KK! I will definitely be sending you some energy in saying goodbye to that class III bite! I can understand your feeling of "enough already!" about that.

I'm doing well. I was really sore on Thursday (the day after my adjustment) but remembered the advice here about chewing through the pain to enhance blood flow and circulation to the sore areas, and it really helped. When I first got braces, when I was sore I really chewed tentatively and it not only didn't alleviate the soreness, but probably prolonged it.

I'm definitely clenching constantly though, so Linda21 was right, it is absolutely the elastics! When I had my two month break from them, I could really tell how much less I was clenching.

I think my larger gap on the upper left might have closed a hair. I'm also noticing that food is getting stuck in front of my upper rear molars, so I'm guessing that some space has opened up there already, which is just what my ortho wants.

I was shopping today for groceries, and the teenager who helped us out with our groceries had braces with nice red ligs on them. We talked about braces. He had been wearing his since 8th grade, for two years now. He saw my elastics and told me that he hasn't been wearing his (because he can't talk with them) and so will be in braces for quite some time. He was a very nice young man, but oh, I wished for him that he would wear them and get on with his treatment.

I see so many people wearing braces when I'm out and about--I like it.

#111 Post by **osubeanbags** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 10:39 pm

Oh my gosh, Granola!!! When I saw your display pic, I thought it was a mouth model ... something you wanted your teeth to eventually look like! Your teeth look AMAZING! Keep us updated!

#112 Post by **mayday** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 11:53 pm

Really, you have beatuiful teeth--and your treatment isn't even done yet!!!!!

#113 Post by **SimInsomniac** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:15 pm

Granola, I've just read through this thread and it's clearly been an exciting journey in 2006. May the successes continue into 2007. I hope this year will mark the end of your time in braces too.

My first thoughts of your photos are "Wow...!" Your teeth are beautiful. The shapes of them, the arches and the cleanliness! I can see you'll have an incredible result. The ceramics also look great.
Best of luck with the elastics and new powerchain. Hope there's much progress!

Sim

#114 Post by **M1k3y** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 3:20 pm

I agree with everyone's comments. If there was a set of teeth that I'd like from what I have seen on this forum it's Granolas. In my opinion Granola's are as close to perfect as one can get. I'm so jealous but happy for you. You have teeth that of a person in their 20s but you are 40 yrs old. Way to keep your teeth looking great.

#115 Post by **Granola** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 12:45 am

Hi osubeanbags, cawphee, linda21, SimInsomniac, and M1k3! Thank you all so much for your posts, and the compliments that you sent my way. It is very nice to hear, and very appreciated and encouraging. Really--your words mean a lot. Thank you very much, each and every one of you.

Linda21: terms of the end result, you will still have a functional healthy bite minus the overjet and crowding. I'd say that's definitely 100% better than where you were at the beginning of treatment

So true, and well said Linda21. At the end of my life, I will be very happy if I have been able to keep all of the teeth that I have now, and I'm hopeful that this second braces journey helps me to accomplish that goal. I've had some frightening dental experiences, so braces are easy compared to that, and I hope they help me avoid any future horrors. I remember my grandmother always being very proud that she'd kept all of her teeth when so many of her age mates had lost theirs. Here's hoping I got her genes (though I suspect that I haven't).

Ironically, the money she (and my grandfather) left to me is helping to pay for my orthodontic treatment. I've think they would be really happy to know that they are helping me in such an important way.

I'm doing well nine days out from my adjustment. The powerchain on the upper seems to be gently starting to close the upper left gap in front of the cuspid (my test is to see if i can stick the interdental brush fully in between the teeth without touching them much, and it is tighter in there now). My teeth are not sore anymore at all. The only thing is that my lower teeth are "clicky" again, but I don't think overly so, because they don't seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere. I am glad that I'll be seen in just a few weeks so they can check this.

#116 Post by **Granola** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 1:07 am

Hey there Ken!

Well, thank you very much as well! I don't know that my teeth, with all of their imperfections, qualify as Hollywood smile worthy, but I'm glad to have the teeth I have, especially compared to how they looked pre-braces the first time around.

