Overbite, overjet, midlines, & a clicky jaw - Ghotieyes

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#61 Post by **spinninglaura** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 6:02 am

your teeth look amazing! a real inspiration to get mine done. Thank you so much for posting in here!

Laura
p.s I hope you have your home situation more sorted now!

#62 Post by **ghotieyes** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 7:20 am

ok, it took a while, but I finally got some pictures uploaded. It's been so long i've lost track but this is circa the 25 month mark.

My upper midline is still pretty far off, but I've still got decent sized gaps from the extraction to close up.

76 wk vs 25 months

I have springs on the top and bottom now, but you can't see them in this picture.

Look, ma, no gap on the botttom left any more! The rubber band going from my 5 to my 2 keeps the gaps closed while the ortho works on the gap on the other side.

This time the ortho didn't wire together my front 6, but so far so good. no unwanted gaps forming in the front 6. Also hard to tell from these pics, but i'm wired from 5 to 5 on top and bottom, with the 5's and 6's attached w/ steel ties

I wonder if my wisdom tooth way in the back there will be fully exposed by the time everything is said and done. My lowers have a ton of gaps in front now and I can't wait til those all get closed up too!

Overall, I'm kinda of surprised at how much progress I've made since the 76 week mark. It's not really noticeable when I'm looking in the mirror and seeing my teeth every day, but when I do a side-by-side comparison like this, I feel like I've made good progress. I'm also wearing a rubber band (the moose!

) from the lower right 5 to upper hook/post by my 3. I think it's really speeding up the movement on the lower right side b/c there's a good 3 mm of wire sticking out now.

#63 Post by **Arbywhopper** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:55 am

I just read your story!! its amazing!! Congrats on getting married!!! You've inspired me to go through with getting my braces, even though i'm scared out of my mind!! It will be worth it. I can't wait to go back on the 1st and see exactly when i can get them put on. Congrats on your progress and i can't wait to see your next update!!

#64 Post by ***melissa*** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:47 pm

your progress is so amazing. i cant wait to see the final result...your smile while be GORGEOUS!!

#65 Post by **playdoughpiglet** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:46 pm

I applaud your enthusiastic about your braces. They are coming along nicely. My teeth are very similar to yours. I am debating with treatment to go far no extractions or yes extractions. I am not doing the jaw surgery since I already have done it in the past. I am also from MA. What How were your extractions and when would they close up? How long is your orthodontic treatment process supposed to take?

#66 Post by **newgal11** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:10 pm

Hi! your progress is great! I'm going through a very similar process. Last week I had two upper teeth exacted to fix my overbite. After reading several posts from other message boards I'm a little worried about getting the sunken look in my face. I have my ortho appt this Thursday so I will express all my concerns to my dentist. Please let me know if you have experience any changes in your face. Thanks!!

#67 Post by **playdoughpiglet** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:20 pm

New Gal that is what i am worried about the sunken face look.

#68 Post by **newgal11** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:23 pm

Hi playdoughpiglet,
Have you had any extractions? Noticed any changes? I'll let you know what my dentist tells me on Thursday about this concern.

#69 Post by **playdoughpiglet** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:28 pm

I haven't had any extractions yet. I am still debating which orthodontist to go to. One says extractions another one said no extractions.

#70 Post by **Stayc1803** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:48 pm

congrats to your journey! i am finally on the way with mine! ive def heard that the spacers are the worst and the expander makes it difficult in talking and eating! i too have to have an expander! not looking forward to it!!! do you like your ceramics? im getting ceramics on top and metal on the bottom!!!

#71 Post by **playdoughpiglet** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 4:25 pm

What are expanders and how come my ortho didn't recommend them to me?

#72 Post by **ghotieyes** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:58 pm

An expander is a device that helps widen a narrow arch and make room for the teeth. It was wretched, to be honest. I had the expander with the ceramic brackets to begin with, and so much food go stuck in those things, and I had speech problems. One thing he did say in the beginning is that if I really couldn't get used to the expander, we can switch over to I guess the Damon system which can get the same type of work done, but without the expander. In the end, I switched anyway even though I was used to my speech impediment, because I was hoping I'd get finished faster. Maybe I have such bad memories of it because it was PAINFUL getting it taken off when I switched to Damons.

As to the extractions, I went with the second ortho who was willing to try an expander first to see how much space we can create w/o extractions. Turns out I didn't get the space I needed to get rid of my overjet so I got 4 extractions anyway. They weren't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, the oral surgeon was done in about 10 minutes once the novocain kicked in. Closing the gaps is taking forever though. It's been 1.5 years since I had them extracted and I still have 3 out of 4 of them. I'm partially to blame for the progress on top because I had them taken off for the wedding. I felt like the bottoms had some catching up to do anyway, which they did, so it wasn't so bad.

My face did change from the extractions, but for the better so far. I never thought I looked bad to begin with, but now I think I look better. I had enough of an overjet that even with the extractions, I shouldn't be getting a sunken in face.

And all you newbies out there, if your teeth bother you, make the commitment for a few years and you will have beautiful teeth for the rest of your life. I think that's a fair trade. My husband kept asking me if all this pain and suffering is worth it. Once I showed him the before and in progress pictures, he had nothing else to say. If I'm ok with putting myself through this, I don't think anyone else needs to question my decision.

#73 Post by **BracedVeryLate** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 10:28 pm

Great story ghotieyes, I just caught up with it.

Your teeth look fantastic. You obviously have a lot of patience -- and I need more!!

I went back and forth about extractions and I ended up getting one single lower incisor pulled. Now, it seems I have heaps of room and I honestly don't know where the "teeth" are going to come from to fill the space.

Thanks for sharing your story!!

#74 Post by **newgal11** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:26 am

Hi,
I spoke with my orthodontist yesterday about my concerns with extractions and negative effects to the face. She explained that teeth are extracted only when necessary. In my case extractions were necessary to fix my overbite since there was no room to pull the teeth. She reassured me that there is nothing to worry about. I hope she is right!

#75 Post by **ghotieyes** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 10:22 am

Progress pictures after my last adjustment. Time elapsed is 7 weeks. Ortho said that I made 2x the amount of progress that he normally sees between adjustments. Average is about 1 mm movement. I had about 2.5 mm on the top and bottom. I must say the spaces are closing pretty quickly. All he did was re-tie my lower left molars to keep that gap closed, and tighten up the springs.

~25 months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 months+7 weeks

Metal Mouth Message Board

Overbite, overjet, midlines, & a clicky jaw - Ghotieyes

Braces

Hi

New Gal

playdoughpiglet

NewGal

congrats!

extraction