Monday, May 29, 2017

Week 7

So I got busy and didn't make an entry for a new week last Friday, my apologies.

We're on Week 7, which means 3 more weeks until my first follow up appointment with the Orthodontist since getting braces on. On one hand, I am excited about this--it possibly means a new wire, and that means movements, which means something that I can visibly track and see. On the other hand...I don't know what to expect at this appointment. It could be an adjustment, ergo the new wire and movements business...or it could be something else. I don't know. I've never been to a follow up appointment before, so it's all new to me. Although from what I've read on the internet, I most likely will be getting an adjustment done, as that seems to be the norm with self ligating braces. I certainly will blog about it when it happens, of course.

So what's new in Week 7? Well there's no visible teeth movements that I can detect, but like I said last week, I have noticed spaces in between teeth where there weren't spaces before when I floss, so there's some behind-the-scene movements that I'm not seeing. The elastics are going well....speaking of elastics, I accidentally swallowed one, and I live to tell the tale. I don't plan on making it a regular occurrence or anything like that; it kind of just happened as I was eating lunch (I got lazy and didn't bother to take them out. Lesson learned!), and it didn't help that the lunch I was eating was soft noodles. I felt the elastic snapped loose as it broke, and I tried to discretely feel around for it with my tongue (while trying to chew the bite of food that I had in my mouth)....and somewhere in there, I must have swallowed the elastic. I mean, that's what I think happened, because I couldn't find it in my mouth afterwards, and I looked using a mirror, and used my finger to sweep around my mouth for it. No elastic was to be seen or felt. Maybe I'll see it in my poop, who knows (and no, I will not be blogging about that if it happens).


When we started...



...and where we are at now.



Friday, May 19, 2017

Week 6

Nothing exciting has gone on in terms of braces this week. I have not observed any teeth movement (at least, not ones that are visible to me. I'm sure the braces are working every day that I have them on), and nothing new has cropped up in my life with braces. The one thing I did notice is that there are noticeable spaces in between teeth on my lower arch, where space wasn't there before. It's mostly between my lower left lateral incisor and canine, my lower left canine and premolar, and lower right canine and premolar. So I guess in a roundabout way, my teeth are moving...and I definitely noticed the spaces when I was flossing. But otherwise, life is smooth sailing with braces so far. And I have my first follow up appoint in a little over a month, so I guess that's something to look forward to.

The teeth I started with
The teeth I'm living wth right now..

...I guess from comparing the above two pictures, my lower canines are more straight than they were pre braces, my left central incisor is less tilted, my left lateral incisor have definitely moved, and my right upper canine is coming out of its crossbite position.

All in all, things are improving.

Friday, May 12, 2017

Week 5

A little hockey update: we lost in Game 7, so we're out of the playoffs. Always next year tho!

So in addition to getting my wire fixed and getting a metal tie attached on Wednesday, there is some news in the braces department! I have noticed some movement with my teeth. Well, tooth, to be more specific. And to be more specific than that, it's my right canine. That's where my cross bite is--when my bite is closed, my right canine is inside my lower arch. And that is the tooth that has moved a bit. My right canine isn't completely out yet, but it's definitely a heck of a lot better than when I started. And sometimes, when I'm eating, my right canine catches on my lower pre molars...which had never happened before, because of the crossbite. So the elastics are working, and the braces are moving teeth to where they need to be.

And with that, pictures.

Before braces. See the crossbite with my right canine?
See how my right canine has moved outwards and is making its way out of the crossbite?

Close up

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Orthodontist appointment!

I went to the orthodontist today to get the wire that's half out of the bracket on my right lateral incisor fixed, and the appointment went well. The tech took a look, and explained to me that sometimes, when a teeth needs to be rotated (such as the case with my right lateral incisor), the rotation may force the wire out of the bracket. It was a relatively easy fix. The tech pushed the wire back into the bracket, and to secure the wire better, she placed a metal tie around the bracket. And boy, as soon as the wire is back in, I felt pressure on my tooth. And when that metal tie went on, well, the pressure intensified. My tooth hurt a bit after the appointment, but it's gotten better now. I'd imagine that's what tightening the wire will feel like, when I do go in for my follow up appointment next month. Not looking forward to the pain...but hey, with braces, it's literally no pain, no gain. And since I want to have straighter teeth, the pain comes as a package deal, am I right?

