The Brace Faced Kiwi

OK, so it's been a really long time since I posted. It's not that the time's gone quickly, it's that over the last few months I've grown to dislike my smile almost more than I did before I started treatment. At the beginning of the year, my ortho stopped part way through replacing the ligs on the top arch (I mean he really did put 4 of them on) then said out of the blue, "that black triangle is bugging me", pulled hard on the archwire and started to do IPR. This happened all in the space of a minute and I was so shocked I just didn't say anything, all the time running through my mind was how could he do this well with the archwire in place and that I hoped he doesn't ruin the look of my front teeth as he didn't seem to be thinking too much about what he was doing.

I checked my teeth in my rear view mirror as soon as I got in the car and immediately saw white scratches on my tooth, and that he had reshaped only one tooth, not a bit off each like I thought he would, and they now looked totally wrong. It's hard to explain, but one of the teeth was ever so slightly larger than the other before, and the tooth he shaved was the smaller one, making something barely noticecable that I didn't mind, VERY noticeable. I figured that he'd fix it over time, and I have tried to get over that disappointment. The next month, the ortho mentioned that I was doing so well, he thought I might be able to get my braces off as early as July. I was excited as I thought, I'd finally be getting my last molar bands, and the rest of the IPR he'd talked about me needing, and would fix those front teeth. That month he replaced my wire and I was quite excited.

Except, since then the new wire caused my teeth to come completely out of alignment, opened up 4 new gaps in the top and caused my rear molars to come even more misaligned with my arch than they were before. Since that adjustment in feb he's made no adjustments other than adding a powerchain to close the gaps this month, and only then after a visiting ortho mentioned how big they were (he had the ligs out and ready to put on before he swapped over).

Here's where I've lost faith completely; in the last month since the chain was put on, my teeth have taken on a slant and my midline on top is now at an angle, which I'm sure is because of that IPR'd tooth. As well as this, my misaligned bite is causing my TMD to flare terribly and I'm living with constant jaw pain and headaches, which are getting worse by the week. I'm terrified that he's going to say I'm having them off next month (like he mentioned in January) as I feel I've spent $6K on getting a whole new kind of unstraight teeth and while I know the front alignment could be fixed in that time, there's no way one adjustment can fix my rear molars which still flare and are now on average .5 cm outside of the rest of my arch. I feel even more depressed looking back at previous photos, and wishing I could go back to how they looked 6 months ago, where I might have been frustrated with the lack of changes, but was overall, really happy with how my teeth looked.

This photo, shows my last adjustment. If you look hard, you can see that they were at a very very slight, barely noticeable angle - take note of the tooth he shaved:
This is my new alignment:


And here's a side by side comparison:


Notice the red line? That traces the edge of that tooth. If I were to draw a line down the middle, that tooth encroaches the midline by around 1ml to 1.5ml due to it's slant.

So that's where I'm at now. Desperately unhappy with my smile and trying to work up the courage to talk to my ortho at my adjustment this week. I know I have to, and I know I've been putting it off for 3 months, which I should never have done. My excuse is I was waiting for him to notice and to fix these problems himself, in reality it looks like he's not as attentive as I thought he was at the beginning.

I haven't bothered to take photos over the last few months, because frankly, I've been really disappointed with the changes and didn't want to keep a record of the 'down parts'.

To catch you up quickly, the power chain on the bottom continued for a couple of months with nothing being done to the top other than ligature changes on the front 4 teeth... Then at adjustment 8, he removed the power chain and just did a lig change top and bottom. This was a bit of a kick in the teeth (excuse the pun!) as just a few days before, I saw a photo my mum had taken of me that weekend... I was smiling large for the camera, thinking "wow my teeth are going to look so nice!" and boom, back down to earth when I got the photo up on my laptop (excited about seeing my teeth) and saw that gaps had opened up on top and some nasty looking tilting and rotation was happening that I hadn't noticed before. To cap everything off my worst fears were realised when he removed the power chain and the gaps opened again within 3 days, so really, for the last 4 months I've felt like I've made not one little bit of progress and have just been avoiding having anything other than a basic relationship with my teeth.

But anyway, I knew there'd come a time when it got worse before it got better, and horrible photo aside, I know I'm much better off than I was 10 months ago, but comparing my photos, I really can't see any change, so it doesn't make me feel that much better right now.

I hoped so much that he would start work on the top again (and that the power chain would go back on the bottom), and had even packed a soft lunch hoping it would act as an 'omen', so I was super excited when I saw him cut two lengths of chain! The powerchain on top is actually so much better looking than I thought it would be, I find it's less noticable than ligatures actually, as it also slightly camouflages the archwire. It does mean I have to go back to obsessive teeth brushing and colourless food, but then it's a small price to pay for getting exactly what I wanted. It's only on my 6 anterior teeth, so is not there to close the extraction gaps, but my concern was the gaps and movement between my anterior teeth so I'm more than happy. I actually grinned like and idiot the whole way back to work!

