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Hey guys!! After a long 9 months my braces are off, I'm relieved to be free and I'm fairly happy with the results. Perhaps I'm nit-picking but I can't help wishing that I could've had more IPR done on the upper arch to make the front teeth completely straight and reduce my overjet(which doesn't show particularly well in these pics). My ortho is very skilled and approachable and I mentioned this to him both before and after de-bracing but he has explained that it would be unwise to shave the teeth any more and that my overjet (4 - 4.5mm) is barely above the norm (2.5 - 4mm) anyway. And yet I still feel haunted...?
What do you guys honestly think? Am I just being a perfectionist? Should I just be happy with how far I've come and go worry about something else?
FRONT VIEW 3 Days 3 Months 6 Months 9 Months
UPPER VIEW 3 days 3 Months 6 Months 9 Months
"You get nothing but nothing if that's what you do" - Guns'n'Roses
Being short one lower incisor will lead to excess overjet in a Class I occlusion (which it seems you have), unless you have very small upper lateral incisors (which you don't since your's are normal).
You'd have to remove about 5-6 mm of tooth structure on the uppers to compensate for the missing lower incisor, which I would also advise against.
The alignment looks great!
Dr. S
-Grad of UNC Ortho '92 (research centered around ceramic brackets)
Congrutulations! Your teeth look awesome! 9 months is a really short time for having braces, I know you're happy you finally have them off!
June 2006: Upper and Lower braces -- July 2006: RPE installed -- December 2006: RPE removed. April 2007: 4 wisdom teeth extracted & had Frenum b/t 2 front teeth clipped. Powerchain added. January 2008: All gaps closed. March 2010: Began wearing elastics January 2012: Braces finally off!
Thanks so much for your positive replies guys. I've kinda realised I DO like my new teeth, I just wish I wasn't so much of a perfectionist. My advice to everyone is be patient and don't allow your braces to come off unless you are 100% happy with the results!!
GOOD LUCK & best wishes to all.x
"You get nothing but nothing if that's what you do" - Guns'n'Roses