Braces to start my 30's...3rd Adjustment.

[Flaka]

Thanks Bekah,

Things are going well besides the little elastics incident. I am still doubting which one is the correct way to wear them. I used to wear them the way it is on the 2nd pic but now I am trying the first one way and I hope it is the right one. I will give my ortho a call on monday if I am still in doubt.

I dont know if is because my arch is starting to get wider a bit, but i can feel brackets that werent touching my mouth now touching so I have been using wax.

How are things going with you? Your teeth are already nice and they will be perfect in not time

[SGPWired]

Nice pictures with your elasatics - and thanks for the tip. I’m sure my day is coming so I’ll definitely pay attention. Isn’t it a good feeling to know your teeth are moving – and hopefully in the right direction.

[Flaka]

I felt so much pressure today on my lower teeth and I notice a small gap on my right inscisor. My lower teeth are moving....the right direction? Doesn't look like, but the "ortho knows what he is doing" right?

Besides that, I have not notice any other changes.

I am posting some pics from this week. (week3)

My midline looks waaay off.



I think maybe the canines are finding their way down s l o w l y



I have not noticed any difference on this one. The lost molar seems not to be even close to find its way home yet.




I will be patiently waiting....

Thanks for stopping by!!!

[jenny101101]

Hi Flaka,

Great pics!! It's funny, my "wandering" molar seemed to be in the same spot for weeks and then when I took 1 month pics, I noticed a little change. After 2 months, it looks like it's almost there so hang in...it'll get in line soon!

As for your midline, it's hard to tell if it's really off a whole lot or it's just because of that incisor that's sitting crooked. I bet once it straightens out, your midline will look better. Posting comparison pics(ie. day 1 vs. 1 month)in the same posts seems to give me a better idea as to how my teeth are moving, even if it's slight.

Chat soon!

[Bekah]

Flaka, I am doing pretty well! Thank you for thinking I have "nice teeth".
Did you get your "pokey" wire fixed?

[Flaka]

Thanks for the comments guys! Nothing much has happened in this past month, one big things is my bite, its feeling different for sure and if you look at my close smile you can see that my bite is opening on one side ( left) it feels so odd.
Another thing is one of my back molars is wiggling and when I bite, it goes up and down...up and down. I read loose teeth are quite common while in braces so I am not paying much attention but can't help to worry.

SGPWired, yes please pay attention that way you can help me out next time

Jenny, I can see my wandering molar moving a bit and my midline has always been off by 2.25 mm but its seems like is worse now. I guess it has to do with the fact that I have a crossbite and now I can feel my bite changing a lot, is hard to chew properly sometimes. I am definitely following your advice to post side by side pics of before and after.

Bekah, I got the pockey wire fixed the very next day Thanks! No more since (knock on wood)

jt2lang, I have no shame in chewing stuff, the other day i couldn't help but to bite into a jawbreaker I was sooo lucky neither my bracket or teeth broke. I try to be patiente


Here are some pics taken today, a bit over a month.



First Day


Today


First Day


Today


First Day


Today

[victor36]

Hola Flaka,

Welcome to Archwired, just getting caught up on your story... I had to wear that exact same elastics configuration for the first 6 months of my journey... It was a pain to get used to, but pretty soon you'll become a pro at changing the elastics... for a little while I had a sharp edge somewhere so I had to change them out like 10 times a day...

If you're experiencing soreness on the inside of your cheeks, try rinsing with some warm water with just a pinch of salt (if you can taste the salt, you're using too much)... It worked wonders for me, and I've never had to use wax because of it.

Looking forward to seeing much progress, take care!

~Victor

P.S. It's waaay to early to worry about your midline, my ortho didn't work on mine till approximately the last 6 months of treatment.

[*melissa*]

Yay, Flaka, I took a close look at your pictures..and I am totally seeing some movement! And how cool is it that your bite is already changing!!! I am so jealous...lol, I want elastics!! ...my bite is what needs the most improvement.
I look forward to following your story, thanks for stopping by mine too:D

(p.s.i love your icon, office space is great!)

