DaneAnthony's Braces ~ UPDATED ~ Day 161 ~ NEW PICS!

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#1 Post by **DaneAnthony** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:35 am

Hello All,

It has been extremely uplifting to read so many success stories on the Archwired message boards. With some patience, dedication and time, I'm hoping that I too can be a 'success story'. Fingers crossed.

My name is Dane and I just turned 26 (March 4th). My goal in 2008 was to have braces put on before my 26th birthday (with my next goal set on having my braces taken off by my 28th birthday). So far, so good. It has taken me some time to pluck up the courage and capture my journey online but it seems that tonight is the night, so first I will start with a bit about where I started and where I am at the moment.

My teeth are crowded. Full stop. It's something that has bothered me and affected me for many, many years. To be honest, there hasn't been a time where I have smiled where I haven't reminded myself to keep my mouth closed, at least over the last 10 years anyway. Seeing my horrible smile has always had the ability to bring a happy moment to a moment of embarrasment or sadness for me.

After a full examination by my Orthodontist, his findings are:

1. Sever upper and lower dental crowding.
2. The lower dental midline is displaced to the right of the upper dental midline.
3. The lower right second premolar is in crossbite.
4. The OPG examination confirms the presence of the entire permanent dentition, including all four unerupted third molars which are mesially impacted.
5. The lips are everted and competent at rest.
6. The profile is mildy convex and there is a slight increase in the labio-mental fold.

January 21, 2008: I had the extraction of all four third molars and all four first premolars. All in one go! However, the healing process wasn't half as bad as I had imagined. Lot and lots of salt rinses and antibacterial mouth wash. No dry sockets, woo-hoo! This is around the time I totally got over eating mashed potatoe and soup...

February 6, 2008: Separators/spacers put in. They hurt more than I'd expected.

February 11, 2008: Brace day. I could feel all the wires being put in, everything got glued into place and then it was all done. I could feel how bulky everything was so I initially avoided looking in the mirror at first...when I did, my stomach sank and I wanted to cry. Anyway, I just wanted to get out of there and swore to myself that I was never going to open my mouth until they came off...I got in the car and cried. What a sook.

March 15, 2008: So, where am I now? Excited, self-conscious, frustrated, happy and nervous all at the same time - if y'know what I mean? I am constantly looking for changes, hehehe. I've already noticed things shifting too, unless I'm just over analysing my teeth too much and seeing things. Here's some pics to show you all where I was, and where I am up to now.

Before Extractions:
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii12 ... 0117-1.jpg

Day 1: http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii12 ... 0211-1.jpg

Day 20: http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii12 ... 080305.jpg

Ok, so now that I've done this let's hope things work out okay. I've stopped feeling like a male robot version of 'Ugly Betty' but I am hating that the spring coil protrudes so far out - if I'm not mindful of how I talk my lip gets caught on the spring, which feels weird and looks even weirder, lol. I'm starting to not care though. Let's face it, the only other option right now would be to not have braces at all, which means my teeth don't get fixed - which basically means, I'm just gonna keep dealing with the spring coil!

Will check back soon.

Dane

#2 Post by **DaneAnthony** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:18 am

Had to go to a wedding today and it was horrible having to try and smile in all the photos...once my front tooth goes back alot more it will make a big difference to how I feel.

#3 Post by **elpi** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:42 am

Hello Dane

Congrats on getting braced, I look forward to seeing how your teeth progress so keep posting when you see changes!

#4 Post by **DaneAnthony** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:34 am

Elpi and Ken, thank you so much for your support!!! It's wonderful hearing from people who can relate!! I still find it weird thinking that I...as in me...Dane...will one day have nice teeth...I was so resigned to having crowded teeth that it still doesn't seem real that my teeth will actually improve, although I know they will, its just so hard to imagine.

Also, no mention of headgear yet - I'm hoping it stays that way!

Will keep you posted on my progress! Thanks again!!!

#5 Post by **kirjax** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 9:05 am

You'll be so suprised at how fast the changes happen! I had those spring things too and I think they were pretty hideous but once they get taken out you'll learn to love your smile - and it won't be long!!

What is your expected time in braces?

#6 Post by **Beckster** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 9:34 am

Dane,

From a fellow 26 and in braces, hello and congrats on getting started with everything!

I had one of those springs my first time in braces, and even though they were awful, they worked really well, and really fast.

Take care,

~Becky

#7 Post by **markybwoy** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 6:39 pm

Hey, I have one of those coil/spring things. I've had it 4 weeks, let me tell you, those things really work! It will push those two apart in no time - your ortho is making room to construct a smooth arch.

Yes, it looks like a lot of metal, but it won't be there the whole time and you'll love what it does, give it a few weeks -- you'll see!

Also you should see the wire straighten (actually the wire stays still, its your teeth that move!) I think you're gonna see huge changes in the weeks ahead.

Cheers

#8 Post by **laineyloo** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 8:16 am

Great pics Dane .... really looking forward to seeing your progress! Best of luck with it all

#9 Post by **LynB** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:47 am

Good Luck on your journey Dane, I can't wait until I am braced

#10 Post by **DaneAnthony** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:36 am

Thanks everyone for the support. This message board is really helping me at the moment. Its my safe place.

Can I ask a question? Well, sort of. I'm wondering if anyone else has looked in the mirror at their teeth and felt like the situation is completely hopeless? At the moment one of my front teeth (left) is starting to protrude alot more than I would like... I guess it's definitley started moving and it just looks so horrible. I am guessing, from what others have gone through as well, that things can sometimes get a bit worse before they get better...so that is probably all it is. Perhaps I've been looking at the tooth too much and maybe I am being too self conscious about it, but it is making me feel uncomfortable at times. Plus, the spring coil sticks out so much under my lip - to be honest, it looks like I have just had a botox injection in my upper lip!!! Look out Angelina Jolie, here come my 'bee stung' lips a la the spring coil method!!!

