Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey gals, no worries on the pictures. It's always good to see such nice teeth.

Well, yesterday marked my third week with braces. I took some pictures but won't be posting them this time.

I'm guessing that 3 weeks after getting them in, or after getting an adjustment, there isn't much happening anymore and (for the most part) whatever movement was going to happen has already happened. Overall I've noticed that my top teeth have moved a bit and have spaced out even more. I can't see the change, but I can feel it from flossing. It's always been pretty easy, compared with the bottom teeth, to floss up top. Now it's even easier, so there has been some movement.

Meryaten, what you mentioned about the thinness of the lower wire makes sense and is something I had considered, but then didn't think much of it since I don't really know much about braces in the first place. I hope my ortho steps it up a notch on my next visit.

Next Thursday I'm scheduled for my first adjustment. This first milestone seems to have come rather quickly, so it's a good sign that the whole time with braces will really fly by like most people tell me.

Eventually these two years with braces will look like a small blip in time, but for now I'm glad you're all here to share it with. Thanks for stopping by!

EJ

Not at all!! The whole basis of modern ortho is the application of light (biologically appropriate) continuous forces. Those archwires will still be busily working away - don't be disppointed if you have adjustments where teh archwires are not changed! KK will remind us that she has only had two sets of wires throughout her treatment to date!

Cool, that's both informative and encouraging.

On a random note... I noticed that the photos are not showing up in my previous posts. Sometimes the server where I've uploaded the photos is out of service. Sorry about that, it's beyond my control. You get what you pay for!

The most exciting thing since I got the braces just happened...

I feel some soreness between my crowded lower incisors!

This is the reason why I got the braces in the first place, and up until now not much had changed with those teeth.

Woohoo!

Okay, so a decent amount of time has elapsed since the braces came on.

It's time for comparison pics!

I'm a little disappointed with the changes on my top arch (Figure 1). The central incisors are not even anymore; one has come out from the gums more. The archwire itself is now straighter, so this means that the change on my incisors was "intended," or at least that the archwire did what it was supposed to do. Definitely asking the ortho what's up with this and where he's going with it.

In Figure 2, it looks as though the archwire straightened out just a wee bit between the right central incisor and the right canine.

Figure 1 - Open Bite


Figure 2 - Bottom Arch


0.92 months down, 23.08 to go.

EJ

I can see a change. Those wires are starting to get straighter!!!!

Hey Folks,

I realize now how impatient I was feeling last month. Some on this board have had their braces for 2 years! Just can't see myself there yet.

My girlfriend was the first to notice that my lower arch had improved just as I was complaining about it. On my first adjustment the ortho inserted a spring across two teeth, skipping one. Last week, on my second adjustment, he replaced the spring for a larger one hoping for more dramatic results. He was more confident in not having to remove any teeth, so that was really comforting.

I'm due for a cleaning at my regular dentist later this month. I've noticed that it's become difficult to keep my clean teeth, and I'm noticing some gunk that is sticking to my lower incisors, right under the brackets. If I brush too much in that area it just ends up irritating my gums. The waterpik seems really annoying in the way that it squirts water all over the bathroom, but I try to use it every couple of days. Maybe the key is to see my dentist every 4 months instead of every 6 months while I have braces.

Withour further ado, here are the update photos:

Open Bite


Bottom Arch


EJ