Week 38

Christmas has come and gone, and the holidays are just about over. The end of another year is fast approaching us, and a new one is just around the corner. This will be my last post of 2017...hopefully 2018 will bring everyone joy, hope, peace, serenity, good karma and success!

(And teeth movement for me. Maybe even an end date for braces! A girl can always dream, right?)

I am finding that I am able to eat more and more food that I previously couldn't, not because the food items were on the "banned" list, but because my teeth hurts from biting down on them. I've avoided broccoli and veggie stems for this reason, but I had steamed broccoli the other night, and nothing happened other than I was able to chew on it without much trouble. Same with veggie stems. Now, this is not to say that I'm ready to chow down on steak, but this is good news nonetheless. And I'm now able to tear into food with my front teeth again! When I first got braces, there was none of that. Because it would hurt like a son of a gun whenever I tried to rip food using my incisors...that and I never realized just how much I use my incisors to tear into food until I couldn't use them anymore! But things are looking up for me, food wise. At least I'm not exclusively stuck on the soft food anymore....though tough, chewy and hard food likely remains a no until the braces are off.

(And boy, the list of foods I want to eat when braces come off is starting to grow. You really don't know what you will miss until you can't have it anymore. I could definitely use some beef jerky right now. Or caramel filled candies. Fuck, it's difficult when it's the holidays and you can't eat half the stuff people bring to work because of your teeth. I miss Ferrero Rocher damn it! And crunchy cookies! And cereal that haven't been drowned to death in milk. Good thing I can still eat canned tuna and cheesecake and sushi and pho...because if I can't have those, I'm not sure I wouldn't be going stir crazy at the thought of potential two years without them.)

I've got a dentist appointment on the 8th for cleaning, and then it's off to the orthodontist on the 22nd for a routine check in. I sure hope none of those appointments are too eventful...though I do wonder if I'm going to get a wire change when I go in to see the orthodontist. I've been in these wires since August, and they really aren't doing much for me in terms of teeth movement. So we'll see.

To celebrate the end of the year, I'll end it with a Things That I've Learned (So Far), year end edition:

1) If you're thinking about getting braces, do it. Your teeth won't change if you don't take the first step in getting them changed. I've always wanted to straightened my teeth, and I've been sitting duck on that ever since I got a "real" job. Not sure what I was waiting for. I should've gotten it done like in my early 20's. But it was only this year that I did something about it. Better late than never, I suppose.

2) Pain is a package deal when it comes to braces. Embrace it. Learn to deal with it. Because that's not going away anytime soon. Every new wire adjustment will hurt, repositioning brackets will hurt, eating will hurt, the pressure of the wires, elastics and powerchains against the teeth will hurt. Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. Tylenol and Advil are wonderful for the pain. And sleep.

3) Piggy backing onto the last statement, if possible, schedule your appointments on a day where you don't have work the next day. Because nothing sucks more than going to work with a sore mouth from your orthodontist appointment the previous day. Thankfully, so far, I've been able to mostly schedule my appointments on days where I don't work the next day.

4) Brushing and flossing with braces are a real hassle, but it's one of those things where the more you do it, the better you will become. And, if nothing else, you will develop better oral hygiene habits because of braces, and that's always a plus. I mean, I used to floss maybe ten times a year (before going to the dentist, and the short period of time after seeing the dentist), and now, I floss daily.

5) Your mouth will adapt to the braces and you will learn how to eat with the braces on. It won't be necessarily a smooth ride, but it will get there. And you will realize how much of certain teeth you use to eat when you no longer can use those said teeth for eating (like me and my incisors). You also will realize just how much food you can essentially just swallow with minimal to no biting involved. And when you find a side of the mouth that hurts less when eating, you will use that side like there's no tomorrow.

6) Yes you will develop a minor lisp. Yes it sucks. Yes it's noticeable. But good news, is that it goes away relatively quickly. So...there's not much in terms of advice from me other than suck it up and keep talking despite the lisp.

7) You will become hyper aware of other people's teeth and you will scrutinize your own teeth everyday in the mirror. It's just something that happens as a result of getting braces I suppose. And I've noticed that many adults wear braces, and that like 99% of the people with straight teeth have had braces at one point. The 1% that naturally have straight teeth are blessed in ways that most of us aren't. And that most people do not have a perfect bite or perfect teeth. Perfectly imperfect.