[Flaka]

I woke up today feeling very discouraged about these braces. I have been trying to be positive, knowing that things get worse before they get better, etc etc but i just can't help feeling that my mouth looks so weird when I smile and see that my smile looks like is going diagonal instead of straight, I dont know if it is the changes in the bite and some teeth are just all over the place and others have not even moved at all. I can't seem to find a positive difference. I saw this pic without braces and compared to my first day in braces and today's pic....and I dont like it

I hope its normal to feel this way at some point. I dont want to feel discouraged but can't help it. If my smile looks they way it does now because my bite is making progress than thats fine (I guess) but how do I know this is the way it should go? My ortho didn't give me heads up

Sorry for being a cry baby and thanks for letting me vent!


Before braces


Brace Day- smile looks like this ___


My smile today - its going like this \ like a sinking boat!

[*melissa*]

Hi Flaka ,
try not to be so discouraged. Your teeth are really beautiful right now as they are -- theyre so white and very healthy looking. I know being braced is soo tough sometimes and its not easy focusing on the positives, I'm right there with ya! I've been hating mine lately too...sometimes I feel like they take up my whole face and whenever I talk to people it's all they see. But of course, we see things differently than other people do. Like you say your smile looks crooked... I dont think so at all. As I said up above, when I look at your pics I see really pretty teeth!
So try to hang in there, it will get better!

[jenny101101]

Hi Melissa,

I echo the posts above and also add that I went through the exact same thing right around the two month mark also. My front teeth are now overlapping and they never used to. It's very noticable when I talk/smile and, if you read my journal, you'll notice my 2 month pics showing them starting to overlap. I think it's really common for teeth to get worse before they get better. Hang in there-I know, easier said then done-but mine are still overlapped so we'll hang in there together!!

[Flaka]

Thank you Guys for the support. Sometimes the uncertanty of not knowing if things are moving on the right direction can get frustrating. I can wait to go to my first adjustment and get some re-assurance from the ortho about everything being “on trackâ€

[Flaka]

I had my first adjustment today. I went in at 7:30am and Jorie the assistant came and took my wires off, one of the brackets (the canine one) popped out and she replaced it. I took advantage to get a quick "normal" floss.

I got a slightly ticker wire put on and she wired my top and bottom molars (very back) that werent wired before. Dr A came to check on me and i told him about the wiggly tooth, he took a look at it and he was kind of concerned so he decided I will wear my elastic on the last molar instead so the tooth can stabilize and also put molar build up on my left one so I dont bite down on my loose tooth until my bite gets corrected (My bite is going mental )

I was really looking foward to my first adjustment but man, it hurts. I am really hoping it will go away in the next couple of days so I can eat normal again.

Here are some pics. I have not seen any movement on the lower ones, Dr A said this wire will make things move a bit more...we will see

First month:



Today:
This is as far as I can bite now



Top arch:

First month:


Today:



Lower Arch:

First month



Today: You can see the molar build up







I will wait and see what happens in the next couple of months with the lower ones

[Flaka]

The buildup is really bugging me, I have to learn how to chew with it since its from the only side I can chew on. I couldn't even floss good last night.

On the other side, my son left to Ecuador for the summer ( he is 12) and I think I am feeling over-sensitive today I can't wait to feel not pressure in a couple of days.

[jenny101101]

Hi Flaka,

I think your teeth are looking amazing! Your canines on your lower arch are really getting in line and your wandering molar is almost where it should be...YAY!! Glad to hear your getting your loose tooth issue sorted out.

I know how you feel with a molar build-up(BMU). I have one too and I've had it since my lowers went on in April. Trust me, it does get easier. Within a few weeks I was tolerating mine and it rarely bugs me or gets in the way of eating anything now. Hang in there!!

As far as your son, that's completely normal. My oldest is 13 and, although he's never gone away for the whole summer, he's been away for weeks at a time so I somewhat know how you feel. I hope your feeling less over-sensitive soon but feel free to "vent"...that's what we're here for(and not just about teeth and braces).

Happy hump day!!