Finally braced! Progress pics included

[stepher7]

Thanks JulieFL! The bottoms look even better now than in my last pictures. the front 6 are in a nice little curve now! Just those damn premolars that haven't been added onto the archwire! Hopefully soon, I'm really hoping!!

[stepher7]

So today is 3 months with braces....it's actually gone by pretty quickly! I'm going to attempt to post pictures later, my computer isn't working very well right now, grrr. Anyway, everything looks to be progressing along nicely. My next adjustment isn't until the 29th so I have a few more weeks to wait to see what he'll do to my mouth next! Nothing bad has happened lately, but nothing overly exciting has happened either lol but at least now I have 3 down so hopefully not too many more months to go!

[braced33]

Hi Stepher,

Congratulations on making it 3 months!

The time does seem to go by quickly, thank goodness. I'm looking forward to seeing your new pics! It is amazing how much your teeth have straightened out already. Mine don't really seem like they're doing much right now either, but they're sore most of the time, so hopefully that means that they're moving.

Congrats again!

[stepher7]

Hi Braced! Thanks for stopping by my thread. Still no pics, I'll try today. My computer is old and tends to get crabby and decide to not work, I'm just not really wanting to put too much $ into a 5 year old computer when a new one doesn't cost too much these days. I don't want to spend the $ on either right now lol I know how you feel about things not seeming to move much. I feel like mine aren't going to look too much different until my premolars can be wired up. They look so out of place now that everything around them is straightening haha oh well, patience is the name of the game I guess. I hate waiting though!!

[Nettie]

I love reading about what's going on for others at 2,3,4 .... months, it's like a preview.
I'm only at day 2 and nothing, no pain just hunger

[stepher7]

Don't worry Nettie, you'll see movement very soon I'm sure! I would suggest taking progress pictures if you can. It's so helpful to look back and compare your 2 week, 1 month, etc. pictures to your day 1 pictures. It's sometimes hard to see the movement in the mirror, but when you compare pictures it's much easier to see what's been going on. The hunger part is definitely not fun, but give it a couple of weeks and you'll be able to chew pretty much everything you did before. The only pain is that you really can't bite into stuff properly, even after you can chew. I've had mine for 3 months and when I eat stuff that I need to bite I have to kind of bite into it halfway then just tear that mouthful off hahaha so sexy...but hey, it gets the job done!

[stepher7]

Here are my most recent pics. I apologize for my yellowish teeth, I've been drinking a lot of coffee lately lol those 2 tilted premolars look worse than ever now that the front 6 on the bottom are much more straightened out. Everything looks "better" than day 1, but some things have gotten way worse....example, my completely whacked out midline!! Anyway, I'm only 3 months and a bit in so I've got a loooooooong way to go before they're perfect!

Day 1


3 Months 6 Days


Day 1


3 Months 6 Days


Day 1


3 Months 6 Days

[Kipepeo]

Hi Stepher! The way your lowers have come forward on the sides...I bet the shape of your face is different now, wider or more fuller. I simply cannot believe how quickly teeth can be moved. Yours are looking great!

[stepher7]

Thanks Kipepeo! I haven't really noticed the shape of my face changing, but I also look at it every day lol I'll have to look back at old pics and see. I'm sure by the end there will definitely be a difference, even if it's only a subtle one. I too am amazed at orthodontics. To think that teeth can be moved by some little brackets and wire.....so cool! I'm definitely thankful to whoever figured it out!!

[braced33]

Hi Stepher,

Wow, your teeth look incredible! I can't believe how straight they are!

Your uppers look completely straight now, I'm so jealous...

Are you really supposed to be in braces for 2 whole years? I wonder if you'll finish sooner, it doesn't seem as though you have too much further to go. Congratulations, this is pretty darn cool!

[stepher7]

Thanks Braced! I really couldn't be happier with the progress I've had. I expected things to move much more slowly. I'm really hoping I don't have the braces for the full 2 years, but if that's what it takes then that's what I'll do! Only time will tell how quickly things come along I guess! How have things been going for you lately with your braces?
I've been finding that I've just been too busy lately to even worry about them! Which is great. I got a full time contract at work, I'm moving into my own apartment in a few weeks (I currently live with my sister and her boyfriend) and today is my birthday!! 26 years old and celebrating with braces, who would have thought?! I'm pretty excited about all of the changes in my life and the braces are really just the icing on the cake (birthday cake I suppose haha). I'm hoping the next 15 months or so (that's what I'm aiming for anyway lol) go by quickly!!

[stepher7]

3 1/2 months in, and it's one of those days where it feels like I'll have these things on FOREVER. I've definitely been getting less self conscious of them as time goes on. I know that people notice them so I'm not trying as much to hide them. I still can't bring myself to smile fully in front of most people, which is SUPER annoying because I love to smile and laugh. Maybe once I'm another 3 months in and feeling better about how everything is looking I won't mind as much. It's so silly though, I know that I care about them a whole lot more than anyone looking at me. Why would anyone care about some metal on my teeth? People are too involved in themselves to really worry about it, but my own insecurities keep me from not caring completely. I have a couple of weddings to go to this summer which should be interesting....a lot of pictures usually get taken at weddings. I'm also going home with my boyfriend for the Canada Day weekend next week and I haven't seen any of his family since I got them on. I'm a little freaked out about that, but I'm pretty sure he told them so it's not like it will be a huge shock. I know I need to just get over myself and stop worrying so much, but I'm one of those people who has struggled with self esteem issues since probably around age 12 (right when puberty hit....coincidence? lol) I am by far much more confident than I was as a teenager, but man these things just kind of throw you back to being 15 and disliking mostly everything about yourself, don't they? Excuse my rant, it's just one of those days!

[MollyMoo]

Your teeth are a beautiful shape, they are going to look fab! Such progress too..

[stepher7]

Thanks MollyMoo! I'm pretty excited about the movement I've had, even on days when I hate my braces lol

[stepher7]

I had my second adjustment today. OUCH! I got a stronger wire on top, which feels fine for the most part, but the stronger wire on the bottom is KILLING my teeth I know that it's necessary to keep things progressing and I'm happy to have moved onto a stronger wire on the bottom. I'm pretty sure I have the same strength on the top and bottom now, so my bottoms skipped a wire lol which is probably why they hurt so much. The new wires have only been on for about 3 hours and I can tell that the next couple of days are going to require a lot of Tylenol. I took some right after my appointment but it only helped for about 2 hours. I also got some tiny little coils added on with the regular coils over the premolars that aren't attached to the wire yet. The assistant said they're to "ramp things up" to make more space for those teeth so that they can join in the fun. Oh joy, the things we'll endure for pretty teeth! The assistant told me I'm doing a great job with brushing, yay for that! And when the ortho looked everything over he kept saying "Great", so I'm assuming he's happy with the progress. I'll take pictures next week when I hit my 4 month mark. I don't feel like things look too different compared to my 3 months pictures, but maybe upon close inspection I'll see some difference. My next appointment isn't until September 14, so 11 weeks away! I'll be just over the 6 month mark at that point. Woohoo!!