These photos aren't as good as usual, but I was in so much pain from the chains that I couldn't really get my mouth open and shut like normal so these are the best I could get. 2 days later I'm still in pain (this has probably been the worst since the spacers), but I'm just so glad to have the chain on both, I really don't care at all, it's just something that's there and I'm glad for it because I can already see the changes! My friend at work called me mad for being happy about being in pain... It's hard to explain that it's become an indication of how well my teeth are moving so I kind of welcome it, because it means changes are happening.

It's exciting to think that my braces have been on for just under a year and that (fingers crossed!) I'm nearly half way through! I've just noticed that I've been keeping this blog for a year now, so happy anniversary blog!


Photo updates:

Normal Smile:

Upper Arch:

Lower Arch:

Comparisons:

It's just clicked that I'm a few days away from my 6 month braces anniversary! In celebration, here's a before and after...

So in the last couple of weeks I've been finding it increasingly harder to brush between the extraction gaps and thought that it was just me... Suddenly a couple of days ago I realised that in fact the upper gaps had closed an amazing amount, by about half in only a couple of weeks!

Something else new is my power chain, which I was surprised to get so soon as the ortho said he wouldn't start closing the gaps for a while yet. I have to say it's painful, but not anywhere near as much as I thought, so that's fine by me! I woke up a few times last night after clashing my teeth together in my sleep, but then I did that right back in the beginning too, and I'm finding it a bit difficult to eat because my molars ache when I do, but it's only just over 24 hours and already the ache is going.

In other news, the ortho told me that my bite has taken on a slant on top which could be quite difficult to fix. I'm not sure what this means for me yet, but he did say there was a possibility that it would correct itself. He's decided that until the top and bottom gaps are aligned he's only going to move the bottom teeth, so I expect that's why I got the powerchain earlier than expected.


Photo updates:

Normal Smile:

Upper Arch:
Lower Arch:
Comparisons:

But I've found that despite my vigourous attempts to keep my ligs clean (which works well), the cement is starting to get a little stained. I had a new lower wire this time, other than this nothing new.

Photo updates:

Normal Smile:


Upper Arch:

Lower Arch:
Comparisons:

I wasn't particularly happy with how I was treated this time around... I was in and out in less than 4 minutes, only some of the top bands were changed (leaving stained ligs clearly visible) and barely a word was said to me. So at the risk of continuing to sound petulant, I leave this one to the pictures only:

Photo updates:

Normal Smile:

Upper Arch:
Lower Arch:
Comparisons:

At my last adjustment, my ortho upped my wire strength and told me that I had approx. 9 more wires to work through before I was finished in total, and 3-4 more wires before he started closing my gaps.

He capped it off by saying that if they kept moving well, I'd get a new wire again next time. Naturally I've spent the last few weeks hoping with everything I have that I would get a new wire this time! The point of this being that I showed up at this appointment terribly nervous, because I desperately wanted to move to a new wire and lo and behold, while I didn't get a new one on the bottom, I did get a new one on top.

This time there was no discomfort at all when he changed my ligs and not even any tightness with the new wire (I love the tight feeling, it makes it feel like stuff is really going on). However for within 2 hrs a couple of my lower teeth started screaming with pain. Caveat: the pain doesn't bother me at all, I take it as a good sign! So, as this was the only real pain that I've felt since the spacers I had a quick check in the mirror to make sure it all looked OK, and I couldn't believe it when I saw that in that 2 hrs one of my more stubborn wayward teeth which was quite out of line had moved into place almost perfectly! So the pain was worth it :)

Photo updates:

Normal Smile:

Upper Arch:

Lower Arch:


Comparisons:

It's now just under 2 months into treatment and couldn't be happier! So far, no major pain and I'm really impressed with how quickly my teeth have moved. The down sides?

1. They're moving so fast that already the wires are poking through into my cheeks within a couple of days of being clipped and I'm getting excessive rubbing (but wax fixes this immediately)
2. I'm getting strange white patches on my 1st molars and bottom of an incisor, not like calcification (looks like bonding is in my future)
3. The chip in my front tooth is now terribly obvious because my front teeth are now nice and straight!

I took mum out last night to check out the Christmas lights on Franklin Road, and afterwards we popped over to the giant Christmas tree in Vic Park. While we were there I took a few photos of mum and I giving Santa a call on the Santa line...

