Underbite & crossbite correct w/Damon, IPR, Acceledent etc

[TheProfessor]

Straight teeth AND a graduate degree

[newbite]

I hope so!! The teeth seem more certain at this point

[Ridingboots]

Your teeth look to be moving am glad eating is getting easier to eat..... I love my food and I think that is going to be the worst thing. Tomorrow is Brace day for me am excited and nervous at the same time but can't wait to have a great smile.

Thanks for your updates it is encouraging seeing everyone's improvements

[newbite]

Eating definitely becomes SO much easier. If you have molar build ups, though, or bite turbos, they're going to cause problems probably.

I had my first kind of scary braces experience! I was eating a sandwich and somehow the inside of my lip got caught IN my braces somehow. I don't know if it was between the bracket and the stupid new hook for the elastics (definitely involved that bottom front hook). It didn't hurt too badly, it was just scary because I couldn't open my mouth and I had no idea what to do. I was worried I'd rip my lip if I just pulled it out, but I had no choice and it was all right (just swollen after). So weird! I hope that never happens again.

[newbite]

Somewhat rhetorical question-- will the brackets *ever* stop irritating my mouth? My teeth must be moving all the time because I constantly have a new problem spot. Now it's my bottom front teeth again like when I first got the braces. I haven't needed wax in awhile but the constant irritation is so annoying! My lip also still hurts from when it got caught inside my braces on that hook.

Other than those small complaints the braces are going well. I'm amazed at the elastics -- I was so worried they'd hurt my TMJ but if anything they seem to help it. I haven't been clicking or pushing my jaw forward at all like I used to do all the time unconsciously. Yay elastics!

[Uptown Girl]

It's good to read a positive comment about elastics. Something to look forward to.

[newbite]

Will my front teeth ever straighten?? I can tell they've rotated out a bit but their progress is so much slower than my other teeth. One of the adjacent teeth is trapped behind my right front tooth and appears to be rotating out of alignment because of the resistance from the front tooth . I'll have to try to remember to mention that to my orthodontist.

My next appointment is next week and I'm really looking forward to it! My front teeth no longer hit my bottom teeth too badly and it looks like one of my molars is starting to come out of crossbite. I wonder if I'm going into a rectangular wire or if I'm staying with my current wire. I also wonder if I'm going to get stronger elastics. I hope not, I like these!

I'm making a stronger effort to use the Acceledent every day. I checked my stats and I've only been using it 80% of the time. . It's so hard to find 20min/day when I have such limited time, but I don't want to jeapordize a shorter sentence in braces.

[newbite]

I had to go to the ortho today to get more glue on the end of one side of my bottom wire since it must have come off when I was flossing and it kept stabbing me in the cheek. For those of you reading who don't have braces yet and have never been stabbed in your cheek with a wire it's actually not that painful it's more annoying than anything. Nothing like "I have a major cavity and need a root canal pain". When I was researching braces I was most afraid of the mouth sores since they sounded so painful but they're really not that bad. The worst part is the irritation when you're trying to talk but wax helps tremendously if it's really bad.

Of course my next appt is Tuesday so I'm going right back in a few days! I asked what they're doing Tues and guess what-- I'm getting rectangular wires AND my molars are getting hooked up! AHHH!

I'm excited since that's a huge step but scared about pain especially since my top molars are so high up in my jaw (because of my underbite my back top molars didn't descend much since they didn't touch the bottom teeth). I'm also not looking forward to flossing way back there where I can't see or reach. I wonder if I can floss from inside out if that would be easier.

I've barely had braces 3months and am already getting rectangular wires. It's going so quickly because of the Acceledent, apparently. I hope my roots are ok. I know they're supposed to do an X-ray at some point again, I'll ask about that.

Well, she said straight teeth in 6 month (with the rest of the time for finishing) so I hope she's right! I hope this rectangular wire gets my front teeth to move!

[newbite]

Well, that was disappointing. I had my appointment and they didn't give me rectangular wires or even hook up my molars. They kept the old wire on the bottom, to try to avoid further arch expansion, and put a thicker round wire on top, to try to get more expansion and get rid of the last of my crossbite. My front top teeth are *still* not visibly moving much, they're very much rotated inward although when I look at my bite mark (like in a piece of cheese) the arches are much more round.

She said I might get rectangular wires next month. Guess it depends on how well my top teeth move. The ortho asked me if I've had any pain in my front teeth, and I said no pain at all. He seemed disappointed at that. No pain no gain, I guess! I did have my first tiny bits of pain in the front teeth the night after this last appointment, although it's entirely gone now. I was looking forward to some good, productive pain and some movement to finally get rid of the permanent shadow between my front teeth. Well, I'll keep using the Acceledent every day (I've had to write it on the calendar each day for motivation) and hope for some movement.

[plugnickel69]

[quote="newbite"]No pain no gain, I guess! quote]

Don't believe that "no pain, no gain" stuff. I never had any pain through my treatment. Sometimes minor discomfort, but never anything more. It depends on your body and mind.

[newbite]

Steer clear of the Target Up and Up brand electric toothbrushes!! My old Oral B finally died so I figured id save money and got the Target brand for $20. It was TERRIBLE! It was timed way too fast so that toothpaste and spit flew everywhere with normal brushing and it made my teeth vibrate painfully with even the lightest pressure. What a piece of junk! I returned it and spent $40 more to get an Oral B professional-- which is SO delightful (as delightful as a toothbrush can be, anyway). I'm using the Target brand brush heads, though, since they're significantly cheaper and I haven't had any problems with them but will probably spring for the oral B sensitive next time if I can find them online.

Still no pain, which is good for Thanksgiving I guess. I think my front teeth are moving imperceptibly but they seem to be moving. Also it seems like my bottom teeth are continuing to move and my midline seems closer to lining up!

[newbite]

Took some more photos-- I really need to take them in daylight (like I did back in August) since my teeth look really dingy otherwise, but I'll post them anyway!

In the composite, current is on top, October in middle, and August on bottom.

I have SO many black spaces between my teeth, especially on the bottom (hard to see in the photo). The ortho tech said it might not be possible to get rid of them since I have gum recession but I think a lot of it will be fixed once the teeth are actually in their final positions.

[newbite]

I like the comparison photos, here are the top and bottom, too. I guess I've been ignoring the progress on the bottom since I'm focusing so much on the top, but the bottom is nearly U shaped now!

[TheProfessor]

Great progress! Your lowers are lining up nicely and it looks like your upper arch is making room for your front teeth to straighten out

[newbite]

Thanks Professor!

I realized I didn't take any photos of my gum recession on my bottom teeth, so here it is. The gum on the one tooth (4th bracket from the left) looks dangerously thin (super pale pink), which I don't think it looked like before. I hope where it's all thin and super light pink it doesn't just disappear Then I think I would definitely need a gum graft since it would be REALLY low, then.