Jillianleab is NAKED!!! Pics included!

[lionfish]

Your teeth look great.

Only one elastic, I'm jealous. Bet you chew on the other side now!

[Jillianleab]

Today I had a cleaning at the dentist, my second one since being braced. After my first cleaning (in Sept), my dentist said I was doing a pretty good job with cleaning, but asked if I would come in every four months. Since then I've been trying to brush and floss really well, and it paid off! My dentist said that of all her patients with braces, I have the cleanest mouth she's ever seen! Silly thing to be proud of, but I am! She said since I'm doing such a good job I can go back to coming in every six months. I made my next appointment (July) and I'm hoping that will be the last braces appointment I have with her!

My next adjustment is on Feb 5; and last time my ortho said we would start working on expansion. Guess that means new wires and sore teeth Too bad that's also the week of my midterms......

[Jillianleab]

Thanks for the responses, everyone!

I've had new wires before, so I know what I'm in for with that; my concern is that new wires tend to give me a headache (even with OTC painkillers) for a few days, and I have midterms that same week. I suppose I'll have to be extra ready for my exams to compensate!

[Sumendoza]

Jillian,

Great reading your story! Your teeth look awesome
Good luck on your midterms and new wires... You'll do great with both!

[Jillianleab]

Holy cow it's been another month!!! Yesterday was the official 8-month mark since I got braced. I really feel like the time is flying by, and if, as my ortho says, these things come off early, I might be halfway through! A girl can hope, right?

Anyway, here's the usual rundown of pics. I don't see a lot of changes this time again, but my gap is getting a lot smaller. I was unable to get a decent pic of it, but it's about 70 - 80% closed. I'm hoping it will be 100% by the time I go in for my next adjustment (Feb 5).











I think the reason the changes are minimal is because my ortho was focused on getting my gap closed at my last adjustment. He said at this coming appointment we will start to focus more on expansion, so I'm really hoping to have some significant changes to report next month. I still can't believe the progress I've made in just eight months, it's pretty amazing. I'm always looking at my teeth in the mirror and when I smile I hardley recognize myself! Oh, and the other day I was looking at pics from my wedding (since that's pretty much the only ones of me smiling) and below is a crop of a big smile from the side. Look how far my flippin' teeth are jutting out! I look at my progress now and think, "How did people stand to LOOK at me????" I know, I know, it's not that bad, but still! It just makes me think about how happy I am that I'm doing this for myself. Heehee, think I can get hubby to renew our vows so I can have another "wedding" with pretty pics? lol!



Well that's all for now... wait for the update on Feb 5, my 5th adjustment. Also my brother's birthday... I suppose I ought to send a card!

[platinum]

Fantastic!!!!

Your teeth look already very good!!!!

keep on going!

[Jillianleab]

Ooooh.... Vegas! Great idea, Ken! My hubby has been a few times, but I've never been and would love to go! I bet I could sell him on the vow renewal thing if it involved Vegas. Or the beach. Maybe both? lol!

[Jillianleab]

Today was adjustment number five... and it was a great one! The best news - NO MORE ELASTICS!!!!

My appointment was at 10:45 and the office was really really slow this morning, so I got in right away. My ortho came over and said, "Ah.. my poster child!" and did the bite, open, bite thing. He told the asst to pop off the bracket on one of my lower cuspids to reposition it and to put a new wire on the top and bottom (same weight, new wires). I was surprised at how easy the bracket popped off - it hurt less than when they open a stubborn door! Anyway, the ortho put the new bracket on in a new position and took my top wire and put a weird bend in it (pic below). I asked what the bend was for; apparently depending on the direction it is to move a tooth up or down, in my case down, to make it more level with the rest of the teeth. The asst finished all the wire changes, etc and my ortho came to take a final look. I asked if I still needed to wear the Class II elastic and he said, "Nope, your bite is perfect!" He pulled up my before pics and flattered me about how great of a patient I am and how I've made such great progress which is always nice to hear! He told me as thanks I have to send him AT LEAST three new patients! So if anyone out there is browsing and you are in the Northern VA area, I'll be happy to refer you to my ortho, he's really great!

