Gap closing in!

Wax On


Wax Off



Day 2------------------------Day 15-----------------------------Day 29


It's been almost a month since the braces were put on and you can see that the teeth have moved quite a bit. The front gap is now at 2 mm. Very soon, my front teeth will touch again. It's pretty exciting stuff from where I'm sitting!

Overall things have been going well. I'm keeping myself busy and pampering myself so that I don't focus in on my mouth (as you can see I've got straight hair!). I'm encouraged by the progress and am staying focused on the positive. The past month just flew by and before I know it, this experience will be behind me. In the meantime, I'm working on forgetting that I even have braces on and am enjoying some of the perks - like having to get three pair of paints taken in. For the most part the braces don't bother me except when I try to eat too much food at one time. If I do that, my cheeks that a beating.

3 weeks of braces!

Day 1 braces------------------------------------------------Day 21

It's hard to believe it's been three weeks since I got my braces. It honestly feels like I've been wearing them much longer! I continue to watch my gap like a hawk and it is now down to 2.38 mm - half the size from where I was on brace day. At this rate, it looks like the front gap will be closed by my next adjustment on 10/12. Although the gaps bother me, I am used to them. At this point, I would be most grateful to get rid of my lisp! With the gaps in my teeth it's difficult to get out "s" sounds.

Having braces overall hasn't been too bad. Most people have been cool about it - either they don't say anything or they ask about it in a nice way. I ran into a coworker I hadn't seen in a number of weeks and he asked me, "What's new?" I said, "Oh, nothing." And he said, "No, not nothing. You've got braces. That's something." I suppose it is something, but it's not something I want to highlight in an update.

Today, I was at the climbing gym and I saw a group of teenagers and two of them had braces. I had to restrain myself from joining them. :) It's always nice to see others in the club.

Tin grin - week 2

Week 2

Day 2.............................................................Day 9

Well week # 2 in braces has proved not to be too bad. For the most part I forget I'm even wearing braces. They're not that uncomfortable and I can eat most things as long as they're not too chewy or hard. I've embraced my new toothbrush and floss and am brushing my teeth 3-4 times per day.

While post-SARPE I had one large gap, with braces I now have three smaller gaps. The one in between my teeth is about 4 mm. The gap betweem the left two front teeth is 2 mm and the gap between the front right teeth is 1 mm. My measurements aren't that precise since the front teeth are swinging in. In the pics you can see that the right tooth is at a bit of an angle. The power chain is trying to get the right tooth to move, but it's being stubbon. It's got about 3 mm to go.

I continue to use wax to conceal the gaps and it stays in pretty securely since the gaps are smaller. The wire from my braces also keeps it in place. Although I'm keeping myself super busy so I don't focus too much on my mouth, I am counting the days until I am gap free. I am hopeful at this rate, I will see my teeth close in October. I don't want to be a Jack O'Lantern for Halloween!

Tin grin!

Monday was the big day! The brackets went on and the expander was removed from my mouth. It was such a joy getting the expander out. I can speak sooooo much better! Plus feeling the new roof of my mouth was so much fun. It felt huge compared to what it had been!

After removing the expander, they took some impressions to fit the trans palatal arch which eventually replaced the expander in the roof of my mouth. Next the assistant glued on all the brackets. While she was working on me, the ortho assistant was telling me about her trip to Vegas that past weekend. Being Monday morning, I was concerned that she may not be in the best shape to work on my mouth. Everything seemed fine until I brushed my teeth that night. First, the bracket on my left front tooth fell off. In the morning I brushed again and the bracket fell off the tooth next to it. I didn't know what was going on! Did I brush too hard? I put the brackets in a plastic baggy and went to work missing two brackets and tried not to grin too much. Since I was heading back to the ortho in the afternoon for wires and the TPA, I figured I'd get them reglued then.

That afternoon, I ran out of work to make my 3 PM ortho appt. The ortho assistant placed four new brackets on the front teeth since it was a matter of time until the other front two fell off. Apparently they needed to use a tougher bond since the front four teeth are veneers. Once they were rebonded the front four brackets, we were in business. They put in the trans palatal arch as well as the wires.

Even with the trans in I can still talk much better than before. I do have a bit of a lisp still because of the gap and some syllables still sound a bit funny, but big big improvement. Food doesn't really get stuck in the trans. The other thing I was surprised was I was sore in my bottom teeth, but not the upper teeth. I think my teeth in my upper jaw are so used to moving with the expander that it's not big deal for them. They put a wire powerchain between the two front teeth to start bringing them together. Literally in the ortho's office I saw the teeth move. I am now at 4.75 mm though I have spaces developing between the next teeth over. The power chain works to move the front teeth really quickly and the next teeth over will just move over on their own. When I come back in October for my next adjustment, they will use a powerchain to bring the next set of teeth over.

Day 2 in braces

Up close and personal