Cleobabe's Excellent Adventure...3rd adjustment with pics!!

[Cleobabe]

Hi and thanks everyone for reading and replying to my blog so far.
It's my one month Brace-aversary today!
I'm glad to report that everything is going well and there's been no dramas with my braces at all!
I'm experiencing all the normal things like tender teeth and gums occasionally. Eating is still a pain but it doesn't bother me too much. I'm eating everything that I used to eat before I got braces and it's great. I have a little bit of trouble biting with my front teeth but I just bite on the side instead. I had pizza for the first time on Monday night and it tasted so good.
My top wires are still poking me but I don't really see a need to go to the ortho to get them clipped so I just use wax whenever it really bothers me.

The best part is that I CAN SEE MOVEMENT!!!
It's not much but it's great to see something happening. I still have this weird thought that I'll never end up with straight teeth. I just can't picture them ever being straight in my mouth. Logically I know that they will get there eventually but a part of me is being very pessimistic I just have to remember to not listen to that part of myself.

It's only 11 days til my first adjustment and I'm really excited. I can't wait to hear what my ortho says about my progress and if he thinks it's time for my premolars to be pulled yet. I can't wait to get my ligatures changed as well. I really like the dark purple but the light purple ones have faded and gone a horrible yellow colour. You'll see what I mean in the pics below. They lasted about 4 weeks but just in the past few days they have turned that yucky colour. I'm not really sure why as I havn't eaten any curries or overly bright foods. I think I'll choose dark colours for my next set of ligs. I was thinking of getting Christmas colours (red and green) on the bottom and maybe blue or dark pink on top for myself. ( My birthday is December 17)

On the subject of my birthday...I'm not really fussed about turning 20 this year I was thinking of having a big party but I decided I would leave that til next year and the big 2-1. I'm kind of planning to go to Sydney the week before my birthday to spend some time with my friend who lives there and just have a bit of fun. I'm not 100% sure if I'm going there though as it all depends on whether my friend can get time off work. I've been looking at flights and hotels and stuff and it's making my head spin. So much planning and organising to be done. How do you do it travelling around the world so often KK?

Also, I hope all you American's had a Happy Halloween. We don't really celebrate it in Australia but my brothers and some of their friends got dressed up and went trick or treating. They got heaps of lollies and someone even gave them money! I confess I ate a few lollies that night but I made sure I brushed well. hehe

How scary is it that it's almost Christmas time and the end of the year!!!
Our local shopping centre had Christmas decorations up on the 31st of October! I swear it's getting earlier every year. I havn't even started Christmas shopping yet. How early do all of you start doing yours and how long does it take? Christmas is so commercialised these days. A great Christmas for me is being with my family and having lots of yummy food to share. Being cool is also good as our Summer days get pretty HOT in December. It's already getting warm and I'm not looking forward to the hot days ahead. It's a balmy 33 degrees celsius here today (91 farenheit) ( that's me getting sunburnt lol)

I guess that's enough of my ranting for now... Time for some pics!!



Front on

That 'fang' has moved back a bit! YAY!
But notice the lovely yellow ligs?


Top Arch



Bottom Arch

[Miss Smiley]

Have fun on your 20th!

I wouldn't worry too much of the extractions, you'll see tons of movement afterwards too.

I also, had some sweets on Halloween, like sour jellies, hard candies, snickers bar, and more sour gummies! I brushed too.

[Cleobabe]

It's only 4 days til my first adjustment! I'm really excited
My bottom front teeth (lateral and central incisors) have even moved a little bit more so they look a bit straighter! I was so happy when I looked in the mirror and noticed it. I'll post some more pics after my adjustment when I have new ligatures. I'm still not sure what colours I'll get yet.

It's also less than 4 weeks til my trip to sydney. I bought a purple suitcase today! It's really cool, and something not many people would have. I like to stand out

It's so great to see everyone's progress...Congrats to you all. Til next time

[mottsrods]

Here's a good idea for everyone......when I had braces the 2nd time around, my ortho told me a way that I could see more thoroughly, how my teeth and bite was changing. Get a styrofoam cup and cut it into pieces that you can fit into you mouth. Make sure that they are big enough for you back teeth to sink into..........Put it in and VOILA....Bite away....not take a colored magic marker and color the area where your teeth marks are. The white that is left if where your teeth made impressions, and now you can see clearly how much change you have had.......

