twe10's story - started on Halloween 2006...(pix inside)

[twe10]

A bit about me...

I had braces once - when I was 13 - had them for two years or so and then - like a lot of people - decided that I didn't need to wear my retainers...well amazingly (as everybody told me) my teeth shifted and they became crooked again...

Fast forward (18 years later) it is 2006 and I want to have my teeth straight again - this time on my dime - I have considered it for the past couple of years and finally said 'why not' in the Fall of 2006. I am almost 32 (December) and figured it was time to do something about these teeth.

I have been given an 18 month timeline and will be happy to see the results as they occur this time since I didn't take any pictures the first time through...

Here are a few before pictures-







My first appt to have spacers put in - 10-31-2006 - no problems and they weren't that sore for the first two weeks-



Then I went back 11-14-2006 to have the bands sized and to have my second set of spacers put in...

Today (11-20-2006) - I got my expander put in - what a horrible thing it is - I can't talk at all - the best part is trying to say the word 'future'. No pics yet of this contraption, but I got the 1/2 turn a day timeline - 4-6 weeks to wear the expander...

Stay tuned as I add pix and tell my personal experience (the second time around)...

[swiss1]

Welcome twe10 Great pictures to look back at throughout your journey! I have crowding too......are you going to have any extractions, or just the spacers?

[twe10]

I was told that they will likely remove one tooth - front row bottom (my right side - hiding behind my canine).

My Dad asked them back when I was 12/13 why they wouldn't remove more teeth, but they felt it would be OK (back in 1987)...

[Sweet L]

Congrats twe!

Great pics... they're going to be really useful to see your progress

[maple]

me too. Oct 31, 2006.

countdown begins...

[twe10]

Well- good news/bad news time-

Good news - I get my expander out on Thursday afternoon (12-21-2006) - yes - only 4 weeks with it in (I will post before after pix soon)...they did mention that I would be getting a 'powder bar' - anybody know what that is or have a picture? I didn't need these the first time and it was mentioned that it would hold my expansion and be less troublesome for eating and talking -both of which have been tough for the past month - I had to keep telling folks that I wasn't 'slow' or deaf so that they knew what was going on...

Bad news - I got my extraction scheduled for this Friday - morning - so much for some downtime. I wanted to go after the holidays (next week) - but the office was closed so I took the next available time. Oh well...

I am sure having a large gap in my mouth will be good for the next month - actually I must admit this past month with the expander went rather quickly - maybe the holidays are to blame for that...

I have been given the date of 1-29-2007 for my braces to be put on...

[twe10]

Well- as I mentioned - here are the before and after pix of the expander doing some work on my upper arch...

Taken 11-20-2006 - Sorry for poor lighting-


Taken 12-8-2006 - Better lighting


Taken last night - 12-20-2006 - Figured out the lighting issues


I will get a picture tomorrow of the 'power' or 'powder' bar that my ortho referenced...evidently it will hold my arch until I get the braces put on...

And also another before pic of my bottom row of teeth (and the extraction candidate highlighted) - that tooth will be out on Friday (12-22-2006)


I will keep you posted...

By the way - thanks for the messages/comments/etc. as this process continues - I thought about doing this for over 2 years and if I just would have done it - I would already be done...oh well...

[twe10]

Well - I hope that everybody had a nice holiday and that they are gearing up for a prosperous New Year!

I have had an eventful weekend -

Thursday - 12-21-2006 - had palatal expander removed after 4 weeks and had a smaller expander that will be in for the duration of my treatment - or so I was informed.



Friday 12-22-2006 - had my lower "26" tooth extracted to make room for my canine "27" tooth. Then I had my lower spacers put in...just in time for the holiday eating.



My dentist was surprised to hear that I had worn braces in the past since my mouth had 'moved' so much and that I had experienced a 'collapse' of my arches - he said that it was common, but that my movement was a bit excessive from his experience.

I am ready for the New Year to get the braces on and get these teeth moved into line once again - it has been too many years.

Happy Holidays All!

Twe10

[newmetal]

Good that your expander has been removed.

Newmetal

[twe10]

Well it has been over a month with the smaller expander and the other spacers - no problems to speak of - my teeth weren't even sore from the spacers (surprisingly).

Now the real hassle comes in - Monday (1-29-2007) the braces go on. I remember it being a bit painful from my youth - so we will see how it goes.

Strangely enough, I remember the spacers being painful, but they weren't this time...

Oh well - I will add more pix on Monday after I get my braces on - Day 1 is coming.

Twe10

[twe10]

Well - today is the day - around 11:00am EST I will be going in for my actual braces.

I figured I would add the last day shot before braces - since they will never look like this again.

Here is the top arch - before bracing


Here is the bottom arch - before bracing

[twe10]

Here they are...

Top row after bracing - 1-29-2007


Bottom row after bracing - 1-29-2007


Next appointment - 3-26-2007

[twe10]

Well - it has been an uneventful 7 weeks - no pain, no problems, no wire poking, none of the stuff I recall from my youth.

I go back in next Monday (3-26-2007) to have my first adjustment so I wanted to get some pix up of my first 7 weeks.

here they are -

Week 1 / Week 7 Top:


Week 1 / Week 7 Bottom:

[twe10]

plenty of movement - no pain...

can't wait to see what happens over the next 8 weeks...

[Manicmomma]

Your lower teeth are definitely moving into place nicely! Awesome!