Here's the pic of my weird wire bend:


Next adjustment is six weeks from now, on my 10-month braces anniversary. I hope to see a lot of progress between now and then, as we are working on expansion now.

[cowlypso]

Congrats on the perfect bite! It sounds like you are doing great. Always good to have the doc flatter you a bit. Especially if you deserve it. And obviously you do, if you wore your elastics enough to fix your bite. Keep up the good work.

[LithpingLitha]

Your teeth look fabulous!

[tulip]

Wow, you must be really happy. Thanks for including your pre-braces photo .. don't recall seeing that one before, but the changes are amazing. Well done on being a star patient .... it's hard work being meticulous about ones teeth, esp in braces. Although I have invisalign braces, I too have to be extra vigilant about keeping teeth clean underneath those plastic trays, as saliva is restricted from doing it's job properly. Anyway, just catching up on your progress, after my nearly 2-month hiatus from these boards (nothing other than a busy life!!). Good job Jill.

[Jillianleab]

Thanks for your kind words, everyone!

My ortho has flattered me several times about my progress and compliance, but I really don't think I do more than the other people on this board. I keep my appointments, I floss (almost) every night and I brush several times a day. I guess he can't tell all the no-no foods I've been eating (chips, nuts, dried fruit...)! I don't think he has a lot of adult patients and I remember him lecturing a teen in the chair next to me one time for not coming in for over four months. I guess I'm just lucky that my teeth decided they wanted to respond to treatment! Maybe they were sick of being all crammed in there and once the braces went on they all said "RELEIF! Let's MOVE!"

Or, perhaps my teeth don't talk at all...

[cowlypso]

Or, perhaps my teeth don't talk at all...

Haha! I don't know that my teeth talk, but lots of other stuff around my house talks, so I think that your teeth can talk if you want them to.

Sometimes it's nice to be an adult in a world geared towards adolescents. You get praise for just doing what you're told, because none of the other idiots actually follow directions.

Congrats on your great progress. Keep it up!

[Jillianleab]

I've survived nine months! I really can't believe how quickly the time has flown - I also can't believe I could have had a BABY in this amount of time! I have to be honest, I'd rather be doing this than having a baby!

I haven't seen a lot of changes in the past month, I've really hit a slow-down over the past few months. At first my progress was so impressive, probably because I had so much crowding. Now it seems like things are mostly in their place so movement isn't as dramatic. Still, I realize that compared to my "before" I've made really amazing progress, and I'm thrilled. My ortho had mentioned I might be done in sooner than 18 months, and for some reason I have September in my mind as when they will come off (November would be 18 ). I figured out the other day if they come off in Sept I might only have 5 adjustments left! Figuring time in adjustments seems to make things go faster, don't you think?

Anyway, here are the progress pics for this month as compared to last month. As usual, last month is on the left, this month on the right.



No real changes here - just the missing elastic! Yay!



I can't tell if my arch is wider or if it is just the angle of the pic. I'm sort of wondering how much wider it's really going to get????



It's hard to see in the pic, but the bracket on my left cuspid was repositioned and there is a curve in the wire to pull that tooth into line. I think the bracket on the right cuspid will have to be repositioned too, as that tooth is still a bit wonky.



You can see the bend in the wire here to bring the tooth into line, it seems to be the last tooth to totally join the party! I'm hoping the bend will do it's job and by my next adjustment it will be in place.



No real changes here either - it almost looks like the same picture!



This is a current pic of my bite; you can see the lowers still are a little lopsided. I've noticed recently that my lowers are touching the back of my uppers, which according to the "perfect bite" definition is supposed to happen - but it feels a little awkward to me. I think once the teeth all sort out maybe it will be less obtrusive; as it is now sometimes it feels weird to clench my teeth because of the way they hit.

You know, when I look at my teeth in the mirror I swear they look better than the way they are turning out in the pics! Anyway, my sixth adjustment is on March 19, 10 months to the day after being braced! It's also my finals week, and the week my sister-in-law is coming home for a visit with my 3-year old niece! Busy busy, but I can't wait!

[Jillianleab]

Denise, has anyone ever told you that flattery will get you everywhere!!!

Thanks, you're making me blush!