Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
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Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
Been a long time since I updated this and I figure people like looking at pictures of braces progress. This is about a year and half after the last photo, and a total of almost two years in braces.
Changes in the second year are much more subtle than the first year. I've had bite turbos on and off twice (on my second set now) and I absolutely hate them. They cause my posterior teeth to extrude, and then when they are removed my bite feels really off for the next couple months as I try to "clench" my jaw closed but I cannot because the teeth had been extruded. My bite eventually closes back up, so I am not sure of the intent of the turbos.
I had a TAD inserted above my upper right first bicuspid for the purpose of intruding that side of the arch since my bite is "canted" (meaning the teeth are not horizontally level) and you can see what that looks like in the last picture. The TAD has been in for about 6 months and from what I can see there is some intrusion but very little from my perspective (though the ortho thinks it is doing a good job and he probably knows better than I do).
I think most of the changes come in the form of making my teeth a lot more symmetrical compared to the mess that they were before. One thing I am sorely disappointed about is the amount of space where my missing molar is on the lower right. The braces seem to have done very little for opening this gap and it doesn't look like I will be able to have a full size implant in that spot to make it "like it used to be." Haven't really asked the ortho about it since I am waiting patiently and I would assume he realizes whats going on.
Other than that...my treatment was estimated at 24-30 months and we are almost to the 24th. I don't know if things really look close to being finished though. I am going to be moving away for law school in the summer so hopefully they will be off by then...but its really hard to tell at this point.
Changes in the second year are much more subtle than the first year. I've had bite turbos on and off twice (on my second set now) and I absolutely hate them. They cause my posterior teeth to extrude, and then when they are removed my bite feels really off for the next couple months as I try to "clench" my jaw closed but I cannot because the teeth had been extruded. My bite eventually closes back up, so I am not sure of the intent of the turbos.
I had a TAD inserted above my upper right first bicuspid for the purpose of intruding that side of the arch since my bite is "canted" (meaning the teeth are not horizontally level) and you can see what that looks like in the last picture. The TAD has been in for about 6 months and from what I can see there is some intrusion but very little from my perspective (though the ortho thinks it is doing a good job and he probably knows better than I do).
I think most of the changes come in the form of making my teeth a lot more symmetrical compared to the mess that they were before. One thing I am sorely disappointed about is the amount of space where my missing molar is on the lower right. The braces seem to have done very little for opening this gap and it doesn't look like I will be able to have a full size implant in that spot to make it "like it used to be." Haven't really asked the ortho about it since I am waiting patiently and I would assume he realizes whats going on.
Other than that...my treatment was estimated at 24-30 months and we are almost to the 24th. I don't know if things really look close to being finished though. I am going to be moving away for law school in the summer so hopefully they will be off by then...but its really hard to tell at this point.
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BracedInNOLA
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2011 7:28 pm
Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
I would definitely ask about the hole for the molar implant. Maybe the ortho forgot/whatever that you're going to get an implant and is working towards closing the gap? Or at least not maintaining it at 'full size'.
Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
Here is another update, over a year later from the last picture, and my teeth look almost exactly the same. I am due to get the braces off in a few weeks...with a catch. They are going to take them all off, and then REBRACKET my upper front 6 teeth. His reasoning is that ridiculous number of bends in the wire in order to fix the "cant" (that is where the bite/jaws are not perfectly horizontal) is acting as a counterforce to the movement required of my teeth in front.
The only big difference visually is that the midline is for the most part lined up, but you can't really see from the picture since I was lazy and took only one. I actually have sort of a "dual bite" where my jaw can shift a few mm to the left still where my jaw previously rested naturally - I'm not sure if or how this would be fixed. I still have the TAD in my upper right jaw, and it seems that that might remain even when the braces are removed and there will be some type of bonded wire holding that side of the bite. At first he said they would remove that one and put a new one on the inside so it can't be seen, but then last adjustment he mentioned just leaving that one there...I will probably insist on having a new one on the inside since I have suffered enough with these appliances in my mouth for three years and I think I deserve to have a nice smile unobstructed by metal.
After taking this last picture I have realized how ridiculously YELLOW my teeth have become. I didn't have the whitest teeth starting out, but drinking coffee every day with braces for three years has not been kind. Perhaps it is just the bad lighting of the picture...but man my teeth looking pretty disgusting right now - but at least they are a lot straighter. I will be doing some hardcore professional whitening as soon as possible. Perhaps the stained powerchain is sort of adding to the illusion...So let this be a warning to all you coffee drinkers...
I also thought my teeth looked pretty good until I took this picture. It seems that my upper teeth can still be considerably improved. I don't really understand the slanted look that is going on...
