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Geez-louise our before pictures are eerily similar...(Mine are somewhere on the forum)
Open bites are the worst
You seem to be in much better spirits about everything and that is great! Second opinions can't hurt...I never got a second opinion but if I was unhappy about anything during my treatment I would have surely spoke with another ortho.
I've been dealing with it. Went in for a checkup 3 weeks ago and the Dr. felt there was progress but still didn't give me any definitive time.
Been struggling over the last 3 weeks as I can't see any progress. Really want to be done before the end of May, when I have an international conference to attend.
Am considering telling her to take them off before the conference whether I'm "done" or not.
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I think its fantastic that you have stuck with it. Honestly the whole final wire thing is bull. I had the final wire put in at my 5 mth point and have been in it since. I have been wearing elastics and powerchains and going in for repos to move the rest of the teeth. I think this final stage is the worst. I am hoping mine come off before my vacation in August. But it is great to hear you are eating again and have stuck through the pain. I am usually 100 lbs myself and lost weight when my braces went on. It was awful, all I did was cry but now I am happy I stuck with it. And I have put some weight on even
Braced on Sept 9/11
In-ovation C uppers
In-ovation R lowers
Thanks for the support everyone! I'm beginning to believe this whole "final wire" thing is bologna! Through the rest of treatment I got my wires changed almost every time (with lingual braces, a machine bends the wires to get ideal tooth movement). I'm going on 5 months in the "final wires" with countless months to go. The ortho isn't even doing powerchains or anything. I have a wire holding chain. They actually don't pull off any of my o-rings or change anything with the brackets/wires at my appointments. Just changing elastic configurations.
Just to give you an update. The ortho switched my elastics so I can now snack all day. It's nice because now I can talk to people too! I hope it stays this way but I'm not keeping my hopes up too much. The doctor said she might need the hooks on the top incisors in the future... grrrr. Meanwhile, I'm stuffing my face. I've already gained 2 lbs just this week!
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I can feel your pain my friend! My original estimate was 22-24 months. At the two year mark, there was no way they were ready to come off, due to my stubborn cross bite. Now, 3 1/3 years with braces, we are trying to close a gap from where a tooth was extracted long ago, that is the only issue. A few weeks ago, my ortho said that is should be closed in two more appointments. Well, I looked at it this morning and there is no way this thing is fully closing anytime soon. It is getting smaller but I am afraid it will take another 3 months to fully close.
I go back next week, will get another powerchain to continue to close it but after that appointment, I will seriouisly consider just saying the hell with it, take them off. The gap right now is not big enough to fit the tip of my tongue but it is big enough to get food stuck...
There just comes a point where you need to say, enough is enough.
Oh, and I did SureSmile wires, been in my "final" wire for over a year. Not sure "final" wire means what everyone thinks it means.
Snowglobe32 -
Will be thinking of you. That totally sucks! I think the closer you get to being done, the more frustrating it can be. When you or I would say the teeth look great, the ortho still sees something that needs to be fixed.
I think they need to stop calling it a "final wire" and getting us laypeople all excited when it clearly doesn't mean a thing in terms of remaining treatment time.
I also think the term a "few more months" should also be banned.
Can you clarify the difference between final wire and finishing wire?
All I know is that they put this wire in right before surgery. As far as I know, the wire they put in for surgery is not supposed to move your teeth, but be so thick that it holds the teeth in place.
It's so thick that they couldn't even clip or bend the back where it was poking me. They told me I just had to put up with it. I thought I'd just have to put up with it for a few months... and we're going on 6+
The finishing wire is the true "final wire". It's put in not to straighten the arch but to retain the teeth and keep them from moving as they settle into their final positions. Again from what I've heard this is the last step before the braces truly come off.. A "final wire" as they're saying is probably just the last wire size/shape you'll need to straighten the arch. From then on, the straightening portion is over and it's time to focus on fixing the bite and alignment of the teeth
To give everyone an update, it has been 6 months and I'm still wearing elastics with no definitive end date.
For those who haven't been following the other posts, I wore the elastics in the original configuration for 3 months and saw great results! http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... 13&t=44424
After a week of being told to stop the elastics, my teeth had regressed to where they were over a month before http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... 13&t=44521
It took me almost a month to get them back into final positions.
My teeth have now been in their final positions for 5 weeks but I have to wear elastics (6) to keep my teeth in their final positions. I have to continue to wear elastics for another 4 weeks and then the orthodontist will evaluate the situation again. There is no estimate time for debracing
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I sympathesize with you that the last part of your treatment with the elastics is so hard and takes so much longer than expected, especially after everything you have already gone through. But keep courage, the end is near and your teeth will be fabulous! I wish you very good luck and strenght with the last bits of your treatment!
