Month 4

2nd December 2012

It has been over 4 months with my removable brace and nearly 2 months with my lower fixed brace.

My first adjustment

I went for my first adjustment on the 28th November. He had a look at the tooth that had previously been bothering me and agreed it could be due to me clenching my teeth at night. Due to me having such an uneven bite he said I bite down very hard on the right side. Luckily I have had no pain since...touch wood. I have some deep fillings in my back teeth so the ortho said he wont be surprised if any of those may need root canal at some point.

So he then unhooked the wire from the bracket on my bicuspids ( I think) and tightened just those two teeth. It was a little bit uncomfortable but I was expecting alot worse. My teeth have felt fine since and I can still chew yay!

My ortho said he will write to my dentist now so I can have my two top bicuspids taken out eeek, and then fit me with springs. I have no idea what these springs are going to be like but I googled springs and they look painful. It'll all be worth it though and he said they will reduce my treatment time by 3 months :). I plan to have my teeth out late January, then around a week later I will be fitted with my upper ceramics, I think, and the springs.

Here are my teeth today, my lowers have changed so much and feel so straight already. I can'y wait to get my upper fixed brace and see the changes on my top teeth.

Month 3

23rd October 2012

So it has been nearly 12 weeks with my removable brace.... nearly half way through :), time is flying. I had a temporary filling put in my back tooth after my filling fell out, panic over! I will have a white filling when I have finished my orthodontic treatment.

It has been 5 weeks with my fixed bottom braces and I can already see some changes in my teeth. When I take my removable brace out to clean them, I have a sneaky bite down to see if they have changed at all and I can definitely feel a difference.
My teeth aren't painful at all anymore, although the back teeth do sometimes still hurt when I chew even soft things. There are still some foods I cant eat and I definitely can't bite into anything, I use a knife and fork.

Here's my teeth today, I will update again when I have my first adjustment in 5 weeks time.

Month 2

23 Sept 2012

I have now had my removable brace for 6 weeks, my lisp has more or less gone and it has been easier to eat.
My jaw has stopped aching and I can feel a slight change in my bite when I take the brace out to clean my teeth.

On 19 Sept 2012 I went for my fixed lower brace fitting. The orthodontist had a cancellation and scheduled me in earlier than expected.
The fitting only took half an hour and wasn't painful, it felt a bit tight and strange in my mouth but was OK. He has attached a bracket to my very back tooth which hasn't come through properly hoping to pull it up. I was given a care kit with fluoride mouthwash, ortho toothbrush, toothpaste, inter dental brushes, dental wax and disclosing tablets.
The next day my teeth were sore and it felt like constant pressure on my teeth, I could hardly chew anything. I was only eating soft foods again. Brushing is also difficult, I am worried about breaking my wire and making sure I clean my teeth properly and inbetween the brackets. I attempted to floss but they were too sore so I'm sticking with my interdental brushes for now.
When I am asleep I want to close my mouth which is impossible with my removable brace, so that is really painful now my teeth are sore from the brace.

The pain has eased over the past few days and it is getting easier to chew some things, my ortho said it would be like this for a week or so. I had a bracket rubbing my cheek a bit at first so I put some dental wax around the bracket and bonjela on my cheek and it's been fine since.

Yesterday a filling fell out of my top back molar which my removable brace attaches to :( hopefully I will still be able to wear my brace after I see my dentist tomorrow because my overbite is too big not to, I will break my lower braces.
I am excited to see the changes in my teeth now I have my braces, I have my first adjustment in 10 weeks time.

Month 1

11 Aug 2012

Getting my removable brace . On the 8/8/12 I went to pick up my removeable brace, I didnt have to have impressions done again because he used the impressions from my consultation. When I got there my ortho said I wont be having my bottom back tooth out anymore as my back teeth wouldn't sit together properly afterwards, phew kinda glad, just 2 to have out now.
I put my removable brace in, wow it felt strange. I had a lot of salava and found it difficult to swallow. My removable brace has a deep palette to correct my bite so my mouth is always slightly open, and it gives me a lisp when I talk.

Living with my removable brace.The ortho told me to only take my brace out to clean my teeth, which I knew was going to be difficult. The first time I had a drink I nearly choked because I couldnt feel it on the roof of my mouh. Chewing is difficult as my molars dont touch so I cant bite down I am only eating soft things like curry, tuna, cheese, potato and lots of yogurt, I could really do with being on a drip for the next 6 months ( ok abit of an exaggeration). It is getting easier every day, so I am sure in a few weeks it will be a breeze.

My teeth aren't that painful at all but my jaw aches, I think that's because my bite is being corrected rather than my teeth moving. My lisp has improved now I am getting used to it and I can already feel the difference in my jaw when I take it out to clean my teeth.

I wasnt going to have my fixed lower brace put on until next year, but my ortho suggested we "bite the bullet" and get my fixed lower brace put on as soon as possible.He said to get used to my removable brace first and then put the fixed lower brace on so in October I am getting my fixed lower brace. I will keep you updated between now and then.

My removable brace, this is as far as my mouth with close.

The beginning...June 2012

So I have been thinking about having a brace for years now. I finally took the plunge and made an appointment with an orthodontist. I have decided to blog my progress with pictures along the way, hopefully I'll also help other adults in making their decision to have a brace.
I already knew my teeth were in a bad way, with a large over jet, crowding and uneven bite. I read a lot of stories online especially archwired.com which really helped me.
I went to my appointment yesterday and the orthodontist said i have an 11mm over jet :-/ uneven bite and would need 3 teeth extracting, 2 from the top and one from the bottom. That part worried me the most... who wants healthy teeth out!! But i have to sacrifice them, it'll be worth it in the end. I will be having a removable top brace for 6 months, then a fixed metal brace along the bottom to sort my bite problem and fixed ceramic braces on the top, for a total of 2 years. At the end of the treatment he said i will have a permanent wire at the back of my teeth to keep them straight. He said the right side of my mouth would be text book perfect at the end of the 2 years but my left side wouldn't be as perfect due to the overbite. It's got to be better than how they look now.
My appointment for the impressions for the removable brace is in August so will update then.

This is what my teeth look like now before the braces, but not for much longer :).