Week 20, and a dentist visit

I went to the dentist for a check up and cleaning today...the first ever since I got braces. I didn't know what to expect or how'd it go, since I didn't exactly tell them that I would be getting braces, but the visit went well. Obviously, the hygienist was not able to clean every surface due to the brackets and wires, but he was able to clean around them. He was able to do scaling on the inside surface of my teeth, in between teeth and on the surfaces that aren't covered by brackets. Much of the cleaning is done by spraying water and air in the spaces that the wire and bracket occupy. And let me tell you, even though I think I'm doing a pretty good job of brushing and flossing, he still found bits of food and gunk trapped in between the molars. It wasn't pretty. And he flossed my teeth too...rather efficiently and quickly, considering I had braces on. The dentist then did a check up, and pronounced me in relatively good standing. There were a few spots that they were watching, so I just have to continue with the brushing and flossing, and cutting out sugar and pop from my diet. Otherwise, the visit went well!

As for teeth movement this week...I feel like my bite is still continuing to change, and the box elastic really help with closing the open bite. The box elastic is not a fun configuration to wear, but like all things orthodontics, it's not really meant to be a fun thing to wear. I wear it religiously, because I want to do everything right, and to possibly speed up my treatment. But yeah, box elastic, not fun. Can't even yawn with that in! But if it will change my bite and straighten up my teeth, I will do it. After all, that's why I signed up for braces!

Week 19

Week 20. See how the open bite is starting to close, especially on the left side?

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.

Second adjustment...

...and ow, what a bitch of an adjustment that was today. I know, I know. I willingly put myself through this braces business. So therefore, I willingly signed myself for two years of pain, modified diet, and general inconveniences when it comes to my teeth. So really I shouldn't complain when I willingly and knowingly signed up for what I signed up for.

But. This is my blog on my braces journey, and I'm all for a candid show and tell of the process. This is part of that candid tell all.

I got both my top and bottom wires changed today. Both for something stronger. And I definitely, most definitely, one hundred percent-ly felt the change as soon as the assistant snapped in the stronger wires to both arches. That wasn't even the bad part about changing of the wires--I had anticipated that I would be getting a wire change this time around (as per what I was told at my last appointment), but I did not anticipate the assistant having trouble snapping the wire into the bracket on my bottom right molar ("Teeth 7"). I knew she was having trouble, because normally, it doesn't take very long for the wire to slide in and the gates closed...but with the bottom wire today, she just couldn't get the wire into that one specific bracket. So the orthodontist did it. And well, he got it in by wrangling with the wire and bracket a lot. And I felt every single bit of that. I don't blame the ortho for doing what he had to do to get the wire in...but did that ever hurt. On a completely different side note, I imagine that's how my patients feel when I wrangle in difficult IV starts and Foley catheters. Not fun, but needed.

(Does this make me want to be a little gentler in the future with difficult IV starts and Foley catheters? Maybe. But not really. Does that make me a bad nurse? Maybe. But not really. Well. You all know what I do for a living now, I guess.)

I also had power chains applied to both my top and bottom arches. And yes. Every single thing about them hurting like bitches is true. They do. Hurt. A lot. I mean, it makes sense for them to hurt. It's basically a chain of elastic over your teeth, putting even more forces in addition to the forces the wires bring. The orthodontist explained to me that they were to close some gaps I was developing in my arches (the most noticeable being the gap between my bottom lateral incisors and canines). I definitely felt the power chains as soon as the assistant placed them on. Here I was, thinking that I've been doing just fine with braces so far, and that the pressure I was feeling on my teeth weren't all that bad. Quite manageable really. Along comes these power chains and...this feels like I'm back at the beginning.

On top of all that, as if all those things weren't enough, I was given a new elastic configuration to wear for when I sleep. And that is I am to wear a box configuration on the front, because apparently an open bite is starting to develop. A box. The assistant have added these posts by my top canines. And I'm supposed to loop the elastic through the posts on all four canines to make a box. And I wear it for sleeping only. I did a dry run of it today after my appointment, to figure out how to put it on...and let me tell you. It's no fun. It hurts. I can't really open my mouth after the box configuration is on.

Oh and? I'm to wear my elastics in the Class III configuration as before (which isn't bad at all) at all times, like before. This means that I have to wear them with the box configuration, and it definitely will not be fun. At all.

I just hope that this open bite thing fixes itself soon. Because this new box elastics thing is reallllly the anti-definition of fun.

Not that I was expecting braces to be fun. But...this is my blog, and I reserve the right to complain once in a while. Even if I did willingly put myself up for this.

Next appointment is on Oct 11, so hopefully, things will look up by then!

New wires with power chains. New posts for my might time box elastic configuration.

Week 18

Holy cow. It's been...let's see...18x7=126 days since I got braces on. Sometimes it feels longer than that, and then when I see the progress that I've made, 126 days suddenly seem that long anymore. Only...20 more months to go right? But in all seriousness, I can't believe that I've had these on for four months and counting only--it really only feels like yesterday that I got them on. It's still amazing to me what two pieces of wire held by brackets can do so much to my teeth.

So my next appointment with the ortho is next Wednesday, and at the minimum, the wire on my bottom arch will be swapped out for a rectangular one. At least, that's what I was told at my last appointment. I'm kind of hoping that the top arch will get a wire change too--on the rectangular wire that I have right now, I have not noticed a lot of teeth movement beyond bringing my upper canine out of its crossbite. However, I am aware that each wire is important for doing a specific job, and that just because I have not seen any noticeable teeth movement doesn't mean that the wire isn't doing something. Evidently, my bite has been feeling differently, and I have noticed that my upper arch is starting to come forward a bit. So the wires, along with the elastics, are doing something.

