Jaws' Story-Updated Dec 12/07--Follow-Up Pic (page 12)

[jaws]

JULY 20th 2005

I had my third adjustment today! Here is what happened:

The ortho said that my upper arch has expanded and leveled out nicely, and it has basically expanded as much as they needed it to. Here is a pic of the upper arch:



So, after 3 months with the same wire, it was finally time for me to get a new one! This new wire is more square in shape, and he described it as a 20/20 wire, which refers to the gauge I think. The hygenist told me that I'll have some tenderness over the next few days, since this wire is much stronger than my old one, but she also said that "things will really start to happen now", which was nice to hear!

Here is a pic of my teeth that I took today (notice the bigger top wire and the purple ligs!):



The hygenist also put some little gadgets on my top back molars to keep the new wire from slipping...they are poking my cheeks a bit, so it's a good thing I have some wax! Here is a pic:



They still can't seem to fit the lingual arch back into my bottom jaw, but he said that things are still rounding out and moving along, and that I will probably get a new wire on the bottom next month:



So, overall I'm pretty happy with how things went! I'm getting a little annoyed with my lower arch, but I know that I just have to be patient and it will come into place.

Just for the sake of comparison, here is a pic from my first day in braces:



And here are two pics from last month:





(click on the images to make them bigger)

My next adjustment is August 17th!

[jaws]

Well, I have had this new wire on my top arch for a few days now, and there has been relatively little pain!! The only thing that is bothering me is the little "stops" that the hygenist put on my top back molars to keep the wire from slipping. The new wire is also already sticking out a bit in the back and it's bugging my cheek! So, I've been using the wax faithfully...hopefully my cheeks will toughen up.

I also went to a family function this past weekend, and no one there had seen me in braces yet...I got some great feedback about how much my teeth have moved in 3 months, which was awesome!

[jaws]

AUGUST 22nd 2005

I had my 4th adjustment last week (August 16th), but I went away on vacation and haven't had a chance to post until now. Here is what happened:

They didn't change either of my wires, but they managed to fit my lingual expander back in on the bottom! So now my bottom teeth can finally start to catch up with my top in terms of expansion (as you can see from the pics, the top is much wider than the bottom at the moment). I meant to take a picture of the 'new' bottom expander, but my camera broke this weekend I will get a pic up as soon as the camera gets fixed!

I also got a 6-month cleaning done--wow, was that torture! They left my wires in, and the hygenist used a pick thing that squirted water at a high speed...much of the water ended up all over my face! Plus, my wires ended up coming out in the process, and they were dangling all over the place in my mouth and poking into my face!!

It also hurt a lot. So I said to the hygenist that I must be doing a poor job of taking care of the braces, since the cleaning hurt so much. And she said, no, my teeth and gums look great, it's just that the instrument that she used is really powerful and some people are very sensitive to it. She said that she also had to remove a lot of glue that was stuck near my gums from when they put my braces on. I sure was glad when it was over! The dentist said that I have a spot that they might need to put a filling in once the braces are removed, but they need to get everything straightened out first so that they can get a better look at it.

I also got pink and blue alternating ligs! I think it's pretty neat...I might get red next time!

Here is an extreme close-up of my teeth after 17 weeks:



And here is a pic of my new ligs:



Last but not least, here is a new morph of my progress after 17 weeks:

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/7725 ... orph9x.swf

The morph is a little weird because of the size of my pictures, but I think it looks pretty cool and shows my progress!

I'll keep everyone posted!

[Dodger(UK)]

You've made great progress there, hopefully you'll continue to do so... nice morph

[BrandiJeane]

WOw your teeth are looking great! I will be keeping up with your progress! Good Luck!

[jaws]

Thanks everyone for the support! It's taking me a bit of time (and patience) to get used to this bottom expander again...but it isn't so bad. At least my bottom teeth will finally be able to catch up with the top!

[jaws]

SEPTEMBER 20TH 2005

Hello Everyone!

Well, I had my 5th adjustment last week, but haven't had a chance to post until now. Things went pretty well. Here is what's new:

1) I got a new (bigger) lower wire--finally after 5 months in the same tiny wire! My old wire was a .16, and this one is a .18, so it isn't a huge jump, but it's enough to make me happy!

2) The ortho put some "stress" on my lower lingual arch. I'm not sure exactly what this means and why it is done, but I think he puts a little bend in certain part(s) of the wire to get a specific torque/force on certain teeth.

