Great News!!

Hi!

It has been a while since I last posted. I made it to my estimated quoted time in braces and ended up going over because there was still some tweaking to be done...

But I can finally say that my time in braces is drawing to an absolute closed.

I had an adjustment today and was told that my braces will be removed in 2 weeks!!!

I am sooooooooo excited and can't wait!!

I'll take pictures of the final results in 2 weeks time.

:)

Cya!

Adjustment 22: Kicked It Up a Notch....

Hi! Been a little while!

I didn't post about my last adjustment because there really wasn't anything new, I just had a new power chain placed and was sent on my merry way with a bag of elastics.

This adjustment was a little different. After I was called back to the row of chairs, my ortho had me open and close my mouth and said, there seems to still be a little space there. He turned towards the assistant and told her to put triple A's on the upper and lower and walked away.

So I asked the assistant what was going to happen because I saw her pull out this plastic box with all these little wires in them. She told me that she was going to place a wire on my upper and lower teeth because my lowers are flared out a bit and they want to push them in a little as well as push my uppers in and that should help close the space.

She proceeded to put my new upper and lower powerchain on and then began adding the triple A wire, and it was pretty tight once she got it on. She also wire tied it in a few spots because she wanted to make sure it wouldn't pop out of my mouth. Lol. I'm probably going to be in a bit of pain, so it's back to the pain meds for me.

I'm glad that they added something else because that means we'll have progress and I'm getting closer to having these darn things off.

Oh! I also have to wear elastics on top of all this, so that should be fun.

I'll take a pic soon.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bye!

Adjustment 20: Still Waiting on Space Closure...

Hi!

So I had an adjustment today and my ortho said that it looks like spaces are closing but I do still have a few spaces on the upper and my bite together is still spaced.

So I was given a short closed chain on my uppers and a long open chain on my lowers. Also, have to continue wearing elastics.

 I really wish my spaces would close a bit faster, since I have to wait on them to close, I've found that I'm becoming impatient and just really want my braces off. Nothing to do but get over it and just be patient... sigh.

That's all for now.. This is the boring part of the process so I probably won't have much to say on the matter until my spaces have completely close and I have a deband date. lol

See ya later!

Week 112: Spaces Slowly Closing

Morning!

I'm still around.. I'm still waiting on my spaces to close. They are slowly closing up on my right side and in between my front teeth. My teeth are looking better and better as the spaces close. It's amazing!

I'll have to take pictures soon. The thing that still shocks me a bit is whenever I look in the mirror and smile, and I see a straight set of teeth. It really looks like someone elses mouth and not my own. I'm really glad that I got braces because I have changed so much within the two years. I'm constantly smiling and laughing and my self esteem is just great.

If I had to do it all over again, I would do everything the exact same way!

*Pics Coming Soon*

Bye!

Adjustment 19: Pretty Uneventful

Hi!

I didn't realize that it's been a little while since I've posted. My spaces on my right side are slowly closing, have been wearing my elastics like I'm supposed to.

My 19th Adjustment was pretty uneventful. I had my purple power chains swapped out for blue ones and I was told to continue to wear my elastics in the same configuration and they would see me in 6 weeks.

My ortho did say that everything is moving right along and looking good. So that did make me feel good and let me know that there is progress at least. :)

( I will post pictures from my previous adjustment soon.)

That's all for now.

*I forgot to take Adjustment Pictures. Sorry about that!*

Adjustment 18: Purple Chains, Cut Wire and Finally Asked...

Hola!

Finally can post about my adjustment... I didn't have Triple A's(?) installed, didn't even have a wire change. I basically had my power chained changed to a pretty purple upper and lower chain. :) My upper wire was cut in the back on both sides. so it's only going to my six's on both sides of my arch. Nothing was done to my lower wire. The new power chains were a bit tight and I had some minuscule aching the next day but nothing major.

