Skitters-5 months in

[Skitters]

Hi. I've already put a summary of my story on the "introduction" board, but I figured I'd start my story here. Well, I'm 27 years old and have always known that my teeth weren't perfect, but I just lived with it. They didn't bother me bad enough to want to do anything about it. I've noticed though, that the older I get, the more self concious I've gotten about my smile. Seeing myself in pictures (especially profiles!) was pretty, well, pretty YIKES!! About 1.5 years ago I finally decided to go to an ortho to inquire about invisalign.

Well, the doctor said that yes, I was a candidate for invisalign, but that the reults I could get from that were very limited and he didn't think it would be worth my time or money. He was WAY more interested in my jaw than my teeth. He asked if I had jaw pain and/or popping, and upon thinking about it I realized, "wholy cow...I DO have pain and popping....and mabe that's NOT normal." I'd never paid much attention to those things and didnt' know that it was a problem, much less that it could be fixed.

Sooo, after a ton of looking and measuring, and looking and rooting around in my mouth, the doctor decided I needed braces, SURGERY (apparently my upper jaw is too narrow, I have a crossbite, and an overbite), and in the meantime, he wanted me to wear a splint to relax my jaw muscles. Ok....I was dead set against the braces, but agreed to go back to get fitted for a splint, which I wore for a year.

During the year with the splint I noticed my crooked teeth and the discomfort in jaw more than ever and FINALLY decided okay, mabe braces wouldn't be the end of the world. On February 28th I took the plunge and got a full mouth of metal braces. After the first few days I decided it's not worth it and had a little melt down where I told my husband how disgusting and ugly I felt and that I was going to abort the whole straight teeth/jaw mission. He put up with my whining that night and the next day I found this website. Since then I feel MUCH better about myself and realize that it is DEFINATELY worth it to have a beautiful smile and a jaw that functions properly.

So, that's the beginning of my story. I am going to the oral surgeon on April 2 to find out more details of what he wants to do to me. Until then, I'll live with my braces and keep dreaming of what my mouth will look like when this is all over with. I haven't noticed any movement yet, but everyday I'm like a little kid on Christmas morning running to the mirror to check it out. One of these days I'm hoping to finally get my present and see a change!

I'll keep you posted on the progress I make and post pictures when somethin finally happens! Thanks SO much to everyone who has posted their stories. You've all helped me more than I can say in gaining my confidence back.

I'm in the process of learning how to post some some pics and will get them up ASAP.

[Skitters]

Ok, Here goes my shot at posting some pics 1 week into my treatment.
Got my fingers crossed this works!

[Marzipan]

You WILL see movement. But it's like the watched pot that never boils. If you look away for awhile, suddenly it will start to boil. :)

While I could see movement fairly early on in my own case, it took a long while for truly significant movement. I told myself to be patient, and I got used to it gradually and then one day I realized my teeth were looking really great!

So hang in there; it's amazing but it does indeed happen.

[Skitters]

Just thought I'd check in. Well, I've survived 3 weeks of braces. I'm starting to get used to them. Sometimes I even forget I have them on until I smile and someone says "OH! When did you get braces??" I am proud to say that it's been a week since I've used any wax (yay me!!) and things are feeling pretty good. The soreness seems to jump from tooth to tooth depending on the day, but my love of food is so intense that none of the aches have stopped me from eating ..... so much for the "braces diet plan".

The disappointing part is that I haven't noticed any movement yet. I know I know, it's only been 3 weeks and I need to be patient but darn it...I want to see something haha. I just took some more pictures, but dang if I can get one that's not blurry. I don't know how everyone here takes such great pictures of their teeth. Oh well. I'll try again later.

I'll check in again next week after I go to the dentist for my cleaning. That'll be the moment of truth to find out how I've been doing with my brushing since I have a mouth full of metal! Til then....

[Skitters]

Thanks for the picture advice bracedagain...I'll definately try that next time. Today I think I noticed a space that's widened between a couple of my teeth. At least that was a little encouragement and proof that I'm not going through this for nothing!

[Skitters]

Well, I had a very interesting "incident" last night while flossing my teeth. I was flossing as usual between my top right front tooth and the one beside it, and I yanked out a big thin white glob of something. I actually thought "oh, it must be left over cement from when they put the brackets on". I just flung the thing in the sink and finished flossing. When I was done, I felt the back of those teeth with my tongue and something is definately missing! I think I had a filling in that tooth but I'm not 100% positive. My theory is that the tooth moved and cracked that thin filling off the back of it. I'm only in a mild panic because there's no pain and I have a regular cleaning appt. scheduled already for Tuesday.

Has anyone ever had a problem with fillings coming out when their teeth have moved?? I'm going to call the ortho tomorrow just to let them know what's happened and I'm going to pray that nothing gets worse between now and my dentist appt Tuesday!