The only big difference visually is that the midline is for the most part lined up, but you can't really see from the picture since I was lazy and took only one. I actually have sort of a "dual bite" where my jaw can shift a few mm to the left still where my jaw previously rested naturally - I'm not sure if or how this would be fixed. I still have the TAD in my upper right jaw, and it seems that that might remain even when the braces are removed and there will be some type of bonded wire holding that side of the bite. At first he said they would remove that one and put a new one on the inside so it can't be seen, but then last adjustment he mentioned just leaving that one there...I will probably insist on having a new one on the inside since I have suffered enough with these appliances in my mouth for three years and I think I deserve to have a nice smile unobstructed by metal.
After taking this last picture I have realized how ridiculously YELLOW my teeth have become. I didn't have the whitest teeth starting out, but drinking coffee every day with braces for three years has not been kind. Perhaps it is just the bad lighting of the picture...but man my teeth looking pretty disgusting right now - but at least they are a lot straighter. I will be doing some hardcore professional whitening as soon as possible. Perhaps the stained powerchain is sort of adding to the illusion...So let this be a warning to all you coffee drinkers...
I also thought my teeth looked pretty good until I took this picture. It seems that my upper teeth can still be considerably improved. I don't really understand the slanted look that is going on...
Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
Also, I would be interested to here the opinion of people on this forum of whether or not I should get more IPR done on my two upper front teeth. They have already been reduced vertically by a few mm, and very slightly reduced on the outside edges. My ortho measured them and they have the normal height/width proportions, however proportionally compared to the laterals they are a bit larger than normal. Its hard to picture though the subtle changes from IRP so I'm not sure if I should do something that won't be reversible.
Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
And for sesame and giggles, here is what they would look like after whitening 
Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
I think they look pretty good. Can you take a photo of your upper arch from below? I'm not really seeing this canting you're talking about. But I agree about the insane number of bends. When you get that many he runs the risk of breaking the wire trying to contort it more. And if that happens you're starting over with that wire. It takes quite a while to get all those bends back in just right.
Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
The cant is mostly gone now. You can see it in the older photos in this thread though. It was mostly my front teeth that were uneven, the laterals especially. The lower arch also had the same problem. Its almost as if my bite "collapsed" on one side because of the missing molar. It took a long time to intrude that side into the place it is at right now.
Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
I actually have TMJD. One of the 'symptoms' of my issue was having multiple bites. I've been in braces to establish a permanent "correct" bite. With my arch development and movement of teeth, I now only have one bite.
What does your orthodontist say about your dual bite? How is he treating this with your upcoming changes in treatment?
Is your orthodontist a Functional Orthodontist? If not, it might not hurt to have a consult with one to ask just those questions.
I really think you want to address this now as a priority so you don't have worse problems develop after you get your braces off. In my opinion, that is even more important than the canting of the teeth. TMJD problems can develop when bites are off.
The IPR is up to you. I think your teeth look good as they are.
What does your orthodontist say about your dual bite? How is he treating this with your upcoming changes in treatment?
Is your orthodontist a Functional Orthodontist? If not, it might not hurt to have a consult with one to ask just those questions.
I really think you want to address this now as a priority so you don't have worse problems develop after you get your braces off. In my opinion, that is even more important than the canting of the teeth. TMJD problems can develop when bites are off.
The IPR is up to you. I think your teeth look good as they are.
Braces as Phase II treatment for TMJD.
Lower mandibular repositioning splint 26 months.
Lower braces on 10.75 months into Phase II treatment.
Duration in braces: 2 years, 2 weeks, 5 days
Removal of Braces: September 18, 2013
TMJD treatment now complete!
Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
And they are finally off, after almost three and a half years on an estimated 2-2 1/2 year plan.
My initial impressions: they didn't turn out as well as I was hoping. I've realized throughout treatment that the main reason my smile seems a little awkward is because I have a short upper lip, so my smile line doesn't look like a
, but more like a 
) and there is nothing orthodontics can do to fix that. Also, the shape of my teeth are a little bit weird, the front teeth are just really big. I considered asking the orthodontist to do some major IPR but I ultimately decided that I didn't really want to do with such an irreversible change and then end up not liking it. Finally, my jaws are not entirely horizontal, which caused a slight cant in my smile. But none of my problems were major enough to really justify the risk (and cost) of surgery. If I had the money, I would have had surgery at least to expand the upper jaw. The ortho I ended up going with was adamant on his ability to fix the unilateral crossbite without surgery, and that surgery was not necessary. Ultimately, 2 out of the 3 consultations recommended no surgery, while the third was "we can straighten your teeth but crossbite might only be partially corrected without surgical expansion." I can chalk it up to 2 of the 3 thinking they could use the "damon expansion" (which isn't unique to damon btw) to fix it. Ultimately, the crossbite was fixed, however the aesthetic result I can tell would have been better with real expansion. My teeth kind of slant outwards to compensate for the crowding, which isn't ideal aesthetically, but it has to be done in order to fit within the biological limitations of my mouth.
