Jem's belated story

[kellyb]

I reckon you will have the braces off by January latest

[EbonyQ]

Wow! They look great Jem!

Maybe we get our uppers off on the same time?

Will you still hang on this site when you get yours off? This site will not be the same without you

[jem]

Hi Eb,

It would be great to be debraced at the same time. Here's hoping!

Thank you for being so kind. Yes I will still be around-probably to whinge about retainers but also to keep an eye out for old friends.

Jem

[lau]

Hey Jem-
looking good girl. My teeth are also being lazy and moving ever so slowly!! ay!

have great holidays!

[jem]

I had my 8th adjustment yesterday. My ortho and I agreed that my right lateral had made good progress and was now pretty much in place. I said I did think my left lateral had moved back at all and she didn't disagree.But she went on to say that my teeth had gradually progressed well overall and that we were starting to get as close as we were likely to get.

My left lateral is a "peg" lateral; it is far smaller than the other lateral and round in profile, which has made it quite hard for my ortho to place a bracket which is designed to fit on the flat surface of a wider tooth. There is no apparent problem with the root, although she did say that roots on peg laterals can be longer and/or bent.

She removed the brackets from my left lateral and my right canine and placed new ones in slightly different positions with a view to rotating each of these teeth. She had previously moved the bracket on the left lateral at my adjustment in August and it is now back closer to where it started on day 1 or possibly even further back.

I had not noticed any particular problem with my right canine, but she placed the new bracket further towards the middle of my mouth ( can't remember the technical expression for this). Unlike the previous brackets on both canines, this one does not have a built in hook for elastics- so it would appear that Damon has now realised that not everyone will have elastics (-at least not those of us who have only one arch braced).

Removing the old brackets was very simple with the special bracket removing device, but then the glue had to be ground off both teeth which is not particularly pleasant and then I had to go through the usual bracket placement process again. On this occasion I ended up getting more of the foul tasting etching liquid in my mouth than previously and I was unable to rinse until after the brackets were placed and cured and the new archwire inserted. Yuck!

As on previous occasions with new brackets being added, I have gone back to a smaller round profile archwire. I assume it is a NiTi wire but I did not ask. My ortho said that she will be able to place a larger wire again next time. She spoke again about the possibility of placing a bend in a wire to move the left lateral, but said that she does not like to put bends in wires and that properly placed brackets with appropriate wires should do what is needed. I am not sure how bends in wires might be used with the Damon system where the wires slide freely along the brackets.

So it looks like I will have at least one more adjustment before getting debraced and that even then I might have a somewhat compromised outcome. I am not sure what I will do at that point. I might ask her to have a final go at my left lateral with the biggest and stiffest wire she has ihn her arsenal!

I will try to add some pictures below. Anyone who can spot any difference from my last pictures deserves a prize.

I hope you all have a great Christmas!

Jem

PS thanks for the good wishes, Lau, but I am not sure about the "girl". I will have to have a couple of days not shaving before I post my next pics!

[jem]

Having just had a hot drink, I do not think this can be a NiTi wire as the extra heat in my mouth did not give that tightening feeling you get with NiTi wires. And it is darker than the aluminium-looking TMA wire I had previously. So perhaps we are having a final assault on this left lateral with stainless steel? I wish I had asked now.

[kellyb]

Hi Jem,

Looking forward to the pics. I guess you will have them off by about February? I think that is when mine will be off too.

[jem]

Hi Kelly,

My next appointment is 21 Jan. If I am debraced the appointment after that, it should be the first week in March if I follow my usual 6 weekly cycle. I hope that my left lateral will be in place by then.

Jem

[oktobergoud]

Ha Jem, it seems like we're sort of in the same place! I have my braces now for 11 months and I really hope to get a debrace-date next appointment (which is January 23rd), since they were about to make one earlier but they didn't do it just yet. But I still have one tooth as well that I'm not pleased about yet! Isn't that frustrating? I hope the debracement won't be delayed a month or so because of that one tooth, but we'll see. A month is a not a disaster!

Yours are looking great by the way! Great progress

[jem]

Thank you Oktobergoud,

I have looked at your pictures and you have made tremendous progress in only 10 months. I hope your lateral incisor has moved to its perfect position by the time of your next appointment on 23 Jan.Please post pictures then!

Good luck

Jem

[jem]

One year in braces pics below. I don't seem to be making any more progress with my left lateral and I suspect we may be deciding soon that this is as good as it gets.

Jem

[EbonyQ]

You teeth do really look great Jem! I would be proud if my teeth looked like that, no kidding . They must be almost as perfect as they can get?

[jem]

Thank you, Ebony , you have made my day!
Jem

[Angel269]

They look great Jem.

Hope they are off soon

[jem]

Thank you Angel269. Maybe we will be debraced around the same time? Your teeth are looking great in your latest photos. Do you still need to wear the bite plate?

Jem