braces really aren't that bad

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#16 Post by **kim22** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:21 pm

ok so i made a collage type thing to show my progress of just my upper and lower arch since there has been no real progress made on my bite yet. ok so the first picture on the left is from august 8th, the second picture in the middle is august 21st and the last picture on the right is from august 26th. i already see movement in my bottom teeth even though i've only had the bottoms on for 6 days. there was one tooth out of line but it's in line with the other teeth now

anyway so here are the pics

#17 Post by **kim22** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 8:29 pm

thanks alot KK. yeah now that you mention it i can kind of see the gap looks smaller. im actually used to the bottoms now which is good. i go back on september 24th for a regular adjustment. i dont think their adding anything new to my mouth that visit. new wire on the tops thats it. my two friends who got braces, both got powerchains just on their two extraction gaps when they went for their second full wire. i've had 2 wires that only connected the front 6 teeth, now this will be my second full wire. oh well we'll see.

#18 Post by **kim22** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 8:32 pm

thanks alot KK. yeah now that you mention it i can kind of see the gap looks smaller. im actually used to the bottoms now which is good. i go back on september 24th for a regular adjustment. i dont think their adding anything new to my mouth that visit. new wire on the tops thats it. my two friends who got braces, both got powerchains just on their two extraction gaps when they went for their second full wire. i've had 2 wires that only connected the front 6 teeth, now this will be my second full wire. oh well we'll see.

#19 Post by **cwatt1** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:46 am

Hi Kim,

Just finished reading your blog and wanted to drop by to say hello Great progress you've had, and a wonderful attitude

#20 Post by **kim22** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:07 pm

thanks alot cwatt

#21 Post by **kim22** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 10:58 pm

ok soooo adjustment is coming up...this will be my 4th wire on my top set. im thinking i might get some kind of power chains on the gaps but im not 100% sure. im just as used to my bottom braces now as i am to my tops. they jsut feel like part of me now i forget i have them. there hasnt been any problems with the bottoms so far. my two canines on the top are hurting a bit, but i guess that only means progress right? ok well i'll take some pictures after my adjsutment on the 24th!

#22 Post by **Miss Smiley** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 4:45 pm

I hope you've adjusted to your lowers by now. Your brackets are so tiny, I'm jealous! Also, your teeth like great, I can't wait to see when you're de-braced!

#23 Post by **kim22** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 2:05 pm

thanks miss smiley! yeah im completely used to the lowers. i forget they're even there. i know the brackets are really tiny, it makes me worried about breaking them lol. im very paranoid about that. but so far, knock on wood, there been no breakage of any part of the braces at all. i've been pretty careful. and belive me, i cant wait to see when im debraced either ahaha.

#24 Post by **kim22** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 2:29 pm

so i had my adjustment on tuesday the 2nd. i had to cancel it from the 24th because i was really sick. so they didnt change my wire but i did get elastics. the front four teeth are connected with the elastics, then from the canine to the 2nd last molar on both sides. this was the first time my teeth were actually really sore, but it still wasnt as bad as i expected. she offered me coloured elastics, but i said id rather just have the plain ones. i'm not really into the colours and stuff,i prefer the less noticable look. this is to start to close up these gaps faster. and boy have they started closing. they day i got them i could fit my finger in each gap, i woke up the next morning, and could no longer fit my finger at all. i already have litle gaps between my canine and the front teeth. so it shows me the little bit of pain those first days just meant lots of new movement. i go back november 12th for i think bottom elastics, she said she didnt want to do both at once cuz she wants me to be able to eat thanksgiving dinner lol.i took some pictures on wednesday, so i'll post those as soon as i get a chance.

#25 Post by **kim22** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:09 pm

so i put together another collage so you dont have to keep flipping back to the previous page to compare.

the first column of pictures starting on the left, is from august-08-2007
the second column is from august-21-2007
the third is from august-26-2007
the final column on the right is from october-03-2007
(which was the day after my elastics, and already there was a significant difference in my extraction gaps which i am pleased about!)

any feedback would be much appreciated! thanks everyone!

