Cathykay's journey to a pretty smile!

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#1 Post by **cathykay** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:42 am

Hey! My name is Cathy and I'm 20 years old.

I contemplated braces in high school but quickly decided against it when I noticed a lot of people were getting their braces off, and I had yet to get mine on. Getting my teeth straightened continued to be on the back of mind though, and I finally went for my consultation in August 2007 (I had graduated high school by then). Although I went for a consultation, I backed out because I was full of excuses. A year and a half later, I started contemplating braces yet again. This time, I noticed that if I had just gotten braces after my initial consultation, I would have been almost done with treatment by now! I realized that if I'm always thinking about getting them, I might as well just do it because if I don't do it now, I'd end up doing it later - and I'd rather get this over with sooner than later. So, I went back to the orthodontist and got new molds, x-rays and pictures (to see if my case had changed at all), and then immediately scheduled an appointment to get spacers.

I got my spacers on March 4. I was nervous to get them because I had heard that they hurt A LOT, but I guess I was one of the lucky ones because I had no real pain. I had some minor discomfort and that was it.

I got my braces on March 11, a week later. Getting the braces put on was an easy process. It got annoying to have my mouth open for so long but I tried to keep my mind off of it and daydream, haha. I got ceramic brackets on top and metal on the bottom. I currently only have the top wire in because I have to get a baby tooth pulled on the bottom before I can get the bottom wire put in. I'll be getting that done before my first adjustment so that at my first adjustment for the top teeth, I can get a bottom wire put in. I'm not looking forward to the tooth extraction but I can't wait to have a bottom wire put in so I can know that those teeth are on their way too.

After I got home, I posted a thread on the other part of the forum where I asked people what their initial reaction to braces was because I cried. I'm not going to lie; I felt unattractive when I looked in the mirror and I couldn't help but think "Oh my God, what have I done?!" To my complete surprise, that feeling went away very quickly. I actually think that my braces look sort of cute now. I'm not going to pretend that I LOVE them because at 20 years old, let's be real here, it's not an ideal situation to have braces... but I know that I'm doing something good for myself. Anytime I think "I wish I wouldn't have these for my 21st birthday...," I think "BUT at least they will be off by the time I get married!!" (Laugh if you'd like, hehe)

Now that they're on, I realized how much my teeth really bother me. I think I had tricked myself into believing that my smile didn't bug me much, but now I'm practically cheering my teeth to move into the correct position.

I'm not sure how often I will write in this but I'm thinking this will be my place to not only update on my progress, but to vent when needed... Hopefully nobody minds the occasional cranky post.

I'm still working on being able to take pictures of the inside of my mouth but I tried... I have no idea if this is any sort of progress, or if it's just the way I held the camera that's making that one front tooth look like it moved a little. lol, I mean, it had only been one week since I got braces that I took the second photo so I wasn't really expecting to see a difference... but anyway, here are my top teeth.

Right after I got my top braces on, 3/11:

One week later, 3/18:

Thanks for having a look at my story so far!

CathyKay[/img]

#2 Post by **brika** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 10:35 am

Hi Cathy!
I'm so glad you're feeling more comfortable in your braces.

They can definitely be a shock at first, but I suppose any big change can be like that!
Ahh, sometimes I wish I hadn't waited so long so I could be done with treatment by now, too...but just think how time flew from September 2007 to now! I'm sure you'll be getting your braces off in no time at all.

I can definitely see a change already! It looks like your front tooth is rotating into position. That's fantastic!

Thanks for sharing your story with us! I look forward to seeing your progress (and gripes

)! Best of luck to you!

#3 Post by **sdawdy** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 8:20 pm

Congrats on taking on this journey...It will be a long journey (but the time will fly)

I do see movement!!!! In only a week...I wish I had that!

This site is great and lots of motivational people here....this is the place to be!

Good Luck and keep us updated

SD

#4 Post by **cathykay** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 6:43 am

Quick update because I'm not in the mood to write a longer one...

I got a tooth extracted yesterday. I had a panic attack and threw up afterwards. I have been feeling rather nauseous ever since because I don't do well with blood and I don't see how this huge gap is going to heal. I'm feeling panicky and scared and use some virtual hugs...

#5 Post by **kayleighkelley** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 9:22 am

The gap will heal, I had mine extracted on March 17th and it's pretty much filled in and healed already. Mine was the #12 tooth and when I see it I freak out thinking...how long before my teeth will close together!!! Good Luck with your braces journey!!

