Harriet's Journey

[Leftie]

Wow Harriet! Bottom teeth are fab!
I am still amazed at the difference these make in such a short period of time!

The top ones look like they are getting there and shouldn't be too much longer for you!

[Harriet]

Thanks all
Treehillfan, I hope your impressions went ok!

[treehillfan]

[quote="Harriet"]Thanks all
Treehillfan, I hope your impressions went ok![/quote]

They were a tad uncomfortable, but I'm glad it's done! right now I'm just waiting for the actual braces to come back to my dentist's office so I can go get them put in. I'm so glad I found this forum and your post because I've only ever seen the 'official' Before & After pics of Six Month Smiles instead of real people going through with the treatment.

[Harriet]

That's exactly why I posted here treehillfan, as it took a serious amount of searching for me to find any 'real' patient stories of people with these braces. I found a couple of people of this very site actually.

I got my retainer for my lower teeth yesterday! Its the clear essix type, and so far I hate it
When my ortho put it in at my appointment he said, 'oh it's a good fit!' and took it out again before I'd really had a chance to decide how they felt. When I got home and put it on, it was only fitting the front teeth properly and was just sitting above my molars. I figured this was because it had been well over a week since I had my lower braces off, and even with the permanent retainer behind the front 6, things were bound to have shifted a bit. I found that I could get the back part to fit properly by biting down on the retainer which is what I've been doing, and hey presto this morning the back left side fits! The right side isn't quite there yet but it is better so I'm going to keep doing this and see how it goes.

[Harriet]

I went for my adjustment today to find that they had got a power cut! So instead of getting a bracket moved they changed all the ligs, put a powerchain on from canine to canine and 'piggybacked' the archwire under the bracket that needs repositioning to get it moving to where it should be. I'm going back in a week to move the bracket I think.
I wasn't sure whether this was something that normally happens but I've researched and it is apparently a recognised technique. I'm just please to be getting that central incisor the same length as the other one! It's already moved a good 1mm

[Hawke]

Making progress looking good!

[Harriet]

Had an eventful adjustment today. Finally got the bracket on my central incisor replaced with one that matches and in the right place this time! I also got the rectangular 16 x 22 wire put back in, with wire ties on the central incisors and a powerchain from canine to canine. It was very painful putting the wire ties and power chain on, and once i'd left the appointment and checked my teeth out in the mirror I could see that the big gap that had opened up between my central and lateral incisor had closed, probably explaining the pain! The pain since the appointment hasn't been too bad at all though.
Its nice to having all my brackets matching again, especially now that I haven't got one central incisor way longer than the other (they will need some filing to even up the uneven edges at the end of treatment). I feel like my teeth are looking pretty good now, and I can see it won't be long now until I'm done! just waiting for the central gap to close and for the central incisors to finish straightening up.
Here are the pictures!

[Danielle20]

Hi Harriett,

Thank you sooo much for posting your progress. It's so hard to find information on 6 month smiles. I went for my consult yesterday and ever since I've been a little nervous, however seeing what you're going through makes it much more helpful. Good luck your teeth look great!

[Harriet]

You're welcome Danielle. I found it really hard to find real peoples experiences too, but this forum has been really helpful. Good luck with your braces and feel free to ask me any questions you might have, if I can answer them I will!

[Danielle20]

Thank you! And I apologize I realized your name is spelled with one t

[Harriet]

I've been so busy with uni and work that I didn't get around to taking any pictures after my last appointment. Things are going really well thought and I'm having the braces taken off on the 12th of march!! It's only 2 weeks away now. I'm so excited to be rid off these horrible things. I am scared that I won't like my new smile though as having braces has made me super critical of my teeth.
My next update will probably be of my new smile, so watch this space!!

[Tweetypie]

Its really great to read your experience and see just how well the braces have worked on your teeth! Ive had my brace on the top teeth for one week today..... Taking a lot of getting used to and unfortunately i am still unable to eat anything other than muller rice, the very tip of my teeth are so tender, how did you find eating in the beginning?
Thanks for posting your journey ( as people have said its very hard to find many people talking about their own braces
Thankyou and all te best for getting yours off x

[Harriet]

And they're off!
I'm so pleased with the result! It took about an hour to remove the braces, sand off the glue, attach the fitted retainer and then do my impressions for the retainers.
I won't be getting the re-contouring done until 6 weeks time after all the whitening is done so this is quite the 100% finished result but you get the idea.
I can't wait to go out for curry next weekend!

[Tweetypie]

Wow!!! they look amazing.....congratulations on finishing your journey xx

[Harriet]

Wow!!! they look amazing.....congratulations on finishing your journey xx

Thank you! And good luck with yours