Damon braces at 25yrs: Short back story

[CapeTownJess]

I'm Jess At 25 (going on 26) I have begun my braces journey and hope to document the highs and lows on this forum (hope that people catch on to my humor).

There are a few reasons why it has taken this long:
(1) braces are hella expensive (2) I thought "this is not the right time in my life, I have xyz that I do not want to be a brace face for" (3) How would anyone ever find me attractive.
Like many hopefuls, I thought invisalign would be my saving grace. I was not a candidate for a number of reasons, mainly due to an impact canine (yes I still have a baby tooth there). I also have a narrow smile, slight overbite, and my other canine had not come into place properly because of the small space.

SO, why now? well, the relentless desire for a perfect smile became greater than my ego and fear... plus my boyfriend and I just moved in together, so he's trapped now
I also realised that there will never be a 'right' time - I have my best friends wedding in one month and I'll be job hunting after graduating with my masters degree at the end of the year. So here we go!

Braces on: 1 Feb 2018
Brace off: 2-3 years time

[strinder]

Congratulations on getting your braces! You're pretty similar to me, similar age with an impacted canine (and that I'd also wanted Invisalign!) Hope your braces joruney runs smoothly! Has your ortho discussed your treatment for your impacted canine?

[CapeTownJess]

Thanks Strinder!
Yes, so I have a baby canine tooth which has prevented the big one from coming down (also because there is not enough space for the big canine).
There is no bracket on my baby canine, just a spring between the two teeth on either side of it to create space. After about 6 months my ortho will re-assess the situation. one of two things can happen:
1. The space will be large enough that my big canine will start moving down ('erupt') on its own, and I can just get the baby tooth removed and all will be good in the world.
Or,
2. The canine will not erupt, I will need to have a procedure to expose the tooth and start pulling it down (the baby tooth will be removed at the same time).

My Ortho seems to think that #1 will be the case, and I really really hope so too! One week with braces and I can see the spaces starting to happen.
I also have an overbite which is being fixed in the mean time.

Hope that helps!

[Krystal3]

How's your tooth coming along? I'm 28 years old and I'm about to go to the dentist for the same thing. I wanted clear braces, but... my canine never erupted and I still have a baby tooth in its place.

[CapeTownJess]

Hi Krystal

I am now just shy of 5 months with braces and my teeth have moved really nicely so far.
With regard to the canine - during my last check up the space that they are creating with a spring was just a little bit too small still, so it will be assessed at my next check-up at the end of July. So right now the baby tooth is still in place, but there is a nice big space for the canine to come into (hopefully).
I think I will have an x-ray to see where exactly the canine is and whether it has moved at all...I suspect that my ortho will give me the go-ahead to get the small tooth taken out and then see whether the big canine erupts on its own...but if it does not then I will need to get it exposed surgically.

The time period my ortho has estimated for me to have braces is 2 years, and the progress is pretty noticeable, I can't believe that I let my fear of braces get in the way of sorting this out a year or two earlier, because honestly, you just sort of get on with your life while the braces work their magic.

The only annoying thing is that I have two 'steps' stuck to the back of my front teeth because my over-bite would have caused me to bite the bottom braces. As a result, my back teeth have not touched when I bite down...it is slowly getting better though.

I will try upload some photos.

[meggie]

It is so true that there is never a good time to get braces! It seems like now that I have metal in my mouth, life is nothing but an endless list of photo ops

[JP82]

I’m 11 years older than you, but it was the same things that had stopped me getting the braces on. So can totally relate! But now here I am in one month in with Damon clears on the top and an extraction to go on the bottom before the bottom ones go on!!

Well done for not waiting any longer! I wish I’d had the courage at your age!!

[CapeTownJess]

7 Month Update:

At my last check up on 30 July my Ortho told me that the space we have created for the adult canine was finally large enough and that it was time to get the baby tooth extracted.

I was rather nervous and there were some worries from my dentist that he might damage the wire during the extraction...but it went smoothly!
The dentist's x-ray showed that my adult canine was wedged between the root of my baby tooth and the permanent tooth beside it, which was the reason why my baby tooth had never come out (the adult tooth is meant to degrade the root of the baby tooth which makes it loose and eventually 'fall out').
Once the baby tooth was out it was interesting to see the remaining half-root (it was long!).

Yesterday I went to get my final 'active' wire, and the Ortho told me that we will do an x-ray at the next appointment and assess whether or not the adult canine is coming through on its own, or whether I will need surgery to expose it and bring it down...

Other than having a huge hole in my smile, my bite is slowly getting better - I can now chew on the left side of my mouth (the right side isn't touching yet, but hopefully soon!).

Some days I am really over having these things on my teeth, other days I am grateful.

[CapeTownJess]

A 1 year 6 month update (with a pic of my tooth progression!)

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About one year after waiting for the eye tooth to come down (slow bugger) the ortho decided to send me to get the tooth exposed. Luckily it was close enough to the surface of the gum that it was possible through laser (highly recommend this procedure by the way!). My dentist was able to do the laser - there was no bleeding or stitches (the gum is cortorised by the laser as it burns away the gum). After two weeks the ortho fixed a tiny bracket to the tip of the tooth and the pulling began...

Of all the achievements of 2019, this flipping tooth is my proudest
I still have a little way to go but I've been assured that the braces will be off in time for my wedding in June!