BraceFace2o1o's Story

[jem]

Hi BF,

Sorry things aren't going to plan. But don't regret getting braces-you have had incredible improvement and your teeth look fabulous.

If it were me, I would choose to have my bite OK and live with the small gaps ( which are not discernible in your photos).
I have read that our teeth ( particularly the bottom ones) have a tendency to drift forwards in middle age, so having a bit of breathing space around your premolars may be no bad thing.

Re the retainer, why not ask your ortho if you can have a removable one as well as a fixed one on your lower arch? I will be having both on my upper arch.

I think it is time you were finished. I should be done on 22 July and it would be great if you could finish soon too.

All the best

Jem

[jem]

Hi BF 2o1o,

Any news???

Jem

[BraceFace2o1o]

So here is my latest update/s, it's a bit late and I had it all typed up on my phone but I just didn't get round to posting it here in my story until now. I am going to copy and paste here from my phone so will be quite a long post. I will also post my after pictures after this post.

Day of brace removal:
Sooo... I am brace free finally, after being in them for 33 months. I wasn't totally ready for the uppers to come off, one pesky tooth still bothered me but it was due to the shape of it so nothing could be done other than seeing a cosmetic dentist at some point and having a veneer or something which I won't be doing. The whole process of removing the brace, cleaning the glue off etc, fitting the lower bonded retainer, filing some teeth to help my bite and taking impressions for my removable retainers took about 45 minutes. One of my molar bands wouldn't come off as easy as the others and because of that I did feel some minor discomfort on that tooth. When the glue was being removed some teeth were very sensitive which felt uncomfortable but it was over quickly.

A lot of people said after they got their braces off they kept running their tongue over the front of their teeth, I did that too but I did it a lot more on the inside of my lower premolars because it felt so weird having had lingual buttons on them for almost 3 years! I'm doing it right now as I type this, they feel so strange.

After rinsing from the impressions all was done and my ortho asked me if I would like to have a look. I looked in the mirror and I could not believe how BIG they looked. I was so pleased with them (thank goodness because I kept worrying I wouldn't be) and totally amazed at how big and different they looked. I felt like I went in with one set of teeth and left with another, the set I came home with were 10 times better and I absolutely loved them. Like I said earlier when I got to my appointment I wasn't too happy with one pesky tooth but looking at my teeth now that they are metal free it looks totally different and in a good way too.

My orthos plan was to only give me the lower bonded and an upper removable of my choice but I wanted a removable for the lower as well, so at a previous appointment I asked if I could pay to have a lower one made too. Not gonna lie here I was a little shocked at the price of ONE essix retainer... almost £100! I was thinking the price would be something around £60 at the most. So an upper and lower would cost almost £200 eek. Never mind, having the lower retainer too makes me feel better about preventing relapse so I'm happy to pay for it I just didn't expect it to be so expensive especially since its made in their office. If I had chosen a hawley it would have cost about £120. If I lose or break one of my retainers within one year of my brace being removed I get one free replacement, so for example if I broke my upper and then broke my lower I would only get the upper replaced free and I would have to pay for the lower to be remade, then after that if I lose/break any again I'll be charged for replacement and no more freebies. I'm not sure if that also includes my lower bonded or if I get an extra free repair if that one comes loose but I do know that the charge for repair is £45 and total replacement is £90. Getting braces and afterwards certainly isn't cheap. I am pretty sure I won't lose them or intentionally break them but do worry they may break when I grind and clench my teeth at night I guess I will just have to see. So anyway I collect my retainers in a few days and can't wait because I feel my teeth have shifted already and I hope the retainer puts them right back where they were.

The lower bonded retainer is a lot smaller than I expected. I thought it would irritate my tongue more or make me lisp but it has done neither, it feels very small I barely even notice it and I'm sure it won't be long until I forget it's there (well until I eat, brush and floss of course). I was told to clean under it and near the gums with an interdental brush, I have the smallest (4mm) ones which I will use but they push down my gums which I'm not keen on, I already have receding gums there I don't want to make them worse. Also there seems to be a little too much glue on one tooth so that it's gone over onto the next tooth preventing me from getting floss between the teeth, I can get the interdental brush between the base of the teeth though.

3-4 days after brace removal:
My teeth are on the move! I noticed some movement within the first 36 hours after my braces were removed. My lateral incisor has ever so slightly moved downwards out of the gum. As the days have gone by I have noticed a few other teeth on the move too. While flossing on Sunday night my floss went between my upper centrals mega easy and then I saw a hairline space, as I started to floss up and down the side of the teeth and into the gum line the space got even bigger . A space on the left side of my lower arch between my canine and 1st premolar has started to open up too, only a tiny tiny bit but it's still opening up and I'm not cool with that. I just hope my essix retainers will move these fidgety teeth back into place.

