My Journey in Pictures

These are the photos my ortho gave me. All I can say is wow! The braces experience on the whole was not as painful or as uncomfortable as I expected it to be and so worth it! The photos remind me why I will never stop wearing my retainers, even though they are way more unpleasant than braces ever were and I hate them! I have invested too much time and effort (not to mention money!) to let my teeth revert and they look awesome! I also have to say it is the best money I have ever spent. All things considered, the treatment has been great value for money.



My Smile

Upper Teeth

Lower Teeth

Left Profile

Right Profile

Front Profile

 Despite my difficulties with the retainers, retention seems to be going very well, though it is early days. I felt some movement during my week of freedom and my ortho said the teeth could have shifted minutely, however, the retainers fit snugly so this would not seem to be an issue. I will be reducing my wear to evenings and weekends after 14th May. I am scheduled to return to the ortho in around 3 months time, 9th July, for a check up and the follow-up appointments will continue for a year. Thereafter, I will be able to make any further appointments needed myself, should my teeth move or I have a problem with my retainers.

Life In Plastic, Not Fantastic!

The retainers are on and they feel pretty awful at the moment. Having the bite surface of my teeth in plastic feels weird and my whole mouth feels full, like wearing fake vampire teeth so I am talking a bit thickly and exaggerating the pronunciation of my words. I am much more aware of my saliva and having to handle it a lot more (gross!) too. Since they don't cover my palate, the gagging is not as immediate or as severe but my tongue catches the edges and I gag often. My ortho trimmed them but my gums are protesting at the edges too.

I have to wear the retainers full-time except when eating or brushing my teeth for a month, followed by evening and nights wear for a year! It should be nights-only wear but a night means 12 hours and since I don't sleep for 12 hours at a time, I will have to put them on in the evenings, 12 hours before I expect to get up or make up the extra time at weekends. Eventually, I should be able to wear them at nights only for my typical sleeping time of 7-8 hours, plus anytime I feel like it, for as many years as I can until they wear out.

The orthodontist gave me a goody bag for completing my treatment! It included a mug with some chocolates in it! I also got some lip balm and a compact mirror in a little drawstring bag, another sparkly purple retainer case to go with the one I got last time plus an extra plain purple case to keep as a spare and another month's supply of Retainer Brite.

It should last as I have been told to use it weekly and just clean them with a soft toothbrush and mild soap in between times. I was given a folder with my retainer instructions and my before and after photos. I have been instructed to alternate between both sets of my retainers so that they both fit, so have added stickers to colour-code the cases. I am due to return for my 3-month check up in July.

A Week of Freedom!

The braces are off! Today was the big day and I am thrilled with the result! My appointment took about 50 minutes. My ortho cleaned my teeth with the braces in place then removed the wires just to check it was definitely time for the braces to come off and it was. He reattached the wires, then used a pair of pliers to snip the ends of the wires and break the brackets off my teeth, which didn't hurt at all. I just felt the pressure. The brackets were removed as a whole, still attached to the wires.

Next, my bonded retainer wires were glued on along the back of my upper and lower teeth and all the glue residue, front and back, was removed. This was the most unpleasant part due to the vibrations. I had taken painkillers beforehand which helped lessen the sensitivity of my teeth but it was so loud, as if someone was using a chainsaw inside my head, so really hard on my ears! I had to get my ortho to do just three teeth at a time and pause. Then my teeth were cleaned and polished until they shined!

 

There was some last minute reshaping of two teeth to do and then my new moulds were taken. This is the part I dread most due to my sensitive palate and gag reflex but it was not as bad as the noise of the scaler. Two moulds were taken of the upper and the lower teeth to create my two sets of retainers. My ortho helped me to wash out the residue from taking the moulds, which was like sinking my teeth into yellow Play-Doh and then I got to see my new smile! Wow!

We went into the imaging room for photos. I didn't have X-rays this time but I had a full face and a profile shot and a close up of my teeth. Then I returned to the chair for some more close ups of my teeth with the mirrors and cheek retractors in place. I will get a copy of those pictures as well as the originals when I return to collect my retainers on Monday. Before I left, I was also given a sparkly purple box to keep my retainers in and a month's supply of Retainer Brite tablets.

I know I will have to wear my retainers full-time for a month so I am enjoying this week of freedom. My teeth look awesome! I can't help staring at them each time I pass a mirror and so smooth! I run my tongue over them all the time. I have nearly choked a few times though because food slips down so easily without the brackets to catch on. I am looking forward to the retainers though. My teeth feel quite loose and achy already, as if they are moving.

The Final Push!

Today it has been exactly a year since my braces were put on! In some ways, it feels like forever. I am so used to them, even quite attached to them and knowing that they will be taken off in just 25 days feels very surreal. In other ways, it is no time at all and I recall this time last year as if it were yesterday. Things have come a long way!
 

