Jana's Journey

[Finallybraced27]

Your progress is amazing. I have a very similar situation with my top arch. I have just begun my journey today and the photos you have posted showing your journey to date have been a source of real confidence that my teeth will at some point down the line turn out like I have always wanted.

[JMSmith]

Your progress is amazing. I have a very similar situation with my top arch. I have just begun my journey today and the photos you have posted showing your journey to date have been a source of real confidence that my teeth will at some point down the line turn out like I have always wanted.

Good luck to you as you begin your journey!! It's going to happen so quickly, you won't believe it's really happening. Your teeth are going to be amazing!!! It takes a little time, but it flies by.

[JMSmith]

I posted my first ever smiling photo today on facebook... that felt great!!!

[helricha]

Your progress is amazing!! It's a true inspiration...thank you!

[JMSmith]

Today I have officially been braced for 11 months... and let me tell ya, WOOHOO!!! I'm halfway there and it's amazing. I had an appt today and all is going well. I have powerchains on the tops AND bottoms so I'm just waiting for the pain to set in.

But you know what?... the pain is so insignficant. So very small in comparison to the results. I can't even begin to tell y'all just how happy I am when I see myself smile. In a picture, in the mirror, where ever... it's beautiful... and I love it. Hang in there fellow brace facers!!! We are living proof that it is so worth it!!

Front - 11 months in braces


Top - 11 months in braces

[Angel269]

Jana, they are looking great

[nancy13000]

Wow your smile is looking amazing

[SunshineRay]

Your teeth are sooo pretty! I LOVE seeing before and after pics. Also your braces are barely visible.....what type are they?

[peppy]

Wow! What fantastic progress!

Your top arch was similar to how mine were when I first had braces 12 years ago. Except I had a big gap between my front teeth. I've actually not come across anyone with the same before now!

I've got six month smiles on at the moment to correct a relapse in one of my lateral incisors... didn't wear my retainer. Lesson learned!

[Buttercup22]

Hi Jana,

Not sure if you are still using this site but came across your story when looking for people with similar problems to me. The feelings you described yourself as having over two years ago, I am experiencing now! Your pictures have been SO motivating!! I understand it was a huge step to upload the before pics, as I still haven't uploaded mine. Maybe some day but it will take time before I feel ready to take that step.. I can completely relate to how you felt!

I would love to hear of your progress since then, any updates, and how you are feeling about yourself now? Your smile looks amazing! I have similar crowding on top with my lateral incisors pushed back, but my situation is even more complicated than yours was I think.. One of my canines has no room to come down any further so is sitting in the gum pushing against my left incisor. Anyway, the fact that your incisors were brought back into place has been such a positive thing to see and has even excited me to finally go ahead with my consultation in two weeks!

I just hope I am told that it can be fixed! Congratulations on coming so far

[JMSmith]

Hi Buttercup22!

I haven't been on this site in a very long time and your message came at the perfect time! Quite serendipitous, actually. I just made my appointment for debracing this morning!! On September 30, I will officially become a member of the retainer club.

What a journey! Braces have certainly become a very big part of my life and I'm actually nervous for them to come off now. Funny, huh? It's a very good, yet anxious feeling. My teeth really don't look too different from the last progress pic I posted. Most of this past year has been fine tuning and gap closing. I did have a pretty big hiccup in March that has caused the extended therapy. My left lateral incisor was so far back that when it moved forward we discovered in trying to fit it perfectly into the arch wire, it had moved to a spot that had no bone to root into. My incisor and canine roots had grown at an angle towards one another that basically meant my jaw bone didn't have a solid place for that one to anchor to. I almost lost my tooth when they pulled the wires off at that adjustment!!!! Talk about FREAKED OUT!! All I could think was "NOOOO! Not after all of this!" But my ortho did a great job in bending the wire so that the tooth could anchor. It's a bit longer than my right lateral and it isn't flush with the others, and my dentist can fix the length at some point. That is WAY easier than a fake tooth. My smile today is not what some would call "perfect", but it's perfectly perfect to me, and THAT, my friend, is a very awesome feeling. I hope you are able to get here too.

The absolute best part is smiling. Freely. Without a hand over your mouth. Or that voice in your head thinking that everyone must be staring. I LOVE my smile! Love it! I feel so much more confident that at work I applied to and was accepted to a leadership program and I actually feel like I'm comfortable enough to be in front of people and lead. It is not a vanity thing; it's a confidence, comfortable in your own skin thing.