Wire back in the bracket with a metal tie around the bracket.

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Month 1

A little follow up from the previous post...we lost game 5 (we were leading 3-0, then they pulled their goalie with 5 minutes left in regulation, tied the game, and we lost in double overtime), but did we ever make a come back on tonight's game 6! Final score is 7-1. Game 7, here we come!

(I know this isn't a hockey blog, but come on, it's playoffs. It's Stanley Cup. And my local NHL team is in the playoffs for the first time in 11 years)

Back to our regular programming...

Today marks one month in braces. Crazy that one month has gone by already, eh? It doesn't feel like it's been one month, and yet, it has. For the most part, I have adapted to life with braces. I have not gone in for a tightening or check up yet (that's coming up in June. And I certainly will update this blog when that happens), but so far, my braces have not caused me any trouble. I've been following the list of food that I should not be eating, and so far, no brackets have snapped off yet. Although, I have learned that it is not so much following the list...it's more of my judgement on if I can even attempt to eat the food in question. For example, somebody brought us doughnuts and Timbits from Tim Horton's (Yes, I'm Canadian. Deal with it) the other day at work, and while they fall in the category of food that I may have, I opted out. Why? It's because it would've been too much of a hassle to eat them! I can not bite or tear with my front teeth, and my molars don't really chew all that great right now, and I sure as hell wasn't going to try to mash doughnuts and Timbits against the roof of my mouth with my tongue! While soft food is definitely my friend right now, some soft food are just more braces friendly than others.

In one month, I've seen movement in my teeth, which is a bit surprising to me. I mean, I know that that's what braces are supposed to do, but I honestly didn't expect to see teeth movement until further down the road. So it's rather encouraging (and exciting) to be able to tangibly observe that the braces are working. So far, my left central and lateral incisor have moved, and I'm pretty damn sure the elastics have brought my left central incisor out a bit. And I've noticed that the arch wires are definitely straighter than when they were first put on, so my teeth are moving.

Just hopefully 23 more months to go!
Before starting. See how my central left incisor is crooked? And see how my left lateral incisor is nearly horizontal behind my left central incisor (it doesn't form the "curve" that a perfect bite has)


First day in braces. See how crooked the wire is?
A month in. See how my left central incisor is less crooked now? And how my left lateral incisor has more of a curve to it now? Not to mention that the wire is much straighter now.

Friday, May 5, 2017

Week 4

It's a gorgeous day outside today over here in the City...beautiful, beautiful day for our local NHL team to win in tonight's Game 5. I'm not a huge hockey fan, but man, it's hard to ignore the excitement and hubbub in the City when your own team is in the playoffs. I know this is a braces blog, not a hockey blog, but I gotta cheer for the team you know!

Having braces have become something normal to me now. That's not to say that I don't feel or notice the braces...but they have become just another part of me. Another fact of life, just one more thing that makes me, me. Funny thing though, ever since I started wearing braces, I've become more attentive to other people's teeth. It's probably the thing that everyone does--you notice a small flaw on you, so you start paying attention to other people for comparison's sake. And weirdly enough, I think I've started noticing that more and more people wear braces...I feel like I see them everywhere now. One of the security guard at work has braces, and so does the receptionist who helped me out today...amongst the handful of others that I have noticed since I got my own braces.

Or it could be that whole comparison thing at play again, who knows.

On the plus side, while I'm still mainly sticking to soft food, I have been able to branch out a little. I've successfully eaten biscuits and crackers this week (after breaking them up), and I've even eaten meat that's not been shredded! So things are moving and improving over here. I'm still hesitant to try things like pizza and burgers and rice, because I don't know if I can handle eating them, but all in good time, I will try them. And, brushing and flossing doesn't take nearly as long anymore, once I get the hang of it (I've even stopped using the threader for the most part for flossing--I can thread the floss underneath the wire just fine without any help. The only time I need a threader is for the right back bicuspid on my lower jaw).

And? I've noticed that my left central and lateral incisor have definitely moved since getting braces on. So that's exciting. Down side is the wire is starting to pop out of the bracket on my right lateral incisor, so I'll have to get that check out next week at the orthodontist. But so far, things are looking up!


The beginning
Week 4! See how my left central and lateral incisor have moved?

Life after braces