Week 93, 94

...and I'm officially two weeks from being braces free! My, how fast have time flown by...in just two weeks, I'd be debraced, and starting the next part of my braces journey (retainers). Now that I'm so close to having the braces off, I'm feeling a little antsy. I just want them off now! Not two weeks later! But, I've survived this long with them already, another two weeks isn't really much of anything. Beside, the two weeks will go by fast, and before I know it, it'd be debracing day. I'm looking forward to the entire procedure--the bracket and glue removal, permanent retainers application, making molds for retainers, and being fitted for said retainers. And of course, my first dental cleaning without the braces in the way! It's gonna be a long day on Feb 8, but it will be all worth it. Plus, I'm celebrating with eating dinner out that night, so it'll be nice little end to my journey with braces.

No updates, because there isn't much to update. I'm literally just waiting to get the braces off, and my teeth looks and feels fine. Bite's wonderful, feels comfortable, and I've had no issues with my bite. No issues with my teeth. Just the usual frustrations with elastics, but even that is mitigated by the knowledge that I won't have to deal with them again in two weeks time. My braces aren't really acting as braces now anyway; they're just retaining my teeth in their current formation until braces are off.

So here's my list of things that I've learned with braces:

1) 100% worth it to do it. That's not to say that it will be easy, smooth sailing, or straight forward. But it is worth doing. I joke about my teeth being a $3700 smile, but in all seriousness, braces are absolutely worth it. The improvement in aesthetics and bite goes such a long way that I didn't know what I was missing out until during my treatment.

2) Braces will test your patience. With braces you have to relearn how to eat, brush, floss, talk and position your jaws. These can cause frustration (lot's of it too!). It's especially worse in the beginning, when you are just starting out. But all that will dissipate eventually. Your mouth will learn how to maneuver and function with braces in.

3) Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Borrowing this quote, because it captures braces related pain quite accurately. There will be pain with moving teeth (you're moving teeth through bones! It will hurt!), but the attitude and mindset that you have for the pain will determine how the pain affects you. I didn't really have too much pain throughout, but did take the odd Tylenol whenever I needed it. I didn't let it stop me from doing anything. Not even eating.

4) Speaking of eating...it's become an event with braces. You plan for it, and around it with braces on. Sometimes you don't bother because it's too much work. I imagine retainers will be the same.

5) Elastics are the devil. They just are. They're annoying, inconvenient, and frustrating at times. They snap off, they can be difficult to put on, and they add some pain to the treatment. You become a slave to them once you're prescribed to wear them. Posterior box configuration on the molars is the absolute worse (and I'd know. Been wearing them for 11 months now). But wear them religiously, and the results are amazing.

6) Things can get worse before they get better. Everything in braces is interim, so things can and do look way worse before they get better. Teeth don't always look align and straight throughout the journey and that's okay. As long as the teeth are where they need to be by debracing day, it's fine. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

7) You will develop better hygiene. It's just an inevitable side effect of having braces, really. One that I'm sure will make my dentist very happy about.

8) You're the only one who really cares about and obsess over your own teeth and braces. Well, and maybe your orthodontist too. But generally, nobody cares that you're in braces. Nobody.

Week 93

Week 94

Week 91, 92, and Month 21

You know, I still have a hard time knowing that I'm in my last ever month of braces. In fact, by this time in 28 days, I would've had my braces off already, and probably would be en route to my dental clinic for a routine cleaning. I re-scheduled my next teeth cleaning to coincide with my debracing date--I figured I might as well as get my teeth professionally cleaned the day I get the braces off, new beginnings and all. And what better way to start my post braces life than with clean teeth! That and I bet it'll just feel so good to have the hygienist clean the front of the teeth AND the areas of my lateral incisors that were never cleaned because they were crowded behind my central incisors! Feb 08 is turning out to be a busy day for me, teeth department wise.

I don't think I have any more real updates from here on out. I'm just literally counting down the days til Feb 08, and then I can write all about my experience at debracing and my experience on my first dental cleaning minus the braces. That, and I really don't expect any real changes to occur from this point on. There shouldn't be, anyway. The braces are more or less just keeping the teeth where they need to be for the next four weeks prior to debracing, and at this point, they really are acting more like retainers than braces.

