If you want to share the detailed saga of your braces story, this is the place to do it. You can use this forum as a braces journal, editing and updating your posts as your treatment goes on. Remember to also visit the main ArchWired.com site for additional stories from other readers!
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UPDATE! First adjustment Monday - I'm amazed at the progress.
Wish I'd taken better first photos for comparison. The bottom row, especially - the molars used to bend in toward each other like >< and the front row was all mish mashed together like an accordian. And my jaws stopped hurting!
PLEASE NOTE: It looks like a piece of tomato skin or something stuck in the bottom front - it's actually a gap and the pink tissue showing through, all blurry up close.
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Hi. I am 37 and have contemplated braces all of my adult life. Many other things got in the way and I am surely kicking myself now that I didn't do it sooner. I am soooooo SCARED to do it. I told myself at the end of last year I was just going to Do it and made sure I took out flex spending, better insurance coverage etc to proceed. Here I am...it is September and I still have nothing. When I decided to do the braces, I had my dentist replace all of my old fillings as he stated they were starting to crack and pit and further decay could be happening. Well, wouldn't you know it, once tooth is giving me problems. He said it could take up to 6 months to get better....the other talk was root canal. It isn't excruciating, so I am hoping in time it will get better. And Endodontist looked at it a month or so ago and he didn't see anything "alarming" going on but if it was not comfortable then a root canal would be in my future. My thing is if I have it done now, then there is a crown. Well if I get braces after that, then chances are when things are aligned, the crown may need to be re-done. I get mixed reviews on how to proceed from two diff orthos. It was also brought to my attention that I have a degenerative jaw on the right side. Basically, the condyle piece of the joint is party worn and all the muscles, ligaments, etc are torn or messed up. Saw a TMJ type Dr. and he wanted to put me in a splint 24/7 for what could be up to a yr, then do ortho. I talked to an ortho who has had TMJ training and he sounds like that is not needed. Sooooo many ifs and so many different opinions. I am sooooo afraid to make things worse by trying to give myself the "great smile" and "straight healthy teeth" boost I have always longed. I am soooo depressed and wished I had a magic ball with the right answers. Any insight?? I just don't have anyone who understands my feelings and anxiety with this decision and how frightened I am.
Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear of all those problems you are having, MLK. I wish I had an answer. The only thing that I do believe to be true, is that if you have any kind of degenerative jaw disease that you should not get traditional brackets, but go with Invasalign when/if you get braced. The only reason I say that is because my ortho asked me if I had osteoporosis or took any biophos ... whatever those osteo drugs are, because if you have issues in the jaw bones it is not safe to use brackets. Good luck with your decision, it is so difficult to make.
I was just breezing through to read about power chains - wow I'm reviewing my progress pics from Sept. 1 and my teeth have improved even since then! I'll post more when I get my next adjustment, soon.
