Here we go

[White Fang]

Not a great day. Heading through the subway turnstile this morning, I swiped my card and made to go through, but the bar didn't turn and stopped me short. My momentum carried me forward and one of the horizontal metal bars smacked me a good one right across my top two front teeth. Oww! The front two lean in already, I don't need to push them in any further! Visions of my teeth crumbling out in pieces spun through my head as I rode the train to work. They look okay in the mirror, but are now even more sensitive to pressure than before. I hope I didn't mess anything up worse.

[White Fang]

I had my rescheduled second appointment this morning to put my lowers on and do the first adjustment on the uppers. I'm not gonna lie, I cried... and by the end the ortho was apologizing and saying I have extremely sensitive teeth. It really freaking hurt!

She also ground down the wire that was poking me on the second-to-last bracket on my right, but this actually made it worse, as she put a sharp edge on it which is pretty irritating. I have to get more wax!

She confirmed that my top teeth have moved. It looked to me as though my central incisors were leaning even further in, but she said it was actually the lateral incisors which were leaning out more. And that that was normal because some of the brackets weren't fully attached yet and so some teeth were moving and some weren't yet.

Boy, they did today though. I will post some before and after the appointment this morning. My left lateral incisor (the non-cracked one) isn't sticking out nearly as far. I'd be happier about this if I weren't in so much pain!

[White Fang]

3/4 view right side

[White Fang]

3/4 view left side

[White Fang]

Top arch

[White Fang]

My new lowers... Are those power chains at the back? She called them a chain, but I wasn't sure. Nothing on either rear-most molar. But why, oh why are all those little poky bits left to stick out the bottom, on all but the front three? And that really wicked one at the very back? These are the mysteries.....

[chocomorsel]

Those little poky bits are used for elastics as far as I know. I have them and use them to anchor my elastics. How long have you had that cracked tooth by the way? Just wondering.

And how do you post pics on here without having to use a picture website link? Sorry, not so savvy with computers.

[White Fang]

Hey chocomorsel,

That's funny, I was just looking through your story earlier! Your teeth are really coming along.

I broke that sad tooth in half when I was a teenager. (33 now, so about 15 years ago.) I was sick and fainted in the bathroom, and hit the sink on the way down. I had to go to school looking like a hick for the next few days, not to mention the pain every time I hit the exposed edge accidentally!!! Ow!! Anyway, when I finally got to the dentist, they did a root canal, then hollowed out both ends and filled it up with some synthetic, then glued it back together. It wasn't supposed to last as long as it has, but I procrastinated because all dentists advised getting braces done with before getting a crown on the tooth. So, I have that to look forward to in 16-22 months!

As for the pics question: When I'm writing a post, if you scroll down lower than the reply text box (where you type the post) you should see an option to upload files. You click Choose file, find the picture on your computer, and select it. Then you click Add the file button. You can attach up to 3 pictures per post. They have to be small, I think 256 kb. Finally, when you're all ready, click Submit.

I chose to do it this way since then people have to be logged in to see my pics, and after reading all the warnings about fetishists I thought it would be a good idea to restrict viewing to logged-in members of the forum.

[chocomorsel]

Thanks. I will try posting this way next time. Maybe do a collage or something if feeling up to it.

How are you doing with the linguals? Don't know if I could handle that myself. Keep us updated. I am glad I am finally seeing results myself. One more year. Yeepee.

[White Fang]

Hey chocomorsel,

Sorry I missed your reply for a few days. I went with linguals on the upper only, partly because I thought they would be too annoying on both the upper AND lower. At least my tongue can rest on the bottom of my mouth like normal with the bottom braces on the outside. Of the two, the linguals are much less annoying. They do not rub against my cheeks like the lowers do, and (obviously) you cannot see them. Food gets stuck in there, but it seems to get stuck more on the lowers although maybe I just think that because they are more visible... also, flossing was very confusing on the uppers at first until I got used to doing it "blind." I do have a bit of a lisp with them, which is better than it was but hasn't completely gone away. All in all, I think it was a good choice for the uppers.

The one thing I really hate about them is the metal wrapping around the bite surfaces of my upper teeth. So I am biting onto metal. This is a sensation that really bothers me and makes eating a lot less enjoyable.

I had my first dental cleaning with braces yesterday! No cavities! The dentist said I am doing a good job keeping my teeth clean with braces. Thank god. They were impressed with the linguals, didn't know they were there until starting the cleaning. Per my ortho instrux, I told them to keep any parts that broke off (if any) during the cleaning, as the uppers are custom made they would be expensive to replace. But, fortunately, nothing came off.

[White Fang]

Ye-ow -- second adjustment today. Well, second for the top and first for the lowers. It hurts but not as much as last visit, and at least I knew what to expect. Lots of pulling "sensation" (read: pain) as my ortho physically yanked teeth into place. I (think) I got new ligatures on the bottom backs. And next adjustment in 4 weeks, I get 2 more braces put on the so-far naked rearmost teeth on the bottom. Didn't know I had more to go there, but guess so.

Once more there is a visible difference in my teeth before and after the appointment. I will post pictures soon. To me the lower arch looks wider in the front, and my upper canines are pulled closer to where they are supposed to be. My broken canine had been moving obediently into place until the last week or so when it apparently decided to make a break for it and start overlapping again. Newsflash buddy.... you're attached at the top... no escape for you.

My dear sweet husband made puree soup for dinner. Love, love, love him.

I have been to a wedding and a family reunion in the last month and everyone said they didn't realize I had braces at all until I showed them off. I personally think the lowers are totally obvious, but I guess people aren't staring at my mouth as much as I had apparently been imagining! Well, after my teeth are gleaming straight they darn better.

[White Fang]

Okay, pictures update. I had a set of "First week of braces" pics all along... but have been too embarrassed at how jankitty my mouth looked to post them. Now that I have some progress to show off, here they are!

What my ortho really pulled on this time was the broken canine; it's more in line with the arch now (at least I fondly hope so...)

[White Fang]

3/4 view right side

[White Fang]

3/4 view left side

[White Fang]

Top arch