3) They "bumped" my upper wire out by 1mm.

I finally learned a bit more about this "Controlled Arch" procedure that they are doing on me. Supposedly my upper and lower lingual arches/expanders push my teeth outward, while the ortho 'controls' how wide he wants my arch to be by moving/bumping my outside wires out so that they pull my teeth outwards. I don't know if that makes any sense but it makes sense when they show me! Lucky for me, this procedure has prevented me from having to get any extractions done.

I also found out that at my next appointment they will be booking me in for a "laser" appointment. To me this sounded crazy, but I guess it just involves them shining a blue lazer into the roof of my mouth and around my face to stimulate cell and tissue growth, so that my tissue will grow strong, which will make it less likely that my teeth will move back into their original positions when I get the braces off.

Overall the ortho seems really excited by my progress (he has only been using this new Controlled Arch procedure for about a year), and the hygenist noted that I take really good care of my teeth and gums!

Here are my new elastics for this month (I got a metallic purple colour):



Here is a pic of the top:



And the bottom:

[Guppie51]

Good luck with the lower arch...and thanks for taking the time to post all the pics... Its GREAT and invaluable for someone who might be thinking of doing this to see the actual progress.

[jaws]

Thanks Guys!

KK: You know, you're right! The camera actually captured the colour fairly acurately--My ligs are more of a wine colour than basic purple. They have this weird sort of metallic shine to them which is exciting (ha ha, I can't believe I'm getting excited by ligatures!! What has my life come to?!)

Yes, I'm really interested in the controlled arch procedure that they are doing to me, I'm hoping to find out more info about it in the future and post it on this site!

[Sarah68]

Just wanted to tell you Jaws that I enjoyed reading your postings and you said some helpful stuff! I am currently plagued by horrendously sensitive first incisors. There is no pain until they are touched (when I bite together or brush) then it's HORRIBLE All the same, I'm still happy in braces! Good luck with yours (and I love the red wine colour ligs!)

[Geri]

Hi there. I have really enjoyed reading about your progress - your teeth are looking great! I noticed that you stopped mentioning canker sores/sore lips about half way through....is this because you stopped getting them? I am getting braced on Monday and the canker sore thing is something I am really not looking forward to, and I wonder how long it takes before a mouth toughens up? I have already discovered the joys of wax on a metal spacer that was killing me and just hope that what I learn here will help with the next phase. Thanks.

[Sarah68]

Hi Geri! I just had to post a reply to say DON'T WORRY!!!!! It'll be fine! (Although at the mo I only have top braces on - the bottoms go on on Wednesday, and that might not be so easy... ). Anyway, re the sores - I found that after 5 days I no longer needed the wax. Only one of the brackets tore at my mouth, and the wax is absolutely wonderful and totally stops it, then on day 6 I realised I no longer needed it. And for the first 10 days my incisors were so sensitive even brushing was horrible, but they are now absolutely fine! In short, it's all totally bearable and the thought of having got on the road to straight teeth makes any bit of discomfort worthwhile.

The only major major thing I've noticed is that food clogs something cronic and it's stopped me snacking between meals - but that's a good thing

Are you going for coloured ligs? I'm def going for purple next time after seeing Kiwikarens! Let us know how you get on.

[jaws]

Hi Geri! As Sarah68 said, no need to worry! Most of my major canker sores went away after around a month. I still do get the odd canker sore here and there, but I've found that using a lot of wax and rinsing with Colgate Peroxyl usually makes the sore go away in around a day or so.

Thanks for reading my story--I hope it was helpful!

[CelestialVoices]

Great progress so far! Hope everything keeps going well for you

[Geri]

Thanks so much Sarah68 and Jaws! I really appreciate your responses. Last night I was wondering if I had made a terrible mistake as my teeth were aching and the wax on the spacer in my mouth was annoying me....the killer thought was...."and this is nothing compared to what is to come". So long as I can keep your words in mind and realise that it gets easier then I can get through the tough initial bit it I'm sure.

Sarah68 - I haven't decided whether to get coloured ligs yet or not...I think I will go clear for the first month, to get used to them, and then maybe get some colours when I am braver later on. I agree that KK's ligs look great though! I have noticed that snacking has really dropped off...but that's a good thing for me too!

Thanks for the tips Jaws - your story is inspirational and it really does help to read and see your pics. It helps to keep the goal in mind during the bad days (like yesterday)! Thanks so much guys....you are awesome!