Not much in terms of update this week--my bite continues to feel different, and my upper arch is a bit more forward than before. But I hope to change that with my appointment next week!

Week 17

Week 18

Month 4

Holy cow. I've been in braces for four months as of today, and looking back, there's been lot's of changes thus far. It's amazing to look back on the pictures and realize just how much has changed so far, and how much more will be changed in the upcoming months. Braces sure are a thing of patience, but the progress they're making to my teeth is quite amazing.

The main thing that I noticed in this last month is my bite changing. I still don't know how to articulate it with words, but my bite feels different. Although I guess with my right upper canine being completely out of its crossbite now, my bite is bound to feel different. I mean, my main bite issue is my crossbite...so by fixing one big culprit of my crossbite, my bite will feel different. Another thing I noticed is that my upper arch is being slowly pulled forward by elastics. It's not very obvious on pictures, but when looking in the mirror, I can tell that my upper arch is being pulled forward by the elastics. Teeth that were in crossbite before now have an edge to edge relation, and the top arch teeth that were edge to edge with my bottom arch are now out of that edge to edge relation, with the top teeth being slightly forward when compared to my bottom arch.

Not a lot of teeth movement this month around, but I've still got lot's of months to go. Beside I have an adjustment coming up next week, and we'll see what changes the adjustment brings.

Before braces. I can't believe that it wasn't that long ago that my teeth looked like that. Look at all the crossbite and edge to edge bite that was happening! Not to mention my right upper canine!

Month 3

Month 4. In comparison to the last month, my upper arch is definitely being pulled forward by the elastics (that I wear religiously). Most obvious are my upper left lateral incisor in relation to my lower left canine, my upper left canine in relation to my lower left premolars, and my upper right canine in relation to my lower right premolars.

Week 17

Can you believe that July is over already? And that we're officially half way through the summer? Soon enough it'll be fall, and then winter....time really sure goes by quick.

I'm feeling my bite changing, and my top arch is starting to come forward a bit, thanks to elastics use. It's a slow, slow process, but I definitely see differences in my top arch between now, and when I started. There's definitely a bigger space between my top teeth and and my bottom teeth, and teeth that were in crossbite are either coming out of their crossbite or are already out. I just wish that things would progress faster, but that's completely out of my control. For the time being, I'm just being a good patient and wearing my elastics as instructed, in the hops that it will progress my treatment faster. Every little bit helps. If I can shave off a few days of my treatment by wearing my elastics religiously, then I will do that.

Second adjustment on the 16, so I'm curious as to what will be done with this adjustment. I believe I will be getting new wire on my bottom arch, just because that's what the dental assistant told me at my last adjustment, but who knows? I guess I will find out when I go in.

Week 16

Week 17

Week 16

Another week has gone by...and with that, we're at the end of July. Summer's just about halfway done, and that means I've only got one more month to really enjoy the gorgeous sunshine that we've been blessed with this year. I won't miss the frequent thunderstorm though, but I definitely will miss summer when we head into fall. Summer always go by so fast here...you learn to treasure summer when you live in a city that's known as "Winter City". I'm definitely living in the wrong city, but gotta be where the work is, right?

So my orthodontist appointment got pushed back by two weeks, so instead of going in this Thursday, I'll be going in on the 16th. That's two more weeks that I have with my current wires, so we shall see if any changes will be happening between now and the 16th. I highly doubt that there will be visible changes, but you never know. I mean, the braces are always doing their jobs, even if there aren't any visible teeth movement and changes. I do have to admit that it's a little discouraging to see a lack of teeth movement and changes on a near week to week basis like I was when I first got braces, but this isn't a race. It's a marathon. Some weeks there will be visible movements, and some weeks, there won't be. It's just a patience and waiting game, most days.

I went to the local fair last Friday, and it was...a bit limiting on what I can and can not eat with braces on. Braces don't work very well with many carnival food, so I stuck to food that I knew were safe. I had poutine, some mini donuts, root beer, lemonade, and macaroni and cheese. I know, very typical everyday food and nothing that screamed carnival food, but I really did not want to risk anything. There will always be more opportunities to try the more creative and crazy carnival food once I get these braces off. But right now, I gotta do my part and stick with food on the safe list. I want to do everything in my powers to not hinder any progress (and maybe even speed up the process, if I can), and that includes staying away from food that aren't braces friendly.

In terms of my teeth...I really have not noticed any noticeable changes. But I can report that my bite feels different than before. I think it's due to the fact that my right canine is completely out of its crossbite and no longer hiding behind the teeth on my bottom arch. It does feel a little weird, being able to feel my right canine, but that's not a bad thing. My bite is being corrected, and my teeth are being straightened, and that's what braces are meant to do. I also believe that my upper arch have come out a little more due to elastic use, but I can't be 100% sure. I just feel that compared to before, my upper left lateral incisor and canine seem to be more "out". My upper right lateral canine looks to have an edge to edge bite with my bottom teeth, so if that's the case, it means that tooth is slowly coming out of its crossbite too, which means, things are moving.

But again, I can't be sure of those things, because I look at my teeth multiple times a day, everyday, and it's really difficult to judge minute changes. But I'm hoping that I'm not wrong here.

Week 15

Week 16