That's not to say I won't update between now and debracing day. I will update, and my next update will be in two weeks time...but I just don't anticipate anything new to write about in between now and debracing day. The next update will be the last update prior to braces removal, so maybe I'll compose a list of things I've learned, and write about that. Of course, I'll have a reflective post of sorts after the braces come off, so that's another post to look forward to.

Week 91

Week 92. The upper left central incisor is level against the upper right central incisor. Evidently the bend in the wire worked. Though honestly, it really is such a minor tweak that I probably woulnd't have cared either way. I'm glad it's done though. The same way I don't care that my lateral incisors are slightly different height. It's so minor that I don't think anyone would notice or care. I certainly don't, for the most part.

Month 21

...and just like that, I have a debracng date!

I went to my orthodontist appointment today, and it turned out that it was my second to last "regular" appointment with the office today. I am now officially in the last 30 days of my braces journey, and my debracinging date is set for Feb 08! Funnily, it would've been Feb 07, which would make it exactly 22 months...but alas, I have some work obligations that day that I can't reschedule, so alas, it was not meant to be. So all in all, by the time I debrace, I would've been in braces for 22 months and 1 day (well, not really a full day. My appointment is bright and early at 0840, but still.). And what a journey it's been.

And with that, I can now say that I'm in the final stretch of the process, which feels really damn good. Though now that I have an actual debracing date, I can't wait for the next 29 days to just fly by, so that I can go to my debracing appointment and get the braces off! Antsy isn't the word I'd use to describe what I'm feeling now, though I anticipate that I would feel more antsy closer to the date. Eager anticipation is a more apt descriptor right now.

My appointment today was really short and sweet. The orthodontist that I see wasn't there today, so another orthodontist who also works at the office covered for him. The tech that I had seemed to be relatively new at her job--she wasn't bad at what she was doing, and she didn't do anything wrong that I noticed. She was just slow, that's all. But there's no crimes to doing things slowly and surely. The tech took off the powerchains and wires, and then waited for the orthodontist to come and do his assessment. The main thing for today's agenda was to evaluate for debracing.The orthodontist had me bite down a few times, looked at my teeth, had me bite down a few more times, and declared that I was good for debracing for next appointment. He did put a bend in the wire by my upper midline, to bring up one of my central incisors a bit, to match with the other one. I honestly can't remember which, I think it's the left, but it's so insignificant that had he not mentioned it, I probably wouldn't've cared enough to do anything about it. But hey, since he insisted, I'm not going to say no. I am also to continue with my nightly elastics routine, which I expected. I did ask if I can stop the elastics, but I didn't think I'd be granted that. No harm in asking though! But at this point, you can ask me to do anything with my braces, and I'd probably say yes. I mean, I can do keep up and maintain any routine for the next 30 days if it means braces comes off right after.

I asked the tech for more details about the next appointment--what will happen, what to expect, and the length of the appointment. She told me that it was actually two appointments--one for the actual debracing, and one to pick up the retainers. The debracing bit will be about one hour in length, and it will consist of physically removing the braces--removing the wires, powerchains, and of course, the brackets. The remaining glue will be polished off. I will be fitted with a permanent retainer for both arches, so one for top and bottom, and impressions for retainers will be made. Also, photos and XRays will be taken. Then I will come back to pick up the retainers, though I don't think I'll leave the office waiting room during that time. My debracing appointment is at 0840, and they've got me picking up the retainers at 1030. Assuming the debracing takes one hour, I'll just hang out in the waiting room for 45 minutes or so. It just seems rather pointless to go anywhere during that time. And then after all that, I'll be done!

Well not done done, but I won't have another braces adjustment appointment ever again. It'll just be retainer checks for the next 12 months, and that'll be that when it's done. And yes, I've already planned for dinner out to celebrate on that day!

So...here's to the next 30 days going by fast!

These puppies are going off in 30 days. By this time next month, I'd be braces free and onto retainers!