Week 64, 65 and Month 15

Well another two weeks have gone by, and we're now 15 months into my treatment. Time really sure fly by fast...whether or not you're having fun. That or I'm just getting older and each day seem to fly by faster than the day before.

At the rate things are going, I don't think I'll be able to get the braces off by 18 months...but I'm still hoping for de-bracing before the two year mark. I mean, my teeth are nearly there, and we just have to work on levelling my front four teeth and perfecting my bite. Seeing as how the orthodontist said that my bite is nearly perfect on the last appointment, I'm confident that it won't be long before the work on my bite is done. I'm really hoping that I'll get de-braced sooner rather than later...because as much as I've enjoyed seeing and experiencing the progress that braces have brought me, I do miss having my teeth without braces. I miss being able to eat what I want, when I want, how I want. I miss not having to clean my teeth after I eat. I miss having "natural" teeth. But all that in good time. I knew what I was sacrificing when I signed up for braces.

So the past two weeks....haven't been eventful, as you probably have guessed. The gap between my upper right central and lateral incisor seemed to have closed nicely though. I'm pretty sure my first molars are touching now, even when I don't have elastics on, so I hope this means that I can be rid of this damn posterior box elastic configuration with my upcoming orthodontist appointment next Thursday. I just...these really are the worst elastic configuration I've had to do thus far, and it's not only because they're on my molars, it's because one of the "hooks" that I have to hook the elastic on isn't even really a hook! It's just the curve end of the hook! Like...go figure why the elastic falls off easily. I've just about had enough with this current elastic configuration, and I want it to off.

I have my next appointment on Thursday as mentioned, and I do wonder what the orthodontist will have in store for me. I guess I'll find out!

Week 64

Week 65

Month 15

Week 61, 62, 63

Well someone definitely dropped the ball on the posting every other week thing...totally wasn't me.

Sarcasm aside, I just...haven't really found much to update about for the week by week thing lately. I mean, I know in a way, that's good, but in another way, it just makes for boring blog posts if all I'm talking about is how I don't see any changes this week and that the elastics suck. Even if people somehow, weirdly, enjoy reading about my non update updates, it still makes for boring blogging from my part. Like, it's just no fun to blog when there's literally nothing to blog about, other than the same old things that I've went over again and again for the past two months or so.

I will still try to do the every other week update, because I feel like I should at least make this blog somewhat active, but that just means I have to find something to talk about every other week. Which, isn't too hard, when I really think about it. Though, I kind of miss the beginnings of braces where I had so much to say with every week, because there were movement every week. But like I said previously, I don't expect there to be major, major changes now, not while I'm on finishing wires, and I don't expect noticeable differences from week to week, because we're in the home run now, and just tweaking small things here and there. Things that aren't even all that noticeable to me.

So these past few weeks is just more of the anterior box elastic configuration (I am so goddamn hoping that I can get them off with my next appointment in 2 weeks. I don't normally mind elastics. It's just these are the most annoying and inconvenient ones I've had so far). Not quite sure my front four teeth are leveled yet, as the lateral incisors are just a bit "behind" the central ones. They're definitely not flat against each other because I can definitely feel a "step" when going from the central to lateral incisor. That's probably what we will be working on for the next little bit. Leveling those teeth. And then hopefully my bite is good enough by next appointment to not need further elastics.

I'm not sure if my hope of getting these off by October (that's the 18 months mark) is realistic at this point, but there's no harm in hoping. I really don't want to have to wear these longer than 24 months. I mean...I know that braces is a huge commitment, and I did sign up for this, and that a perfect bite and smile will be something I'll benefit from for the rest of my life....but sometimes, it just seems to be such a drag. But that's braces for you, I guess.

Week 61

Week 62

Week 63

...bonus points if you can tell the difference between all three pictues.

Month 14

Another month in my braces journey. If I'm being optimistic, then I've only got 4 months left. If I'm not...well, then I've got 10 months left. And all that is based upon my orthodontist's estimated treatment times, which means absolutely nothing in terms of actually predicting how long my treatment will be in real life. I think my teeth are pretty good, and I think they're on track to being closer to the 18 month removal time than 24...but what do I know? I'm just looking forward to having these things removed.

Again, the main thing that was worked on in this month is my bite. The orthodontist did tell me on my last visit that my bite is pretty close to perfect, so I take it that all my religious elastics use have not gone in vain. Which is good, because elastics aren't fun. They're really, really not fun. As in, I really don't want to keep on using them anymore. Which is why I'm diligently wearing the elastics that I have in hopes that I can be rid of them on my next appointment.

