The Journey has begun.

[SiNsation]

Wow, your teeth look great. SUCH an inspiration. I have a gap that is similar to what you had. I am aiming to get braces march 2013...still need a few fillings and extractions. It looks like it only took 8 months to actually close the gap right?

Thank you.

Congrats on getting your braces in a couple months!

Yes, around 8 months. But I am slightly far away from my ortho, so my appointments are spaced out. I feel if I was closer,my gap would have closed faster... I've seen a few stories on here where people's gap closed in a couple months, so everyone is different...

[AM21]

Hi Sin! Sorry that you had a painful adjustment as well. The pain does suck but you have to keep telling yourself that it's temporary. Only update I have is that I was told to stop wearing elastics, which is kind of nice. I don't have to worry about that extra step after I brush.

I'm just finishing up last minute Christmas presents and will spend lots of time with family and friends. Oh! and my birthday is Friday (The day the world is supposed to end ) So yeah, going to have fun. How about you? Any plans for the holidays?

I'm sure you'll perfect it too! It does take time but when you do smile or laugh without covering your smile, it will feel good. It really gives you a huge boost of confidence.

How did your adjustment go? Any news?? I understand what you mean about wanting them off. You see how much your teeth have transformed and you're like OK, the braces can go now!! Do you think once you get them off, you'll miss them?

Hi BraceTwin

I apologize for being so late. Happy Belated Birthday! Did you do anything exciting?!

My holidays were nice. Spent time with my family and loved ones, that's always nice.

What are the updates on the braces??? (I hope good news. )

I went to my appointment a couple weeks ago. I was praying I would get them off, but of courseeeee that didn't happen. I was very very disappointed at first. But now I'm just like, "When it happens, it happens." My ortho said that she's waiting for my top four teeth to move back a little more. (Sorry I don't know the correct terms lol.) I guess when I swallow my tongue touches the back of my front teeth, which is causing them to not move as fast at they should. So i've been practicing keeping my tongue at the bottom of my mouth. (If that makes sense.) I also have to sleep in these super tight rubberbands at night. My next appointment is in March. So we shall see how that goes....

Hii!

Thanks My husband and I went to dinner for my birthday and that was about it. I was just glad I was able to eat the food because I had, had an adjustment a few days before.

Glad your holidays were nice.

I'm still at a standstill unfort. My next adjustment is Monday, and I do know that my ortho is going to reposition my brackets but that's about it. I do know that I have a ways to go before my braces come off. :/

Aww, that sucks that you didn't get your braces off. But you know it will happen sooner than later.

Yeah, it does make sense. You are trying to re-train your tongue, so that your upper 4 teeth can be moved back. Why do you have to sleep in tigher rubberbands? Good luck with your March adjustment, hoping that it's pain free and chocked full of good news.

[SiNsation]

Hi Sin! Sorry that you had a painful adjustment as well. The pain does suck but you have to keep telling yourself that it's temporary. Only update I have is that I was told to stop wearing elastics, which is kind of nice. I don't have to worry about that extra step after I brush.

I'm just finishing up last minute Christmas presents and will spend lots of time with family and friends. Oh! and my birthday is Friday (The day the world is supposed to end ) So yeah, going to have fun. How about you? Any plans for the holidays?

I'm sure you'll perfect it too! It does take time but when you do smile or laugh without covering your smile, it will feel good. It really gives you a huge boost of confidence.

How did your adjustment go? Any news?? I understand what you mean about wanting them off. You see how much your teeth have transformed and you're like OK, the braces can go now!! Do you think once you get them off, you'll miss them?

Hi BraceTwin

I apologize for being so late. Happy Belated Birthday! Did you do anything exciting?!

My holidays were nice. Spent time with my family and loved ones, that's always nice.

What are the updates on the braces??? (I hope good news. )

I went to my appointment a couple weeks ago. I was praying I would get them off, but of courseeeee that didn't happen. I was very very disappointed at first. But now I'm just like, "When it happens, it happens." My ortho said that she's waiting for my top four teeth to move back a little more. (Sorry I don't know the correct terms lol.) I guess when I swallow my tongue touches the back of my front teeth, which is causing them to not move as fast at they should. So i've been practicing keeping my tongue at the bottom of my mouth. (If that makes sense.) I also have to sleep in these super tight rubberbands at night. My next appointment is in March. So we shall see how that goes....

Hii!

Thanks My husband and I went to dinner for my birthday and that was about it. I was just glad I was able to eat the food because I had, had an adjustment a few days before.

Glad your holidays were nice.

I'm still at a standstill unfort. My next adjustment is Monday, and I do know that my ortho is going to reposition my brackets but that's about it. I do know that I have a ways to go before my braces come off. :/

Aww, that sucks that you didn't get your braces off. But you know it will happen sooner than later.

Yeah, it does make sense. You are trying to re-train your tongue, so that your upper 4 teeth can be moved back. Why do you have to sleep in tigher rubberbands? Good luck with your March adjustment, hoping that it's pain free and chocked full of good news.

That's good you were able to eat! Sometimes I'm not able to eat for days after getting them tightened.
How did your appointment go? I go hope good.
And I'm guessing she really wants to move the teeth back, so I'm in tighter rubber bands. But now my teeth have gotten adjusted to them, so it no longer hurts.

