Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi all. I'm 25 years old and just got braced for the second time on 3/13/08. My story originally started when I was 10 years old. I had a very narrow upper arch and an overjet. I wore some type of upper palatal expander for awhile, then wore braces on just the top four front teeth for 2 years. Back then my bottom teeth were straight and I remember not yet having all of my adult teeth.

After the braces were removed and about a month or two into wearing my retainer I was at the beach boogie boarding and somehow collided with another kid, the front of my jaw hitting his skull. The ortho let me take a break from wearing the retainer because my front teeth were sore and felt slightly loose. During that time my father left his job and lost his dental insurance. He didn't think that I needed to go back to the ortho and thought I could just use the same retainer after my mouth healed. Needless to say, he was wrong. I was never able to wear that retainer again and he wouldn't pay for another one.

In addition to not wearing the retainer, the rest of my adult teeth came in and over the years the overjet returned and my bottom teeth became crowded and crooked. In middle and high school I wasn't really bothered by the appearance of my teeth, but in my early 20's I started noticing how bad they were and wanted braces. The only thing in my way was finding a way to pay for them.

In late Feb. I had a consult with an ortho who uses my dentist's office and at the very next appointment, 3/13/08 I had my xrays and impressions taken and had my braces put on the same day!

Sorry for the bad quality and chapped lips, but here's a pic from the day I got my braces on:

3/13/08


Here's some from today. I see a bit of movement.

3/24/08


This angle shows the overjet.


I'm scheduled to have my top first premolars and impacted bottom wisdom teeth extracted towards the end of next month.

I'm wondering when the lonely bottom incisor well get added into the wire. I guess the others have to straighten out first.

Hi Faerydust,

Welcome to AW!! Congrats on getting braced. I love your braces! I have Damons and they're all metal(except the front six...they're half ceramic/half metal but still look like all metal). The ceramic look so discreet:) Great pics, too. I can see subtle movement already...wow!

Good luck on your brace story...I look forward to seeing your progress!

Aww...lonely bottom incisor....I'm sure it will hop into line within the next few months! Welcome aboard.

Hi Faerydust,

We have the same b-day although I only have my tops on for now.
I have a lonely top tooth that feels really left out too.

Nice pics .... looking forward to seeing your progress!

Aw, I'm glad I'm not the only one with a left out tooth!

I'm almost back to eating everything I could eat before braces! Biting into anything big, like a burrito, pizza, sandwich, or whole chicken strip is tough so I'm still cutting those things into small pieces.

Since getting braces I've accumulated lots of dental stuff. I bought special sensitive teeth toothpaste, a waterpik flosser, proximal brushes, lots of wax, and flouride mouthwash. I want a waterpik, but there's no outlet in the bathroom and I've heard that the portable ones aren't powerful enough.

I use a Sonicare brush either in the morning or before bed and a regular toothbrush the rest of the time. It feels kinda freaky when the back of the sonicare brush bumps a bracket or wire.

Thanks for stopping by my story

I have to agree with you about biting into things. It's not that it's sore.... it feels weird or something

When is your first adjustment?

Hi Faerydust! Thought I'd check out your story. Thanks for stopping by mine by the way. Your braces look good. Very discrete too. How long do they say you'll have them?

I wish I had taken a picture of my overjet the way that you have when I first got my braces! I'll take a new one to show what it's lookin like now since you had quiestions about it.

Sounds like you and I had the same before story... coming up with the funds to pay for it on our own and such. Hey... at least we'll appreciate our beautiful smiles more! You know... since we're paying for it and all.

I look forward to following your story!

Take care!!
Kara

My first adjustment is scheduled 4/28/08, but since my extractions are 4/23/08 I have to call and see if the adjustment should really be scheduled that soon after. I would think things would still be tender after 5 days.

Kara - The ortho said I'm looking at wearing braces for 2 to 2 1/2 years minimum. I'm hoping to have them off before I finish school. I'm trying to get into the nursing program which is 2yrs, but I'm still finishing up pre-reqs which will take the rest of this semester and one more after that. If all goes according to plan, I'll have my braces off before I graduate!

Yes, paying for my own orthodontic work has definitely made me appreciate it more. I can't wait to see my new smile!

Hey Faerydust...we have the same first adjustment date! That's fantastic that you already have some movement (not so lucky here). I'm really interested in watching your progress since we're so close to the same timeline and I also have an overjet. Well, good luck with everything!

Decided to take a pic today to look for any changes since last week and this is what I found. You can see the teeth on the left side of the pic moving upwards and to the side and look at the curve on the top wire!

This really doesn't look right and I didn't even notice until I looked at the pic. I wonder if that was supposed to happen or if something went wrong...

Hi Faerydust,

Dont worry. Your teeth are still moving into place. You'll see so many changes the first couple of months (especially since you want it to happen right away!) in your wire and in the movement of your teeth.

It's like they get worse before they get better. You'll see spaces between teeth that werent there before and a few will seem more crooked to you too. My ortho says this is normal and not to worry (I've complained about it to him before).

My bottom teeth are going through a phase... They have little spaces between them now all of the sudden and one tooth seems to be much more turned out than it was before.... but the ortho says it's moving to where it needs to be and to let the braces do their thing. I dont know if this helps ease your mind a little or not but I hope so...

Definitely talk to your ortho about your concerns though at your next appt. Hang in there!!

Kara

Faerydust wrote:Decided to take a pic today to look for any changes since last week and this is what I found. You can see the teeth on the left side of the pic moving upwards and to the side and look at the curve on the top wire!

This really doesn't look right and I didn't even notice until I looked at the pic. I wonder if that was supposed to happen or if something went wrong...

Im pretty sure theres nothing to worry about, theyre just doing their thing it'll all be purdee in the end!

Thanks Kara and Melissa for calming my fears! I should just be happy that things are moving quickly. Since the archwire only goes from canine to canine it's not really anchored down so it makes sense that the teeth moved unevenly. After my extractions I get the full wire which will probably be much thicker and that's when my teeth really need to get their move on. I shouldn't be worrying now because nothing drastic can really happen before the premolars are out of the way.

I'm hoping I'll see quick movement after the premolar extractions!

Maybe it was just the angle of the pictures, being slightly off can make a big difference.

i wish i were getting ceramics, just so they would be less obvious, but since metal is quicker thats what i choose, i want fast movement and quick treatment time
what kind are yours? i think i may have missed it in the story?