Week 19

Welp. I had my adjustment (and you can read all about it on my previous post), and I'm still getting used to the new wires. My teeth are sore, and it'll be awhile before my mouth feels like "my mouth" again. But all this in the name of getting nice straight teeth, eh?

Compared to last week, I'm not too sure there's any really anything new. I've started using elastics to close this open bite that I've apparently developed, and I think it's going well? I mean, in the pictures, my top and bottom teeth seem to be a tad closer to each other. My top arch have definitely moved out some, and it's quite obvious now when you look at my upper left canine when compared to before. So, I guess the elastics are working as they should, which is good. My top right lateral incisor is slowly coming out of its crossbite too, so that's good.

Before the pictures, a quick Things I Learned (So Far):
1) Power chains are no joke. They bloody hurt. They make elastics feel like a child's toy.
2) Elastics work if you wear them as prescribed, religiously. No they're not fun. They haven't been fun. And I don't anticipate on them ever being fun. But they work, and that counts for something.
3) After an adjustment, it can be painful to brush and floss. Learned this the hard way yesterday.
4) Speaking of flossing, with new wires and power chains on, it can be difficult to floss. Because you know, spaces and gaps are closing and all that jazz.
5) Your bite is always changing. In fact you might develop a bite that you never had before due to being in braces. AKA, me and an open bite.
6) Having braces work much better than any diet. It's hard to gain weight when your diet is restricted and eating becomes a big hassle.
7) The lisp does go away, but not completely. I'm okay with like 99% of words...but there are still a few words that I just have trouble spitting out because of braces.
8) Better oral hygiene habits will develop because of braces. That's a plus from braces, right?
9)....that sometimes when you can't brush after a meal, swishing water really well inside your mouth works too. Not as good as brushing, obviously, but it gets the job done.
10) Wearing elastics in a box configuration for night time use means you end up swallowing your yawns because you can't open your mouth wide enough to actually yawn. It's...really weird.

Week 18

Week 19. See how my top left lateral incisor and canine are more forward now? As is my right canine. Could be the camera angle, but I think my teeth are closer together this week than last.