[SiNsation]

I have an appointment with my ortho next Monday. I have a feeling that she will not be excited with the movement of my teeth. Her goal is to have my top four teeth move back more. In my opinion, they have not moved back enough bcuz I am still not able to bite into things bcuz my top teeth aren't touching my bottom teeth. (For example, I cannot open a ketchup package.) Which I was able to do before.

So I don't really know what to expect with this visit. I did my part and wore my rubber bands every night, and trained myself to keep my tongue away from my teeth when I swallow.

I attached some pictures. Excluding my top for teeth not where they are supposed to be, I am quite content with smile. Once the braces are off, I have to then get four Veneers or Crowns. So those two gaps will be closed, and those top four teeth will be nicely shaped. Once that is complete, I think my smile will be great....Hopefully lol.

I'm getting to the point where I just want to tell her to just take them off! lol. My birthday is next week, and my graduation is in a couple months. It would be a wonderful gift to smile brace free. But I know I have to be patient.

Happy Smiling Everyone!

[SiNsation]

Smiles:
July 2011 - March 2013

Crazy Change!
I try to do these comparisions when I find myself getting frustrated and anxious with my journey. It just proves how far you have come.

[Dee17]

Oh, wow! What a difference! No wonder you're so happy! I can't believe how terrific your teeth look. Makes me optimistic about how mine will look in a few months. Thanks for posting those contrasting pictures!!

[SiNsation]

Oh, wow! What a difference! No wonder you're so happy! I can't believe how terrific your teeth look. Makes me optimistic about how mine will look in a few months. Thanks for posting those contrasting pictures!!

Hello Dee,

Thanks for the compliment! I'm happy I can bring some optimism your way! You will have that perfect smile in no time. I went to look at your blog and your teeth are looking nice as well. Placing your pictures directly next to each other will help when you want to do comparisons.

[Dee17]

Hi,
Thanks for the compliment as well and the tip about putting the pictures next to each other. I will do that probably tonight and I'm sure that will give me some reassurance.

[junglejulie]

wow....they are so.... beautiful!!!! *tear drop*

[AM21]

That's good you were able to eat! Sometimes I'm not able to eat for days after getting them tightened.
How did your appointment go? I go hope good.
And I'm guessing she really wants to move the teeth back, so I'm in tighter rubber bands. But now my teeth have gotten adjusted to them, so it no longer hurts.

Not being able to eat after an adjustment is the worse!

My adjustment went pretty well. My ortho repostioned a few brackets on the top and bottom and then I was given a flimsy wire and no powerchain, just ligs. But I've noticed since that adjustment, the gap that I had between my two front teeth has started opening up again. :/ so I'm not too happy about that.... but I know it will be fixed before my braces come off.

I'm glad the rubberbands no longer hurt but just think all the pain and torture we're going through will be worth it once the braces come off and we see our brand new smiles! I can't wait!

[AM21]

Smiles:
July 2011 - March 2013

Crazy Change!
I try to do these comparisions when I find myself getting frustrated and anxious with my journey. It just proves how far you have come.

Wowwwww!!! Look at that progress!! Looking good, Sin!!

[oldfart]

That bottom one is a wonderful smile!

(others are good too, but like the bottom one best.)

of

[AM21]

Howdy Brace Twin!

How's everything going? Any tooth news?

[SunshineRay]

Great progress! How do you put the pics side by side? Im new to the pic thing.

[SiNsation]

Wow I haven't post in about 6 months! But i have good news, My BRACES ARE OFF!

Boy, has this been a looooong journey. Where can I start?...I got them off about 3 weeks ago. When I got them off, my teeth looked HORRIBLE. (Pictures are attached) This is largely due to the fact that my teeth are undersized. So after getting my braces off, I had an appointment to get bonding done on about 5 of my teeth. That made a MAJOR difference because if I kept them the way they were, it appeared that I didn't even go through ortho.

The next day I went on vacation for a few weeks and while eating a burger, the bonding came off on one of my teeth. So today I had an appointment with my dentist and he fixed it and also reshaped my canine teeth because I didn't want them to be so "pointy," if that makes sense. Tomorrow I have an appointment with my ortho to make sure my retainers fit.

Retainers: Another headache lol. Went I first wore them, I was so embarrassed to speak because I couldn't pronounce words correctly. I also felt like I was gagging a lot. But after about a week or two, you get used to wearing them.

How do I feel: When i had braces, I envisioned myself being a totally different person and feeling different about myself when I got my braces off. Honestly, I feel no different. It hasn't affected my confidence or made me feel prettier, etc. I'm still the same person, with the same personality, with the same ego, feeling just as pretty as I did before I had braces.

How do I feel about my teeth: I'm satisfied. Looking at my old pictures, I literally have a completely different smile. Since being back from my vacation, I haven't interacted with many people, but the people I have seen have said that my teeth are so straight and I've gotten positive feedback. There are a few things I'm not 100% satisfied about my teeth, but hey, I'm not perfect so neither should my smile be. In the next few years I may consider Veneers and major teeth whitening but for now, with my not so good income lol, I am satisfied. My major goal was to be semi-comfortable with smiling and not hide behind my hand for the rest of my life, and that goal was accomplished.

Sorry this post was so long.
Sorry my pictures are huge.
And of course, HAPPY SMILING EVERYONE!