I need to facilitate training sessions at work so obviously I have to do alot of talking, clear talking. Anyway, yesterday I realised that I can no longer say any word in the english language thats starts with an 'F'... I dont' know what letter it sounds like when I say it, come to think of it, it doesn't even sound like a real letter...hahaha! So, at least for the next 18 months/two years Friday is now officially Riday!!!!

Anyways, just throwing this out there. Wondering if others feel the same sometimes?

OH and speaking of the spring coil and how it sticks out alot... I was shaving the other day (for my birthday BBQ of all things; about 35 mins before everyone was due to arrive) and, due to the bizarre way I must have been shifting my upper lip around to shave above it I took this big swipe out of the side of my lip... God only knows what distorted, messed up faces I was pulling to cut myself right in the side of the lip the way I did but OH.MY.GGGGG! It was bleeding for so, so long and I ended up greeting my friends at the door with a HUGE chunk of tissue paper hanging from my mouth. ATTRACTIVE huh???

Daney

#11 Post by **Buffy** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:50 am

Congrats on starting your brace journey!

Well, I've spent years looking at my teeth and thinking that they were just the most hideous things ever, so I can empathise.

And now that my teeth have started to move a little, I've developed some super-attractive gaps up front too, so I can't say that my smile looks a lot better yet.

In addition, it does sometimes feel like my lips are sticking out a mile (which they did even before the braces, so they must be massive now!).

I think partly it's just because we all spend so much time scrutinising our mouths - far more closely, and for far longer, than anyone else at all we're likely to meet.

I too have had the "F" problem. No lisping on "S", just a bit on "F" if I'm not paying attention.

But I'm just happy that I've got the braces on, because I know that unlike all that time I spent wishing my teeth would move, now they really will. It may be uncomfortable or weird for a while, but the improvements will definitely come - it's a dead cert. And that's something that keeps me (awkwardly) smiling

#12 Post by **young67** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:11 pm

I'm with you DaneAnthony. There are times I think its hopeless too. I look in the mirror and I have no clue how my ortho is going to transform my disaster of a mouth into a straight normal smile. I mean have to move a whole tooth into an imaginary space. It seems like a miracle at this point.

I even got a little paranoid the other day and started to doubt my doc. Lol, I found myself double checking Google for his credentials. But then I snap out of it and say to myself 'its only been one week!' I'm not financing his next mercedes benz for nothing. He must be good at his job.

Unfortunately there is no overnight instant gratification with braces. Sucks because I'm impatient. So I have wait it out with all these springs and elastics in my mouth. And deal with the slurring speech issues. And the trapped food issues. And so on. All this for a fraction of a millimeter of movement at a time.

But one day I'll wake up with straight beautiful teeth, and it will all be worth it. And if that doesn't happen, at least I can always hire lawyers and sue

Good luck with your journey. Hope yours are fast movers. Keep us posted.

#13 Post by **DaneAnthony** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 6:06 pm

Thanks Buffy and Young67!! Young67, you summed it up in one word: miracle!!! That's exactly how it feels - spot on! And Buffy, I couldn't help but smile when you also said you struggled with the letter 'F' as well...YAY for us!

I'm happy to report that my braces do seem to be slowly working their magicâ€¦

Iâ€™m now sporting a lovely gap (about 1mm in width) between my left lateral incisor and my left cuspid. I had my left first bicuspid extracted in January so having that tooth removed has obviously made it much easier for the tooth to shift back. Plus, like everyone here has pre-warned me, those spring coils really do get them teeth moving! You are all right!!!

On another note, Iâ€™ve also noticed a change/rotation in my left central incisor (also connected to the spring coilâ€¦). It is sticking out a lot more than it used to....

... and, annoyingly so, it is still sensitive at times (especially if I tap it or apply pressure to it when brushing my teeth). Iâ€™m thinking that my Orthodontist wants the central incisor to rotate so that he can put a bracket/wire on my lateral incisor because at the moment it wouldnâ€™t be possible due to my left central incisor and left lat incisor overlapping. Aaarrrgh, I soooo badly want my lat incisor to be braced already!

All the action seems to happening up the top at the moment. I havenâ€™t really noticed much happening on my lower teeth but Iâ€™m still going to be keeping a close watch on my lower right lat incisorâ€¦Iâ€™m sure he will make his way to the front eventually - can't wait to see him sitting front row, I will be over the moon!!!!!

Anyway, Iâ€™m still having a lot of fun checking my teeth everyday and will post some pics up again soon when I see a few more changes. Clear ligs have now changed in colour a bit and are, shall I say, less clearer, hahaha - I really must lay off the coffee in the mornings but sometimes it's the only way to kick start my day!!!

#14 Post by **PARR** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:23 pm

Yo DA, things can indeed begin to look quite weird as the teeth begin to move but soon enough they settle into place. You will be amazed at how fast things will look normal, and then comes the months of leveling tipping etc when you think nothing is happening but in reality the bite is being meshed perfectly. Don't look too closely every day. Make that big inspection once a week or every two weeks.

Anyway, you are in for a great smile!

#15 Post by **Faerydust** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:27 pm

Hi Dane! Read your story and checked out the pics. That spring does look painful. Hope it does it's job quickly so you won't be stuck with it for long.

I know the hopeless feeling. My teeth have been this way for so long and I've had braces before this so I have an irrational fear that they won't work. I'm getting premolars extracted and that has me worried that the gap left won't close or something. Unlike with plastic surgery, it takes so long to get the end result with braces and sometimes it feels like nothing is really changing. Hang in there and it will be worth it in the end!