I also finally asked how much longer I had.. The best answer they could give me was, that I was originally quoted 30 months and right now, I'm at 24. So we'll see where I am in 6 months. There's also a possibility I could either get my braces off early or have treatment extended, it all depends on my spaces closing. Which includes the space between my two front teeth as well as the spaces on the right side.

So in other words, it's just a space closure waiting game and I HAVE to wear my elastics all the time and make sure to put them back in immediately after I eat and brush.

With the thought of possibly being free a little early or even right at the 30 month mark, I've been doing a great job remembering to wear my elastics.

Just going to continue to be a good ortho patient and wait for these spaces to close and "try" to be patient. lol


Bye! :)

*Pics coming soon*

2 Year Comparison...

Hi!

I'm a little late as far as posting a 2 year anniversary post but better late than never.

It's so cool finally making it to 2 years, it's seriously hard to believe. I thought that it would take forever to get to this point, but in reality, it flew by. It is simply amazing after looking at my pictures how much my teeth have changed and just how darn good they look. I can still see that there is a bit more work still to be done. So I'll just have to be patient and keep on riding the braces train.

Anyway, on to the comparison:

I'm not sure if it's the angle,for my 2 year front view picture, but my midline looks really off. The gaps on my right side still need to close. One other thing I noticed, is how healthy my gums look now. Makes me happy. :D
 Despite my teeth still being a work in progress, I tell you one thing, my teeth now look like they belong to someone else. It's just unbelievable! If you are considering getting braces, DO IT!!!! It is SO WORTH IT!


Later! :)

Week 102: Adjustment 17 Finished!

Hi!

I had my adjustment yesterday and again..  it was pretty uneventful. I had a x ray taken of my mouth and then my powerchains and wires were removed. I was told to brush and floss with the wires out and flossing was interesting. I kept snagging the floss on the brackets. lol

Anyway, my ortho came out and told me to open and close my mouth several times. He said he wants to continue to close my spaces up. So he told the assistant to put a closed chain on my lowers and an open chain on my uppers. I also, have to still wear boxes in the same configuration with the same strength elastics.

One thing that kind of scared me was he said at my next adjustment in 4 weeks, he wants to put a triple A? or maybe I misunderstood and he said a TPA, on my upper arch to add torque and flare my teeth out a bit. Really don't know what is going to happen at this next adjustment. I don't know if what he's going to be adding at this adjustment is an appliance or some type of wire. In a way, I want to call and ask to find out exactly what it is, but I kind of don't because I might be freaked out more by knowing.

So... it honestly might be best to wait and see at the next adjustment.

I don't really have anything else new to report, it all looks the same to me.

Actually, after doing a comparison from week 100. I do see quite a few changes. My gap between my two front teeth has gotten smaller. My lower arch has rounded out a little more. And my upper right side has come down a bit. :D I guess that goes to show that, even though I'm in the slower phase of treatment, my teeth are still constantly moving and improving. Makes me a happy girl! 

Bye!

Week 100: Not Much Has Changed

Hi!

It's kind of neat saying I've been in braces for 100 weeks. lol!

Anywho, I haven't seen much change in my teeth. The gap between my two front teeth has gotten a little smaller. I can't really tell if the gaps on my right side have moved at all. I've been doing better with wearing my elastics all the time. It just seems like this configuration has hurt a bit more than all the other ones.

Next month, will make it two years and I plan on doing a comparison. That should be fun.

I also have an adjustment coming up on the 16th and all I know is that I'll have some brackets repositioned. Just wondering what else is going to happen. Maybe, I'll finally get enough courage to ask how much longer. We'll see

That's all for now.

Week 96: Ortho Appointment 2 Days ago and 22 months!

I've been a little MIA for a bit. Life's been pretty busy lately. Plus, I really haven't had much to report since everything has been moving slowly.

