Smiletagious's 4 Month Exp. + Pics!

Message

#1 Post by **Smiletagious:o)** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:28 pm

Hey everyone, wow 4 months have flown by!! My time in braces so far has been pretty uneventful, not much soreness, only for a few days after adjustments (had 2 so far).

After I got my braces put on my lips were really dry, even though i covered them in lipbalm beforehand...oh well. At first it felt like I had rocks in my mouth, but after about a week I was pretty much used to them, and I don't really think about them anymore, except when I'm eating or cleaning up afterwards!

I had two mini-screw implants (above the 1st molar on the left and right sides of my upper jaw) placed by an oral surgeon on the 12th April. These will be used to bring my front teeth back and to close the spaces that I have around the sides of my upper arch. Spacers (so annoying!) on the 17th April then braces on the 24th April. I believe I have GAC Innovation C's on my six front teeth, and the Innovation R's (metal) on all the rest. I have had a few comments from people about them, but mostly just close friends and family that knew I was getting them anyway.

My first adjustment my ortho changed both wires. The week before my second adjustment one of the screws (the one on the right hand side) started to feel loose, went to see the oral surgeon and it had to come out. I waited 5 weeks for the bone to heal, and this Monday I had it put back in again (hopefully it stays there this time!!) My second adjustment was a change of both wires again. This coming Tuesday will be my 3rd adjustment, and my otho will start using the mini-screws. . . will be interesting!

I have experienced some movement, slow and steady up to this point, I'm expecting to see a fair bit more when the screws are in use.
Here's some progress pics to look at . . . I know how everyones loves piccies!!

They are from the day I got braces (left), and after 4 months (right).
Enjoy!

Take care everyone. . . Happy Smiling

Front:

Upper Arch:

Lower Arch:

Left:

Right:

#2 Post by **jennielee81** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 5:25 am

Wow, your arches are really beautiful!

It looks like now your waiting on the overjet to correct itself.

NICE LOOKING TEETH!

#3 Post by **Andantae** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 6:12 am

Wow!!! Your lower arch look perfect already. It is easy to see that you are going to end up with just a beautiful smile!

Andi
Great photos, BTW

#4 Post by **onny** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 7:02 am

Wow great improvement for just 4 months! I dont have that much luck, after 12 months my teeth nearly didnt moved at all, just some twist fixed, but not the main problem. Anyway, dont those Screws not hurt ? Do the holes where the screws remain heal fully again ? I think I would be very scared to get screws in my jaws (and deny it)

#5 Post by **SandraJones** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 10:34 am

Another great set of pics !!! That is truly amazing !! Smiletagious I can only imagine how thrilled you are ! You have very pretty teeth, too !

#6 Post by **bnbraces** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:24 pm

Congratulations! I'm also closing up a front gap and it's great to see the progress you've made. I'm in my third month and the gap is down to less than half its original sizes - it's really moved a lot in the last month or so.

Great to see what's in store...

Did you ortho talk to you about periodontal surgery? Mine said I might need to to remove some tissue above the area between the gap - and the resulting scar tissue will help keep the teeth together. Just curious... I'm starting to wonder when I might have to go through that.

You look great!

#7 Post by **Lisa65** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:36 pm

Some good pics there! I'm another mini-screw "victim". The main difference is that I can't have any extractions (already had them in my teens and not enough teeth left), so the screws are being used to push my back teeth backwards, and make space that way.

Looking forward to seeing your progress once the screws are put to use. From experience I can tell you that they really get things moving. I bet those gaps will close in no time.

#8 Post by **onny** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:39 pm

Everytime I read about extractions im still shocked cos it seems it is the most normal thing on earth. Smaller smiles and less teeth is a handycap, i dont get why so many agree to extractions...

#9 Post by **chillin-in-grilz** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 2:28 pm

wow awesome pics:) How big is your overjet?

#10 Post by **Smiletagious:o)** » Sun Aug 26, 2007 5:39 am

Thanks everyone for all the great comments, I am very happy with my progress so far

onny: It's really not that bad to get the screws, just a local anaesthetic and they put them in with a special screwdriver or drill, doesn't hurt at all, just a bit of pressure against the jaw. Afterwards mine ached for a few hours, and sore to chew for a few days, but not too much hassle. When I had the loose one taken out, the surgeon told me to wait at least 4 weeks for the bone to heal, apparently it just grows back into the hole! The screw got put back into exactly the same place, and the surgeon said it felt very sturdy, so my body looks to have done it's job!

bnbraces: No, my ortho hasn't mentioned anything about periodontal surgery, but who knows what the future holds?

Lisa65: Good to hear the screws get things moving, I'm curious what will be attached and where, but I guess I will find out on Tuesday!

chillin-in-grilz: If I didn't have braces I would be embarrassed to admit my overjet at the start was 11mm (not sure what it is atm). BUT, this was one of the main reasons why i got braces, I hated how my teeth stuck out and also all of the spacing. Now that I have braces it's not so bad because I know I am doing something to fix it.

At my first consult the ortho said I may want surgery for a "perfect" result (to bring my lower jaw forward), but after he saw my x rays he said my profile wasn't that bad and recommended the screws instead. We'll see how it goes. He said he should be able to get the overjet down to about 3-4 mm, which I would be happy with, as that is alot smaller than 11!! Anyway, I'm not after a "perfect" hollywood smile, I just want to be able to feel happy and confident with myself and to be able to smile and not worry about it! (don't get me wrong, nothing stopped me from smiling before braces, but I was very self-conscious about it). Anyway I have written an essay here so I'll just say that as long as I have a functional bite and an improved smile, I will be happy!

#11 Post by **ghostmyimag3** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 7:32 pm

My overjet was 9mm, and looking at your pics i was guessing somewhere in that area.He wanted to do surgery to correct that because he said i'd end up with a slight overbite due to the way my teeth pertruded outward like yours were. But i declined because of the fact i think i have had enough junk done to my mouth and a slight overbite is something i can live with. But looking at my teeth now, i barely have any overbite at all which is something i believe he wasn't expecting but he's also shaped my front teeth etc up some and filed them down some more and that has helped. But its looking good, i can tell some movement has been made. Your lowers look awesome!