#6 Post by **cathykay** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 6:13 pm

Thanks to everyone who has checked out my story so far; especially those of you who have replied. This site has been a great support system so far and full of great information, so I'm really happy to be a part of this board.

Kayleigh, thanks for the reassurance. It's been three days now and it really is beginning to heal.

Thanks for the hug, Ken!

---

Here's Friday's horrible tooth extraction story...

First, I get to the dentists office and sit in the waiting for a couple of minutes. I joked around with my dad, flipped through a magazine, and wasn't terribly nervous. I wasn't familiar with the dentist because I recently switched insurance and my old dentist doesn't take my new insurance, so my mom just booked me with a local one. I'm not a huge chicken when it comes to dental work but my old dentist was very kind, good at calming me down if I was nervous, and mad me feel comfortable. This dentist was the complete opposite. I total him "I'm nervous..." and he responded with "I know."

Once I was in the chair, because of his lack of making me feel comfortable, the anxiety started to kick in. I have a past with having panic attacks and I started to feel one coming on, but I focused on breathing so I could just get the extraction over with. The tooth came out rather quick and it was painless, but I had worked myself up so much and was so grossed out by the sound, that I ended up having a a panic attack shortly after. I nearly passed out and then ended up throwing up once my dad and I left the office. When I got home, I was not in the mood to deal with changing bloody gauze because I get queasy at the site of blood, so that just added to my misery.

The day after, Saturday, I woke up with a swollen lip. I went on antibiotic and ever since, it has been going down. I'm still grossed out by the extraction site but I don't get as nauseous looking at it, which is a huge improvement. Now I'm just really glad i got the extraction done and over with, and that I can get my bottom wire in next week and get those bottom teeth moving.

#7 Post by **cathykay** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:32 am

4.9.09: I had my first adjustment! I got my top braces adjusted for the first time and the bottom wired for the first time. The adjustment was more painful than I expected. I have to remember to take some Advil before the appointment next time because I think that might help some. My top teeth had stopped hurting about 3 days after braces and then started feeling sore again about a week before the adjustment. So, when I went to the orthodontist, my teeth weren't happy to be getting poked at.

Now that my bottom teeth are wired too, I'm becoming a bit anxious. I don't believe I mentioned this before but when I initially went for my consultation, I was given jaw surgery as an option for an underbite. After the orthodontist studied my molds, x-rays, and pictures though, he said that he can "correct" it through the tooth extraction. He said himself that jaw surgery is not an easy thing to go through as it's major surgery, and that if I decided to go through with it, the surgery in my case, would be more for cosmetic reasons. So I decided to not get it. I'm just really curious to see how he is going to accomplish the results. I'm concerned that somehow my bite will get worse instead of better. My boyfriend told me to relax because the orthodontist knows what he's doing but I can't help but feel a bit uneasy! I hope once my bottom teeth start shifting, any doubts will go away.

Anyway, the day after my adjustment (yesterday), I noticed that one of my brackets came loose on a back tooth. So I have to go reattach it this coming Thursday. I was expecting an appointment sooner than that but whatever. I'm mad the bracket came loose but apparently that can just happen...? It's not like I ate anything hard that would cause it to break off.

Now for the good stuff, PICTURES!

These are my bottom teeth. Notice the giant post-extraction gap! I pointed out where the other gap in my mouth is. That one is MUCH smaller and you can't see in the photo (I'll try to take some better ones). The smaller gap came from having a tooth pulled when I was younger. There was no adult tooth underneath it, just like how there was no adult tooth on the other side, where I got the baby tooth pulled. Over time, my teeth shifted over to where I had the extraction at a younger age and you can see that in the photo. My midline is nowhere near where it should be! Now with the extraction of the corresponding tooth on the other side, my teeth can get moving over in the other direction to eliminate crowding and close up the gap.

And THIS is what I'm excited about!

These are my top teeth the day I got braces.

And these are my teeth before my first adjustment!!

My friends and family (and me obviously) are amazed at how quick they moved! I didn't notice the movement as quick as my friends did, probably because I was always in the mirror trying to see a change. I kept getting comments like "Oh my gosh, your tooth is getting straight!" and "They're moving already!" I didn't notice until I went to floss my teeth one day and all of sudden couldn't slide the floss through as easily as I used to.

And there's my update!