[Cleobabe]

HI EVERYONE!!
It was my first adjustment today! I've got lots of new things to tell you about is which is pretty exciting.
First of all my adjustment went really well, there was a bit of pain and pressure while he put all the new stuff on but nothing I couldn't handle lol
I got there about 10 minutes early today and had to sit and wait for a bit but it wasn't too bad. My mum and little brother came with me and they were reading books and playing with puzzles while they waited lol.
The assistant called me in and I sat down in the chair. She asked me if I wanted to change my colours and I said yes so she showed the box with all the colours in it. I chose pink and dark green just for something different and because they're cool colours. A few minutes later my ortho, Dr Smith came in and asked me how I was, if I had and problems etc... I said no I didn't but just mentioned how my wire was a bit pokey on my right side. Then we got down to business...He lowered the chair and I put the glasses on Then he looked in my mouth with his little mirror and got the assistant to bring my moulds over so he could see the difference. He said that my progress is going really well and that canine has moved about 1mm or 2mm. I wasn't sure if it had moved at all, so that was good to hear. He looked a bit more and had me open, bite together, open, bite together...you know the drill. Next he took off the old purple ligatures from my top arch and took out the wire. He said that they're not changing the wire this time but just flipping it around. Anyone know why this is?
Next he put the wire in again then took off the bottom ligatures and started putting the new ones on. My top front teeth are very sensitive and when he was pushing the wire back in and putting the new ligs on I nearly jumped through the roof. Can anyone say ow?
After that he put the new ligs on my bottom teeth but he was also doing some strange thing with some of my teeth down there, again I nearly jumped out of the chair and I was wincing but it didn't last long, thank goodness. It turns out he was putting little twisty bits of wire on them, Is this what you call the wire ties?
Next he tells me "We're going to do something a bit different this time" Then he asks the assistant to get a button. Hmm ok, this sounds interesting, I think. He tells me that he's going to be putting another bracket on the back of that hiding canine to try and get it to come down more. And the best bit is...I get an elastic that attaches to the button and onto my bottom right first molar. I was pretty excited as I wasn't expecting to get any sort of elastics for a few months yet and anything that will make that tooth come into position is fine by me.
So he puts the bracket on and bleh just like when I first got them on there's that yucky glue taste. Thank goodness it was only one tooth this time! Then he puts the elastic on, a BEAR elastic I heard him say, and it feels pretty strange. "Feels pretty strange doesn't it?" says Dr Smith. Yep it does.
So now I have all these strange accessories in my mouth and it does feel a little weird but I know I'll get used to it soon and my next appointment is in 3 weeks! It was going to be in 4 weeks time but as I'll be in Sydney then they made it a week earlier. I can't wait to see more movement and I hope all the little changes he made work well for me.
My jaw feels a little sore on the side that has the elastic and one of the little twisty ties is digging into my lip but I know what I have to do to make it feel better .
Now here's the part you've all been looking forward to... Progress pics!!
There's been a lot of movement just from the last time I posted photos! YAY!


Front on



Top Arch



Bottom Arch

[Cleobabe]

There was a bit of trouble with posting yesterday so I couldn't edit my post to fix up the photos but it's all good now!
Thanks for the advice KK.
I managed to clip a few millimetres of the wire off and it feels SO much better now. The wire tie is rubbing me something fierce but I'll just step up my salt water treatment.

[Cleobabe]

Hi bracedagain! Thanks for the kind words. I've been looking at your story and you're seeing some great progress too.

13 days til my 2nd adjustment, I'm really excited. I hope my teeth have moved a little bit by then. I'm used to the elastic now and I hardly take it out except to brush and occasionally when I eat something difficult. I managed to swallow one of my elastics when I ate pizza the other day. Kind of embarrassing but I went home soon after and put a new one in straight away.

I find that my speech is a little bit lispy but not too much and maybe i'm just imaging it as no one comments on it ...lol

[Cleobabe]

Hi everybody! Another eventful adjustment for me today.
I got upgraded to stronger wires on bottom and top and boy am I feeling it. My teeth are so tender and it's almost like when I first got my braces on. This time I know what to expect and I can deal with the pain though.
I got wire ties put on my bottom teeth again...4 this time.
I've also still got the elastic to pull down my hiding canine...hopefully it comes down enough by my next adjustment, it hardly feels like it's moving at all because I can't feel any pain...bring on the pain I say.
I changed my ligature colours as well. I'm not sure exactly what colour it is but it's kind of blue green. I chose it cos it's almost looks like turquoise, which is my birthstone.
One thing that's bothering me is that my right lateral incisor (i think that's what it's called) looks like it's been pushed up really far into my gum. It looks pretty weird cos my left one is all nice and low and then you look at that side and it's really high up. I didn't think to ask Dr. Smith about it but I guess I will next time if it still looks bad.
I'll post pics tomorrow probably so you can see what I mean.
Have a good day everyone! It's bed time for me. Time to brush my teeth
Bye for now

[Cleobabe]

Thanks Karen.