It wasn't until I got home I noticed something really odd about the pictures. I couldn't quite pick it out and forgot about it. The next morning while I was printing them out it struck me. These were the first photos I had ever allowed to be taken of me as an adult from my left side and I didn't even think about it while I was taking the shot or looking at the photo!

It just shows how comfortable I already am with the braces and the results - a month ago I would never have allowed this to happen as it would catch my snaggly tooth in full light. I had a beauty spot removed from that side at the beginning of the year and haven't had any real photo's of my 'new look' taken 'til now because of the teeth, so it's a double Christmas present (plus I got some lovely shots of me and my mum!) :)

Santa Line Photo:
Under the Christmas Tree:
Franklin Road Reindeer:

I was so damn worried about that lig-less bracket that I decided I absolutely had to do something to it! After sitting there for a minute asking myself (as I always do in these situations) "what would Macgyver do?" I remembered I had some clear elastic somewhere around which I bought to make a costume part... Perfect to tie around the bracket until I can get to the ortho!

I did a quick hunt and found the elastic, which is now tied nicely around my bracket! It's absolutely perfect - unless you get really close (and I mean REALLY REALLY close and at just the right angle too) you'd never notice the tiny knot at the bottom. Apart from this one small defect it looks exactly like the other ligs - same colour, size and everything. Brilliant!

I'm flying down to Wellington for a few days this afternoon, so I've packed some spare elastic just in case. My 'tooth care' kit is just about the biggest thing in my suitcase!

I am so happy with the results so far! It's only been three weeks (I had the adjustment 1 week early because his office is shutting down for Christmas) and already I see so much improvement and even a tiny little bit of widening in my arch, which I didn't expect to see at all! I haven't really experienced any discomfort other than a little bit of rubbing on my lower lip, easily fixed with some wax for a day and the only part I've still not been entirely comfortable with is brushing my teeth at work - but only when other people are in the room who seem to think it's OK to stop and stare!!!

Again I've gone for the clear ligs on top. I only had the others for two weeks, but I was still pretty happy with them after that time; they certainly had yellowed a little bit, but it really was only a slight change so I'm not yet too concerned about it. This will be the first time I have them for 4 weeks, so I'll see how they go then! The dental nurse was still a little huffy with me for not choosing white like she suggested, but as I tried to explain to her, I'll never know if I'm happy with clear ligs if I don't try and the white stained more in three days than these have in two weeks. At this stage I never plan on having coloured ligs anywhere but on the bottom as I don't see the point of having clear braces with

One thing I did notice when I was brushing my teeth last night, is that he didn't put a ligature on my top right second incisor. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but of course it was about two hours after his office shut that I noticed it, and he won't be open for 3 weeks, so I'll have no way of knowing for quite some time. Luckily it is on one of my two previously straight (and now even straighter) teeth so I don't think it will greatly impact on the movement - and I guess I won't have to worry about it staining!

Normal Smile:
Upper Arch:
Lower Arch: Day One Comparison:

Full Face:

After nearly missing my appt. thanks to a 30 minute meeting that turned into an hour, I got my ligs changed this morning to clear ones - this was despite the dental nurse spending a good 5 minutes trying to talk me out of it, fortunately the ortho was completely sympathetic... Wow, I can't believe how much better they look! The ligs have been the only things bothering me (at the wrong angle they looked like little piranha teeth)- I spent all afternoon smiling my head off and finally not worrying about how they look. Yes, I know they'll stain, but I've got a battle plan already to keep them as un-stained as possible, and as long as they don't end up looking like piranha teeth I'll be happy.

New Ligs:

So, of course, now I read that white and clear are the two colours that stain the most - duh! I knew about the clear but how I missed the white, I don't know.

Anyway, today was my first day back at work after the tonsillitis, and needless to say I sat at there all morning keeping my mough clamped shut until two really unexpected things happened...

1) One of the people I had told about the braces came up to see how I was this morning. It wasn't until she was talking to me in the afternoon when she said - 'hang on, have you got them on the top as well? Seriously, I didn't notice!'

This cheered me up no end because she actually knew to be looking...

2) One of my work mates came up to say good morning and after a few minutes he said 'have you got your braces on finally? Wow, they look really good!' Which made me feel a little special (although I think he was also buttering me up as I'm judging a contest he's in soon ;P) .

My big plan had been to get a new hairstyle and wear my contacts to detract from the braces, however having been unwell this just wasn't going to happen, so I was well pleased to get some compliments. By the end of the day I realised how silly it was to hide them and just started smiling and talking like normal! I did cave in though and called the ortho to arrange an appointment to change the ligs... And I know I'm letting myself in for it again, but I think I'll try the clear and stay well away from the lemsip which is what stained these ones! I've already de-coloured my pantry and fridge (apart from veges) and I don't drink fizzy drink or coloured drinks of any kind other than tea anyway. I've also stocked up on straws and am going to replace the manual toothbrush in my work 'kit' with an electric one. It's worth a try anyway!

