I'll have to say the time has really gone by quickly. I still remember asking questions on the old boards in late 2002 and 2003 to the brace veterans. Now I would consider myself a veteran.
Here are some of my thoughts:
- My time in braces was suppose to be around 24-30 months. My Ortho hasn't said anything about me being finished so it's obvious I will go over the estimated treatment time. I already have an appointment booked in November and December. I'll have to admit, I'm disappointed it has been so long. But there were a few speed bumps along the way and some of it was my fault. There were times I had my elastics on for too long and too short. Just about 3 months ago I found out I had been wearing an elastic on the wrong side of my mouth. The Assistant was at fault here but I didn't want to create a scene so I didn't tell the Ortho it was her fault and not mine (The Ortho didn't blame me though).
- Unlike others I don't enjoy being in braces. If you gave me the choice right now to have perfect teeth or being in braces, I'll glady take the first option. I hate getting food stuck in my teeth and having to clean them. It becomes a hassle when you go out to eat in public. The other pain is getting canker sores. I still remember when I got my upper braces and the inside of my cheek was cut up. It got so bad I thought about calling my doctor.
- The one thing I've realized is that the teeth models you see in the office are often misleading. I'm glad I went into this whole process not expecting 100% straight teeth because my result won't be a 100% perfect. For the rest of my treatment, my Ortho said he's just mostly going to be working on my overbite. When I look at my teeth now they still look a little bit "bucky" on my 2 top front teeth.
Here's a pic I took from an angle:
My Ortho explained how he could shave off a bit of my teeth on the surface to give the top row a more straight appearance. I'm undecided if I want this done. I want to see how my teeth look without braces first.
- Despite all the negatives, I'm really glad I decided to get braces. You wouldn't believe how bad my teeth were. I actually thought they were so bad that braces might not able to correct the problems. When I get my braces off I plan on bringing my digi cam to the office just so I can take pics of what my teeth looked like before I had my braces put on. I looked at those pics about 2 months ago and it almost gave me a nightmare:)
- Once the braces come off, there's still work to be done. One of my top teeth is chipped and I'll go to the dentist to explore my options. I believe I could get it filled in. And of course my teeth have to be cleaned by the dentist.
- Isn't it amazing what we all go through just to get straighter teeth?