Day after I collected my retainers:
I got my retainers in the afternoon and wore them until I had my dinner in the evening. I left them out for 1-2 hours (the time it took to eat, wait 30 minutes before brushing and flossing) then put them back in again before bed. I got into bed and had this horrid thought about them maybe breaking because I clench my teeth quite bad during the night. I often wake up with my teeth completely jammed together so much so my teeth ache, so I decided to not wear them that night . I got up in the next morning, brushed my teeth and put them back in. That night I knew I couldn't keep going without wearing them to bed so I went to bed with them in. I really cannot see them lasting long with how I clench and sometimes grind during my sleep so I am now starting to think I should have gone for the hawley retainers instead. I also cannot see them staying clear for very long either, maybe they will but even with all the cleaning of them I just think they'll eventually be less clear which I'm not that keen on if I'm still wearing them during the day.

A few days after wearing removable retainers:
Ever since my braces came off and more so since wearing the essix retainers my bite has been pretty bad. None of my back teeth meet anymore, they do if I really force and clench down but that isn't natural and is quite uncomfortable on my jaw joints. I have also noticed my jaw is clicking more and aches quite a lot, I'm also getting headaches and ear pain. So like I mentioned before, I really think I should have gone for the hawley retainers. Since about the 2nd day of wearing my essix retainers I already decided I will eventually pay to get hawleys too, if anything to wear at night to avoid breaking my other retainers when I clench and for a back up but if my jaw and bite issues continue I think I may even have to scrap the clear ones and stick with the hawleys. Seeing as these retainers are so expensive I will have to do one at a time, maybe my uppers first and then a few weeks/months later pay to get a lower one made.

For the first 2 days I didn't use anything to clean my retainers. I just ran them under cool running water. I know that sounds gross but I am brushing and flossing after every single thing I eat before I put them back in. I just didn't want to use a tooth brush to clean them after reading how doing that can create tiny scratches which will only draw more bacteria and make them go cloudy. I didn't get anything with my retainers from my orthodontist and I had meant to order some retainer brite online but didn't get round to it in time so I went to my orthos office and bought a box from there. I have been using the retainer brite once a day since then and it is ok but not great, they're already looking slightly cloudy to me.

[BraceFace2o1o]

My retainers:

[BraceFace2o1o]

My before and after photos. Unfortunately my before photos are a bit all over the place, some are in black and white, some are not great quality and some are small etc but that's all I could find when searching for my before pictures so I will just have to make do.

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It looks a bit like I have white things/spots on my teeth in my after photos here but it's just the reflection from the window I was standing in front of
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[jem]

Hi BF2o1o,

Great to see your pictures at last. Your teeth are absolutely perfect. You must be so thrilled.

Congratulations,

Jem

[JeniK]

BF....they look great! I am so happy for you!!

[anedia]

Your teeth look awesome, congrats!!

[BraceFace2o1o]

I had a hygienist appointment yesterday, it was my very first one... sounds kinda gross but I was with the same dentist since a child and they didn't have a hygienist in office so it wasn't a service they offered. I didn't know what to expect but the lady was lovely and explained everything. She asked me a few questions about my current cleaning routine and I told her I had recently got my braces off after almost 3 years. She took a good look and poke around and praised me on how good condition I have kept my gums in since being in braces, she told me how she sees a lot of patients who have had braces and their gums suffered from poor oral hygiene and not being able to clean them as easy with all the brace in the way. She said she couldn't tell me to change anything because what I'm doing is working very well and told me to keep doing it. Oh actually one thing she did mention, I'm brushing too hard so need to be more gentle. Then came the clean which was fine, my teeth felt very clean afterwards compared to a quick scale and polish at the dentist. I had a couple of stains on my teeth which bugged me but they're now gone so that is good. I recently bought some Crest Whitestrips to try and lighten my teeth some and now I have the all clear on my gums and teeth I'm going to start using them soon and see if they work!

When I woke up this morning I noticed some pain in my lower right central incisor. It's the type of discomfort we all know when we first got our braces on, it's not a sensitive sensation, it's the same type of feeling I got when I first got my braces on or right after an adjustment. I'm hoping during the cleaning my lower retainer hasn't been dislodged on that particular tooth and that's why it's painful. I have checked and cannot see any movement and the glue/wire seems to still be intact. I'll keep an eye on it and see how it goes.

I recently received my sonicbrite cleaner in the post. It's ok, not brilliant but it will do. I have also started using a toothbrush made for sensitive teeth on my clear retainers because I just couldn't keep them clean enough with water rinsing and retainer brite.

[BraceFace2o1o]

Hi BF2o1o,

Great to see your pictures at last. Your teeth are absolutely perfect. You must be so thrilled.

Congratulations,

Jem

BF....they look great! I am so happy for you!!

Your teeth look awesome, congrats!!

Thank you so much Jem, JeniK and anedia! I am very happy with how they turned out and even though I did moan quite a lot during my treatment and sometimes even regretted getting them I can now say I AM glad I got them, it was definitely worth it.

[GillyWeed]

So beautiful!!!! They look amazing. I've never really minded my braces, I actually kind of like them but your after pics make me want to be debraced soo bad!

Congrats again!

[jsotang]

The before and after pictures are like night and day! I agree with everyone else, your smile is so beautiful and your teeth look great! I can only hope that my smile will turn out as perfect

[BraceFace2o1o]

Thank you so much GillyWeed and jsotang

[TrustGodAuburn]

Your teeth look FANTASTIC!!! Congrats!

[rosepetal]

Super! Your teeth are perfect.