wow!
your teeth (and you, obviously!) look amazing!!!
Congratulations!!
Hopefully i will get there as well!!
Cheers!
Marzipan goes for the braces at 48! (w/pix of nekkid teeth)
Moderator: bbsadmin
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Meghan's braces Part Deux
- Posts: 60
- Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:39 pm
- Location: Delaware, USA
Great!
Your teeth look wonderful! We got braced at almost the same time - I was 12/5/05 - but your teeth look much further along than mine. I hope your de-brace date is soon!
Great progress marzipan. Isn't it amazing how fabulous braces can manipulate our teeth? I mean just 10 months ago you had a gap and now your gap is all but gone. You're smile is awesome.
Braced 5-27-06 - 18 months with braces
Case 1 - minor crookedness
Envision Composite Brackets
M1k3y's introduction with photos
M1k3y's journey with photos
Debranded 3-20-08
Case 1 - minor crookedness
Envision Composite Brackets
M1k3y's introduction with photos
M1k3y's journey with photos
Debranded 3-20-08
It's been a long while, hasn't it? I not only forgot my password, I even forgot my username and had to hunt it down!
Anyway, for many months now the teeth have been in a holding pattern, by and large. My ortho has been trying to get my bite to close in the back of my mouth; it's close but not perfect. Finally I said I didn't care, it's time to get the braces off. So Monday they are coming off. The good news is that all the front teeth have been in place for months now and the roots are strongly in place and have settled in very well.
Here is the starting point:
And here is what they look like now:
For months, I've had wire ties on every bracket and a chain across all the front top teeth. The colored chains look bad because they get stretched unevenly, so I have been using plain grey for a long while. I only got to enjoy pink and blue and lavender ligatures for a very short while!
The wonderful part is that I love smiling now. I wrote an article for the local newspaper and they wanted a picture. In the past I would have given them a picture with a tight, closed-mouth smile. But this time I gave them a picture with a big tin grin. Frankly, I love it.
For those of you considering braces or in the early stages, it gets really easy and you get very used to it. I will actually MISS going to the orthodontist's office! I really enjoy her and the staff. It's not painful or unpleasant. In fact, it's been completely worth it. And by the way I'm about to turn 51, so it's worth it at any age.
Anyway, for many months now the teeth have been in a holding pattern, by and large. My ortho has been trying to get my bite to close in the back of my mouth; it's close but not perfect. Finally I said I didn't care, it's time to get the braces off. So Monday they are coming off. The good news is that all the front teeth have been in place for months now and the roots are strongly in place and have settled in very well.
Here is the starting point:
And here is what they look like now:
For months, I've had wire ties on every bracket and a chain across all the front top teeth. The colored chains look bad because they get stretched unevenly, so I have been using plain grey for a long while. I only got to enjoy pink and blue and lavender ligatures for a very short while!
The wonderful part is that I love smiling now. I wrote an article for the local newspaper and they wanted a picture. In the past I would have given them a picture with a tight, closed-mouth smile. But this time I gave them a picture with a big tin grin. Frankly, I love it.
For those of you considering braces or in the early stages, it gets really easy and you get very used to it. I will actually MISS going to the orthodontist's office! I really enjoy her and the staff. It's not painful or unpleasant. In fact, it's been completely worth it. And by the way I'm about to turn 51, so it's worth it at any age.
Last edited by Marzipan on Sat Mar 15, 2008 1:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Wow! Marzipan! Thanks for the update.
Your teeth look fricken fantastic!
My teeth actually look the same as yours did when you started-gap in front, teeth on top not all in line(as in some are bigger than others) one of the front incisors just slightly at an angle. I can only hope mine look half as good as yours when I am done.
I can't even imaging how thrilled you are! Looks like a Hollywood smile if I've ever seen one. Congrats with getting them off on Monday!
Your teeth look fricken fantastic!
My teeth actually look the same as yours did when you started-gap in front, teeth on top not all in line(as in some are bigger than others) one of the front incisors just slightly at an angle. I can only hope mine look half as good as yours when I am done.
I can't even imaging how thrilled you are! Looks like a Hollywood smile if I've ever seen one. Congrats with getting them off on Monday!
My Invisalign blog ~>http://upsanddownsintheothersideofthest ... gspot.com/
Hi, Devushka!
I looked at your Invisalign blog and yep, we have, um HAD, similar gaps. If you look at my photos on p. 1, you'll see that the front gap was only one problem I had! And that front gap, which was there all along, actually started widening after I turned 40, because the teeth started to move more. One front tooth started rotating so that the gap got bigger at the bottom.
Yes, I am thrilled now. Even my bottom teeth, which had some minor gaps, are now lined up like a little picket fence. There is a permanent retainer on the back of my two top front teeth - installed last Monday. The side gap is just a TINY bit open still, but the ortho had warned it might never close completely. It doesn't bother me at all. My jutting side teeth are no longer jutting out and the big side gap is almost 100% gone. I don't need perfection - just a nice smile.
