Braces are Off!!

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acd
Posts: 224
Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:32 pm
Location: Midwest, USA

Braces are Off!!

#1 Post by acd »

From this
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to this
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in just under 28 easy months. Ok, maybe there was a little more in between but right now I'm just enjoying the moment.

It didn't take long to pop the brackets off, and actually one of the top ceramics came off as the assistant was removing an elastic hook. I almost swallowed a molar band that popped off but my toungue saved it before going down my throat. The worst part was grinding the cement off--I found out that I have a sensitive tooth the hard way. The Dr. also filed my top teeth a bit so they are more even though one of them is still pretty uneven from hitting my upper left lateral for so many years. They took the lower impression first and after taking the upper impression I felt something loose in my mouth. At first I thought it was a filling that had come out but when I pulled it out it was a ceramic bracket.

I go back in a week to get my retainers so I've got a week to enjoy my freedom. I'm amazed with how well everything turned out. For the most part having braces was relatively easy and pain free with only a few exceptions. If I had known that it would have been easy I would have gotten them years ago. Thanks to everyone who has posted here and helped convince me that I could survive braces.
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braceasourus
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:57 pm

#2 Post by braceasourus »

hey first of all you look seriously fantastic! Congrats on being free!!


I wanted to ask you how long it took for that tooth next to your next two front teeth to come up and not seem sunken in. That is my biggest issue with my teeth and i am curious to see how long it will take for braces to cure that.



Thank you =)
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kirjax
Posts: 478
Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 8:57 am
Location: Philadelphia

#3 Post by kirjax »

congrats! I became free today myself and it rocks! I got my retainers already (essix) I am not really caring too much for having them in cause I really just want to enjoy my naked teeth but I guess I'll pay for it if I don't wear them so I have to suck it up!

Image


Sentenced: 20-24 months
Braced May 11, 2007
Debraced Feb. 23, 2009
21 months in braces, 17 months in elastic, NO regrets!! Now in Hawley retainers!!
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kirjax
Posts: 478
Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 8:57 am
Location: Philadelphia

#4 Post by kirjax »

oh and our teeth look really similar to how they were before braces!

Image


Sentenced: 20-24 months
Braced May 11, 2007
Debraced Feb. 23, 2009
21 months in braces, 17 months in elastic, NO regrets!! Now in Hawley retainers!!
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xnicole
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 3:33 pm

#5 Post by xnicole »

Your teeth look great! I'm just hoping for the day I finally get mine off. Congrats!
Yes, I look froward to my orthodontist appointments :D
Image



Image
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jenny101101
Posts: 641
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:25 am
Location: Canada
Contact:
Contact jenny101101

#6 Post by jenny101101 »

Congrats! Your teeth look great!! :D
Keep smilin'! :)
Jenny
Image

Braced for 18 months: Damon 3mx all around with Damon 3's on "social six". Now is Essix retainers for 10 hours/night.
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Waiting2BeFabulous
Posts: 53
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 4:02 am

#7 Post by Waiting2BeFabulous »

Great results! Congrats! I'm err..jealous but I know you had to do your time like the rest of us are so I can't be a "hater", lol.
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danish
Posts: 235
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 7:52 am
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

#8 Post by danish »

wow... You can be a model for tooth paste commercials with those teeth!!!!!!! :dance:

Danish
metal braces on: 4 Oct 2007
Tx for: crowding
debonded on: 24 Jun 2009

total treatment time: 629 days


my journey ==> http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... highlight=
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acd
Posts: 224
Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:32 pm
Location: Midwest, USA

#9 Post by acd »

Thanks for your kind words. It feels really wierd not to have anything on my teeth after all this time. I think I can feel my lower teeth moving already--hopefully they don't move too much before I get my retainers on Monday. I'll be really pissed off if I have to get braces again!

Kirjax, I just looked at your 'before' pictures and our uppers did look similar, although your lowers started out a lot straighter than mine.