#26 Post by **Teagan** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:59 pm

I'm always surprised at how drastic results can be. $4000 for braces? I wish I'd gotten that deal! I'm paying almost $2,000 more. Maybe mine is a little more extensive. I'm not using the speed braces either, I'm doing the Damon system.

#27 Post by **kim22** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:06 pm

yeah my ortho is really good. she's fairly cheap. speed and damon braces are the exact same thing, just different brands of the bracket. usually speed braces cost alot more, but for some reason in the line of "traditional metal braces", speed is all she carries. which is pretty good i guess. her prices dont varry that much even if you have a more extreme case. my friend that got braces a few months before me is pretty much the defenition of extreme case, and hers were i think $300 more than mine, so not much at all when it's in the thousands anyway lol. i wish i could get my before pictures up, like before i had braces, id love to see the difference side by side now. but unfortunately i didnt take any pictures before

. i didnt think the movement was going to be this noticable. i keep forgetting to ask my ortho if i can have copies of the ones they took for me. thanks for checking out my progress

#28 Post by **kim22** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:33 pm

yeah, im surprised this powerchain has stayed so white. my ortho only just began offering coloured elastics. my frineds both just get the white ones and no matter what the eat, they stat brilliant white even when my friend ate curry when we went to england :O i'm hoping mine does the same.

KK is right...its the wire, elastics and powerchains that are doing all the work. the only difference with these self ligating brackets is they tend to be alot smaller, so they're more comfortable in your mouth. so far i havent really developped any cuts or sores, except one which was from the bare archwire over my extraction gaps and it was not pretty. i took a picture of it but i didnt wanna post it and gross everyone out ahah. but yeah braces are braces, they all get the job done which is what matters right?

#29 Post by **kim22** » Thu Nov 08, 2007 3:11 pm

yaaaay! my gaps are finally starting to close. i cant fit my finger in them anymore which is good news lol. i'll get pics soon. i have an adjustment on the 21st, im not sure for what, maybe bottoms, since im still on my first bottom wire. who knows. my ortho said that my bottoms will be off alot sooner than my tops, cuz there was barely any work to do on the bottoms. but theres been alot of movement. my teeth dont overlap at aaalll anymore. my 2 front teeth have always overlapped the two either side of it, recently only just the tinest bit, but now...not at all

. i have a question for anyone who's either had this done or knows about it...i wanted to get my teeth filed a bit, due to their extreme roundness. i've seen alot of ortho's just do this once the teeth have straightened out, or once the braces are removed. i have yet to ask mind if she does that, or if i will even require that. but i did however speak to my dentist about it, and she said that they could do it for me but only once the braces are removed. i was just wondering if this hurts alot, and if anyone out there could tell me about their experience with it. this is kind of like the last thing about my teeth that id really like to fix, since they'll be straight with an even bite in about a year. so any feedback would be much appreciated, thanks !

#30 Post by **kim22** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:47 pm

yeah, i thought it wouldnt hurt that much. when i spoke to my dentist, she said she herself cannot do much for me about it until my braces are off, or unless she gets a note from my ortho saying that it's ok, and how they would be able to be shaped. she also said that once the overbite is fixed, and the teeth are all in proper alignment that they might not even look quite as round anymore, but well see. i have a feeling they still will be, i mean thats just how their shaped. but i saw someones story on here, their crowding issues, and bite issues were alot more extreme and alot different than mine, but her teeth had straightened out and the shape somewhat resembled mine. and she had teeth shaping done, and then they were nice little squares, even when her braces were still on. so im hoping i can have a similar outcome. oh well, i have my adjustment soon on the 21st, so i'll ask her all about it then.

Metal Mouth Message Board

braces really aren't that bad

elastics...ouch