25yr old - Braces on 27/01/2011 - Starting SureSmile program

[Nettie]

Melody,
Your progress thus far is great. Thanks for sharing your before and progress photos, you must be pleased with the results. Here's to the gaps closing up soon!

Was it always planned that you would have extractions a few months after bracing?
I'm asking because I am just starting out and have not had any extractions but may need to later. I'm a little worried that if I'm going to have to do it anyways I should be doing sooner than later so the gaps have more time to close. The plan is to review my teeth movement at 6 months, perhaps I should ask at 4 months....

Thanks!

Nettie

[Melody85]

Melody,
Your progress thus far is great. Thanks for sharing your before and progress photos, you must be pleased with the results. Here's to the gaps closing up soon!

Was it always planned that you would have extractions a few months after bracing?
I'm asking because I am just starting out and have not had any extractions but may need to later. I'm a little worried that if I'm going to have to do it anyways I should be doing sooner than later so the gaps have more time to close. The plan is to review my teeth movement at 6 months, perhaps I should ask at 4 months....

Thanks!

Nettie

Thanks for your response and positive comments, it does help having other people notice the changes. I'm so glad i joined this site, you guys have been great! I originally was told that i would need to have jaw surgery (to bring my bottom jaw forward) to correct my overbite/overjet but I refused, as i don't have that kind of money and also can't justify having that kind of major surgery purely to make myself look better. So the alternative was to have extractions once the braces had corrected my 2 front teeth being pushed in. They needed to be brought forward (making me slightly buck toothed) and then the extractions went ahead. Once the gaps were there, the remaining front teeth could be pulled back into place, mimicking what the jaw surgery would have done, just to a lesser extent. I will still have a slight overbite but it will be a massive improvement and i won't have had to go through surgery

[Melody85]

Hi guys, just thought i've write another update. My confidence is going up a little due to some recent good news. I went for a job interview last week for my dream job - and they offered me the position the following day! I am pretty happy about that, and have realised worrying about braces and gaps in your teeth certainly doesn't affect you climbing the career ladder. I always thought I wouldn't even bother job hunting until the braces came off, but on a whim I thought, 'Why not? Let's do this!' Braces don't affect my ability to work! I realised how silly I was being.

I have my next orthodontist appointment next Wednesday where they will be tightening the wires that are wrapped around the teeth on either side of the gaps. Need to start closing these damn things! Apparently I will only need 1 more wire change for the rest of my treatment...seems a bit odd to me, I thought there would be more required? I'm only 6 months in, is this normal? I thought of taking more photos but not much has really changed so will wait and see.

[Snowglobe32]

I am on wire #3 of 5. I started SS Feb. 1st and should have had wire #4 last week but I am in new elastics for 6 weeks to fix the stubborn cross bite on the upper right arch. Then I will get #4 but that only gives me 2 months until my estimated treatment time is up. 2 more wires and only two months left??? Sounds to me like my estimated time will be extended by a month or two.

I believe the wires are all the same except for the strength. Each wire change is a heavier wire but the kinks are the same. Maybe you didn't need as many wires. How many have you had?

[Melody85]

Thanks for the reply Snowglobe, I am on the first set of SS wires, and only got 2 sets in total...I guess they must be really magic these wires or I just don't need many? I am sure they know what they are doing...

[Melody85]

Hey guys, I havent posted here for a while so thought i'd give a quick update. Braces are coming off in April 2012 now, earlier than expected so that's good! Those pesky gaps are very slowly starting to close, and i have reached the dreaded stage of elastics. They are a pain. I am afraid to laugh or smile suddenly for fear of them snapping and possibly blinding someone! I took a few pics, hopefully i have remembered how to upload them properly:



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Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Mandybula]

Hello Melody,

Wow your teeth look awesome!! I have had braces when I was little, but since then teeth have moved around again
in my mouth so I am considering going back to braces. I was recommended a jaw surgery some time ago, just like you.
I read about the new Suresmile technology on the net and am quite interested!