Braceasourus, It took three months to get the lateral attached to the archwire and then less than a month for it to come all the way forward. Here is what it looked like on the day I got braces:
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The spring was pretty annoying and I felt constatnt pressure on the lateral. The ceramic bracket came off twice in the first two weeks and was replaced with a metal band. At my first adjustment I got a stronger wire and spring and that really got things moving. Right before my second adjustment it looked like this:
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This is after three months with braces and my third adjustment:
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And finally here is after four months with braces:
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Danish, If you can line up the sponsorships I'll gladly give you the standard 10% cut. :D
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kirjax
Posts: 478
Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 8:57 am
Location: Philadelphia

#10 Post by kirjax »

I never had that kind of band on my tooth just a regular bracket. But the springs were so annoying! My lips would get stuck in it. Gosh I t hought I'd never get them taken off but low and behold it all came together eventually!

Image


Sentenced: 20-24 months
Braced May 11, 2007
Debraced Feb. 23, 2009
21 months in braces, 17 months in elastic, NO regrets!! Now in Hawley retainers!!
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sdawdy
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2008 11:39 am
Location: Wisconsin

#11 Post by sdawdy »

your teeth look great!!!!!


I have a band around one of my teeth that is not a molar also....for different reasons!!! I had a cross bite that the spring and power chains would not correct and my tooth on the inside is so small that they could not do a lingual button to attach a rubber band around....so they banded it and used the cleats to hook the rubber band around!!!!

Anyways, it your teeth look great and I am jealous!

SD
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braceasourus
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:57 pm

#12 Post by braceasourus »

oh my goodness that spring looks all kinds of painful. I wonder if i will have to do that too =/


Thank you for sharing though that was super helpful
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acd
Posts: 224
Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:32 pm
Location: Midwest, USA

#13 Post by acd »

After one week of freedom I got Hawley upper and lower retainers on Monday morning. They were extremely tight going in the first time because my teeth had already started to move, especially my lowers. It felt like I had a huge glob stuck to the roof of my mouth and I was quite surprised at how awful I sounded the first time I tried to talk. The assistant told me that I'd have to wear them full time for a year. My first thought was that there's no way I can go for a year sounding like an idiot but she assured me that I'd sound normal in a week. Then the doctor checked them and asked if anything was rubbing or felt uncomfortable and other than sounding like Daffy Duck I told him everything was fine. He showed me my 'before' and 'after' pictures and was pleased with how everything turned out. His only concern was that if my lower teeth begin to move he may put in a lower permanent retainer but would prefer that I have the removable retainer because of cleaning issues and I have to go back in eight weeks for a check up.

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After the appointment I called my wife and she said that if I talk to anyone from work I should take them out because I sounded so bad. I had to drive two hours to a meeting and talked to myself the entire way trying to sound normal. Yesterday I had an all day seminar and kept the whole day and this morning I sound pretty close to normal. After where I began and looking at how my teeth look now I am amazed at the progress and am determined to wear my retainers as prescribed so my teeth don't move back.
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beth1966
Posts: 435
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2007 6:32 am
Location: California

Re: Braces are Off!!

#14 Post by beth1966 »

acd wrote: If I had known that it would have been easy I would have gotten them years ago. Thanks to everyone who has posted here and helped convince me that I could survive braces.
Great news - congrats!

I think your response and experience is the norm for the most part - meaning satisfied once it is over and it not being nearly as bad/painful etc as you expected. I think a couple folks who DO experience all that are the exception.

People need to remember that so many of us had braces back in the 80s or even 70s and orthodontics as come such a LONG LONG way since then! If we could survive THAT, then modern day orthodontics should be far easier!

Thanks for your encouraging post - I hope lots of folks read it!

Congrats again!
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Schwe
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:40 am

#15 Post by Schwe »

Wow, what a fabulous transformation! I am really looking forward to finishing my treatment, and I'm only 7.5 months into it! :lol:
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