Jay04's Braces Story

[BraceFace2o1o]

Hi Jay04,

How is everything going? I hope all is ok.

Since we last spoke I have already had a consultation, it didn't go as planned but nevermind. My next consultation with a different Ortho is on the 20th September.

The first Ortho quoted me, get ready for this ok? LOL £3500 for traditional metal braces (I would have to pay an extra £300 for clear). He told me I had a relatively simple case, so not sure why such a high price. He also said he wouldn't correct my lower teeth because of my overbite (my upper front teeth cover my lower front teeth when my bite is closed, like yours in your pics)... he said because my upper teeth would hit the lower brackets, maybe he's never heard of bite turbos before . Well, as soon as he said that I was soooo disappointed

Anyway, hopefully my next consultation in September will go better!

[Jay04]

I had my wire changed today and also a colour change from red to blue which I love. I can definately feel the pressure on my teeth now, but no pain as of yet. I definately think my top teeth are moving, as I can see the lower braces starting to peek out from below my top teeth when I clamp my teeth together now.




My ortho told me today that not my next adjustment, but the one after that would probably be the one when I get my top braces put on. I think that's in October which will be great If it works out that way, as I didn't expect to get them on until December.

[Jay04]

Hey Chrystal,
Sorry your appointment didn't go as well as you'd hoped. I honestly think there are some seriously lazy orthodontists out there. If you're paying these sort of prices, you should get the full treatment, not just a half assed attempt to fix part of the problem. I know I had a problem with my top teeth hitting the bottom brackets at first. That's why i'm wearing the removable brace so maybe that would be an option for you too. It's annoying at first, but I don't even realise i've got it on now.

£3500 for just top braces? Wow. The prices really do vary I guess.

I hope your next appointment goes alot better. Good luck

[Jay04]

3 months in braces today. This is just my monthly pic update. I've started to notice a tiny gap between my two front teeth at the top. Other than that, there's not many changes to my teeth this month. The day after my last ortho appointment when I got my new wire in was awful. I actually took painkillers for the first time. I didn't know it was possible for every tooth to hurt at once. It died down after 48 hours though. I guess I am normal and my teeth hurt like everyone elses. I was actually concerned about the lack of pain for a while.

[Jay04]

Had another wire change today and a colour change to pale pink. It looks quite cute. It's not showing up in this photo so well because of the lighting, but I will be putting up some more photos on my 4 month braceversary, which is in just over a week.

I also got some great news from my ortho today - I'm definately getting my top braces on next month. I can finally say goodbye to the annoying removable brace. I can't wait. She said we should see some real movement then. I hope so as I'm ready for these extraction gaps to be closed. My friend said I look like I'd been in a bar fight due to all the missing teeth I guess I should be thankful it's not my front ones that are missing. I'm curious about how far she will pull down my little vampire fangs. I hate them being so far up. I'm kinda hoping I can promote them to full on dracula status actually.

[VancouverJude]

Hi Jay,

Your teeth look awesome!

Um, okay sooo could you say a few words about the adorable gray "fangy" cat? Name, age, hobbies? Very cute. Are those teeth photo shopped?

[Jay04]

Um, okay sooo could you say a few words about the adorable gray "fangy" cat? Name, age, hobbies? Very cute. Are those teeth photo shopped?

LOL. It's my pet cat.

Name: Misty
Age: Ancient
Hobbies: Sleeping, Glaring at me, Eating

And I can confirm that those teeth are in no way photo shopped. She had receding gums and the vet had to take them out for some reason. I call her gummy instead of goofy now.

[Jay04]

Ok, So heres my monthly update. I'm like 2 days late though...oops. I think my new ligs stayed pink for maybe 5 days before becoming stained. I guess I shouldn't choose such a pale colour next time.





I've also taken some photos of how my top teeth have moved since my treatment began. I've been wearing the removable brace on my top teeth for 4 months now, and I've noticed how it has been changing my bite. When I remove it, I can now close my mouth and my top teeth no longer hit the brackets on my bottom teeth.

What I honestly hadn't noticed, was that huge gaps had appeared between some of my top teeth. I've obviously just been staring at the mirror head on when checking out my teeth. I was staring at these photos in horror for like 10 minutes. My teeth have been wandering all over the place without telling me!. I had to remind myself that it's less than 3 weeks til my top braces go on, so they won't look like this forever.

This is from 4 months ago just before I had my removable brace


This is my teeth today in all their gappy glory!


And from the other side 4 months ago


And today. Check out that gap. Whoa!


And a view of the top from before.


And today


Brace day can't arrive soon enough for me. I'm going to obsess over these gaps now that I've noticed them. When you have braces, there's so much metal attached that the gaps aren't such a big deal. At least you know they are in the process of closing. 17 days and counting!!!!!!!!!!!

[BraceFace2o1o]

Your teeth are well on their way! I can also see the movement in your uppers too

So next Wednesday is your day for upper frixed braces I bet you are glad. You'll be 100% braced up!

Have you got any spacers for the upper back teeth?

I will be having uppers first, then lowers... I know I am going to get really impatient and keep asking "but when will my lowers go on?" .

[Jay04]

Your teeth are well on their way! I can also see the movement in your uppers too

So next Wednesday is your day for upper frixed braces Very Happy I bet you are glad. You'll be 100% braced up!

Have you got any spacers for the upper back teeth?