I live in Sydney as well, and can find only a handful practices that use this new technology, which seems to be more
efficient. Can you please tell me the name of the orthodontist you are using??

much appreciated,

THANX !!!!

[Melody85]

Well I thought i'd write something, it's been a while. I've even bought my first house since I last posted, so much has happened haha. Anyway, the braces are still on. The gaps have closed (thank god). I will upload some recent pics as soon as i can. There is a problem I have noticed though, and i've not seen anyone talk about this before so maybe it's just me. When you need to have extractions, no-one mentions the fact that after the teeth come out there will of course be some extra gum there - that gum tissue does not just dissapear. It has gradually been pushed back towards my back teeth as the teeth were bound firmly together with an additional clear band (to stop them spreading apart and having gaps everywhere). So now when i smile wide it looks as though there is just gum completely covering my back top teeth. I don't know how they fix that but it's not a good look. I'm worried the actual brackets back there will start digging into gum and maybe cause an infection, who knows. The clear band that is wrapped around each bracket on the top row of teeth is also staining - it just looks like my teeth have a row of yellow across them. I go back on April 26 to have the wire changed. they had told me the braces will be off in May but it doesn't seem likely, since after a wire change you normally wait at least 6 weeks or so for it to have effect. So not long to go I hope but still, they are annoying me!

[BetsyBug]

HI!!! I can understand your concern about your gums not looking right, however I do believe that you can have asthetic gum treatment to help with that problem. I'm not sure if it would be covered with your orthodontic or if you would have to have it done separately but I definitely would ask your ortho about it

[Melody85]

Okay so today I decided I'd had enough of having a stained powerchain which made me teeth look so ugly. I called my ortho this morning and asked to make an appointment to have it swapped over (wasn't really expecting to get in). They said sure, I could come in that day, which I did. To my surprise, even though my next scheduled appointment for a new wire wasn't for 2 more weeks, they gave me a new top wire then and there - and no more powerchain cause the gaps are closed and I don't need it! Yay! It feels very tight and it hurts but i think of it as good positive progress pain I asked about the gum covering my teeth and said that it worries me. They assured me once the braces come off everything will settle down and it won't stay like that...so I guess i'll take their word for it.

[Melody85]

I'm not happy, my teeth don't look right, there's a gap between my 2 front teeth which wasn't there before. My braces should have been coming off now but apparently it won't be until September. I complained about the fact that i'm paying all this money for what is supposed to be the fastest and best technology and my progress is delayed, how is that right? After I complained, the ortho suggested I wear elastics as much as possible and to come back in a few weeks and see if they can come off. Wtf? How can he suddenly go from saying it won't be until September, to saying a few weeks? I don't understand, and if they were to come off now i wouldn't be happy. Sure they are straighter, but the gap bothers me, and the other teeth on the top are not perfectly straight since i had those 2 taken out. It's like the remaining teeth just don't fit together properly and there's still little gaps everywhere. SIGH.

[Melody85]

Okay so I probably should have updated a bit sooner but surprise - my braces came off yesterday! The process of grinding the glue off your teeth is not nice, that would be the worst part.
I was nervous about looking in the mirror, I expected my teeth to be a bit yellow but they looked so white! I was shocked. I'd even made an appointment to have them whitened because i just assumed that's what you do, but I don't need to anymore.
I'm not 100% happy as my top row of teeth kind of slant inwards a bit after having the 2 extractions, but this result is the best to expect without having had jaw surgery apparently. They do look alot better. I hate wearing the retainers, well the bottom one mostly. the edges cut into the underside of my tongue which is starting to make it sore, not sure if that's just something I have to put up with. I'll take some pics shortly!

[Webbie]

Hey Melody85!
I came across your post and found I'm in a similar situation. I have got braces at age 25 in August, '12 and my teeth alignment is similar to yours, but more severe. Have your braces come off?