Lau's Story

[TMJJill]

I'm 5 months into upper braces. I talked to my orthodontist last visit about the fact I haven't seen movement lately. He said I'm at the point of stabilizing the teeth which moved so rapidly at first. Once that happens, I'll move forward.

[lau]

thanks TMJJill! your ortho is more communicative than mine; when i asked the assistant just smiled and said, yes, this is typical. i was like: some words of encouragement pleassssse!!!

Its not only that my smile is not moving forward but also I keep looking at it and it looks more crooked than before but i decided not to take pics until next week (5 month). Perhaps its because the teeth are straigher and maybe my 'crookedness' is becoming more apparent? question for the senior board members, is freaking out normal?

[lau]

wow, another month went by
i guess it does go fast, after all-- although there are far less noticeable changes. anyway, here are my progress pics for month # 5:



my midline feels more crooked than ever, but we'll see what happens. hope i get a thicker wire on my bottoms in a couple of weeks!

[BetsyBug]

Lau, your teeth are looking great!!! They have changed so much in such a short time, and they are so white. I'm definitely going to have to invest in some whitening when its all said and done to get rid of the tea stains.
I'm pretty excited for tuesday to come and I get braced finally, but nervous too, its nice to have this board so I don't feel like the only grown up with braces on her teeth.

[lau]

Thanks Elizabeth! Your teeth are beautiful, you'll look amazing.
What is your estimated time? Make sure to document every thing, i take pics every month to see progress, my ortho doesnt.

Yes this board is really amazing and provides fantastic support- but also 5 months into braces i do notice several things:
- there are some adults in braces out there- i've seen about 30 people so far, never noticed before so it means that it is no big deal to others as it is to us
- people do not have perfect teeth as i once thought- i've always noticed all the people that had nice perfect ones, but now i see people with ugly teeth or celebrities with ok teeth, midline shifts, horrible dental cosmetic work that looks fake

Anyway- thanks for your comment, much appreciated

[kellyb]

wow, looking awesome!

[AM21]

Wow! Your teeth look great! It's nice seeing progress in such a short amount of time.

[lau]

Thanks for your comments Kellyb and AM21!!

[elseegee64]

Hi Lau! Great progress! I love your pictures. I just completed week one - I can't seem to get the same shot over the days. I need to ask my ortho what size wires were used. 16 sounds familiar. I have spacers in the back-uppers so the bands can be places. I was so glad I found this message board before I went to my bracing appointment. Everybody prepared me for what was about (and did) happen!

[lau]

Here's my lastest update -
So my fellow metal mouths, today I had another adjustment. Last time I only had my ligs changed so felt 'nice' (?) to get my braces tightened and even get a thicker archwire on the bottom - finally a .20!! yay It still amazes me how masoquist we brace wearers are but it is true that only when we feel the braces working, we feel like we are closer to our goal

Anyway, so finally I popped the question: "how much longer do you think i have", which took a lot of guts- and happily he said "hmmmm probably 6 more months" - I was sooooooo happy!!! of course time will tell, I have read on this board that roots take time, that this is a process that cannot be rushed otherwise everything can get back to how it was- so patience, yeah yeah, just a little patience

it was a good appointment - need to be back in 4 weeks. they told me to wear the inverse V shape config for my elastics and he repeated like 3 times that I need to wear them at all times, and I was on my way. I have a cleaning coming up so I coordinated both on the same day- an advantage of having both dentist and ortho in the same office.

[BetsyBug]

Awesome adjustment. It must be nice to have the end in sight!! Nothing like a little pain to remind yourself that your teeth are moving right lol!
My teeth have been hurting off an on. They will hurt for a couple of days then be fine then start hurting again. I don't know if it is because of the turbos or what but my teeth just don't seem to want to settle. Oh well guess that means more movement for me.
I hope the elastics don't give you too much grief.
)))hugs(((

[lau]

Hey Elizabeth!!
Thanks for keeping up with my story-
sorry your teeth hurt, its great to be able to vent on this board right? it's a strange pain because its not strong but its more like a dull pain that is there all the time - like cramps- and I just get tired of it sometimes and i dont want to mention to my hubby or co workers because I feel that braces were my choice for cosmetic reasons so i have to deal with it - i guess Lucky i only get this the first 2 days i get the adjustment, then i dont feel anything.

Betsy, i look forward to seeing your updates soon- take care

[braceface74]

looking good lau , brilliant progress pics you must be thrilled.

Brilliant news about the time to go, you must be so pleased with that.. not sure when i'll pluck up the courage to ask my ortho that question lol.. i'm always too scared to ask any questions when i get there.

[lau]

so- today I had an unexpected visit to the Ortho nothing serious, just a bracket on the last molar on the bottom came loose.
They sanded the tooth and reglued the bracket- also he did a little sanding on the sides (shaving or IPR i guess is called) because he said there is just no room.
He had to put me back on the flexible archwire for my bottoms which made me a little bit sad Just last week i had gotten my thicker bottom wire, but it proved to much for my poor little tooth.

gotta keep smiling and thinking positive

[lau]

I am in shock!! The molar came off the wire again!!! SO frustrating!! Gotta go to the ortho again - def not happy