L-R: Before Braces, 3 Weeks, 12 Months
 

Yesterday I went for my 6th adjustment and my ortho told me that my teeth are ready and the braces can come off during my Easter holidays. Monday 7th April is the big day! I am booked in for my braces to be removed. My teeth will then be cleaned and impressions taken for my Essix retainers. My ortho said that my bonded retainers, upper and lower, could be fitted in the same appointment. All in all, it should take about 40 minutes.

L-R: 13th March 2013 and 13th March 2014

The rest of the adjustment went well. My upper wire was replaced and my ortho bent the lower wire slightly to reposition one tooth. My ligatures were changed. The only major change he made was to my elastics. So far, I have escaped most of the torture elastics can inflict. I got my braces on 13th March 2013. Elastic ligatures were not applied until my second adjustment on 9th July and I started wearing an elastic band as well, just one, in a diagonal configuration on my left side after my third adjustment on 17th September.



1 Elastic: 17th September 2013-12th March 2014

As of yesterday until 7th April, I am wearing not one elastic but two. To finalise some adjustments to my bite, my ortho has asked me to wear an elastic at each side, in a square pattern, which I find a lot more restrictive than the diagonal pattern of before. Instead of two brackets connected, top front to bottom back, I have four at each side. An extra hook was added to the front, bottom left bracket for the elastic to connect to. I hate them and am counting the days until they are gone, although getting rid of the braces will be very odd.




2 Elastics: L+R 12th March 2014

They are fiddly to apply as with my brackets being clear, I tend to hook the elastic around the bracket itself, rather than the hooks as I am supposed to. I can't eat with these in as can barely open my mouth and I can only reapply them after eating using a mirror. I had grown accustomed to going without. It also hurts. After two to three hours wear, I get quite bad toothache and need a break. It is particularly bad on the right side, as I have not worn an elastic there before. I also had an extraction pre-braces on the left lower side, where the elastic would normally have attached, so the stretch is not quite so far.



Upper Teeth Comparison

My teeth are looking great but it is really hard to know what they truly look like with the wires still in place and I keep worrying that they won't be ready. My upper teeth are awesome but I am still a bit unhappy with the lowers, even though nobody else seems to think there is a problem. The three front lower teeth still annoy me because one is turned a little to the side, not quite the angle I want and one sticks up just a little higher than the other two. I hope this will be corrected.



Lower Teeth Comparison

After my impressions are taken on 7th April, I go back a week later on Monday 14th April to collect my Essix retainers and learn how to use them. I am unsure how easy I will find it to apply them since they go all the way round my teeth or how comfortable they will be. I have a really strong gag reflex and am incredibly uneasy about anything touching my palate, so impressions worry me a lot and I worry about gagging when I put the retainers on. I expect I will need to wear them full-time for a while before I transition to nights only but am not sure.

The countdown has started....

Broken Bracket Again

I have now been in braces for nearly 10 months! The elastics have been going very well. It took a few weeks but I eventually got used to putting the elastic in and could do it first time, most of the time. It started to feel normal eating with it in, even though it would occasionally come off and I managed to put it back in a few times without a mirror. I still found sometimes that I would lose two or three as I tried to get the bottom bracket hooked or would take one out and lose it but on the whole, I've been wearing an elastic full time.

I had my fourth adjustment in November and the ortho was pleased with my progress but I didn't blog as there was little to report. I had some new elastic ligatures put on and picked up a few more bags of elastics to keep wearing until my next appointment. There was no need to change either of the wires but the ortho bent the upper wire slightly to reshape one tooth. My fifth adjustment was supposed to be 23rd December but I misplaced the card with the time on it and stupidly did not leave my number when I left a message on the practice answerphone. As another patient shares my name, it was too late when they realised it was me so the appointment has been moved to this Wednesday 8th January.

Luckily, moving the appointment has worked out well because just this week, the bracket which my elastic attaches to, on the lower left-hand side has detached from the tooth. It may be to do with me putting elastics on all the time or it may be the filling on the side of the tooth which is now visible again. Either way, it has made wearing elastics a lot trickier. It is still possible to use the hook but the positioning is a bit off so I am mostly going without. Otherwise things are moving quite nicely and the gaps in my lower teeth are beginning to close. I am looking forward to getting a new bracket and some new ligatures as the current ones are a bit stained.

Update: I had my fifth adjustment today 8th January and the bracket and hook have been replaced so I can wear my elastic again. I also got new ligatures. It may be some time before my next adjustment. My ortho wants to see me before the Easter holidays due to Easter being late this year but there is no reading week in the second semester so it may have to wait.