Anyway, I went to my ortho appointment on the 4th and it was pretty uneventful. My ortho came over and asked me to open and close my mouth several times and told the assistant, that he wanted to continue space closure and wanted me to wear boxes but just on my lower 4s instead of my 3s. So in other words, he just wanted me to hook my elastic one hook back from my previous configuration. And that was it, I was sent on my merry way.

I honestly thought that I would get scolded because I'm suppose to wear my elastics 24/7 and I've probably been wearing them for like 19 hours a day. I was just afraid that by me not wearing them like I'm suppose to, that my teeth didn't move enough. But obviously, they must have moved enough. :)

Happy 22 months for me! It's been an exciting journey thus far and it's had it's ups and downs but more ups than anything else. My teeth look great and I know that since I still have some time left, it will only get better!

I'll post pictures from week 93 soon as well as for this week.

Later!

Week 93: A Little Movement and Snapping Elastics..

Morning!

I've been noticing that when I have my elastics in, that my gaps on the right side are a lot smaller but once I take the elastics out, it seems like the gaps open back up. So hopefully, with religious elastic wear, the gaps will close all the way and stay that way.

My gap between my two front teeth is shrinking too and my upper midline is slowly moving towards the center to meet my lower midline.

I've also been having problems with my elastics snapping in my mouth. Whenever I yawn, they snap a little against my gums without breaking.. But they have also snapped and broke in my mouth a few times. My husband can usually hear when they snap and he looks at me with very wide eyes and says, Ouch! O.o

It is a bit painful when the elastics break but I just go and put a new pair in and I've just been trying to not yawn as wide. lol

That's about all the news I have.

Cya

Dental Cleaning and 21 Months

Hi!

Dental cleaning went really, really well. The dental hygenist only had to scrap my teeth a little, she told me that I have the cleanest teeth she has ever seen in an orthodontic patient.  That made me happy. There were no cavities whatsoever and everything looked really great.

The only problem that the hygenist had was that my lowers were a bit tight and the floss kept shredding in between my teeth. Hoping that by the end of my treatment, I'll have a little bit of space to get the floss through.

So my prayer was answered and I had a clean bill of dental health. :)

I love the number 21.. I don't really know why but I just do. In 3 months, it will be 2 years in braces. Wow!

Hoping that I won't have much longer to go.


Will do a comparison soon.

Cya

Week 91: Adjusted to the Elastics

Hi!

Everything is better now. My teeth have adjusted to my boxes and now it's really no big deal. I just think those first few days are the worst with elastics because of how sore your teeth are from just the adjustment and then you have something that pulls on your teeth. It's just a bit rough.

I'm just glad I feel so much better.

Anywho, I have a cleaning tomorrow. So I am praying that I have no cavities. We shall see what happens. :)

Lets see, it kind of looks like my upper teeth on the right side are coming down a bit Which is pretty exciting!. So yes, as painful as it might be, elastics really work.
Can not wait until the final result.

Until next time.

Box Elastics... How I despise you..

I woke up around 4am this morning, because my lowers were super sore. So I took some pain meds and attempted to go back to sleep. I pretty much tossed and turned all night.

On top of that, when my alarm went off, I got up to brush my teeth, and I had a bleeding sore from my rubber band rubbing the inside of my lip so much. I was not a happy camper.

I did salt water rinse and that helped some what. I didn't have this much trouble when I was in my other elastic config.


Have to keep telling myself, that the end result is worth it. Just grin and bear it!

24 Hours: A Bit Sore

Evening!

My teeth are a bit sore and these box elastics are rubbing the inside of my mouth raw. I noticed that I can't open my mouth very wide so yawning looks pretty funny. I can fit a teaspoon in my mouth with my elastics in... So applesauce.. yum!

The positive though, is that I'll get use to the elastics and the pain will subside and everything will be good again.


Bye.

Adjustment 15:The Dreaded Elastics Have Returned!

Hi!

15th adjustment went pretty well.