That's amazing that your Dad was able to keep so many of his teeth, especially considering that dental techniques and even brushing and flossing practices were assuredly very different when he was young.

I highly recommend whitening when the times comes. I did it in 2000, and the last time I touched up was probably in 2002. The nice thing about whitening is that your teeth will always be whiter than they were pre-bleaching.

I'm sorry your previous dentist let things go, but happy you are in good hands now with your current dentist.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that the clicky thing is just normal braces clickyness (made that word up) and nothing ominous!

Not much new with me, just hanging out waiting for my appointment Monday to get my powerchains changed.

#117 Post by **Granola** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 4:52 pm

Hi Linda21: I guess time will tell if I have my grandmother's dental genes or not!

I had an "in between" appointment today for a powerchain change. I was only expecting to see a technician for that, but was pleased when my ortho did it himself. It is so nice to go in there, and have such a friendly relationship with them. It just makes my treatment that much better.

We commiserated about the bad colds we've both had (I'm still recovering, now from my second sinus infection in five weeks). I was relieved I was well enough to go and lie back in the chair today, actually.

He said that there is still a lot of space on the uppers, and too little on the lowers. He mentioned that next time my upper back molars would be banded. It is exciting to me that they are going to be included in my treatment soon, which just means I'm getting that much farther in my braces journey. I asked him if I could have brackets instead of bands, and he was happy to oblige.

I hated the process of getting, and having, bands the first time around, and am so happy to be able to avoid them completely this time (fingers crossed that it doesn't become necessary at some point). (I've still managed to keep the bracket on my left lower crown, so hope to continue that continues as well.)

He also mentioned that IPR will be done next time on the lowers. I'm excited about the thought, but my other ortho was of the opinion that she couldn't do any more IPR on the lowers. I may call and ask tomorrow, but most likely will just ask about that when I go back next month. I'm not worried about their differing opinions about this. I would prefer that they do it, if it is not contraindicated, because my lower teeth are still crowding each other and there is just not a lot of room for them to move. I can see that they still need to come into place before the uppers can follow. In my layperson's opinion, I think with just a little IPR, there would be just enough room that there will less concern for relapse once I'm in the retention phase. Also, IPR may help with the black triangles that I have, though at this point those don't bother me so much anymore, and I'm much more concerned with a stable result.

#118 Post by **Granola** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 3:35 pm

I forgot to mention that I asked my ortho if he had "smoke" color powerchains when he asked me if I wanted to choose a color. He said they used to have that one, but that it tended to lose tension too quickly compared to the ones that they use now. I found that really interesting, because it echoes what I've read here that some colors are less reliable in terms of maintaining elasticity between adjustments.

#119 Post by **Tin Indian** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 7:47 pm

Granola, Glad to here your treatment is coming along nicely. Seems you have quite the handle on whats going on in your mouth.You have a nice post. Your smile is GREAT!

#120 Post by **Granola** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:21 pm

Hi Tin Indian! Thank you so much for your post, and for stopping by my journal. It is nice of you to read here.

Please stop back in anytime.

Hi Linda21: I abhor colds (who doesn't) and have been getting too many of them. Given that I have a pretty healthy lifestyle, it is pretty frustrating! Anyway, as long as my colds don't get in the way of my ortho appointments, it's all good!

My progress is slow going, but hopefully it will continue. I'll miss being able to easily floss those back upper molars, but it's not a problem. I'm so glad I won't have bands on those two teeth.

My back teeth are worn from grinding, and I can see it in these photos.

It's amazing to look at those back upper molars that are currently un-bracketed, and see that all of my other teeth have already been extruded, almost a half tooth length. I don't know if that makes sense, but if you look at the pictures below, you will see that there is a stair-step appearance to my back teeth. They are literally sitting about a third of a tooth length above where the rest of my upper teeth. I'm sure I'll really be feeling it when they finally are bracketed next month. It'll be a good way to celebrate my one year anniversary in braces.

I had trouble getting a photo of this without angling my head.