Braces story - 28 years old

[cbraces678]

I have not posted in quite a while!

Adjustment day.

Things are pretty unexciting over here. It's been about 14.5 months in braces. My ortho is working on retorquing a tooth that's root is sticking out further than the rest as I posted above. The repositioned bracket on that tooth is FINALLY back in alignment, so today I got a 17x25 niti wire on top to start really torquing it. 16x22 stainless steel on the bottom still. He said my bottom looks great. I think we are just holding it in place until my top arch gets caught back up. I think since dropping down to the niti wires on top for this one tooth... that everywhere else has kind of gone a bit wonky. My front teeth are definitely not as well aligned as they used to be. Hoping this much thicker wire I got today will get everything back into place like it was! It had to happen though. The tooth root is seriously so freaky. I said I was quite worried about it because it seems like its close to the surface of my gums now. He said not to worry at all, and that it will get fixed. It sounds like this wire will start to move it back in. Fingers crossed! I go back in a few weeks.

[cbraces678]

Adjustment.

I had an adjustment today. The sticking out tooth root issue got a bit better the ortho said. He decided to change the bracket on the tooth to really torque it more. Now the premolar has a central bracket on it. I'm hoping this will be the last step to correcting this issue and then we can get on with the rest of the process. Definitely a huge set back for sure. It has been about 4 months that we have been working on this stubborn tooth. Same wires (17x25 niti on top/16x22 SS on the bottom), new power chains. My lower front teeth were tied in differently. I think to get a stubborn gap to close. I go back in 6 weeks.

[cbraces678]

Another adjustment.

Today the ortho did my whole appointment. Boy am I ever sore.

I got a bend in my wire where 1 front tooth was sticking out a bit too far. Now it’s a bit too far behind actually but considering how fast it moved I’m sure it will be an easy fix lol. He smoothed out my front teeth because there was a slight chip.

I got class 2 heavy elastics. And a power chain configuration that skips a tooth between loops... now THAT is painful. I am in a lot of pain and I am hoping the next few painful days fly by.

He said things look good and it won’t be too much longer. I didn’t ask how long he thought because I didn’t want to hear the answer . I will be super compliant with my elastics and ask at my next appointment in 4 weeks.

[cbraces678]

SO. MUCH. WORK. DONE.

My adjustment was half an hour ago and I am already so sore. So much IPR, double power chains where the loops skip teeth and a new elastic configuration. I went from heavy class 2, to heavy box. I asked how much longer he thinks and since I’m supposed to have 6 months left technically and if he thinks that’s where we are at. He said less than 6 months and if I wear my elastics well they will be off in no time.

I always think that the next adjustment will be a breeze since the last one was so bad, but they keep getting more painful LOL. hopefully not many more left! I am back in 4 weeks.

[SinkFullOfDinner]

Sounds like they're throwing everything they've got at this last stage. Other than how it feels right now, that's really encouraging to be told you might be ahead of schedule! I've had that "stretching fewer loops across more brackets" powerchain skipping technique and can empathize. No fun at all, but it does do the trick. Just keep the ibuprofen within arm's reach, and good luck!

[cbraces678]

Another adjustment.

It's been a while since I've posted. I've had a couple adjustments since then. I'm about 3 adjustments away from the end of my "estimated treatment time". I'm pretty happy with my teeth but there are a few things that I hope to have adjusted before they are taken off. I brought them up today to be sure the ortho and I have the same goals. He did some extra wire bends to help adjust the issues I see. I'm really hoping things move into place soon. I really really don't want to go over my estimated 2 years. I am so ready to get these off, but at the same time I want to make sure I am happy. At one point it looked like they would come off early according to the ortho, but now I'm just praying they come off on time lol. Back into heavy box elastics (I stopped wearing them mid-December because I had 1 tooth contacting first that was causing me a ton of pain, so I called in and the assistant told me to stop wearing them for now). I will posted updated pictures soon.

[cbraces678]

My braces are off!!!!

I was scheduled to have them off March 23, but that was cancelled due to COVID-19. I went in for an adjustment 5 days ago to correct some super minor shifting that happened during the closure, and they came off 2 days ago! I just picked up my retainers today. They are really tight, so I'm hoping they don't cause too much discomfort tonight. I also have a permanent retainer on my bottom 6 and top 4. I was instructed to wear the removable retainers after dinner until morning. SO happy to be brace-free! I get my teeth cleaned next week and I am so looking forward to that!

[Jethro]

Congrats cbraces678...your teeth look fantastic! Curious as to which type of removable retainers you received?

All the Best,

Jethro

[cbraces678]

Congrats cbraces678...your teeth look fantastic! Curious as to which type of removable retainers you received?

All the Best,

Jethro

Thank you!!!
I am so happy to be done with braces. I am going to get a little bit of bonding done eventually, but I'm not worried about that right now.

As for retainers, I have the Essix retainer, and top and bottom permanent retainers. Because I have the permanent on both upper and lower, I only wear the Essix for 10 hours at night.
The Essix is such a struggle to get off. I can get it on no problem and it's very comfortable when it's on (I hardly even notice it to be honest and I can talk fine with it in), but getting it off is insanely hard for me. I hear it's supposed to get easier as you wear it, but I have a tool on the way from Amazon to help take it off.

I hope all is going well for you! I'm not sure where you're from, but hopefully you're orthodontist is open/opening back up!

[TCCZ]

Very nice.

[carewsf]

Amazing progress!

[desertd]

Yes! Very nice!

[MrPlenty]

Congratulations awesome results.