Week 38. The camera on my new iPhone 7 is amazing. That's all I have to say.

See you all in the new year!

Week 37

Another 7 days have gone by, and another week of braces have been lived.

Life continues to be free and nice without the elastics. Seriously. I thought I would find something else to complain when I don't have elastics to complain about, but so far I haven't found one single thing to complain about with regards to braces sans elastics. Braces life without elastics is just so...free and amazing that I don't think it'd be right for me to find something to complain about for the sake of complaining. Like, I have not found one thing that bugged me as much as elastics did. Elastics is a necessary evil of braces, and one that I'm glad I got out of the way (hopefully).

There's not been much in terms of movement, but like I said in the previous post, I am noticing the pressure of the wires against my teeth more acutely now that I don't have braces. My left canine is still tipped slightly inward, but I'm certain that it can be fixed easily with a wire change. I would really like to get new wires with my next appointment, but only time will tell. My bite continues to change from time to time. And so far, I haven't found any indications that my open bite is back or my top arch moving back. It appears that the effects of the elastics are still there, which is good, because I am in no rush to wear elastics again.

Week 37

Happy Holidays y'all!

Week 36

And we've made it to another week. Week 36...you know, in 16 weeks, it will be one year of braces. It's pretty amazing how fast time just flies. Especially when I look back at all the progress that have happened so far. I am hoping that I'll get my braces taken off early, but then again, who doesn't? I just hope that my teeth cooperate enough that I don't have to stick it out for the full 24 months. Of course, I'll stick it out for as long as it takes, but early removal is one of those things that I aim for, even though there's really not a whole lot I can do to increase my chances of that happening. Wishful thinking is what it is.

Anyway! This week, I didn't notice any visible teeth movement (I feel like I'm saying this more and more now), but I do feel my bite changing a bit. It's subtle, and I only really feel it when I'm concentrating on it. My teeth seem to fit "better" against each other now. Also, my teeth seems to be doing alright without the elastics. I'm no professional when it comes to teeth, but I haven't noticed my top arch receding or the open bite coming back. So I'm going to assume that I'm doing just fine without the elastics. Because I am totally used to life without elastics now, and it's beautiful.

One thing that I have noticed is the pressure of the brackets and wires on my teeth. I mean, I've always felt them, but it was always in conjunction with the force that the elastics were exerting. And I think in a way, the elastics off loaded some of the pressure of the brackets and wires. Again, I'm no physicist, so all this is just pure speculation, and possibly me making shit up, but the pressure of the braces feel different without the elastics in place. Like, I'm feeling the pressure where I didn't feel pressure before. Namely, my front teeth and my entire top arch. Like, I'm more acutely aware of the pressure exerted by the braces against my teeth on the top arch than before. And I'm pretty sure it has something to do with me being without the elastics.

Life continues to be very freeing without the elastics, and I've got no complaints about that! I juts hope that this will stay.

Week 36

Month 8 and Week 35

...aaaand another month is up! Holy cow, time's just a flying, isn't it? I don't remember eight months passing by since I've gotten braces on in April, but obviously it has been eight months because here we are, in December. In some ways, it really only feels like yesterday when I went to the orthodontist to have the brackets applied and the first wires slotted in (and boy, do I remember the pain and the learning curve that came with that), but looking at my teeth now, it's all been so worth it.

In the span of eight months, my teeth have straighten, leveled and aligned. Compared to my "before" picture, it's like we're talking about two different sets of teeth. And I guess, in a way, we are. I mean, that's kind of why I voluntarily signed up for braces, for straighter teeth. And the correct my bite. So obviously, my "before" teeth and my "current" teeth are definitely two different sets of teeth. One is a vast improvement on the other.

In this past month, I managed to finally be rid of elastics (hopefully for good. Really really hoping for good. Crossing my fingers that the orthodontist doesn't put me back on them when I next go in to see him in January). My open bite is definitely 100% gone, and I've got that small overbite that an ideal bite has. My top lateral incisors have rotated out a little more. The gap between my lower right lateral incisor and canine have closed. My upper left canine have got the bracket repositioned, and right now it's looking a little...tipped inward, but I'm sure that's nothing a new wire and/or bracket repositioning can't fix.

I think it's time to do another Things I've Learned (So Far), just because I haven't done one in a such a long time! Plus eight months is a good time as any to do one.