The worst part so far is brushing my teeth at work, as there's no where private to go and everyone stares! I've also had to change my entire daily routine and started eating my breakfast before going into work - I didn't have a great time with that this morning as I usually eat at about 9.30am, not 6am! Other than that, there's simply no pain or major discomfort and I'm still happy!

It's been a few days and unfortunately I've had tonsillitis since Friday morning (started about 6 hours before I got banded) and I can officially report that the white ligs do stain like heck, and are now a lovely lemon yellow thanks to the lemsip I had to get some relief from my sore throat.

Oh well, at least it's only 3 weeks until the next adjustment so I can get them changed! I think I'll go with the clear ones next time... While I know they stain, in general I don't have a lot of heavily coloured food (I'll save my spag bol for the day before adjustments) and I think I'll just start using a straw for my cups of tea! At least there'll be a little more invisibility and I know now that the white will stain anyway.

One thing I was not prepared for was the face washing experience! The first day I washed my face I was thinking that it couldn't get stranger than feeling these giant lumps in your mouth, but it does... Wiggly teeth that move when you run the flannel over them *shudders*! That's an extremely odd sensation.

I've had no pain in my teeth whatsoever, though I'm not sure if it's because I've been so very sick and so my mind hasn't been on the braces (I had to be taken to the A & E I was so sick) or if there's just been no pain. I'm also feeling really self conscious about the braces, but again I think it's just because I'm feeling so low from being sick. My family was worried it was my braces making me ill, but I really felt bad on Friday morning a good 6 hours before so it's not them, but rather bad timing. Or good if it's masking the teeth pain :)

They're on! And not just the bottom set either, but both! So far so good - except that I was in a mad rush this morning putting my little kit together (spent about $50) and of course they gave me a pack when I left including everything I bought... Oh well, at least I have plenty of stuff now.

Between last night and this afternoon the gap where the spacer had fallen out had closed by about half, but they managed to get a molar band on any way, after much pushing and shoving. I have to say, the molar bands were by far the worst bit, and in a few months time I get another two. Yay.

I got a bit of a case of the giggles once they'd been put on - a combination of excitement and relief I guess - especially as I really think they're kind of cute - not at all ugly like I thought they would be! My only regret was letting the dental nurse talk me into white ligs instead of clear - because if it wasn't for the white ligs - I don't think you'd be able to notice them at all. I have an adjustment in 3 weeks so I'll ask for them to change the ligs then, if they don't anyway. For some reason they really seem to like the shape and colour of my teeth and are already planning on using me as a model case (!) and even went as far to show me where my blown up tooth shot is going to go! Actually, other than my chipped front tooth - the only thing I've ever liked is the shape and colour of my individual teeth - so I'm a little chuffed about their comments.

Already I can feel my bottom teeth are a bit wiggly / clicky, which is great! And maybe I'm being ultra hopeful, but part of the wire is already poking out a bit on my molar, when it was well inside the tube when he put the archwire on.

I'm not yet able to close my mouth properly, I feel like I've got a mouthgard in and have to stretch my lips around them - it's not uncomfortable, just totally different to what I'm used to. There's certainly pressure on my teeth, but no pain at all. In general, I'm just super excited!

For your enjoyment, here's a description of the whole process:

During the banding, they put a lip spreader in my mouth to keep my lips out of the way and a tongue protector to stop the glue getting on my tongue. I knew this so I put tonnes of lip gloss on to keep my lips moist!

Next, because I needed molar bands, they sized the bands by trying them on my teeth one by one till they found the right fit. This part is very uncomfortable and hurt but didn't not last long. Once they had the right size (this took many tries), they cemented the bands on, and while I expected the pain of putting the bands on again, this didn't hurt at all.

Once the molar bands were sorted, they lightly polished my teeth and put an etching solution on them to roughen up the surface a little. This took just a couple of minutes and they rinsed it off.

Next they cemented the brackets on with dental glue, one by one. After about 4 had been put on, they set the glue with a strong light (I think it was UV). They continued to do this until all the teeth were braced.

Finally, they inserted the archwire through the slots in the brackets and put tiny bands around the bracket to hold the archwire in place.

All in all once the molar bands were sorted, the process took about half an hour to an hour from start to finish and was super quick and painless (again, apart from the molar bands)!

Normal Smile:


Upper Arch:

Lower Arch: