NAHKY's Long Bracial Journey - New Pics Pg 16

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#1 Post by **nahky** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 1:56 am

Hey Everyone

I finally got my braces! I am absolutely stoked about it all. I got them 3 days ago and I can already see the changes. Before I get into it I guess I should introduce myself...

My name is Jason, I'm 17 and I'm from Melbourne Australia. I have thought about getting braces in the past year because I started to become more conscious of my appearance. I finally had the courage to make an appointment about a month ago and everything has gone by so quick that my braces are already on.

[i gotta vent.. sorry about the length]
I have always noticed there was something wrong with my face and i hated looking in the mirrors at times. In the past I used to get teased about my appearance which was kinda traumatic

I learnt to ignore the jokes about myself and didnt think much of it.
The problem was that my bottom jaw stuck out. I had a terrible profile (not that it is that much bgetter now). My underbite has always made me feel abnormal. I am fine with my appearance from the front view until anyone sees me side on..my mouth sticks out like an ape.

Just a few months ago, I didnt know what I had. Fortunately the internet is full of facts and has sites like this one. I did some research and realised i had an underbite and it was correctable. I found a sense of hope knowing it was possible i wouldnt always look like shrek for the rest of my life

The story starts last year at the dentist. I didnt have the courage to go book an orthodontist so i went to the dentist instead. He said my teeth were callapsing probably due to my impacted wisdoms (Probably wasnt the case). He reccomended me to a specialis to get my wisdoms removed. When i met with the specialist, he told me that my wisdoms needed to be out. I asked him about my bad bite and he said that I need to see an orthodontist for it and that my bad bite was due to my jaw growing out of place and that he performed surgeries for that sort of problem. By the end of last year I had 2 wisdoms out (thats all i had growing)

The first orthontist I saw said that my teeth were pretty standard and that he could straight them out without surgery (I found that extremely odd) He said he would remove two perfectly healthy teeth out and push all my bottom row teeth inwards to stop the underbite. He took only 5 minutes to diagnose me. A few days later a quote came mailed home. I didnt have a good feeling about him so i seeked a second opinion

The second orthodontist i saw was much much much better. The office looked professional and he seemed very cheery. He gave me a mirror to look at and pointed out all the problems. He noted that my jaw was out of alignment and surgery was a necessity to get a good bite. He said if i didnt want the surgery that i was better off not getting braces at all because if i had tried the other orthodontist method i would still be left with a crooked jaw. everything he said made sense and i knew it was the right decision. He took the time to explain everything...he made the mould immediately and had x-rays of my teeth and my hand. He x-rayed my hand to determine the rate of growth to see if i would be ready for surgery on my jaw. He looked at the gap between my joints) . He said that I have to be fully grown before any surgery could take place or else the jaw might relapse. He said i was almost finished growing.
(sorry about this long post.. spillin my life story here

) Few days after that...

3 weeks later Im braced up now and it feels great (cept for the pain and all

) I had spacers for a week before hand... People say thats the hardest part... I reckon it has been the most easiest part so far. Didnt hurt me that much except when i bit down hard.

I think i've said enough..so i'll save it for another post...I think this site is awesome. weeks before my braces I constantly visited this sight to read posts and other issues concerning braces. Its very insightful and great to get points of views from others with their experiences

#2 Post by **nahky** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 1:58 am

A day before my braces

A 3 days after my braces

Its not clear in the pic because the way i clenched my teeth in the first pic but I can already tell my two incisors have been angle inwards and my front 2 teeth dont flare as much, the gap has closed just a tiny bit and the teeth arent angled apart...more straighter.All my teeth dont flare out as much like monkey's teeth . Its only been 3 days..Its great. I lurrrve my braces.

#3 Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 4:20 am

hi Nahky and welcome to the board. Yes, you can see the changes already! Makes one feel great to be able to see improvements so soon. Good luck with your journey...

#4 Post by **2hOtT2HaNdLe01** » Fri Mar 11, 2005 4:29 pm

u can c the changes!!! hey i kno wut u mean about the spacers!!!! alot of ppl r like ready 2 rip them out, but mine only hurt wen i bite down SUPER hard. there really annoying tho, like theres food in ur teeth!!! lol..good luck on ur braces journey!!! i get mine on March 16!!!!

