If you want to share the detailed saga of your braces story, this is the place to do it. You can use this forum as a braces journal, editing and updating your posts as your treatment goes on. Remember to also visit the main ArchWired.com site for additional stories from other readers!
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I did a little intro in the other forum, but since I'll probably be adding to this as I go along I thought I'd start a thread here in the official "story" area. I'm Sonya. I grew up in a terribly poor family and didn't see a dentist for the first time until I was an adult and paid for it with my own dental coverage provided by one of my first jobs. I was pretty shocked to find out that all I needed was a deep cleaning, I had no cavities or horrible issues to deal with. Gum disease would have been a problem had I waited any longer, but the cleaning fixed that and all was well. I continued to see the dentist every few years (not a fan, so twice a year was asking a lot...) and my teeth were always fine. Then comes my exam earlier this year. The dentist I met here (I'm a military wife..so "here" changes often) asked if I had ever considered braces for my crowded teeth. I of course answered NO, since dental "stuff" was on my "not fun things to do" list. He gave me a long talk about how the crowding and positioning of a couple of my teeth was starting to lead to bone loss and NOT getting them fixed would allow that to continue, which in the long run would cause TOOTH loss. Fixing them now would fix that problem altogether.... SO rather than loose teeth, here I am. Braced at 34. The top arch went on on FRIDAY, August 13th. The bottom will go on once my overbite opens up a bit to make room. (around December is the estimate)
Here are the photos I have posted SO FAR, but I take a photo every weekend because I'm HOPING to see SOMETHING change....
Pre-braces...
Day 23
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Nothing is moving in the front yet, but when I floss there is definitely more room between some of the molars. Slow progress, but hopefully soon some visible progress.
It's great to read the stories and see that I'm not alone here!!
Today, I finally see a LITTLE bit of movement. I took the photo a few days early because my mouth has been HURTING for 2 days so I was sure something would look at least a LITTLE different. No, it's not amazing yet, but every little bit is a step in the right direction! My Vampire Tooth (as my husband called it) has moved down!
You go girl! Yes, I do see that your "vampire tooth" has moved down. You have a very pretty smile to begin with, so I can't wait to see what you'll look like after the braces come off.
Thank you Cathy. I've never "hated" my smile, more than anything I was self conscious about the chipped teeth more than the crowding/crooked teeth. I was in a car accident in high school and mashed my face into a steering wheel. It chipped two of my incisors (one on top and one on bottom) and one of my bottom canine teeth. I remember spitting out the pieces after the accident...it was mortifying. I'm sure they'll have to do some shaping after braces to even things out a bit.
My mouth is really sore today, and my bite feels "off" so I think more movement is happening but it's in the back. Nothing looks different in the front. I need to remember to take photos of the inside too, but I always forget...
I would agree you have a very pretty smile to begin with. And YES I too can see movement in your "vampire tooth"! YAY!!! I take lots of pictures of my teeth too, one might call me obsessed but I would just say they don't understand how all consuming this becomes. haha I take them every 4 weeks though and I have been amazed at how far I've come.
Well, I say good for you for going for it! How old are your children? I have 3 boys that are 7, 9 and 10 and they are asking me questions all the time about how braces are just in case they ever have to have them too. lol
My girls are 3 and 5. They requested the purple and pink "rubber bands", their favorite colors. My youngest actually used to ask me why I had "folded teeth", long before I was told I had to have braces. She was SO happy when I told her the braces were going to give me pretty teeth like hers. She's constantly looking at them, and goes to every appointment with me. A curious little thing. :O)
I could be completely crazy, but I felt a lot of movement over the weekend (meaning the pain triggered a 3 three day migraine, not to mention the weird pain in my left nostril from the vampire tooth roots shifting)
My husband sees a little progress, and the photo isn't the best this time, but here is what I have.
I have an appointment in the morning to check on lower molar band that's bothering me. (not even braced on the bottom yet and that molar band has bothered me more than anything else, I think he's going to have to take it off and start over)
They put all of the molar bands on at the same time, even though my bottom braces won't go on until about December. I'm not sure exactly why, it's just the order he seems to do things.
I don't know what the deal is, but I was up most of the night with pain on the left side of my mouth. It's like every tooth over there was trying to move at once. The teeth hurt, my gums were "itchy" (I don't know how else to describe it). I hurt from the back of my jaw to my nose. These things have caused all sorts of sinus weirdness too, since I have roots that go up my brain. Maybe a slight exaggeration, but they're huge. *sigh* Today is going to be a long day.
That is rough - hang in there! I hope you will at least see some dramatic results in the next few days to make up for all the pain you're going through now.
So I'm sitting here examining photos of my teeth and wondering how in the world I didn't know how BAD they were. Really. My arch isn't even an arch, or even an oddly shaped arch. It's a trapezoid. The right side of my mouth sticks out further than the left. Not to mention that my right incisor is moving forward faster than the one on my left, and where I used to have two straight teeth, they are now wonky. I have a million chipped teeth that I didn't know were even chipped. My overbite covers the lower teeth entirely. I don't know what my problem is tonight. It's been a long week and I guess I'm taking it out on my mouth. Oh, and I found a cavity in tonight's photo, so I guess I'll be calling the dentist tomorrow.
So here I am, whining a little, sharing a scary photo, right before I take a vicodin for this throbbing pain that hasn't gone away, and go to bed.
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*sigh* Today is going to be a long day. 
