Lewicks brace story

[Lewick]

Thanks guys! Its nice hearing (well, reading) nice things.. because its my mouth i don't think i notice the changes as much!

Stepher - you'll be shocked at how quick your teeth move! & congratulations on getting braced!

[Lewick]

Hi guys. Woah can't believe it's been 9 months since I last updated! I have a very rare few days off and I also have an ortho appointment this afternoon so I thought i'd just post a few pictures of where my teeth are at right now.




As you can see I have no wires right now, just elastics. Which I assume is to close my gaps and they've worked a treat. There's just one gap (I think you can find of see it in the bottom picture) between my left 'fang' and the tooth next to it that still has some way to close, but I hope she'll put some magic device on it today that will help to close it

Anyway, I hope to keep this a bit more updated as i'll of been braced for two years in Febuary - which was my estimated treatment time. So i'm hoping i'm kind of in the home stretch now. But I suppose we'll see

[Lewick]

Hi guys! Just a quick update as i'm now in the home stretch officially! I have one more appointment on the 16th March just to check everything's okay and then I have my de-bonding appointment on the 2nd April!

I'm so excited, it feels like i've had my braces on forever! I'm looking forward to wearing bright lipsticks, eating all the naughty chocolate I haven't been able to eat (Lion Bars, Picnics and Creme Eggs) and obviously, smiling at everyone and anyone... maybe even inanimate objects (I joke... sort of )

I had my last appointment on my two year brace birthday (the 17th February) and this is how I ended up...




Now time for the countdown... just 34 days to go!

[Lewick]

Okay, they're off! Actually, I got them off on the 2nd of April so i've been brace free for 22 days now.
The brace removal process was really easy, and my appointment only took about 25 minutes for brace removal and two sets of molds - probably my least favourite part of orthodontics. I then went back two days later to get my retainers and my gosh, are they horrible! I have essix retainers, and they were such a pain to get in and out for the first few days until I got used to them, even now after three weeks I still struggle a bit. The good thing is that I only had to wear them full time for 10 days (except when eating or teeth brushing) and now only have to wear them at night.

Onto the pictures, just a reminder of what I began with



And this is what I have now






I love my new smile!

A huge thank you to everyone on this site, too. The wealth of information I gained here was amazing and a huge help throughout my journey.

So then, was the pain and embarrassment of metal braces as an adult worth it? Yes! If anyone is umming and ahhing about getting braces, I say as long as you can afford them then go for it.

[stepher7]

Congratulations!! Your smile looks great, I can't wait until mine come off...should be about 10 more months. Did you have any discolouration on your teeth once the braces came off? I'm most worried about that, and have read that you can't do any whitening until a month after the braces are off?

[Lewick]

Thank you! Oh you're so close, i'm sure those 10 months will fly by
Mine haven't discoloured, but I was super obsessive with my teeth cleaning aha. I think as long as you've kept your teeth clean and have used inter-dental brushes you should be okay for colouring
I'm not sure, I haven't heard anything about that Maybe ask your ortho on your next appointment what they suggest about teeth whitening