I'm not actually even done yet, as the ortho decided we could take them off because I have a bunch of job interviews tomorrow, and he said he could make further adjustments with the retainers or other non bracket methods. As of now, even the upper plastic retainer is making some movements on my upper left central incisor (upper right in picture) to push it back in line, since right now the two incisors are not aligned perfectly. Other than that, I can't really see what other adjustments that might be made. There are some obvious things that will remain "less than perfect" that I guess ultimately cannot be entirely fixed because of my underlying skeletal discrepancy. While the teeth seem to be level, you can see when you look closely the signs of the cant. The teeth all kind of "tip" to one side. However, it is a lot more even than it was before, thanks to temporary anchorage devices (TADs) that pulled the entire right up. I think the length of my upper front teeth still need to be adjusted, as he shaved down a considerable amount throughout the treatment - so they might not be the same length at the moment.
Ultimately, they look a hell of a lot better than they did when I started. Things to think about if anyone is just beginning treatment:
Invest in a waterpik asap. This is the cheapest easiest way to save the health of your teeth and your gums, and its a hell of a lot easier than flossing.
Keep realistic expectations about the outcome. There's a ton of before and after pictures on the web that make it seem like orthodontics will give you an awesome hollywood smile. This will only happen if you already have a good starting frame. This doesn't mean already having relatively straight teeth - but in order to get a REALLY great smile, you need to have a solid skeletal foundation. If you are class 2 or 3 or even 1 (due to jaws being too narrow) - your treatment is a compromise from what could be achieved ideally if you had the right skeletal foundation.
Finally, in dentistry you really get what you pay for. I ended up going with the most expensive guy, not because he was the most expensive but because I had the most trust in him. While I obviously cannot see what I would have gotten from another dr, I was completely blown away with how far this guy went. Obviously I didn't get the outcome I was expecting, I think he did the best with what he had to work with. We went WAY over the treatment time...I'm not sure if its because I didn't do well enough with rubber bands or because a lot of things ended up being a lot trickier than anticipated. A lot of added expenses came during this treatment, and he never once wanted me to pay more or wanted to shy away from using every possible tool available. Things like TADs are not cheap, and he will even be inserting another one on the inside (so its not visible) in order to aid in retention. I've already gone through a multitude of retainer molds because of changes needed due to getting implant surgery...I read about people being charged hundreds to get new retainers or molds, but this guy does everything free of charge. And I will be getting even more because of the changes that are going to be made on the upper arch in the coming months. He may even end up rebonding the upper teeth (which I obviously don't like, but it just goes to show this guy spares no expense in getting the best result possible).
So here is the final result. The teeth don't actually stick out quite as much, but obviously camera phones give a quasi fish eye effect, but its fairly accurate.
and here is where i started:
here is the original pre-bonding photo taken at the ortho's office. This was before he did any sort of manicuring of the teeth, so you can really see how he was able to clean up the edges and try to shape the teeth better
My initial impressions: they didn't turn out as well as I was hoping. I've realized throughout treatment that the main reason my smile seems a little awkward is because I have a short upper lip, so my smile line doesn't look like a
, but more like a ) and there is nothing orthodontics can do to fix that. Also, the shape of my teeth are a little bit weird, the front teeth are just really big. I considered asking the orthodontist to do some major IPR but I ultimately decided that I didn't really want to do with such an irreversible change and then end up not liking it. Finally, my jaws are not entirely horizontal, which caused a slight cant in my smile. But none of my problems were major enough to really justify the risk (and cost) of surgery. If I had the money, I would have had surgery at least to expand the upper jaw. The ortho I ended up going with was adamant on his ability to fix the unilateral crossbite without surgery, and that surgery was not necessary. Ultimately, 2 out of the 3 consultations recommended no surgery, while the third was "we can straighten your teeth but crossbite might only be partially corrected without surgical expansion." I can chalk it up to 2 of the 3 thinking they could use the "damon expansion" (which isn't unique to damon btw) to fix it. Ultimately, the crossbite was fixed, however the aesthetic result I can tell would have been better with real expansion. My teeth kind of slant outwards to compensate for the crowding, which isn't ideal aesthetically, but it has to be done in order to fit within the biological limitations of my mouth.I'm not actually even done yet, as the ortho decided we could take them off because I have a bunch of job interviews tomorrow, and he said he could make further adjustments with the retainers or other non bracket methods. As of now, even the upper plastic retainer is making some movements on my upper left central incisor (upper right in picture) to push it back in line, since right now the two incisors are not aligned perfectly. Other than that, I can't really see what other adjustments that might be made. There are some obvious things that will remain "less than perfect" that I guess ultimately cannot be entirely fixed because of my underlying skeletal discrepancy. While the teeth seem to be level, you can see when you look closely the signs of the cant. The teeth all kind of "tip" to one side. However, it is a lot more even than it was before, thanks to temporary anchorage devices (TADs) that pulled the entire right up. I think the length of my upper front teeth still need to be adjusted, as he shaved down a considerable amount throughout the treatment - so they might not be the same length at the moment.