So...Things I've Learned (So Far):
1) Wear your elastics religiously. They work. They are a pain in the ass (and mouth), but they do work. They are a necessary evil.
2) Life with braces is so, so, so much more freeing and better without elastics. The more compliant you are with elastics wear, the sooner you will reach the desired changes, which means, the sooner you will be rid of them.
3) Brushing and flossing gets much, much easier with practice. Before it would take me forever to brush and floss, and now it takes me 10-15 minutes. Which isn't bad.
4) You learn to swish water very well when eating out. (Admittedly this probably a bad habit, and for those of you reading, please don't pick up this habit. Don't be lazy like me. Pack a toothbrush and toothpaste and brush after eating out.)
5) Powerchains are a bit like elastics--they are a pain, but they do work to close gaps. So put up with them if you want your gaps closed!
6) Not all food on the banned list are equally bad. Granted you really shouldn't be eating anything on the banned list. But if you're careful and crafty enough....(full confession: I've eaten candy bars with bits of nuts in them. And nothing's happened. But I was super careful with the nuts. I've also eaten chips. Again I was super careful with them).
7) Your changing bite will feel weird and awkward at times, and some days you don't even know how to bite food because of the changing bite. That's normal. Your mouth will always find a way.
8) If it weren't for the fact that I see my bite turbos everytime I brush, and the fact that I can feel them with my tongue, I'd have forgotten that they're there.
9) It feels really fucking weird to have the wires out and the brackets gate opened with nothing in them. I can not stress enough how weird the feeling is.
10) Bracket repositioning is a necessary evil, and not one that is particularly enjoyable.

Before. Look how my teeth have changed over the course of 8 months. It really is amazing. And man....look at the cross bite, the gap in between my front central incisor, the way my top left central incisor slanted towards the left...I definitely don't miss this at all

Month 7

Week 34

Month 8/Week 35. Look at all the change that have happened! Cross bite is gone. Gap between front central incisors is gone. Teeth are mostly straightened and aligned. No more edge to edge bite. It's amazing what some brackets and wires and time can do!

Week 34

It's been a few days since my last orthodontist appointment, and boy, I really am enjoying life without elastics. It's surprising how fast I had gotten used to having elastics (they've been a thing for me since day 1 of braces), but what's even more surprising is how fast I had gotten used to being without them. And between the two, not having elastics is the way to go. Which is why I'm really, really hoping that my teeth will stay awesome enough that I don't need to be put back on elastics. Because once you go without elastics, you really don't want to get back on them unless it's a must.

As I plainly stated above, life without elastics is pretty amazing. I never realized how much of a fuss and hassle elastics were until I didn't have to use them anymore. Before, elastics were a constant in my braces treatment. It was built into my daily routine. Eat, brush teeth, floss, put on elastics, and if it's night time, put on an extra one. I never really thought about elastics; it was just something I had to do as part of my braces treatment, and I just simply incorporated into my routine. But now that I'm without, it's obvious to me just what a hassle they were. I had to take them out each time I wanted to eat. Then I have to put them back in after I was done eating. I always carried a bag of elastics with me when I went out. I watched my supply of elastics, and made sure I never ran out. I swept up stray elastics from the bathroom floor all the time. Elastics can and do break in your mouth, and I've swallowed a few. They weren't the most comfortable of things to wear. You ca't open your mouth quite as wide with them in, and the nighttime box configuration was super limiting. I couldn't even yawn with that in.

But without elastics, suddenly I can eat without fiddling with the elastics. There's none of that fear of leaving the elastics out for too long. None of elastics snapping and breaking in my mouth. No more counting elastics and making sure I don't run out. No more dropping elastics on the floor. It's...very freeing. I haven't felt anything different without having the elastics on, bite wise, but for the first little bit, the lack of pressure from the elastics was...odd. Mostly because I was so used to the elastics exerting their force on my teeth. And definitely, I can yawn again without that nighttime box configuration on my front teeth. I can also open my jaw all the way without the Class III elastics in the way. It's pretty damn amazing.

And the gap between my right lateral incisor and canine in the lower arch have closed with the new powerchains that I got from the most recent orthodontist appointment. As have the gap between my right canine and premolar on the lower arch. So some movements did happen in between the three days between my last orthodontist appointment and now. Which is pretty amazing. Took a three powerchains to do it, but those gaps are finally closed.

Orthodontics is really art mixed with science.

Week 34. Elastics free is the way to go.