I am so scared, but so excited

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#1 Post by **LizinBraces** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:21 pm

After 27 years, I have started my journey to straight teeth. My ortho consultation was 2 weeks ago, and this week I had 2 of the 5 teeth removed that the ortho requested.

My Diagnosis -
When biting down, the upper molars are a full tooth (~6MM) forward on the lower molars.
There is sever crowding (>6mm) in the upper arch.
There is severe crowding (>6mm) in the lower arch.
A significantly excessive vertical overlap of the front teeth exists.
The upper front teeth are significantly too far ahead of the lower
Lips tend to be apart at rest
The muscles over the chin appear strained
Retained primary tooth

Recommendation -
Extract 1st premolars: #5,12,21,28 and primary c
Braces on all upper and lower teeth.
Estimated treatment time is approximately 30 months

I was not and I am still not happy about the removal of 4 out of the 5 teeth. The baby tooth, completely understand why that has to come out, guess I was trying to hang on to eternal youth there.

But the premolars, those are perfectly healthy teeth, but I consulted with several different orthodontists and that was the consensus, 5 teeth had to go to fix my very bad bite and crowding. Next week I get the 2 premolars on the left and the baby tooth taken out. The spacers go in on May 6th, then the braces are placed on May12th. I sure hope this nervous sick feeling in my stomach goes away as soon as the braces are on.

I have loved reading the stories on here, they are extremely inspirational and helpful and I look forward to entering my personal story along my journey. Good luck to everyone!

#2 Post by **kayleighkelley** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 9:29 pm

Good luck with everything and hope all goes well...keep us posted!!!

#3 Post by **Miranbrady20** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 10:30 am

Welcome to Archwired! can't wait to see your progress and see your smile transform! 30 months is a long time compared to my sentence but it will be well worth it!! i was scared when i was told 16 to 20 months but to tell you the truth i think it wont even be that long they move so fast... and i know i'll miss them when they are gone ... odd huh... oh and spacers are the worst part after that its easy breezy! good luck!!

#4 Post by **catfish** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:24 pm

Hey Liz, congrats on making the decision to get started on your journey! It is a bummer to think about losing healthy teeth, but you've gotten consistent opinions so you know it's the right thing to do. Extractions really aren't painful unless you get a dry socket. If you're careful, that won't be an issue for you and the recovery will be easy. The spacers can be annoying but at least they are only in for a short time. Everyone said they hurt, but for me I'd say it was more like an itch. Chewing helped, like it scratched the itch! Weird but true.

By the time your braces are on, your extractions, spacers and braces installation will all be behind you. I guarantee the nervous sick feeling in your stomach will be long gone by then!

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

#5 Post by **LizinBraces** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:09 pm

Thanks for the encouragement, I look forward to adding my pics soon!

#6 Post by **LizinBraces** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:47 pm

Tomorrow at 9 AM I will be a 27 year old in braces. It is like Christmas, there is no way I am going to be able to sleep tonight! I have needed braces since my adult teeth came in, but like so many others, my parents just couldn't afford it. After all the years of teasing from kids, adults, some family, strangers, etc, years of hiding my smile, years of holding myself back professionally and in my personal life...I am finally going to be in braces. I absolutely hate these pictures, but since this is the last day of my life I will ever have to worry about my teeth looking this way, I have decided to post these. Of course I will add more once the braces are on and my teeth arenâ€™t quite as disturbing

**These were taken prior to the extractions as you can see my baby tooth in the pic with the adult tooth grown above it.**

**This one shows my severe overbite**

**This one shows how crooked the bottom teeth are, but I will add a better one showing the crowding later**

#7 Post by **Inova** » Fri May 15, 2009 4:54 am

Good luck LizinBraces! I am Linzinbraces really!
I got braced on Monday and finally quit the painkillers! Now for some sturdier food......
Have an 18month sentence. My pic story is coming soon.......

#8 Post by **LizinBraces** » Sat May 16, 2009 10:25 pm

I am on my 4th day and still trying to get used to them. The first day I was fine and thrilled that they weren't going to be painful at all, until my tongued started constantly rubbing on the inside bands on my back teeth, which was making it nearly impossible to eat on days 2 and 3.

I have figured out how to get the wax to stick on the inside, and also sticking it to a couple brackets on the upper left and one lower left. The braces have been quite uncomfortable, but I know that if there is no pain, there will be no gain, so I am trying to make myself get over this as quickly as possible.

Here are some day 4 pics in braces~

#9 Post by **LizinBraces** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 9:53 pm

Well it has been about a month since I was braced, so I thought I would update and add some pics. Progress is slow and kind of a dull pain all the time, but I am still thrilled that I took the plunge and I am working my way towards teeth I can be proud of.

Day 1

Today

Day 1

Today

Day 1

Today

Looking forward to my 1st adjustment in about 2 weeks.

#10 Post by **LizinBraces** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 7:18 am

Thanks Ken! You are very encouraging to everyone on here and make the process a lot easier to deal with.

#11 Post by bb » Sun Jun 14, 2009 8:22 pm

Congrats on your progress! I can see a bit of change but I'll bet the next time you take pics there will be a lot more of a difference!

#12 Post by **LizinBraces** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 7:08 pm

Thanks bb! I am definitely hoping for noticeable improvement soon!

#13 Post by **shinyRiver** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 10:11 am

Hey Liz!

Wow your teeth look SO much like mine did when I started. I had to have lots of extractions, too. But your teeth look a lot whiter than mine (and so big and gorgeous, too!) I can't wait to see how your smile turns out. I anticipate it will be quite lovely! I think you're going to see some amazing changes in these first 6-8 months. I think that's when my teeth moved the most. It's all very exciting, don't you think? I'm so happy for you! Congratulations!

-River

P.S. Your brackets tend to be most prickly on the teeth that stand out the most. Like my vampire fang- ouch that bracket hurt like the dickens- until it came down. Now that all my teeth are lined up into *relatively* straight arch wires, the pressure from my lips has sort of evened out across my teeth, and the brackets themselves don't poke anymore. The empty wire space leftover from extractions, however, are my most recent source of aggravation.

#14 Post by **LizinBraces** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:00 am

Well it has been a while since I have posted on here. So much has happened and I saw a lot of movement in the first 3 months. Things have been pretty stable for the past 2-3 months, wow it is crazy to think it has already been 7 months since I was braced.

I am SOOO ready to start seeing some movement again...I have an appointment tomorrow morning, and I hope they tell me I am ready for something new so we can start seeing some improvement once again.

No matter what happens though, I am so pleased with the movement thus far. Even if they were to be removed today, my teeth are so much better and less embarassing than they were when I started and although I like to complain about the pain I randomly get in my teeth, I know this has been one of the best decisions of my life.

Here are some pics

First Pic -

Today -

First Pic-

Today -

First Pic-

Today -

#15 Post by **Margie** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:40 am

Wow! That is amazing progress!

I feel the same way as you, I have had my braces on for 7 months as well and I haven't seen any progress in the last couple months, especially compared to the first few months.

I look forward to seeing your end result; your progress has been great so far!