Salsashark's Story with pictures!

[salsashark]

you can read my intro here: http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... =3&t=42943
but I'll give you the basic facts.

- age: 27
- actor and dancer (so fixing my teeth will boost my career)
- top braces (ceramic) since June 2012
- bottom braces (metal) not yet on
- removal of baby canine & exposure of impacted canine 1 week ago
- next appointment this wednesday
- expected treatment time: 2 years

Before:










After:



exposure with chain hanging down. (you can also see the stitches that haven't fell out)


close up of exposure.

my teeth look so yellow in the recent pics but it's just the lighting!

[unspec]

First of all, I'm impressed you've posted the pictures us so quickly. It took me a bit of building up before I did the same!

Secondly, congratulations on getting braced. That kit will pull those teeth into perfect alignment. It's going to be a brilliant (and sometime a bit tender & sore) journey.

[salsashark]

After being braced for 3 months I definitely feel more comfortable with them (though I'm sure that will change at my next adjustment and when the bottom ones get put on!) I've always been embarrassed by my teeth and so actually feel better about them now since I'm fixing them. Braces may be embarrassing (especially at my age) but they aren't more embarrassing than severely overcrowded and crooked teeth! I'm excited to see them change (though a little frustrated on how slow progress seems to be!)

Thanks!

[Angel269]

Hi Salsashark

Welcome to board and congrats on taking the plunge.

Hope you see progress very quickly. I have had great progress on spacing issues-I have a midline upper diastema.

I suffered with a severe dental phobia and never thought I could do this. I found taking that first step was the hardest.

I felt embarrassed about doing this, as I'm a 24 yr old mum. Im glad I have and I think the only way I was confident enough to do this was by having ceramics

Look forward to seeing more photos as things progress

[GillyWeed]

Congrats on taking the plunge! Those chains look really intense, I hope they aren't too painful. I wish you the best of luck with your braces journey and good luck with getting your bottoms on!

[salsashark]

Thanks Angel269!

GillyWeed - the chain isn't painful YET as it's pretty much just hanging there but I imagine when he "adjusts" it, I'll be feeling differently! I was definitely sore after the exposure (they gave me Vicodin which I only took the first day as it made me incredibly nauseous even with food)... I was fine with taking ibuprofen after that.

I can't wait until Wednesday to see what the next step is!

[maeby]

Hi Salsashark! I just wanted to pop in and say thanks for sharing your progress. I'm going to have to have exposure surgery on both of my upper canines soon and I always really appreciate it when others share their stories. I hope everything is going well!

[salsashark]

Just got back from my appointment. He gave me a bigger wire and snipped the extra chain off and "sewed" it to one of my brackets. I need to have two premolars removed to make room for my canines and incisor to come down.

I had a different assistant today and when she asked what color bands I wanted I said "clear or white you know?" cause I wasn't sure what the name of the color I had been getting was as the ortho just knew I wanted them to "match" and put the right color on... well, white apparently ISN'T the matching color... so my bands stick out (I might as well have got a color) and I feel a little awkward about it. oh well.




you can see a tiny bit of my canine peeking out - yay!

I didn't feel much pain after this adjustment as I did the first one. I worry that no pain means it's not working!

my next appointment is in four weeks.

[salsashark]

week five after exposure! Look at that canine coming out!!

so my appointment is next week and I've started freaking out about extracting two premolars since I've read that can lead to sunken-in cheeks and lips. I don't even know how to talk to my orthodontist about this.

[maeby]

Hey there! Haven't heard from you in awhile, hopefully that means everything is going smoothly. I'm having my exposure surgery soon and I'd love to see your progress (it always helps to see what to expect on the other side).

[salsashark]

I haven't updated in a very very very long time. sorry about that! As you can see I've come a long way and yet still have quite a ways to go. My upper left canine has come down most of the way. My upper right canine has come down to its correct place (much faster than the left but then again it wasn't living in my gums for most of my life!). My lower teeth are much more aligned but I still have some more work to do and will need an extraction on the lower right (he's still deciding which tooth to take). There's a bracket behind my left incisor to help pull it into place.

Something tells me I won't be finished in June of this year... Which means I'll likely still have braces when I turn 30. Ah well, hopefully it won't be TOO MUCH LONGER.

[SunshineRay]

Wow, thats cool how they brought that tooth down. Great progress!

[meg]

Hey Salsashark,

Your pic showing ankylosed impacted canine is 92% like mine. But can't understand why the surgeon said it's too high up from the x-ray pix. Could it be cos am 37? So confused now because the orthodontics said it's possible to bring down while the surgeon I saw said it's too high up.

[Kevinr144]

Great progress! That's pretty awesome.