[missfashionista]

Hi Skitters,

Congrats on getting braced! You are like me, eager to see some changes. If it makes you feel any better, I've been braced for 6.5 weeks now and haven't seen any movement. So yeah, I am a little disappointed but my ortho. said that once I get my extraction done, I will see a lot of movement. So I am just counting down the days till I go through with the extraction!!

I look forward to following you in your journey to a great smile!

[Skitters]

Just got back from my dental cleaning and they said that the chunk of stuff I ripped out while flossing over the weekend was just some "extra" composite from a filling that was done by an insane dentist who I only visited a couple times (thank goodness). My current dentist isn't sure why that particular tooth was filled to begin with because even with some missing composite, the tooth still looks fine to her. Phew! I was in slight panic mode for a couple days. Now I'm back on track and full speed ahead with the braces. I go to visit my oral surgeon next week so he can take some x-rays and molds.

missfashionista: Good luck with your extraction and I hope your teeth really start moving for you when its done!

[zero]

phew good to know it wasnt a filling...and like everyone above me said take pics..I am amazed at my progress when i update my story..I dont even notice the change till I look back at old pictures..

[jenny101101]

Hi Skitters,

Congrats on getting braced. I'm glad to hear you didn't abort the whole thing and stuck with it ! Good luck on your journey .

[Faerydust]

Hi Skitters, finally got the chance to check out your story as well! We do have a similar situation. I'm surprised your ortho was so interested in your jaw and mine didn't even bring it up. I do have popping/clicking and had TMJ pain in the past which is on my chart but he didn't ask about it.

I can also totally relate to the feeling of just living with your teeth at first but then getting more self-conscious the older I get and especially when I see profile pics. Ugh, those make me cringe. Mine are worse than yours!

I'm glad you didn't give up on braces. They are uncomfortable and need lots of maintenance, but in the end you'll be glad you had them! Don't feel bad about not seeing movement yet. When you compare pics taken over time you'll see a difference!

[Skitters]

I finally have time to sit down and write a quick updatet. I went to my oral surgeon on Wednesday to have some measurements and molds taken of my mouth. After sitting in the waiting room for 45 mins (grrrrr) I finally got in and after one look in my mouth the doc said "I can't take molds today. You're teeth are going to move too much before the surgery". Ok....I wouldn't have been so MAD if I hadn't specifically asked when I made the appointment if it mattered that I'd just had braces put on, would that make too much of a difference to take the molds? Anyway, he took some measurements and asked me if I had any questions about anything. I asked him about the one wisdom tooth I had left. I pointed out to him that it hit first before any of my other teeth when I closed down. He said it was definately interefering with my bite which is super messed up anyway. He said he could pop it out right then and there if I wanted so of course I said Yippee! I was hoping to get a tooth yanked outta my head today! So anyway, he did pull that pesky tooth and sent me on my way. He is going to try and go to my next ortho appt. WITH me so that both docs can look at my mouth at the same time and form a plan.
From what I've gathered, I'm about 1 year away from surgery. The surgeon seemed suprised that my braces are set up for such drastic movement, so mabe after he and the ortho get together the plans will change alittle. That's pretty much all the news I have. I've been taking pics once a week and STILL don't see any movement. I have a space between 2 of my lower teeth that has widened, but that's the only thing I've noticed, bummer. Hope all's well with everyone else!

[SGPWired]

Congratulations on your big decision. I’m glad to hear your surgeon and ortho are gonna compare notes and make a joint effort. At least in your case, they will do a face-to-face meeting and not wrongly interpret any notes. You know, some doctors do not have the best handwriting. Good luck on your journey and here is to no more worries!

[Skitters]

Well, I figured since I'm over a month into my braces journey I should post some more pics to see if anyone can see more changes than I'm seeing.

1 week with braces

5 weeks with braces

my smile 3 weeks with braces

my smile 5 weeks with braces

I definately see some slight changes and am VERY anxious for my first adjustment to get here to see if I'm making as much progress as my ortho had hoped. Thanks for all the support you all have offered me. It makes this process alot easier to know there are others going through the same thing!

[Skitters]

Just got back from my first adjustment and all I have to say is @#*$! that hurts! My upper right tooth that is banded has had a root canal done and has been sore pretty much since the day I got braces, however it hasn't been anything terrible. Until now. Right now if I so much as touch my teeth together the pain about sends me through the roof. I'm HOPING that feeling is temporary and my tooth is just really ticked off right now from being messed with.

Pain aside, everything is going well. I got new ligs (wasn't brave enough to go for colored ones yet) and he installed a "goesch" (spelling????). It's pronounced GO - shh. I also am now wearing one elastic. That's probably part of my pain since the elastic is on that dang root canal tooth.

All in all I survived the first adjustment. I'm not really in the mood to mess with my mouth to take pictures at the moment but I'll get some new ones up soon.