Catgyrl's (Cathy's) Journey at age 42...

[HeyBuckey!]

Catgyrl!

Me lovey the blue! I remember you saying you were thinking about getting a light shade of blue a while back now. You teeth look super fab!

[libbylou]

Completely cracking up at the idea of you rolling out a whole ton of questions on a roll of tape - and watching your orthodontist take a big gulp! Am convinced you are an ex Brit Cathy - I feel like I have met you before!! Did you emigrate to Hawaii???

[catgyrl]

@libbylou - that is hilarious! As far as I've been told by my parents, I was not born in, nor have I ever visited, the UK (though it is one of my dreams to do so!) I do have a strange, snarky sense of humor, though.

Okay, as much as I whine and complain about staining ligs (and yes, I did ask for them when I got my ceramic brackets), I think this latest situation is quite amusing. It's been just over 2 weeks with the light blue chain, and as of this morning, only the 2 front teeth still have blue around them. The others are progressively getting greener and greener... but I kinda like it. How demented is it that I'd rather have GREEN ligs than yellow? Check out the progression from front to back (Sorry it's so big, but the smaller pic didn't do it justice. LOL!):

[HeyBuckey!]

Wow, cool! It's got a gradient! (Photoshop talk) I hated how my ligs turned green, so to fix that problem. I got green ligs! Yours do look unusually awesome. It's probably because of the fade from green to blue to green again.

[ashesgap]

So you should tell your ortho you want a rainbow power chain...that would look awesome.
Artichokes caused my silver chain to look like a metallic greenish color, which I really liked. But of course there are none that naturally look like that.
Your teeth are look'n great Cathy

[catgyrl]

You guys crack me up! Yes, I think I should call him a week or so before I go back and ask if he could... pretty please... link together one of each color into a chain for me. I should prepare myself for either a lengthy pause on the other end of the phone, or for an immediate dial tone.

Okay, so I didnt pay much attention in art class, oh, 30+years ago, but if blue ligs turn green... Then what color would green ligs turn?

Cathy

[HeyBuckey!]

LOL!!!

Yellow-Green?

Just kidding unusually, they stay green the whole time! It's wild!

[catgyrl]

HeyBuckey!

You were partially right - but it's my blue ligs that are now YELLOW-GREEN! I believe the correct name is Chartreuse. I think I'm going to nix the green for this next visit, but I may try a darker blue. I see my ortho has about 4 or 5 shades of blue.

My Class II elastics are beginning to feel like they're over-correcting, because no matter how hard I try to "bite down", my upper-central incisors clash with the lower ones, even if I move my jaw all the way back. :Sigh:... I sense triangle elastics again 48 hours from now. I'd really like him to try something different, other than just switching back and forth between these 2 configurations. One pulls them up and back, and the other pulls them down and forward. At this point, I'm beginning to think it's hopeless to try to completely eliminate the overjet. I just called and asked them if I could have a few extra minutes to speak with him about some concerns, because I always seem to forget what I'm going to ask, and that I often feel rushed when I'm in the chair, and then forget to ask my questions. She said it was no problem, and that they would have the consultation room available for me when I get in. That made me feel so much better! I'll be more relaxed in there. She laughed and told me to write the questions on my phone (what a modern society we live in!), and I told her, "I already have!" Apprently they're booked back-to-back on Friday since it's a holiday, but I have a 7:00 AM appointment, and I usually arrive early, anyway. She was so nice! Never once did she say, "Well, you should've called us earlier, because we're booked solid." I'm glad I made the right choice in this orthodontist, instead of the one down the hall, with the line of patients waiting outside the door.

I will understand if there are things that cannot be completely fixed (because I'm OLD, and refuse to have surgery, even if they suggested it). I'd just like to know what's do-able and what's not.

Crossing my fingers...

-Cathy

[catgyrl]

Well, so much for being able to sit down and discuss anything with my ortho. As soon as I walked in, I was seated in my usual chair. He came over, sat down and said, "They said you wanted to talk to me." (Uh yeah… in the other room!) Too late now, though. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: I just wanted to talk with you about some concerns, and about what you think you can and cannot fix.

Him: (Nods his head)

Me: My biggest concern right now is the slanted and "pushed-in" appearance of my upper-left teeth. And my upper-right central incisor that's still sticking out.

Him: Uh, don't start getting into all right now. You're not there yet. You're at that stage where things are going to look worse... sometimes worse than the very beginning. Don't be so concerned about all the "trimmings" right now.

Me: (Kinda surprised…) Well, I'm just asking because I never really know what you're working on, so I don’t know what stage things are supposed to be in.

Him: Most of the things you're concerned about will be taken care of towards the very end.

(Interesting comment. How would he know what I’m concerned about if I haven’t told him yet?)

