Getting shaved

On monday the 10th I had my 2nd wire change! By then all my elastic ties had turned nasty yellow/orange from eating a bowl of chili. I've gotten quite tired of dealing with nasty elastics that just make my teeth look dingy when I've always worked hard to have white teeth.  The wires this time are square in shape, so no more round wires!

I've been really pleased with how much my lower arch has rounded. I've never seen my lower arch look like this before. However. I see that the teeth are not parallel to each other, and that really bothers me. I really hope this changes fast. In addition, my jaw is really out of alignment now! It looks to be off about 1/4" or more! There is a possibility that at my next adjustment I'll get rubber bands, and I'm looking forward to that!

So because of the nasty staining I've been dealing with, causing me to be paranoid and afraid to smile, I asked for baby blue on top! What I did not realize at the time, was that I would have a power chain expanding across my 6 upper front teeth. I've already had 2 cups of coffee, straw free! I also had shaving done in between several teeth. You can see there is a gap in between the 2 front teeth, and a few days later it's almost closed.
He also shaved in between 3 or 4 teeth on the bottom. I'm hoping that makes more room so no teeth will need to be pulled.

So here is my current smile. Not loving having a gap, it feels so strange to have gaps! My orthodontist also shaved down the blue bite blockers, but because of that my bite is off and sore again. Hoping to see lots of changes in the next 6 weeks with these new square wires!

Next Appointment is July 22nd!!

Wow, he didn't lie about big changes!

My orthodontist told me I would see big changes after my first adjustment. Only 12 days left until my next adjustment, and the changes are huge! I'm so thrilled with how my lower arch looks!

However, I'm not so thrilled with how they look from the front view... You can really se that my teeth were messed up on the right side by the wear pattern. One of my teeth is worn down to make it look like an angle, and the one next to it is pointed like a shovel. I'm curious what can be done to fix this. I'm assuming I'm going to need some filing and filling in.

3 Month Comparison! How Far We've come!

I am quite pleased with the changes in the last 3  months. My 2 front teeth are  uncrossed and my smile is much more broad! My upper canines have also moved forward, along with the other teeth behind them. It looks much better having that front wire straight across my teeth rather then the wavy pattern it had before!

May 18, 2013 3 Months

Feb 18, 2013 Day 1

My oh my has the bottom changed! A spring was used to allow room for that tooth on the right to come forward and join the rest of the little guys, which was quite painful! They are all in a row now, not a straight row, but still a row. I think the hard work will be for that canine to come inward so it's not on the outside when I close my mouth. Progress is being made. When I bite down my upper and that lower canine constantly hit each other. So much change has happen in the last 10 days, that I have no doubt this little guy will be closer to where he should be by my next appointment in 3 weeks.

May 18, 2013 3 months

Feb 17, 2013 Day before braces

Little Ducks All in a Row

Everything is finally starting to line up on to bottom like little ducks in a row. It's not a straight row, as the teeth are currently lined up at an angle, but it's still a row!











Unfortunately, from the front view, they look awful! But I'm surprised at how much change there as been in the last week.

My upper and lower canines on the left side (right side on the picture) are also hitting each other now. This makes chewing a bit difficult, but that at least tells me that the lower canine is finally being moved inward where it belongs. I'm hoping that little guy gets moving fast and is in a better place by time I get my next wire in 3 weeks.

And lastly my current smile. Looks much better then week one! I'm starting to get a broader smile that is not so narrow like I wanted.

Change Isn't Always Good

My orthodontist warned me that there would be lots of changes, but these changes are not for the best! My smile is all out of whack! I went in today to have a wire cut that was stabbing the back of my cheek and making eating and talking an awful experience. While there I had my upper ties changed as well, obviously! This time she did a color called obscure. It's like a milk color. I think I'm at the point where the only thing I'm going to drink without a straw is clear water. I'm getting really sick of having nasty yellow ties in less then a week.

So as far as the messed up teeth go, my lower front teeth look awful right now. None of them are at the same level and the arch is all messed up. the orthodontist assistant said this was a normal part of the process...

 Heres to hoping that things level out and straighten up in the next few weeks, because this is awful!

Blue with the Blues

Yesterday I could no longer handle the pain of having the wire ties on my lower teeth rubbing up against my inner lip. I went in to have the elastic bands put on my teeth, and I went with blue!

 

On the unfortunate side, I had the same girl as the previous day, Ashley. She is not gentle at all! I don't know how she expects some one to hold perfectly still when they are in so much pain. I think next time I go in, I'm going to have to call the day before to make sure she's not the one doing my adjustment. I think she forgets that I'm a person, with nerve endings!

And one positive, while there she had to clip the archwire because that awful tooth had already moved. And today, it's moved some more! If you look closely at the tooth with the blue on top, you can see the archwire poking out of the bracket. My teeth really do hurt. Every tooth that has a metal tie hurts like heck! Especially the upper left, behind my canine, the first premolar.

First Adjustment, OUCH!

Today was my first adjustment/wire change. It felt so strange to have the wire out, but it sure was nice being able to floss and brush my teeth better! One the bottom they put in the same kind of archwire as last time. She also attached the archwire to the tooth that is pushed back. OUCH! It hurt so bad to have this done. She also used wires to tie in each tooth to the archwire instead of ligs. I was in so much pain I wanted to cry, or slap the orthodontist assistant! I was going to get blue ligs on the bottom, since the clear ones looked nasty after a while. But since all those teeth were tied in using the wire, I didn't have to get ligs on the front bottom at all.

Now with that tooth being attached to the archwire, it feels strange! I'm glad they were able to get that one moving. The orthodontist said that in the next 8 weeks there will be a lot of changes! During the next appointment he is going to shave in-between the teeth to make more room. He made a point of saying that during that time he will shave in-between my two front teeth, so that the black triangle will disappear. It has not bothered me really, I was excited when it first appeared. This is the first time I have ever has some "space" in-between my teeth.

I was also surprised that they did not have the lower archwire connect to the last molars on both sides. Next time they will though. I'm looking forward to being able to brush those teeth better. It looks to me as if there is some tarter build up already, and my last cleaning was 5 months ago. Luckily, my next cleaning is coming up in a few months.

And finally, what my smile looks like after 8 weeks in braces. Still kept with the smoke color since it did not stain at all. Lots of pain but worth it, still waiting for the vicoden to kick in!

Next Appointment: June 10, 2013