I wish my teeth moved pain free. My teeth are so sore at the moment. I'm still eating normal food although I can't really chew properly. I've been chewing a lot though and I think it's helping. The wire ties are annoying me so much too Wax helps a lot but I can only wear it when i'm asleep. My gums are sore too. Not that I'm complaining of course hehe, if it's making my teeth look better then i'm all for it.

Here's the pics I promised as well.

Front On

See that lateral I was talking about in my other post. It's gone up so high


Top Arch

This one is a bit blurry but you can still see my teeth.


Bottom Arch





Now here's come comparison pics so you can see side by side how far my teeth have moved.
October 17 November 15 December 8

It's really exciting. I showed my mum the comparison pics and she commented on how amazing it is that braces can move teeth like that. It IS really amazing!
I'm so glad that I'm doing this for myself and that I had the opportunity to do it.
I've got so many things to be thankful for in my life. It's good to stop and put things into perspective sometimes.
I have to pack my suitcase for my trip to Sydney tomorrow! I am so excited I'm kinda nervous about going on the plane though cos it's been 6 years since I've been on one. I'll be fine I know.

Anyway, time to have some lunch. Have a good weekend everyone! I'll see you later!!

[LateStarter]

Looks like you've had some great progress!

Enjoy Sydney - and don't be nervous; flying is fun, and it's only a short flight from where you are anyway

[Cleobabe]

Thanks LateSarter and KK.
You were right, there was nothing to be scared about. I got a little nervous before I flew but being in the air is so exciting. I got window seats there and back because it's fun seeing everything so small.
I got back on Sunday night and it was my birthday yesterday! I turned 20 which wasn't very exciting but I got some good presents from my family and friends.
The trip to Sydney was the best ever! I had so much fun and it was really good seeing my friend Paul again. He came to visit me in August for the first time and this was my time to visit him.
We did so many fun things like: Going to Luna Park
Going on a Ghost Tour of The Rocks
Walking across the Harbour Bridge in the rain (we didn't plan the rain)
Going on a Jet Boat ride in Sydney Harbour (SO much fun, we got soaked!)
Getting the ferry to Taronga Zoo and looking at all the cool animals
Shopping at Paddy's Markets
Riding the Monorail
Experiencing Minus5 (it's an Ice Bar where everything is made of ice even the glasses you drink out of)
Walking through the Botanical Gardens (so many pretty flowers and huge trees, everything is so green and it's really relaxing)
And walking along the beach at Botany Bay where Captain Cook landed


We did so much in a week and I was really sad to go home. Me and Paul get on so well and it's really frustrating living so far away from him. I'm now planning a trip to visit him in April so we can go to the Easter Show. It will be my first time. I took Paul to the Brisbane Exhibition (the Ekka) when he came to visit me this year and I've been going to the Ekka every year since I was about 5.

As far as my braces are going...everything is well. The wire ties aren't hassling me as I managed to bend them into comfortable positions. I think there's been a little bit of progress but I'm not going to take photos til after my next adjustment.

It was my first day back at work today after 2 weeks off. It was not fun. It's the school holidays here and it was pretty busy all day. My mouth got so dry talking to all the customers and my braces started sticking to the inside of my mouth. I managed to get a little drink of water in a lull between customers so that helped.

Only 1 week til Christmas! The Shopping centre's are so packed. My mum did all her shopping online this year because she hates crowds. 20 years ago on my first Christmas I was only 8 days old. Now I'm older I can appreciate what Christmas is all about.

I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas and spends it with the people they love.


and

[Cleobabe]

Hi everyone!
I hope you all are doing well and are settling into 2008.
I just had my 3rd adustment and it went really well.
Just a quick update to show everyone my progress.
At this adjustment I got some stronger wires on the bottom and top arches and I got my ligs changed to dark pink. I still have to keep on wearing my elastic on the hiding canine but Dr. Smith said probably at the next adjustment he will put a new bracket on it so it can move into line properly. It's already moved a lot and I can't wait til it gets line with the other teeth. At the moment my arches are really wonky and my overbite has gotten worse but I'm eating normally and everything is going well. My bottom centrals and laterals have straightened up nicely, there's a just a bit more movement to go with them. Over all I'm really pleased with how everything is progressing. I can't believe it's already over 3 months since I had the braces put on. Time really does fly. Before I know it it'll be time to have them come off hehe

Here's some pictures I just took...

Front on



Top Arch



Bottom Arch

[victor36]

Your progress is amazing! Good job!

[EmbraceJCT]

I just read your story and you've had such amazing progress in only 3 months! Way to go!

[kittymeow84]

Lookin' good fellow Aussie! Love the tongue stud too!

Heaps of progress....its amazing!