Me: (Already p---ed off) That's fine; nevermind. (I was done talking at that point.)

Him: (Probably sensing my irritation) Like, the jagged edges of the teeth will be no problem at all. That we'll do at the end.

Me: Okay, fine. (I’m assuming gaps also fall into that category, so no sense asking about those, either.)

So, after all that hassle... He spends a bit more time than usual examining my teeth. The elastics had messed up my bite and now I couldn't bite down without the teeth banging together. He made 2 bends in the upper-left wire around my canine, and once the assistant put the chain on, my teeth were no longer hitting. He also said I should continue the Class II elastic on the right, and go back to a triangle on the left to bring the teeth back down AGAIN. Everything I had wanted him to do (bend the wire and change elastics) I ended up with anyway.

I think he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, because he was crabby with everyone there. Maybe because he had to work on a holiday. Or because he starts at 7:00 AM on Fridays.

Anyway... On a HAPPIER note: I decided to really go for it with my colors, so I chose a blue one. I don't know exactly which shade it is, but it's not light blue, teal, or either of the dark blues. Maybe Mediterranean Blue? At any rate... I LOVE IT!!!

[Plumcore]

Fussy ortho is fussy. Really he should have taken more time to explain thing, especially since you asked. Maybe he didn't get his coffee.

I LOVE the bluw though. I'm stuck with transparent powerchains atm, because they never have any other color. Progress looks amazing, let us know if the new config works

[catgyrl]

Fussy ortho is fussy. Really he should have taken more time to explain thing, especially since you asked. Maybe he didn't get his coffee.

I LOVE the bluw though. I'm stuck with transparent powerchains atm, because they never have any other color. Progress looks amazing, let us know if the new config works

Thanks, Plum! The configuration seems to be working quite well. I think I will have this again for the next few months.

Maybe ortho didn't get his "something else", and that's why he was crabby. Gotta talk to his Missus about that next month.

[lau]

girl, you are pure inspiration! your smile is looking amazing.

a couple of newbie Qs: 1) did 19 months go fast for you? 2) what was your initial sentence?

[catgyrl]

girl, you are pure inspiration! your smile is looking amazing.

a couple of newbie Qs: 1) did 19 months go fast for you? 2) what was your initial sentence?

Thank you very much, lau! I just checked out your story, and our teeth looked rather similar pre-braces (except you don't have 100 fillings in your teeth, like I do!) Your midline is almost identical to mine, except your teeth are pushed off toward your left, and mine were toward my right. But my elastics (and 1 extraction) got that straightened out nicely. What size/strength elastics are you wearing?

My initial sentence was "about 2 years", which would mean I'd get them off around April 2012. I asked him a couple of months ago if he thought they'd be off in April, and he said, "That sounds about right." Then again, last month he didn't want me asking him any questions, so go figure... who knows when these things will be off. As for the 19 months, YES, it has absolutely flown by. I was 42 when I got them on, and I will be 44 when they (hopefully) come off. Even my coworkers can't believe it's been that long.

And by the way... my blue chain is still BLUE!!! Two weeks, and not a bit of staining, even in the back.

-Cathy

[lau]

... almost identical to mine, except your teeth are pushed off toward your left, and mine were toward my right. But my elastics (and 1 extraction) got that straightened out nicely. What size/strength elastics are you wearing?

Class II full time since day 1- I even eat with them on I only take them off to brush my teeth when did they switch you to heavier elastics?

My initial sentence was "about 2 years", which would mean I'd get them off around April 2012. I asked him a couple of months ago if he thought they'd be off in April, and he said, "That sounds about right." Then again, last month he didn't want me asking him any questions, so go figure... who knows when these things will be off. As for the 19 months, YES, it has absolutely flown by. I was 42 when I got them on, and I will be 44 when they (hopefully) come off. Even my coworkers can't believe it's been that long.

they told me approx 18 months- but I want to do this sooner: 12 to 15 sounds more doable. they brought up extractions as well, i had one bicuspid removed when i was 11 no idea why, but they suggested I have 3 removed to make it 'symmetric' and that is too much for me. they are healthy teeth I always say 'if it ain't broken'...

Catgyrl, great to hear time has flown by! i am hoping the same. I am the most impatient, anxious person i know

[catgyrl]

I only started wearing elastics 9 months after getting braced, so I've worn them for 10 months now, and I've always worn the 1/4" X-Heavy Force ones. I think he gives everyone those. At first, he told me to only change them once a day, but I found they lose their elasticity after a few hours, so I called and asked if I could change them 3 times a day, after every meal. They said, "If you can handle it, sure!" Yes, I am a glutton for punishment. I always want him to do SOMETHING to my wires so I can feel that there's movement. LOL! I've tried eating with them in, but cannot do it when I'm wearing the triangles. They shred and snap too easily.