As far as teeth movement goes, the majority of the spaces created by IPR have closed. The only gap remaining is the one between my top right lateral and central incisor...which doesn't bother me much. I know that can be closed easily with the next powerchain change. I think my front central incisor as less flared out, but I can't really tell for sure. I guess I'll find out with my next appointment in July. My top four incisors haven't exactly been leveled all to the same level, but I don't know if that's something that's realistic for me at this point,. My central incisor have been pushing against my lower incisors for years due to the edge to edge bite that I had, and maybe they won't ever be flat against my lateral incisors. And you know what, I"d be okay with that, if we can't get the four incisors to lie flat against each other. I mean, my teeth looks so much better than when I started, and honestly, I'm quite happy with how things are turning out right now. I'm glad to actually go through with braces.

Here's to the next month!

Month 14

Week 59, 60

So I think I will post every other week from now on, seeing as there isn't much to update on a weekly basis. At least with every other week, I'll have something to talk about, even if it's a minor thing. I'll definitely post weekly if something exciting happens....but I really highly doubt anything exciting is going to happen from now on. I just don't anticipate a lot of major movement with my teeth or bite at this point in my journey. My teeth are mostly straight and my bite is mostly corrected. We're just working on the fine details at this point, which means I won't be able to see the same amount of teeth movement as I did at the beginning of my treatment.

From my unprofessional opinion, I think my first molars are in Class 1 relationship. I compared my teeth with pictures from the internet, and I think my teeth looks pretty damn similar to the ideal molar relationship pictures that I see on the internet. Same with my canines. Which you know, matches up with what the orthodontist has told me--that my bite is nearly there, and I just have to wear keep up with these damn elastics. I really really really hope that on my next appointment, I'll be done with these posterior box elastic configuration. I'm not necessarily up for more elastic use, but if I have to, I hope the new configuration isn't too terrible to do. Elastics work, and they're amazing, but they're also not exactly the most convenient.

The space between my top left lateral and central incisor have closed up fairly well, as have the space in between my front central incisors. The only gap left from the IPR is the one between my top right lateral incisor and central incisor....which I hope will get closed with the next powerchain. My top left lateral incisor remains a bit higher and slanted when compared to my right, and my top left canine is still tipped inwards, but those are fairly easy fixes that I'm not too worried about. I just want to get these gaps to close and for my bite to improve. And to be off elastics completely.

Week 59

Week 60

Week 57, 58

So I think I'm going to go with posting every other week instead of every week for my week by week posts, mostly because there just isn't a lot of updates that happen on a weekly basis. Heck, there isn't even really all that much to report on on a biweekly basis. But I suppose that's what it's like when I'm in the final phase of the braces journey. There just won't be huge progress, and I don't expect there to be. It's just all the fine tuning and small details now. Things that won't make a big change from week to week.

Remember how I got IPR done for my front four teeth on the top arch? Well, the gap between my lateral incisors and canines have closed up quite nicely. However, I can't say the same about the gaps between the lateral and central incisor, and the gap between the central incisors. They're still there, and it's quite obvious they're still there whenever I floss. The contact between those teeth aren't all that tight, and in some instances, there's no contact between the teeth at all. So this basically just means more powerchain use in my future. Hopefully these gaps will close up soon enough.

As for my central incisors flaring...I honestly can't tell if it's gotten better or not. I mean, I couldn't even tell that I had flaring to begin with, so it's not like I can tell whether I've still go them or not. I think I still have very mild flaring, based on what I can see in the mirror, but like I said, it's not like I saw the flaring before my last orthodontist appointment, so I don't have much as a reference for comparison purposes. I mean, if the flaring doesn't get better by next appointment, there's just going to be more bends in the wire, that's all. Bends in the wire isn't anything new to me anymore. It's just one of those things that happen in this stage.

Elastics have been annoying and a pain in the butt, as usual, but what else is new? I'm still obviously wearing them religiously, because I sure as heck am going to do everything within my powers to speed the treatment up, but it doesn't mean that I like using them. I'm sure they're working--I can feel my back teeth touching each other now, and the ortho did say that my bite is nearly perfect. I'm hoping that I won't have to use this box configuration after my appointment in July...I mean, I only wore the nightly box configuration for three months to close the open bite I developed in the front, so by July, I would've been in the box configuration for my molars for three months, which hopefully would've closed the bite. I'm hoping anyway. And with religious elastics use, I'm really hoping that I don't need to be in the box configuration after July.

Out of all the elastic configurations I've had, I have to admit that the current one I have is the most annoying. It's got quite the learning curve to it with regards to application (I spent a good chunk of time just practicing in front of the mirror to get the hang of it), and it's got a tendency to slip off the "hook" on my second molars. Mostly because the "hook" on the second molar isn't a true hook. It's one of those hooks that's meant for the elastic to loop under...but instead of looping under, I'm to place the elastic over the curve of the loop on the top. That and the end of the powerchain hooks into that looped hook, so I have to basically juggle with placing the elastic on the back of curve over the powerchain tail. It's prone to slipping because of this. Many, many times I've said to myself that it would be so much easier if I had a real hook there....but alas, I don't. So I make do with that I have. I've gotten better at putting on the elasric on my molars--I can do it without much hassle now. But still, I'd rather not wear it longer than I have to.

