MY Braces Journey, 02-16-09 --> ??

Message

#16 Post by **ripchord** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:02 pm

Awesome gif

Your teeth have moved a lot in just one month. Your archwire will be nice and straight before you know it!

#17 Post by **Takako** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:24 pm

Yay! I hope so! My ortho estimated 2 years treatment time, but that's with some post-braces retainer work. And then of course the night retainers for the rest of my life haha. But I want to keep these suckers straight!

#18 Post by **ripchord** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:39 pm

Two years really isn't too bad. I know people who had braces for eight years, so you have a pretty good deal

Don't be disappointed if your braces don't come off right when they look straight. There's a lot of bite and root work to be done that isn't as noticeable but is just as important!

Same here with the retainers! I hope I'll be motivated to wear them 24/7 for the first 6 months. That's going to be a tough one, but it's better than undoing the 27 months put into my teeth.

#19 Post by **Takako** » Thu May 21, 2009 4:30 pm

An update!! And you're all going to be SHOCKED with how much movement I've had in just 3 months! It's like I have magic teeth!

#20 Post by **kayleighkelley** » Thu May 21, 2009 9:40 pm

wow, you do have magic teeth!!!

You've had great movement, congrats

#21 Post by **Takako** » Sat May 23, 2009 3:13 pm

Thanks guys! Hey, I had a question about debanding... I was looking at some after pictures and I could see that the gum around the molars that would have had the bands looked red and even bleeding in some cases. Does getting the bands off hurt? How do they do that anyway, with them cemented to your teeth?

#22 Post by **Takako** » Thu May 28, 2009 6:35 pm

Hey! Got my most recent cleaning yesterday and got my second real adjustment today! I have light pink ligs now, they're very subtle actually. My ortho's assistant said that my teeth are almost straight (just a few need to rotate a little) and they can then begin closing my gaps so woo hoo!!! I hope that's what'll happen 6 weeks from now at my next app ^^

I'm still on my first set of wires. These two wires are tough bunnies! They're the heat sensitive kind, round, and very thin actually. But they're doing a great job so far

and I have no complaints. I actually haven't been in any pain really for the past 6 weeks, and I expect the next 6 weeks to be about the same. I was a little sore after my first adjustment but it didn't last long. Only a few of my teeth feel tight this time so I expect even less pain.

So July 6th is my next checkpoint ^^ I'll post some pics before then most likely.

#23 Post by **Takako** » Thu May 28, 2009 7:08 pm

Here is a picture!

#24 Post by **Takako** » Fri May 29, 2009 9:05 pm

Whee! No pain so far ^^

#25 Post by **shinyRiver** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 6:46 pm

looking good! magic teeth, indeed! my goodness your teeth are so perfectly shaped... lucky you! I'm sorry about your (bloody) extractions. I keep hearing horror stories about extractions but I got 4 wisdom teeth and part of my jaw bone removed + 4 premolars and i never had any problems. though I supposed it's all about the age and health of your teeth. Some of my premolars probably WANTED to come out they were in such bad shape. But your teeth look really nice and healthy. perhaps they were opposed to their own removal, perhaps they were protesting!!

Ha! I often wonder if my premolars (which are currently being practiced on in my dentistry college's student labs) are at all bitter about missing out on being a part of such an awesome smile... ahh! braces are a wonderful thing.

#26 Post by **Takako** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:59 pm

Aww, thank you for the compliment ^^ I think some of them definitely protested! Over all the extraction and recovery wasn't the worst thing I've ever been through, because I understood everything and could have taken a pain killer if I'd wanted to. I've been in pain other times where the reason was a mystery and there was nothing I could do to stop it, and that's much worse. I don't know what my teeth feel, but I do keep them in a paper pouch given to me by my dentist lol!

#27 Post by **Takako** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:39 pm

Hey! I'd just like to discuss bites for a bit here.

My bite was functional before my braces; I could close my mouth all the way. For the first few weeks up until about 4 weeks ago my bite was slightly open due to molars rotating and hitting against each other on the peaks. For the last few weeks my bite has been pretty good, although I still have a second premolar tipped inwards stubbornly. I think I'm going to need a bite plate to give it space; it's firmly wedged beneath the upper premolar when closed. My bite is slowly shifting again right now though I think. I don't have brackets on my last molars right now but I feel like they need it. I can't wait for it to be perfect!

#28 Post by **Takako** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:01 am

6 days till my next adjustment! It was supposed to be this past Monday but I'm in some classes this summer for a certification, so I had to move my appointment.

An update on movement: I have developed a hair-thin space between my bottom two front teeth! I'm not worried because I know it's just part of the movement process, and it's actually nice to see some kind of movement, since things have been pretty still these past 3 weeks...

#29 Post by **Rachel B** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:54 am

Congrats Takako,

Your teeth are looking awesome in a very short space of time.
The pink ligs look good too.

Rach x

#30 Post by ***tap*** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:43 pm

crazy your teeth are just like mine, apart from my fangs were higher up and my two front teeth slanted inward. i'm 6 months in now after getting my fangs in line now just to pull them lateral incisors out i think they'll be stubborn. good luck with your treatment, hope you have fast movement through out.