Six weeks post expansion

It's hard to believe that six weeks have already passed since I stopped expanding! On Monday, I went to the orthodontist to get my separators in on my lower teeth in prep for braces. My lower teeth ached a bit the first day, but by the second day they didn't bother me too much. Chewing is a little more difficult with the separtors on the lowers, but not too much has changed food-wise since I'm still on a soft food diet.

When I saw the orthodontist, he said to me, "I hate seeing you with that gap." I think he's as eager as I am to get it closed! It is now at 7.14 mm and has closed 4 mm overall in the past six weeks. The braces go on Monday so hopefully that'll mean that the gap will start closing even more quickly. I have a wedding to go to on the 11th and it would be nice for that gap to be gonzo by then. :)

I found out that while braces go on Monday, I am coming back on Tuesday to get the TPA (trans palatal arch) to replace the expander. Apparently they have to measure it with the braces on before they can have it made.

Below are some pics. My smile today and the progression over the past six weeks. A lot of progress!

6 weeks post expansion


0, 21 days, 42 days post-expansion

35 days post expansion - 12 days till braces!

0, 21, 35 days post-expansion

In the past week, my teeth have continued to line up and the gap has closed another 3/4 mm. I'm now just under 8mm. Each week gets easier and I have a lot more energy. I've gotten back into my exercise routine and I've found that I can eat more crunchy foods - like raw peppers and pita bread. I also realized that with my new soft diet, I'm almost a vegetarian. I say "almost" because I'm not committed to it 100%, but there's no way I want to chomp on a steak right now. I continue to improvise and enjoy my new blender. Last night I made mango ice cream; chocolate mousse has become one of my regular favorites.

Braces are coming up soon and I don't feel nervous about it. I feel I'm already used to orthodonture with the expander and I'm eager to get to my next milestone. To prep, I purchased an Adult Braces Survival Kit from Dentakit.com along with an ortho toothbrush, more orthosil wax, and a lip protector. Hoping the new goodies ease me into braces! The expander also comes out in 12 days - I know the TPA (trans palatal arch) won't be as bulky, but I'm not sure if my speech will be less impaired. My worse sounds right now are "ch", "sh" and "ee".

4 weeks post expansion - 2 1/2 weeks until braces!

5/30/10-------------------------> 8/11/10 (7 1/2 weeks post SARPE)

Time seems to be flying by! Four weeks have already passed since I stopped expanding and my teeth continue to line up. I've been feeling a lot of tingling between my front teeth and I've noticed that my teeth are even a little loose. I suppose that means these teeth are ready to get a move on. Since last week, my teeth have continued to straighten up, but the gap has only gone down to 8.75 mm—just 3/4 of mm since last week. At this rate, I may be at about 6.75 mm by the time my braces come on. Even though the gap is closing slowly, the good news is that since my teeth are coming inward (instead of swinging outward), I can easily close my lips over teeth. Makes drinking out of a glass a lot easier!

Below are pics at 0, 14, 21 and 28 days post-expansion.

21 days after expansion

Things seem to be picking up. My gap is now at 9.5 mm and my teeth have continued to straighten out. I'm encouraged by the progress and am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel - front teeth back together. I figure if my teeth continue to close at about 1.5 mm per week, then it should be all closed up by mid-September. Yay! Amazingly the gap hasn't been as torturous as I feared. I'm just looking at the process as a set of milestones and keeping positive that the end result will be well worth it.

0, 14 days, 21 days