#5 Post by **nahky** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 9:13 pm

this is my progress so far. from the day before my braces til today. its been 10 days

i drew little arrows to indicate what i've noticed has changed.
some teeth has been moved inwards to the point i cant see them in my smile now.

my big gap is still there which i'm kinda bummed about. the orthodontist who put the braces on me said that the gap isnt the priority at the moment and maybe it will strat to close on my first adjustment. im so impatient i know...

#6 Post by **ThisIsMary** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 8:22 pm

Hey nahky, I'm also 17. Congrats on your braces! I haven't had my braces put on yet but the top ones are being put on Wednesday the 23rd. I am totaly terrified. Any advice about having them put on?

#7 Post by **2hOtT2HaNdLe01** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 9:20 pm

dont freak out..trust me itll b FINE!!!! i went in..they called me in and they did my ceph. xray, took pics, (so look pretty..its PERMANENT!) then they did impressions and from my previous post i freaked out about gagging..but i didnt at all..actually just wen they do ur top mold (if they havent already) its impusle for ur tongue to go exploring just keep it away from the tray and ull b fine..the bottom is a piece of cake. then they will fit the molar bands..that hurts like HELL the ONLY painful thing during the ENTIRE PROCESS (swear!) ur gonna have to bite down alot for the bands and the glue is VILE!!!!! my orthos assistant told me alot of patients think its good and it tastes like sour cherry warheads..sesame!!!! its HORRIBLE!!! then u rinse and spit. then they polish ur teeth b4 that..then ur spit the grainy (sand like) sesame out and rinse, THEN comes the cheek stretchers and spit sucker in n then they put ur brackets on..then u rinse and spit again then they do the wire and the ligs and then ur DONE!!!!!! easy!!!! just bring along LOTS of chapstick and u mite want a breathstrip or spray (for me my ortho sed i couldnt eat 4 3 hrs so the glue could set good!) after bc the molar band glue taste stays till after u eat something!!!!!

and dont worry..i got mine on the 16th of march, last wednesday!!!! NO PAIN SO FAR! its been wut almost a full week..i never felt any pain..i even forgot to take advil..so ya...sooooo DONT PSYCH URSELF OUT!!!! U'LL DO FINE!!!!! TELL US HOW IT GOES!!!! I PROMISE IT WONT B TERRIBLE!!!!!!! GOOD LUCK ON WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#8 Post by **ThisIsMary** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:18 am

I've already had the xrays and molds, and you're right, the molds were easy. As far as the molar bands are concerned, I don't have to have them. The asst. told me she was just going to put on the kind that look like regular brackets. I know I'm being a chicken, I'm just a lil nervous that's all. Thanks for the encouragement! I'll post tomorrow after it's done to let you know how it went.

#9 Post by **nahky** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 4:20 pm

Had my first adjustment yesterday. My ortho wasnt there again. He hasnt been there for my brace installation. I doubt i'll be seeing him much. Im not that phased by it though.

Eating is still normal for me. Only the bottom left side of my mouth feels a bit sore because thats the side of my teeth that needs to lean more outwards so i guess that side is moving now.

So yeah, no pain. Guess i'm lucky compared to others. Felt strange when they clicked the ligatures off and on my teeth. Immediately after the adjustment, i went to burger king and had a grilled chicken combo because i thought it would be my last meal for a few days, but im still eating so its all good.

Didnt get my white archwire, because they said they dont use it because the white comes off and it would look messy... and that the colour was too white which makes it stands out (as if the silver archwire doesnt stand out enough)

The guy who adjusted my braces said i dont need to file my teeth because thats their normal shape and that my fangs only look big because they were petruding outwards.

So yeah, that was my first adjustment. Didnt get what i wanted done. Was in and out for like 5 minutes. Seemed a bit rush rush. kinda disappointing. They scheduled my appointment 7 weeks away. Seems a bit long away for an adjustment.

#10 Post by **nahky** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 2:43 am

Just a quick update

Its been 3 months, yay.

I changed to tie wires 2 days ago. Much better, no staining worries, can hardly notice them, they are as good as clear. Also had the end of jmy wire snipped for the first time, It feels so much better now that it doesnt catch on my cheek, It wasnt that bad but it cause me to ahve a slight ulcery time thing where it hit my cheek.

