Week 89 and 90

...and with the blink of an eye, this will be my last blog entry for 2018. Can't believe that an entire year has gone by already...time sure goes by fast whether or not fun is to be had. And with that, one full year of braces have flown on by.

Obviously, my new year "resolution" of getting my braces off this year didn't pan out. But then again, that's not something that I have any control over. It was wishful thinking on my part that these braces would come off this year. But...unless something goes horribly wrong between now and my next orthodontist appointment on Jan 9, I'm pretty sure that I'll getting molds done then. If not then, the next appointment. Which means, I'm really damn close to getting these things off. My teeth aren't Hollywood smile perfect, but I didn't expect them to be. A Hollywood picture perfect smile wasn't my goals or intentions when I decided to get braces. My goal, as it was, was to straighten out my teeth. I wasn't even looking to improve my bite, but that came as a nice "side effect", if you will, of my goal. Now with my bite improved, I don't know why I didn't think it wasn't a goal of mine. My bite is so much more comfortable now, and it just feels better.

I'm literally in the finishing stage of braces, so there's really not much I can say about my teeth. My bite feels good. The top right premolar stopped touching my bottom teeth uncomfortably, all my gaps are closed, and I really don't see anything that can improved. My top right lateral incisor moved out some, due to the bend in the wire that my orthodontist put in last time, but it's not really anything major. And the only reason I know it moved is because it was quite painful after my last appointment. I do hope that my gums will sort itself out--there's a "flap" of my gum that's just hanging between my upper right central and lateral incisor, and it's kind of bugging me. It doesn't hurt or anything. It's just....sitting there. It's been there since I first got IPR done...but then again, this is also where the IPR gap took forever to close, so that could be the reason for the gum flap. It's not a big deal, and I'm sure I can ask to get it lasered off or something at my dentist, but it's just a minor thing that's there. Other than that, night time elastics as per usual, and waiting til my next orthodontist appointment.

My "resolution" for 2019 is to get the braces off, and to be diligent with retainer use once the braces are off....Happy New Year!

Week 89

Week 90

Week 87, 88 and Month 20

I can't believe that a) it's nearly Christmas time again b) I've had these braces on for twenty months already and c) another year is just about to start. Where has the time gone? I've got no idea. It really only felt like yesterday that I got the braces installed. And yet here we are, 20 months later.

So you know how I've been talking about feeling the upper right pre molar touching my lower right canine and it's not the most comfortable thing ever? Well, I'm not sure what, but some voodoo braces magic happened, and that tooth is now not touching my lower right canine in an uncomfortable manner. It kind of just...sits there, and it doesn't bother me like it used to. My bite feels fine. So I guess I won't need to bring this issue back up to the orthodontist next time. I'm guessing that with the torque that the orthodontist put in the wire must have shifted that tooth a bit too, even though the the bend was for moving my upper right lateral incisor out a bit. But whatever! I'm not complaining.

With that issue set aside, I think that if things go the way they are, steady and stable, and if the orthodontist have no more tweaks and imperfections that he wants to work on, I may actually be getting a mold done on my next appointment. Which means, debracing day really isn't that far away. I aim to have these off by the two year mark...so I'm hoping that we're still on schedule!

Happy holidays everyone!

Week 87/ Month 20

Week 88