I will be having uppers first, then lowers... I know I am going to get really impatient and keep asking "but when will my lowers go on?" Laughing.

Yeah, my top teeth were definately on the move thanks to that removable brace...not in the direction I wanted them to go in though I didn't have spacers put in as I didn't get molar bands on my top teeth.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was a bit painful getting the top brace put on. I didn't expect her to put a power chain on (or at least I think it's called that) between the huge gaps left by my extractions straight away. Maybe I thought she'd gradually ease me into that I guess not haha. It was mainly the struggle to get it on which hurt. I wondered what the hell she was doing at first. I seriously thought she was trying to pull my teeth out rather than straighten them. She crushed my lip against the brackets when she was trying to yank it on. Ouchy! I'll forgive her though as she's such an awesome orthodontist

They've been on for 8 hours so far and I can definately feel the pressure. My top teeth are very sensitive, and I couldn't even eat my mushed up bread in my soup. Yes, I'm back to soup. I thought I might be able to handle solids as I've already had one set braced before and survived, so I thought I knew what to expect. Evidently I'd forgotten how difficult it is to eat for the first week. Not to worry. I look forward to losing 7lbs then gaining it back as soon as I can eat again!

Smile!!!!!


Open wide!


Power chains to close the extraction gaps

[Jay04]

Day 2 in braces on my top teeth....OUCH! Most of my teeth are really sensitive. One tooth at the top has moved to the side slightly and it's hitting a bottom tooth which is stopping my back teeth from meeting properly. They are only millimetres apart but it's so annoying as everytime I close my mouth, I hit this tooth which is really sore. I'm keeping my mouth open for now....hope I don't catch any flies!

I'm on an involuntary starvation diet again. I can only eat soup. I've only braved 2 meals in 2 days. At least I'll be able to fit into that bikini in time for summer.... oh wait... it's nearly winter, darn!!!

A gap opened up between my two front teeth overnight on the first day. You can see it beginning to open in the first photo. It's cool to see movement one day in. I think it took like 3 weeks to really see a difference with my bottom braces.

[Jay04]

This is a pic of my teeth taken on the 1st of November. I probably won't post monthly pics of my bottom teeth anymore as they haven't moved in forever! I only wanted to post this as it showed the gap that suddenly appeared between my top teeth.



1 month in top braces (20th Nov)








My teeth have definately moved forward and started to line up a tiny bit. There's still alot of gaps, and when I saw my ortho on the 17th, she said the new wire would help to level them out a bit. She took off the power chains which I was extremely happy about. My bite started to get really screwed up since I had the top braces put on, but it's definately started to improve within the last week. At one point, it was just one tooth stopping my teeth from meeting which actually made it difficult to sleep... I couldn't help but put pressure on it when I fell asleep, and it was really sore and made an odd cracking noise everytime I accidently put pressure on it. It feels ok now though. I'm wondering if my little vampire fangs will come down any further. She did say she was going to move a bracket next time too, but i'm not sure which tooth she said it was.

[BraceFace2o1o]

Heyyy there hope everything's going ok

At one point, it was just one tooth stopping my teeth from meeting which actually made it difficult to sleep... I couldn't help but put pressure on it when I fell asleep, and it was really sore and made an odd cracking noise everytime I accidently put pressure on it.

I am having the same problem right now. My upper right 1st premolar is hitting on the one directly above and it's stopping ALL my other teeth from meeting when I eat/close bite. I think this is happening because my lower right 1st premolar is over erupted (not sure that's the right term lol) so is taller/longer than the one on the left side. I can't wait to get the lowers on now to get the bottoms moving!

Have you had another adjustment since your last post?
Take care and hope to see you posting an update soon

[Jay04]

Heyyy there hope everything's going ok

I am having the same problem right now. My upper right 1st premolar is hitting on the one directly above and it's stopping ALL my other teeth from meeting when I eat/close bite. I think this is happening because my lower right 1st premolar is over erupted (not sure that's the right term lol) so is taller/longer than the one on the left side. I can't wait to get the lowers on now to get the bottoms moving!

Have you had another adjustment since your last post?
Take care and hope to see you posting an update soon

Hey,
Yeah, I had my last adjustment on the 15th of December. I'm gonna post some photos soon. I haven't looked at photos of my teeth in ages so I have no clue if they have moved or not. I think my little vampire fangs look a teeny tiny bit longer. You don't notice the changes so much sometimes. It's only when I check out the photos I took months before that I can really see the difference.

I had another bracket pulled off last time. She said its easier to do that than mess around by bending the wire later into my treatment. It wasn't so bad as I don't think the tooth was as sensitive as the last time I had a bracket pulled off one. I bet getting them all pulled off at once is awful. I may refuse to get them removed when the time comes

I know how you feel with wanting your lowers braced. I wanted my top teeth braced most of all and I had to spend like 5 months in lower braces before she could put the fixed ones on the top too. It's frustrating as you want to see everything start to move so you can start grinning like an idiot at the mirror 3 times a day (Don't tell anyone I actually do that! )

[Jay04]

A couple of pics of my upper teeth two months into being Braced

The powerchains went back on again at the last visit to the ortho. Ouch. They were ok after a few days and an entire packet of painkillers!









Are those gaps getting bigger?????? My teeth look okay from the front. Guess I just wont turn my head when speaking to people!