Ultimately, they look a hell of a lot better than they did when I started. Things to think about if anyone is just beginning treatment:
Invest in a waterpik asap. This is the cheapest easiest way to save the health of your teeth and your gums, and its a hell of a lot easier than flossing.
Keep realistic expectations about the outcome. There's a ton of before and after pictures on the web that make it seem like orthodontics will give you an awesome hollywood smile. This will only happen if you already have a good starting frame. This doesn't mean already having relatively straight teeth - but in order to get a REALLY great smile, you need to have a solid skeletal foundation. If you are class 2 or 3 or even 1 (due to jaws being too narrow) - your treatment is a compromise from what could be achieved ideally if you had the right skeletal foundation.
Finally, in dentistry you really get what you pay for. I ended up going with the most expensive guy, not because he was the most expensive but because I had the most trust in him. While I obviously cannot see what I would have gotten from another dr, I was completely blown away with how far this guy went. Obviously I didn't get the outcome I was expecting, I think he did the best with what he had to work with. We went WAY over the treatment time...I'm not sure if its because I didn't do well enough with rubber bands or because a lot of things ended up being a lot trickier than anticipated. A lot of added expenses came during this treatment, and he never once wanted me to pay more or wanted to shy away from using every possible tool available. Things like TADs are not cheap, and he will even be inserting another one on the inside (so its not visible) in order to aid in retention. I've already gone through a multitude of retainer molds because of changes needed due to getting implant surgery...I read about people being charged hundreds to get new retainers or molds, but this guy does everything free of charge. And I will be getting even more because of the changes that are going to be made on the upper arch in the coming months. He may even end up rebonding the upper teeth (which I obviously don't like, but it just goes to show this guy spares no expense in getting the best result possible).
So here is the final result. The teeth don't actually stick out quite as much, but obviously camera phones give a quasi fish eye effect, but its fairly accurate.
and here is where i started:
here is the original pre-bonding photo taken at the ortho's office. This was before he did any sort of manicuring of the teeth, so you can really see how he was able to clean up the edges and try to shape the teeth better
Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
WOW! Just reading your last post...and seeing your pictures...I think your teeth look great! Congrats on getting the best orthodontist for your case!
BTW....Good luck tomorrow on your interview!!!
BTW....Good luck tomorrow on your interview!!!
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MrsCharisma
- Posts: 508
- Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:49 pm
- Location: USA
- Contact:
Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
You are crazy! Your teeth look AMAZING!!!!!!! I hope you've gotten used to your new smile.
http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... 13&t=45175
Female, 34
Braced: 1/24/13 (upper) and 5/3/13 (lower)
Sentence: 18-24 months
Ceramic uppers, metal lowers
[/url]
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Snowglobe32
- Posts: 1224
- Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 9:05 pm
Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
Wow~ Can you say AMAZING!!!!
Aren't you shocked at what braces can do? I got mine off about 10 days ago (can't figure out how to post photos) but I was shocked at my result.
Did you already get your teeth whitened?
Aren't you shocked at what braces can do? I got mine off about 10 days ago (can't figure out how to post photos) but I was shocked at my result.
Did you already get your teeth whitened?
Re: Finally braced 3/16/10 (pics)
They gave me some whitening gel when I got them off and I had done a couple applications.Snowglobe32 wrote:Wow~ Can you say AMAZING!!!!
Aren't you shocked at what braces can do? I got mine off about 10 days ago (can't figure out how to post photos) but I was shocked at my result.
Did you already get your teeth whitened?
Really though I was kind of annoyed how my previous pictures turned out because of the yellowish light in my bathroom which make em look bad.
So instead I took the picture using natural light at a window on an overcast day, which makes them a much nicer looking color.