Week 67, and a trip to the dentist revealed something of concern...

I know I've been doing the week by week every other week now, but seeing as I have something to talk about this week, why not make a post?

So first off, the old adage of being careful of what you wish for rang true for me. Remember how stoked I was to not have to wear those posterior box elastics continuously anymore? Well, I don't exactly prefer night time wear over continuous wear, as I've (sadly) discovered. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty damn freeing to not have to worry about elastics during the day, but damn...I don't know what is it this time around, but I've just been having a lot of trouble hooking the elastic into its configuration on the right molars. Kind of like when I first got put on them. Yesterday I spent ten minutes just hooking and rehooking the elastic into a box configuration that would stay on my right molars. Today I seem to have better luck and only spend a few minutes on it....the frustrating thing is, I don't even know what I'm doing right or wrong when hooking the elastic. I'm using the same technique as before...and sometime the elastic will stay, and sometime, it won't. Also, the pressure from the elastics seem to be...intensified a bit when it's just night time wear. I guess the elastics have to bring my teeth together from a day of them not being in elastics. So there's that.

The gaps from the IPR haven't really closed yet, and I don't really see the powerchain pushing my front two teeth back, but again, it's not even been a week since my appointment, so I'll have to just have patience and wait.

Went to the dentist yesterday for a routine cleaning and check up...and while the dental hygienist pronounce my oral hygiene excellent (barely any plaque, according to him.), the X-Rays taken show that I have root resorption. And not like an insignificant amount either. About 1/3 of the root is gone, when compared to the X-Rays taken last year. The dentist is concerned, and encouraged me to speak to the orthodontist when I next have an appointment.....to be honest, I'm going to phone in the morning and get it clarify with the orthodontist office on whether or not they want me in sooner than my August appointment with regards to this finding. My dental office is going to send my orthodontic office a copy of my X-Rays, so hopefully I won't need to do another one at the orthodontist.

Now I've been googling root resorption up, and basically it's when your roots get shortened. Orthodontic work is a contributing factor, but so is trauma, genetics, and hormones. I've read that what I have--1/3 of the root affected--is considered to be moderately severe. I also read that teeth are okay with 50% of the root gone. I also read that the portion of the root closest to your gums and crown is more important that the apical part...and that apical root loss is not as severe as root loss closer to the crown. There's definitely no cure to this, and roots won't grow back. There are different treatment options for root resorption, going from treatment termination, to just pausing for a bit with a passive wire.

Obviously, I'm not an orthodontist so I wouldn't know what to do, but this is...concerning, nonetheless. My dentist told me that while it's common for roots to get shorter during orthodontic treatments, she is still concerned about the amount of root that got absorbed. She didn't seem too...urgent about me speaking to the orthodontist about it (I don't know why she can't or won't speak to him herself), but I"m still going to make a call to the orthodontist office tomorrow, just to be sure.

If worse comes to worse, I'll just have the braces taken off. Definitely won't be the way I'd want them to be off, but honestly, if I have to have to them off due to root resorption, then I will. And...really, my teeth are pretty much straight, and my bite is pretty much there, so I won't exactly be loosing out a lot of stuff if I do have to stop. Beside the only thing that we're working is bringing in the protruded upper central incisors...but if I were to take the braces off, I'd be okay with my teeth. They won't be perfect, but they'll be good. And well, I never was aiming for a Hollywood smile anyway. I just wanted my teeth straightened out, and I mostly have that.

So we'll see where this takes me.

Week 67

Another trip to the orthodontist

I went in for my regular check up appointment with the orthodontist today, and I think things are definitely closer to being in the "finished" side of things now.

As you probably figured out, there just isn't much in terms of movement and changes now. Not that I expect there to be. After all, I'm in "finishing" archwires, and I really don't think that major movements are expected when one is in the finishing stage of braces. Just small tweaks and fine tuning, working on the bite, and making everything as perfect as it could be before the braces go off. So based on that, I figured that I must be in the home stretch of things now....and after today's appointment, I think I'm a bit closer to the end now.

Realistically I don't know how long I still have in braces, but based on what my orthodontist and the tech said today, it's sooner rather than later.

So today, we worked on bringing in my upper central incisors as those are still a bit flared out. I actually think that's all we have to work on now. My bite is good, as per the orthodontist. Goddamn, I knew that religiously wearing those annoying as fuck posterior box elastics on the molars would pay off. And today, it did. The orthodontist and the tech were impressed by how my bite has changed, and the orthodontist even said that my teeth respond well to elastics, and they move fast under the influence of elastics. Now, I don't know if my teeth really move that fast due to elastics, or they show noticeable movement directed by the elastics because I wear them religiously. I'd like to think it's more the latter than former, because I am one super compliant elastics wearer. But either way, it's good that my teeth respond well elastics wear. It's also good when the orthodontist and tech notice the difference in your teeth due to your religious elastics wear.

I'm not completely in the clear in terms of elastics yet. I have to still wear the bilateral posterior box configuration on the molars...but only at night time, when I sleep. Fuck yeah. I can do that. Anything is better than full time elastic wear for that particular configuration of elastics. So in that regards, I'm quite happy about the "upgrade" in elastics wear. At least it will be less annoying now. I can just, for the most part, be without elastics, which is pretty freeing.

To bring my upper central incisors in, the orthodontist did a bit more IPR on my front four teeth today (still feels weird as fuck when he does it. It doesn't hurt. Just a vibration between the teeth. But it feels weird). I also got wire ties placed on my upper back teeth....I'm not exactly sure which ones. I think it's the first molar to the first premolar on both sides. But again, not sure. And it's hard to tell when I look in the mirror. The point of that is to keep those teeth together, at least, that's what the tech told me. I can sort of feel them, just a bit of extra pressure in the back. But nothing serious. In addition, the powerchain on my top teeth is done differently in an effort to help bring the central incisors back. Instead of the powerchain being looped around every bracket as usual, this time, the orthodontist wanted the powerchain to be under the bracket for the front four teeth. So we're basically using the powerchain as a sling of sorts, to pull the front teeth back. Hopefully it works. But we'll see what happens when I next go in in August.

Cute anecdote: The kid beside me got told that he will get his braces off in three weeks, and the tech turned to me and said "That will be you soon!". I hope she is right! I feel like we're definitely in the end zone of the home stretch now, and I just hope it won't take much longer! Still hoping for the 18 month projected "deadline" as opposed to the 24, but once again, only time will tell.

The powerchain is now under the bracket on my upper central and lateral incisors.

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.