The Professor's Story of Braces at 40 (with pics)

[TheProfessor]

I decided to go ahead and get my checkup and cleaning in 2 weeks. I called my ortho this morning and made arrangements to get my wires taken out and replaced. I'll pay for another cleaning if I need it when my braces come off. My head is really high maintenance this month. By the end of February I will have had 4 orthodontist appointments, a cleaning and checkup at the dentist, and my yearly checkup at the eye doctor.

[NeilH]

You don't want to get an appointment at an ENT specialist while you are at it do you? It would be a shame to miss that out.

[TheProfessor]

You don't want to get an appointment at an ENT specialist while you are at it do you? It would be a shame to miss that out.

I should probably also see a dermatologist and complete the set!

[RustyPrincess]

Your progress is amazing, I just sat and read the thread from the beginning. I got braces about a month ago and am enjoying reading everyone's stories

[TheProfessor]

I had a cleaning and checkup at my dentist today. My hygienist gave me a good grade on cleaning and she is very excited that I'll be done with braces soon. I asked what they thought about the asymmetry I see in my upper lateral incisors. After lots of looking, my dentist concluded that my left lateral is a "thinner" tooth than my right lateral, giving the illusion that the left one is tilted in more than the right. The bottom line is that my teeth are weird but they are aligned where they should be! She said that it probably won't be as noticeable when the brackets are off, but they could do some cosmetic work if it bothers me. We also talked about the shape of my centrals. Her opinion was that I have plenty of enamel to allow for a good amount of shaping, the same goes for evening out my bottom incisors. Now I'm much more optimistic about getting these braces off soon! Hopefully we will schedule the debonding appointments at my next adjustment on Feb 29 (2 weeks from today...)

[TheProfessor]

And here are some wireless update pics:




Day 1 pic for comparison:

[Bracesat57]

Fantastic progress! Your teeth look awesome!

[NeilH]

What an amazing transformation, you are going to end up with a lovely result and pretty soon from what you are saying. Your bite looks good from the photos so I guess you are at the refinements stage?

[TheProfessor]

Fantastic progress! Your teeth look awesome!

Thanks! I still can't believe that some brackets, a wire, and 2 years brought my lower incisors into line!

[TheProfessor]

What an amazing transformation, you are going to end up with a lovely result and pretty soon from what you are saying. Your bite looks good from the photos so I guess you are at the refinements stage?

Thanks, NeilH. I'm definitely in the refinements stage now. I've been wearing triangle elastics since mid-December and they have really pulled my bite together nicely. The uneven wear on my lowers masks how straight they really are--I think they will look pretty good after my ortho evens them out. My teeth aren't as yellow as they appear in those photos, but I will probably do some whitening at some point.

I flew on Southwest airlines today (it doesn't have assigned seating). I ended up in an aisle seat, but the plane filled up so people had to sit in the middle seats. An older man came and sat in my row even though there were lots of seats in the rows in front of me. He was very chatty (in a good way) and told me that he picked the seat beside me because I had such a nice smile that he knew I would be a friendly person. I've noticed in the last 6 months that strangers talk to me more often. I'm not sure if braces have cured my "resting bi#%& face" or if I'm just a more confident person now and this makes me more approachable. Either way, it's another positive outcome of having braces!

[NeilH]

That's a very positive story, I'm sure many of us end up becoming more outwardly confident and open during braces and this shines through and makes us more 'attractive' to others. I found a similar thing, since getting braces, people spend longer chatting, are nicer around me, are more caring and maybe this is simply a manifestation of who I have become. Since getting them off last week I'm carefully monitoring whether this changes, I hope not!

[nicolie825]

Looking good Professor! I wish braces fixed my resting b@$!# face lol. I still get complete strangers telling me to smile when I'm minding my own business. At least now I don't really mind since I actually like my teeth and smile now lol. I'm glad to see that your braces have had a positive effect on you and they're not even off yet!

[TheProfessor]

I had my 14th adjustment this morning. I went in feeling hopeful that we would be able to schedule my debracing appointments, but the ortho said not yet! I have the same elastic tie over my front 4 teeth and a new power chain on top and an additional elastic tie connecting my 6 lower front teeth. I'm still in triangle elastics (rabbit). My next appointment is on March 30, my ortho thinks that we'll be able to schedule debracing appointments then.

I am really ready to be done with braces. The only thing that has kept me motivated was that it would be over in two years. Now my next adjustment is 5 days after my 2-year anniversary. I know that a month or two is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but it is still depressing...

[oldfart]

What's your retainer story going to be?

[Bracesat57]

Hang in there Professor. I can understand your disappointment. Soon, very soon!

I am wondering if they just start teasing us at the end of our treatment with talk about debracing before we are really at that point. Just a thought....