Braces at 31; chocolate's story

[chocolate1978]

I now remember that I have to have posted something like 6-7 times before they let me put up pics. Better start posting.

[chocolate1978]

Can I post pics now?

[chocolate1978]

How about now?

[chocolate1978]

Think I can after this one

[chocolate1978]

Wish I knew how to make them smaller

[chocolate1978]

Ok, new updates. They may be on the big side as I assure you I am NOT a computer geek. Think I have managed to change their size. Anyway, I am very happy thus far.

Only thing I wish is that my rounder face would reappear. But Oh well, gotta give up something to get something. Seven more months.

These below are at 17 months.

[chocolate1978]

Still a little on the big side, but you guys get the drill. I will reduce them to 25% next update instead of 50%. Thanks to a cousin who's a computer geek otherwise they would have been twice as big.

The spaces are all almost gone completely, just a few small ones about 2-3 mm here and there. Happy with the profile change so far. Only problem is there's hardly any room to move the uppers back and I still have an overbite.

I will discuss this with my ortho on next appt in January.

[HeyBuckey!]

Hey Choco!!!

Thanks for stopping by on my thread! I have to say I think your profile is beautiful! Did you want it a little flatter? I think it's great just the way it looks right now. But of course that's at your discretion and I'm absolutely sure your results are going to be amazing either way. I know the ordeal with having "bucked" teeth and all. I wanted a flatter profile because of the protrusion I had from the top of my upper lip to my nose. I'm not sure what they did but my profile is a little flatter and my upper lip looks a lot fuller than it did when I first began. Everytime I'd smile my upper lip would slightly disappear. Then I read you're thread. That info was very insightful! Thank goodness my lower lip didn't get larger though. I don't think I could handle that!

Anywho! Looks like you're just about done! You're progress is amazing! I wish my gaps would have took a lesson from yours.

[chocolate1978]

Thanks lady. Yes, my profile is much improved from before braces and I am happy. I think though that the upper lip is gonna go back slightly more (or not) because of the overbite that I still have that we need to fix. If it doesn't go back any I won't mind though because I do like my new profile much better than before.

[chocolate1978]

Just had an adjustment yesterday. Have about 7 months left. Ortho banded my last molars on the bottom because there was now a huge space there after moving the rest of the teeth forward. Boy not only are my teeth sore, but my tongue is getting chewed up like when I first got these on 18 months ago. I have been eating potato soup and ice cream and about to go get a big huge wonton soup.

I am frankly tired of the soreness every three weeks for 3-4 days. Tired of not being able to eat right, tired of not being able to brush right. I am ready for these suckers to be off and to eat what I want all the time.

I will be left with about a 3-4mm overbite when all is said and done which I am ok with because the overjet/bimaxillary protrusion is gone and that was my biggest problem. Reason for this is because we first started with IPR on the bottom and when the results weren't what I wanted, we extracted the bottom two. Now they are too far back compaired with the tops although we have inclined them forward slightly, but there's still a bit of a gap.

Next time I will take some xrays for comparison. I love my new profile and slightly smaller lips. They are still full, but no more lip incompetence and soup coolers if some of yall know what I mean.

Anyway, by the summer they will be off because I will be moving. YEEPEE.

[chocolate1978]

So here I am at 22 months and I honestly don't think these things will be off in the next 6 weeks. Which is when I am moving back home.

Ortho overcorrected the bottom teeth, now they are too far back and we are wearing rubber bands to bring them forward again to meet the top. My bottom midline is still off center. My bite on the right is good but on the left it sucks.

I have a feeling I will be looking for a new ortho in TX to finish things up to my satisfaction although my ortho says that we still will most likely finish on time. Of course that is up to me when they come off and I am commited to adding another 3-4 months if necessary. Question I have, why did we overcorrect in the first place? It's like 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. Oh well, I guess it will end this year sometime though. Most likely in the fall, not summer as I had planned.

Gotta come up with more money now to keep this things on, even though I will have paid full price for them when I leave here in 6 weeks.

[chocolate1978]

Well, I moved back home two months ago and found a new Ortho just this week. He says that I should be done in three to six months. It ended up costing me about $450 more than what it would have cost in my old place. That's fine though because I want these things out by the end of the year. I will be left with an overbite and my left side bite will not be the perfect class II occlusion that the right side it. He says there will be no long term effects though. I am sore and haven't experienced this in over two months but excited.

Oh and he changed out the bottom front brackets to Damons. I saw my teeth in the mirroe before he replaced them and they look so long and white. So wierd. And popping out the brackets did hurt badly on a couple of teeth. Just a preview of what to expect on debrace day. I shall drug myself well though and have my mom drive me there and back though.

Will update with pics this week.
Choco

[chocolate1978]

Wow, I haven't been on this site in almost two years. I got my uppers out 1 year ago and finally got the lowers out this week. About 4 years total of these things.

And now the problem, I am left with an overbite(not overjet) that is deep and you can no longer see my bottom teeth at all when I smile. I miss my old smile where one could see soo many of my teeth top and bottom but certainly don't miss my old profile.

All in all I am mostly satisfied but regret pulling teeth. Just gotta figure this deep bite soon.

The bite block my last ortho made to open my bite was too bulky and very uncomfortable to wear. Was thinking of not wearing my lower retainer and letting my teeth drift forward again slowly over time, to get closer to my top teeth. The flare would open up my bite more but of course, there would be gaps.

Will see. It has been an interesting and long journey, and do not want to have to go thru this again.

[wishbone83]

I have bimax protrusion and overcrowding too. hope to see some success stories out here!

[wishbone83]

And some pictures...