Keep the faith as you work on closing that gap of yours! It will happen and it will feel great. You will love smiling!
Yes, I am thrilled now. Even my bottom teeth, which had some minor gaps, are now lined up like a little picket fence. There is a permanent retainer on the back of my two top front teeth - installed last Monday. The side gap is just a TINY bit open still, but the ortho had warned it might never close completely. It doesn't bother me at all. My jutting side teeth are no longer jutting out and the big side gap is almost 100% gone. I don't need perfection - just a nice smile.
Keep the faith as you work on closing that gap of yours! It will happen and it will feel great. You will love smiling!
Hi, Meryaten!
I've been gone so long (bad me!) that I wasn't sure if I would recognize anyone around here. Because after all, it's a time-limited thing. However long one's braces are on.
I will post pics after they come off - tomorrow morning. The nervousness is kicking in... some of the molar bands have gone a bit sublingual, so I'm afraid there will be blood. And pain. But whatever - they have to come off, don't they? So I'll live through it.
I hope your archwire journey has been going well!!!
I will post pics after they come off - tomorrow morning. The nervousness is kicking in... some of the molar bands have gone a bit sublingual, so I'm afraid there will be blood. And pain. But whatever - they have to come off, don't they? So I'll live through it.
I hope your archwire journey has been going well!!!
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browneyedgrl
- Posts: 1302
- Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2007 9:29 pm
- Location: Central Florida
- Contact:
More old friends!
Still great to hear from folks I recall from when I first got the braces. Since I've misplaced the battery charger for my digital camera and the battery is currently depleted, I can't take pictures. :( I really want to get them posted.
Debanding was pretty darned easy. Crunchy sounds, a bit of pinch feel on a couple of teeth, but nothing bad. Even the molar bands slipped off quite nicely. The only yelping I did was when the ortho was getting out some of the glue in the back molars where I have some gingivitis. Otherwise it was a total piece of cake.
And WOW, I was enjoying how straight my teeth were even IN the braces, but the effect with them off is amazing. They took molds and within an hour I had Essix retainers (temporary) for top and bottom. On April 1 I'll get the permanent ones which will be Hawley. I have to wear retainers 24/7 for several months. After that it will be nighttime only. The Essix things are a bit annoying but not painful in any way. I'm salivating like crazy and I have to learn to talk just a bit differently. But they are almost invisible.
Oh, and... flossing is finally easy again. :D
Debanding was pretty darned easy. Crunchy sounds, a bit of pinch feel on a couple of teeth, but nothing bad. Even the molar bands slipped off quite nicely. The only yelping I did was when the ortho was getting out some of the glue in the back molars where I have some gingivitis. Otherwise it was a total piece of cake.
And WOW, I was enjoying how straight my teeth were even IN the braces, but the effect with them off is amazing. They took molds and within an hour I had Essix retainers (temporary) for top and bottom. On April 1 I'll get the permanent ones which will be Hawley. I have to wear retainers 24/7 for several months. After that it will be nighttime only. The Essix things are a bit annoying but not painful in any way. I'm salivating like crazy and I have to learn to talk just a bit differently. But they are almost invisible.
Oh, and... flossing is finally easy again. :D
Nekkid teeth pix
There's my new smile! Extra big to show all the teeth, including the lower arch, which is lined up like a picket fence.
Somewhat more relaxed smile:
I finally found the charger for my digital camera's battery. :)
Here's the left side. You can see a bit of the silver filling that is between the last bicuspid and the molar.
Here's the right side, and if you compare with my pre-braces shots on p. 1, the difference is pretty amazing.
Believe it or not, in this picture (below) I'm wearing the retainer. (One each for upper and lower arches.) For now it's essix but they are creating my permanent retainer which will be hawley-style. For nighttime, I'm sure - I have to keep with the essix during the day for several months. I got used to the retainers very quickly and they aren't bothersome at all now.
Was it worth it? The 2.25 years, the metal poking into the side of my mouth, the inability to whistle properly, the annoying rubber bands? Oh yeah. Anybody out there thinking about it, worrying about pain, etc.? It's not bad. Not bad at all, and the time flies.
Just. Do. It.
Somewhat more relaxed smile:
I finally found the charger for my digital camera's battery. :)
Here's the left side. You can see a bit of the silver filling that is between the last bicuspid and the molar.
Here's the right side, and if you compare with my pre-braces shots on p. 1, the difference is pretty amazing.
Believe it or not, in this picture (below) I'm wearing the retainer. (One each for upper and lower arches.) For now it's essix but they are creating my permanent retainer which will be hawley-style. For nighttime, I'm sure - I have to keep with the essix during the day for several months. I got used to the retainers very quickly and they aren't bothersome at all now.
Was it worth it? The 2.25 years, the metal poking into the side of my mouth, the inability to whistle properly, the annoying rubber bands? Oh yeah. Anybody out there thinking about it, worrying about pain, etc.? It's not bad. Not bad at all, and the time flies.
Just. Do. It.
Last edited by Marzipan on Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