Week 57

Week 58

See the difference between those two? Yeah, me neither. I do notice that my top left lateral incisor is a bit shorter than my right top lateral incisor, and my top left canine is tipped in,...but I'm sure those are easy fixes that I can just ask the ortho to fix for me. Right now we're working on closing the gaps that IPR made, and to tip my top central incisors in so they don't flare out anymore.

Month 13 and an orthodontist appointment

So another month, another picture. I'm not actually sure if there's any real point to me doing the week by week and month by month anymore, seeing as there's been no big changes between the weeks and months anymore...but I'll figure that out later. For now I'll stick to it, as that's what I've been doing for the past year.

Month 13

All I can say for month 13 is that things are getting finalized and that I can feel my back molars touching each other. No major changes from the one year mark, nor do I expect there to be.

Now, as for the orthodontist appointment that I had today...

It was probably one of the fastest, if not the fastest, appointment I've had so far. I was literally in and out of the office in 20 minutes. That usually doesn't happen. I'm usually out in 30-40 minutes, on average. But I guess that's another sign that things are starting to come together...the lack of major adjustments and changes in each appointment. Which in a way, is good, but in another way, makes for really boring updates and progress. But I do want to be done sooner rather than later, so I guess this lack of excitement is what I'm signing up for now.

The orthodontist assessed my bite, as that is what we're working currently, and declared that my bite is just about perfect. I suspect that the molars are literally the only thing preventing me from having a perfect bite at this time. Which you know, makes sense, considering the fact that I am to continue on the box configuration for elastics on my molars. Which, is still an annoyance, but at least I've figured out how to apply them efficiently and quickly now. Including the elastic for my right side.

I got IPR done today on my top four front teeth. According to the orthodontist, my central incisors on the top are flaring (I didn't notice it, to be honest), so to make room, he shaved a bit of teeth off each of my top four incisors. IPR feels...funny. The tech described it as super flossing, but it really isn't. It's more like....well, you just feel vibrations between the teeth that's being IPR'd. Not unlike a dental cleaning where the dentist uses the...polishing thing to polish your teeth. It feels a bit funny, but it doesn't hurt, isn't uncomfortable (beyond the fact your mouth is dry from being held opened). It's really just grinding a bit of teeth away to make room. 1/3 of a 1mm is what I was told. Which is to say, tiny. So now I've got some tiny gaps in between my four top incisors, which should hopefully help to bring the central incisors in to fix the flaring. With the powerchain, I'm sure that's not an issue.

I also mentioned that I noticed my top left canine is a bit tilted inwards when compared to my top right canine, and the orthodontist said that after the central incisors thing is fixed, it'll just be a simple thing to tilt the left canine out.

So that's my orthodontist appointment today. Some IPR, and to continue on the elastics. (I really am hoping that by my next appointment in July, I wouldn't be needing any more elastics.) Hopefully we're getting closer and closer to the end!

It's really hard to see, but there are gaps in between my top incisors.

Week 56

The sun is shining, we're in May, which means summer is just around the corner. Finally. When you live in a city that's got a 6 month winter...you learn to treasure every single drop of summer. It actually doesn't even need to be summer summer per se. Just...warm(er) weather and the sun. I can't imagine living in a place that's eternally sunny and amazing weather all year around (but I mean that in a very good way). SoCal and Florida and Caribbeans....basically everyone who lives south of the Equator, I'm looking at you.

Anyway! I've got an appointment with the orthodontist next Wednesday, so I shall see where I'm at in my braces journey then. I really hope that I'm near the end. I know that the orthodontist is working on the smaller details and fine tuning things, so I really hope that all this tinkering doesn't take too long. Come to think of it, I think the bulk of my teeth straightening and aligning was done in about 6-7 months, so I really hope we don't spend...like...18 months doing the fine detailing. I mean, obviously, if that's what it comes to, then I'll do it, ut I just hope it doesn't. My teeth looks really good, all straight, and other than a few very minor flaws, I'm happy with it. My bite feels fine. I'm 200% sure my molars are touching now, because I can feel them touching. If my braces were removed now, I think I'd be pretty damn satisfied with the results. After all, the enemy of good is perfection.

That's not to say that I don't want the orthodontist to do everything that he can to make my teeth and my bite the absolute best it can be, but when it comes to it, I really wouldn't want to spend months and months on end to perfect teeny tiny imperfections. A Hollywood smile isn't what I'm after...just my smile, but with straight teeth aligned properly, complete with an optimal Class I bite. That's really my goal. And I think my goal is fairly realistic and attainable. (The fact that my treatment comes with a complimentary teeth whitening upon completion isn't a bad deal either).

I'll update this after my appointment, as per usual. Until then, here's another picture. (I honestly can't see any changes from week to week now. Which I take it as a good thing.)

Week 56