I wish you the best of luck and will subscribe to notifications to your story. I want to know how it goes. I completely understand being nervous about the pics, but just remember: everyone here is here for the same reasons. No one here will judge. And listen. Even if you aren't comfortable posting anything in the beginning at least take progress pics for yourself. That is a fantastic way to keep yourself encouraged. Especially once you get your first round with power chains and you feel like your face is splitting in two. The pain is temporary but the results are forever. Seeing the progress (and the getting things into place part is way faster than the fine tuning part) makes you feel real good! Real good.

Best of luck to you!!!

Jana

[Anna5]

What an AMAZING progress you have made!!! I am so happy for you! I understand that you cannot stop smiling!

You wrote in your first post that you have an underbite, but I think it is gone now! Do you still need surgery? I hope not!

Good luck with your journey!

Anna

[JMSmith]

No surgery. The plan was to have the lower jaw corrected in September last year, but as everything was moved the slight underbite shifted and my bite was corrected with the braces alone. I was super excited about that!

[Buttercup22]

That's great news Jana!! I understand why you would feel nervous but it is definitely good nerves! You will finally have the smile you always dreamed of The longing for this smile for so many years, hiding your teeth in photos, the fear of dealing and following through with this, letting the orthondist take pictures of your teeth and uploading and sharing your story and photos to this site have all been HUGE steps. I'm sure there have been many ups and downs on your journey which started even before you got braces, but that is what will make the moment you get debraced all the more significant and worthwhile. You should and WILL be so so HAPPY!! I hope you remember that moment for the rest of your life because you made this happen, and what an achievement that is

I know if I get to your stage I will always be so grateful and never take my teeth or smile for granted. I'm sure you feel the same after all you have been through. I can totally relate to your tears of worry, but also your tears of joy. What you have achieved is truly overwhelming. It is even overwhelming to read about this from the beginning to near the end of your journey, and see your change in attitude and your confidence grow! What an amazing story

It is true that it would have been a much easier path if I had received orthodontic treatment sooner, maybe this was the case for you too. However, we often take for granted things that come easy in life. I know that the struggle ahead requires strength and determination that will shape who I am for the better I hope. I am making a promise to myself that if I achieve the smile I always wanted, that I will never ever take it for granted and will always appreciate everything else that comes with that new found confidence. That is something that everyone here has in common too - we are all adults who have had to face extra barriers to achieve the smiles we want. Surely, that will make us appreciate the results more and really bring out our inner strength and courage which is what will lead to this huge sense of achievement and pride in the end one thing I would love to know is do you still remember how you felt in the beginning, do those feeling stick with you and help you remember how far you've come? Or is it more gradual and you just kind of transform into a more confident person and leave that part of you behind?

I can completely relate to you applying for the leadership programme now that you are more confident. My teeth really affect my confidence and I feel that it may be the reason I get so nervous giving presentations and talking in front of large groups of people. I have forced myself to do this as I refuse to let my teeth hold me back from succeeding in life and affecting my career in any way. But it is like torture forcing myself into these uncomfortable situations that I am not confident enough for. positive that I am not confident enough for. My friends and family actually say that I come across really confident and would never believe that I had confidence issues which is surprising! I'm not sure whether that is reassuring or not. I will be interested to see when I am at your stage in my journey, if my self-confidence will grow too

I can also relate to covering your mouth when you laugh, close your mouth and not smile for pictures. It nearly feels like you cannot be fully yourself and like me, you probably never felt completely free until now. Like there was a part of you that you couldn't show to the rest of the world, like you were holding yourself back and like you couldn't fully express yourself. For me it is ok with people I am comfortable around but I come across as disinterested and maybe even unhappy to strangers in public (even though everybody I know would describe me as a care-free, happy person with not a care in the world). I hide my insecurities very well! But I just don't have the confidence to smile and laugh freely! And it sounds like you could relate to this too. So it is so nice to hear that you can now smile freely and completely let go and be yourself. You must feel like a new person - I hope I feel this way some day too

Wow that sounds so scary what happened your lateral incisor!! Thankfully everything is okay now! That is definitely something that could happen with mine too, so I will have to watch out for that and make sure my orthodontist is aware of that! It's good to know what can go wrong too so I can be prepared! It sounds like you have an amazing orthodontist who has done a great job!

Anyway it is great to see that ALL of the negative things I have talked about are all things you have overcome and that really excites me! You are right - it will be so worth it and I'm really happy that you are at the point where you are seeing results and soon to be debraced do let us know how that goes! I will post a link here once I set up a story (probably after my consultations), and I will post pictures before and after extractions, when I get braces and progress pics etc..

Thank you for such a positive story - I just LOVE your attitude!

[Anna5]

No surgery. The plan was to have the lower jaw corrected in September last year, but as everything was moved the slight underbite shifted and my bite was corrected with the braces alone. I was super excited about that!

That is really wonderful!!!