Friday, October 19, 2018

Week 79 and 80

Well, what do you know, my orthodontist does know what he's doing, not that that's something I should be remotely surprised about.

Remember that IPR gap that I kept repeatedly talking about? You know, the one between my upper right central and lateral incisor? The same one that didn't budge one tiny bit between July and my most recent appointment? The one thing that I was hoping it would work out before my next appointment because it's literally the last thing between me and being braces free?

Yeah, that one IPR gap.

Well, guess what? The wire bends and the anterior elastic box configuration worked because the gap is there no more. There is still a tiny bit of space between the two tooth, but I'm pretty sure that's just due to the shape of my tooth and not the gap. The gap is pretty much gone. It's amazing what some elastics and a few bends in the wire can do. It's the final tweaking of things that really amazes me. How much little things the orthodontist can do just by bending the wire at specific spots and wearing the elastic bands in a specific way.

Which means, we're pretty much on the right track in terms of following my orthodontist's timeline. Which is a pretty damn good thing. By my rough guesstimate, I would've been in braces for roughly 20 months, assuming the braces are off before the end of December. 20 months is a relatively long time to be doing something, but damn, braces are definitely worth all that time and effort.

I've been practicing smiling in front of the camera, and it's definitely a different smile than the one that I'm used to. My "old" smile if you will. I feel a little silly standing in front of the mirror and practicing smiling, but you bet I'm going to be doing a lot of smiling once the braces come off! My contract comes with a complimentary whitening, so after the braces are off and my teeth whitened, I'm going to be smiling just because I can!

Week 79
Week 80

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

This may be my third last appointment ever...

So I went to the orthodontist today.

And from the way things are sounding, I could be two appointments away from getting the braces off. Which, is pretty damn amazing when I think about it. I still think it depends on if that gap between my right upper central and lateral incisor will close in time, but I think my orthodontist is trying to close that by using elastics.

The appointment itself was fairly uneventful as far as appointments go. I went in, didn't have to wait too long before I was called in. The tech took off the powerchains and the wire ligatures, and then the orthodontist came by to assess things. Did all the usual opening and closing of my mouth, and he did the usual prodding and looking. I've got no idea what he's really looking at, but I'm guessing it's my bite, how the teeth are mashing together, molar relations, stuff like that. I got bends placed in my top wire, at the spots between my canines and lateral incisors. Got the wire placed back in (yup, totally felt the tech put the wire back in. That would be the bends at work!), and new powerchains on (and yup, definitely felt the powerchains over the wire!). Got one new elastic configuration added to what I already have, and new bags of elastics. Made my appointment for next time, and that was it. Really not a labour intensive or long appointment by any stretch of imagination.

The good news? The orthodontist is planning on doing molds for retainers during my next appointment. Which is why next appointment will be a longer one, clocking in at 40 minutes. Even better news? After the molds are made, braces will come off within a few weeks. Which, by my vague estimations, I could potentially have the braces off by the end of the year, seeing as my next appointment is on Nov 30. Adding a few weeks takes us to middle/end of December...so if everything works out well, these brackets, wires, and elastics will be a thing of the past soon. Which brings us to the crux of the problem--if everything works out well.

I still have the IPR gap between my upper right central and lateral incisor. The orthodontist place bends in the top wire in an effort to bring the teeth down, and he also instructed me to wear anterior box elastic configuration at night on top of my posterior box configurations. I'm thinking that the anterior box will bring the front teeth down, which could help to close the gap. At least, I think that's what he's planning on. It can't be for open bites, because I've got none.

Currently I'm wearing my elastics and...everything just feels so tight. I could hardly open my mouth, but I guess that's the point of the anterior box elastic. I trust my orthodontist and that he knows what he's doing...but god damn, I want these things off already! I really am in the home stretch of braces now, so I'll keep on wearing these elastics religiously!

Can't wait to have these things off and I can eat all the things I haven't been able to eat. Braces are worth every single sacrifice that comes with it....but that's not to say that wearing braces is easy or fun. And I know that retainers will be a long term thing that I'll deal with...but a $3719 smile isn't something I'm willing to mess up on. Especially since it's my own hard earned money!

Anteior box configuration, we meet again. Hopefully you'll help to close the gap!

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Week 77, 78 and Month 18

So it's officially been 1.5 years in braces...and I don't think I'm getting them off before the end of this year. But that's okay. I don't really mind that I would be in braces for a bit longer...I've had these on for 1.5 years already, what's another few months in the grand scheme of things? And I've totally gotten used to life in braces, so it's not like it would be anything foreign that I have no experience with. Though it would be nice if I could get these things off before the end of the year. It would be a nice Christmas present indeed.

The reason that I don't think I'll get these off before the end of the year (despite my orthodontist's plan to make molds for retainers on my next appointment--which is tomorrow--and to debrace the appointment following that) is simply because the gaps created by the latest round of IPR have no closed. Particularly, the gap between my upper right central and lateral incisor haven't budged since the last appointment. And I'm pretty sure the gap between my upper left lateral incisor and canine haven't moved either. So until those gaps are closed, braces won't be off. I'm confident that those gaps will close...but it will take some more time.

I have my appointment tomorrow, and the one thing that I'm hoping to get out of this appointment is no more elastics use. I'm just so tired of the box configuration for my molars. Even if it's just night time wear. I've been in this configuration for seven months now, which is the longest time I've been in any elastics configuration...and couple with the fact that it's just not easy to put the elastics on (due to one of the hooks not being a hook but the back of curve hook!), it's just annoying. There's been more times than I care to count where the elastic snap off on the right side (always the right side!) in the middle of the night and I'd have to get up to fix it...if I'm aware of it as it happened. If not, then I try to squeeze in a few hours during the day on nights where the elastic have snapped. It's just a big annoyance. I'm thankful that it's been only nighttime wear for the past few months...but I'm ready to not have to deal with them.

I suppose my orthodontist will try to close the two gaps that I have during tomorrow's appointment. Probably with more powerchains, or by placing the powerchain underneath the brackets instead of over them. I know the end is near, and these are just small things that needs to be tweaked out before the braces can go off. I still think that this was easily one of the better decisions that I've made, and I'm pretty happy with the results so far. I'm not looking for perfect Hollywood teeth, but I do like what I have so far. Big improvement from what I started with!

Week 77
Week 78, Month 18

Life after braces