I was called back to the row of chairs and the ortho assistant, started removing my ligs and wires. She told me that I was getting stainless steel wires and powerchains to close my gaps. I was like ok, that's fine. Well, my ortho came over and told me to smile and then turn my head to the left and bite down. He tells the ortho assistant, "I want boxes on both sides," then walks away.

So I asked the ortho assistant, if that meant I would have to wear elastics again and she's like yep, you sure do. Luckily, they're still Zebras so the weight didn't change. But she told me that, it's to bring my bite together a little more. My thought was, well this is better than Zigzags so I'll deal with it.

Anyway, the stainless steel wire was a pain going in as always and I immediately felt pressure once they were all the way in. The powerchains really weren't that bad.

With my elastics being in a different configuration, it's just a bit weird. For one, this configuration gives me a bit of a headache and it's awkward putting chap stick on and trying to rub my lips together.. weirdest face ever! lol

I don't have a clue about what's going to happen at my next adjustment. So we'll just have to wait and see.


Bye!

The dreaded box elastics. I don't really mind that they sit right in front.

 I just hate the elastics rubbing the inside of my mouth raw!

For some reason, my lowers look off to me. I know that I still have a while to go before 

I'm debanded but I hope my ortho can get rid of my black triangles and straighten up my lowers.

My gap between my two front teeth actually looks like it's getting smaller. :)

Week....... 89? I think.

Howdy! Just thought I'd pop on here a minute.

Let's see... My adjustment is on Monday and... I'm not too excited about it. Not looking forward to the stainless steel wires and possible powerchains.. I'm going to hurt for sure.

Besides, that I don't really have any news. Part of the reason, I haven't been blogging much. But after I have my adjustment on Monday, I will be blogging away.

Cya later!

Week 87: 20 Months!!

I'm excited! I finally made it to 20 months and in all honesty it sure has been pretty quick getting here. I have my days where I'm ready for my braces to come off but I also have my days where I don't mind them as much. All in all, I have enjoyed the ride thus far, for the simple fact that my teeth are straight and healthy.

I don't regret every penny that I'm spending on my smile because it will last me a lifetime. Hopefully, I'll only have 10 more months to go.. I want to ask my ortho how much longer I have but I don't at the same time, just in case he doesn't give me an answer or he says longer than 10 months. So we'll see.

Don't really have any tooth news.. So more than likely won't take any pictures. I forgot to take pictures for last week. I've just been pretty busy with this crazy thing called life. :p I'll try to do better.

Cya!

Sweet, Sweet Relief....

Back from the ortho and it feels good to be pokey wire free!

The appointment went really well. The ortho assistant ( I really her, she does a great job) grabbed a pair of pliers and started moving my wire over and shoved it back in the bracket... It was a tad uncomfortable because she didn't open any doors. She then strong armed my stop on my wire because it wasn't clamped down enough to stop the wire from slipping. That was the primary reason why my wire moved in the first place because of my stop.

She also noticed that one of my  doors wasn't closed very good so she wire tied it to keep it from popping open. She told me that one of my lower teeth had started to move in the wrong direction because of the slipping wire..

I learned a lesson today.

Whenever there is something wrong with your braces, it best to go in and get it taken care of as soon as possible, otherwise you could have teeth moving the wrong way and then that will prolong your treatment.. (I would be very unhappy if my treatment was prolonged but it would be my own fault in that case.)

I closed my mouth and didn't feel anything poking me and I was like omg, that feels a thousand times better!!!

I can now make it to my next adjustment, April 22nd.

Bye!

Week 86: Ortho Appt Tomorrow

Hi

Well I finally broke. I made an appointment for tomorrow to get my lower wire fixed. I can be stubborn sometimes... From what the receptionist said, my wire is sliding around and needs to have a stop placed so that it won't do that anymore. She said it will be a quick appointment. :)

Anywho, I don't have any teeth news. lol It still looks the same.

See ya!