#8 Post by **kayleighkelley** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:47 am

That is so great that your front tooth already moved. I have a front tooth that is also out of place and I can't wait until it is straight.

#9 Post by **Tommm** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:03 pm

That's some amazing progress in 1 month. Congrats!!

#10 Post by **cathykay** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 4:24 pm

Thanks you three! It is definitely exciting to see movement.

A belated update:

4.16.09
I got the bracket that came loose put back on.

The night before, I woke up in the middle of the night with something hard in my mouth. My first thought, "OMG!! A TOOTH FELL OUT?!?!" hahaha, oh gosh... I'm thinking I was having an orthodontics-related nightmare right before I woke up or something. It turns out it was the blue glue on one of my back molars; it came off. I was happy to have an appointment that morning since I could get that fixed too.

I asked the orthodontist why the glue came off and he said sometimes it just happens. He said that occasionally, the stuff won't come off easily when he wants it to come off and other times, like with what happened to me, it just comes off on its own! The assistant said that it could also be from possibly grinding or clenching my teeth in the middle of the night. Since I got braces, I do think I clench my teeth sometimes. She asked if I have been stressed about school lately (or stressed about anything at all) because that can lead to clenching at night. The end of the semester IS approaching so I guess that's a possibility. I was told that if the glue comes off again, not to worry. Just call them to let them know, and they will put it on at my next adjustment (apparently the glue isn't that big a deal).

I was commended for calling the office the day I noticed my loose bracket and for coming in at their soonest available appointment, so yay for that.

---

I haven't noticed any changes since I last posted, but I haven't taken any pictures since then either and I know minor changes may be more visible in photos. I know things are moving though because I can't floss between certain teeth; that's how TIGHT some of the spaces (or lack there of) are between my teeth - mostly on the bottom, but definitely the two front top teeth too. It'd be nice to get some floss in there sometime soon. I tried last night but it hurt SO bad, I practically teared up, so I decided to wait it out even more. Forcing floss doesn't seem like a good idea.

I noticed I ramble on this a lot but I'm thinking it might be fun to look back on later on, so the more information the better. And maybe someone out there finds my babbling amusing? haha.

Next adjustment appointment: May 6, 1:00

#11 Post by **kilikena311** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 9:11 am

congrats on the movement! I hope that my teeth show improvement as quickly as yours !

#12 Post by **cathykay** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:04 am

I had my second adjustment yesterday (5.7.09)! It should have also been my first adjustment for my bottom teeth, but my orthodontist decided to keep the same wire in for another month. I'm a bit bummed about that. Good news is, I moved up a wire on my top arch and my bottom teeth HAVE moved, even though I didn't get a new wire.

My adjustment on top was painless. I felt a moment of tightening when the new wire was placed in but I haven't felt any sort of pressure, discomfort, or pain since then! Weird. In my head, I'm a bit like "Are my teeth moving if there's no pain?!" hmm. Anyway, I got wire ties on top again but this time i got coated wires. And if I heard my orthodontist correctly, I moved up to an 18 wire on top. Yay for progress!

Here are pictures!

Top arch, the day before my second adjustment:

Here's a non-black and white photo, haha. Sorry that one part of my mouth is a bit dark but there's not much to see there anyway. Just a molar band and another molar behind the molar banded tooth.

Can you believe my two front teeth?!

I don't see much of a change between this picture and the last though?

Bottom arch, the day after getting my bottom braces on:

Bottom arch, the day before what should have been my first bottom adjustment:

I have two pictures of my teeth before braces and I can't believe the differences already.

Next adjustment: June 3, 2009.

#13 Post by **cathykay** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:07 am

OOPS!!! Not having an edit button sucks!

*makes mental note to PREVIEW the post next time*

Here are the bottom arch pictures.

Right after braces:

The day before what should have been my first adjustment:

#14 Post by **pinkpixie1588** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:30 am

wow! i'm amazed at how quickly your front tooth shifted! i just got my braces on a week ago so i'm noticing tiny changes but nothing like that!

i'm a little nervous about my first adjustment, even tho it's almost a month away. eating has just become tolerable again and i can't IMAGINE someone pulling wire out/pressing new wire in/MORE pressure if it hurts anywhere near as badly as it did for me a few days ago. eeeeek

how long did you say your treatment time was supposed to be?

#15 Post by **Cass** » Thu May 07, 2009 9:10 pm

Wow, I can't believe how fast you're seeing results! Amazing!