Looking at my pics, my bite has totally changed, for the better, i always thought it would get worse and worse before time for my surgery.

My bottom row of teeth look more aligned and dont overlap my uppers. And my gap has finally closed, yay!

hmmm... what else is new....i havent updated in awhile

My insurance has gone through and the countdown before my surgery has started, about 11 months to go

by the way- anyone like my emoticon?

made it myself, its my own braced teeth

#11 Post by **nahky** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 8:17 pm

Before

Almost 4 months later

Quick update. Just took that picture. Have had my wire ties for awhile now, im happy with them. my bite keeps changing as you notice. When i first started off, my bottom rows overlapped my tops. Then there was a significant gap between the two, now the gap has closed a fair bit.

#12 Post by **Dodger(UK)** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:57 pm

You see - it was all a matter of patience, you've made great progress there, and your right, your bite has improved considerably. Hopefully you'll continue to make speedy progress.

#13 Post by **nahky** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 1:16 am

Got new purple ligs. Im diggin them. They look different on camera. they are like a more subtle blue. i'll stick to them. I think they make my teeth look brighter. purple and yellow are complementary colours right?

My adjustments are 8 weeks apart now. I find this annoying because i like having them adjusted more frequently. I waited 8 weeks for my last Adj and the ortho just changed my coloured ligs. not my tie wires.

in 8 weeks time, i will have to get spacers again! how annoying. my teeth will kinda have that achey feeling again and i will find it hard to eat. bugger. Im having spacers to put brackets around my back molars. which means i will have every tooth braced.

9 months til my surgery. its very hard to wait for. feels like my life is building up to that moment. I feel my life is on halt. i cant do anything else freely until i ahve that surgery to make me a normal person. i cant travel to other countries during my holiday for a long period because eventually i ahve to have adjustments and get prepped for my surgery.

#14 Post by **sunflr77** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 11:42 am

Nahky you've made some great progress in the short time that you have had your braces. You must be so happy.

I understand the anticipation for your jaw surgery and the rest of your life feeling like it is on hold. Try to keep your head up and stay positive because it will be surgery time before you know it and you will be feeling like a totally different person.

#15 Post by **nahky** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 7:12 pm

thanks for the positive comments KK and sunflr. They go a very long way. nice to know someone notices the subtle differences in my teeth

Im going to make this post my online journal i rekcon. its the most convenient place since i systematically always come here

Yesterday on friday, after school. i was on the bus. School had just finished and everyone hopped onboard. The bus stopped at the red light intersection. Me, with my acute hearing, and everyone else with their loud @ss vioces yapped on. Beside the bus was a van with some students from my school onboard. I heard some guys make some sly remarks about the boy in the car. They all looked at him and laughed and made fun of his face (his mouth exactly). I decided to see what was so funny (knowing these guys, who were in my class, i knew they were absolute tossers)

When i saw the boy in the van, i knew right away what they were laughing at. He had an underbite. He mouth poked out obviously. I couldnt help but relate it to me. I felt sorry for the kid, and i could relate so badly too. These guys which were laughing, i just wanted to whop them all one in the face, bastards. Then i thought to myself "Is that what they used to do behind my back?" "Did people really see me like that?"

I know my mouth didnt poke out obvisouly like that kid in the van, but it still did, mildly. Enough to make me hate my self image. I know my problems will all be in the past, but then i think, what about that kid in the van? does he know what he has? does he know that it could be fixed? does he know that the torment can eventually stop for him?

I see other students like this and people in public with the same problem. I sometimes feel like i should go up to them and say "do u know about orhtognathic surgery?" "did u know braces can help a great deal?" Then i think, how rude if someone some just decided upon themselves to make a self evaluation and poijt out faults in someone they dont even know and to make judgements. Even though i may think this, i still wished somoene had told me sooner. The internet helped me find out hat was wrong with me, so did the dentist.

It may be rude, but it might be the thing they need. Sure they may be happy with themselves, but i ahve never sen anyone with a unharmonzied jaw and profile who looks proud of themselves. They are always looking glum and unhappy and selfconscious. I know i sometimes feel this way. Especially when someone sees me from side view.