8 months GRRRRRRRRRRRR!

So I'm now officially into 8 months of my 6 month smile!! Hmph!!! Clearly the poster girl for the slowest moving teeth ever!! Still have a gap between my front teeth and still have the tooth left of my front tooth and its neighbour to turn, as well as the canine below it to turn-to allow my bottom teeth to straighten!! Dentist said 3 weeks ago he can see movement, but I can't!! So if they still have a way to go he's going to make me an invisalign type brace! Great-better than train tracks-but still annoying!!! So back to the dentist on tuesday to see what he thinks! Obviously, whenever they do come off-there's a 2 week wait for the invisalign type, so danger that my teeth might start to move back in those 2 weeks!! Well, my teeth still aren't straight so I suspect the train tracks will come of tuesday and he'll take invisalign impressions, then I wait 2 weeks for them!! Good news is....no more pics with ugly braces-yay!!!!!!!! Bad news-probably ulcers in different places and I should think some lisping too-booo! Oh well-the journey continues!! I have booked an appointment with the hygienist for a good clean and polish on tuesday, just in case they do come off! and I still need the bonding on my front tooth to cover the unsightly mark thats there!!

JUNE 2011                                                                           MARCH 2012

Watch this space....as always....grrr.

Bad blogger!!

I can't believe I haven't updated this for so long-but not a lot has happened :(
I can't notice a huge amount of movement, lower teeth are still slooooowly moving, my bottom left canine just needs to move back a bit and let the front teeth come in front of it-and then they can finish their straightening!!
My top teeth are still bothering me.  My 6 month appointment was on the 30th December, I had some more filing done and the dentist assured me that in another 3 weeks it would be job done.  My upper left canine is being stubborn-apparently the roots are bigger and that's why those teeth move slower! I can't really see that it's moved at all to be honest-but he always said that would be the problem tooth-guess he was right! That tooth needs to turn away from facing towards my front of my teeth, to facing outward! Because that tooth isn't moving, my snaggle tooth (next to my upper left front tooth) can't turn away from facing the back teeth, to facing outwards and it can't straighten downwards and move closer to my front tooth. This in turn is preventing the gap between my front teeth from closing! It's soooooooooooooo frustrating and I really can't see how they are going to move in the next 19 days!! I had my heart set on a brace free 2012! I'm due back on the 25th, when my dentist says 1 of 2 things will happen-although I think it'll be a third option!!
He says he'll assess my bite to see which type of retainer is suitable.  Apparently, the fixed wire behind your teeth can only be used if you don't have a 'heavy' bite! Because if you do, you'll keep knocking the wire off every time you bite! So, if I'm suitable for that type of retainer, he'll take the impressions on the 25th and send them to made-should be back in 2 weeks-and my braces will stay on until they're back, taking me into the 8 month!!! :( Although, I do wonder if he has already assessed his and decided I am suitable and knows I'll need a couple of of extra weeks after the 25th anyway-but is using the retainer making as a handy excuse! I've become sooooooooooooooo suspicious in my desperation to get them off since hitting and passing,  the 6 month deadline!!! Although to be honest, I'd rather have the fixed retainer, as they'll put it on and I won't have to think about it again!!
If I need the removable, invisalign type of retainer, the braces will be completely removed on the 25th, the impressions taken and the retainers should be back in 2 weeks.  I'll be excited that they come off, but he says there's a risk my teeth will move in that time!! And if all this magical movement is going to occur in the next 19 days, surely they'll just move back in the 14 days it takes to make the retainer-arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
However, I suspect I'll go back on the 25th and he'll say I need a few more weeks!!
I've booked my appointment with the hygienist for the 25th because they'll need a good clean and I don't want to risk her having no appointments and me having stained teeth until she can fit me in!
I'm also going to be having some bonging over a mark on my front tooth which has turned yellow over the years,  but I'm not sure if I need to do the home whitening (think it takes a few weeks) before he does that?! I just want the braces off, my teeth cleaned and polished and the stain covered all on the same day, with just retaining and whitening left to do!!!
Well, I think this long ramble has made up for my non posting weeks! Pics will have to be added tomorrow as it's dark!!

18 weeks!! Anna

So I've just returned from the final wire change!! wooo hooo!! Unfortunately it was a wire change and not brace removal :( Ho hum!! However, there's no visible movement (except the gap in my front teeth has closed slightly) in the last 4 weeks-there might be if I took photo's, but as I can't really see it, I haven't bothered to take pictures! The only weird thing I've noticed since getting home is that the upper back left bracket is not there? It's the metal one which I thought kept the wire in place-just isn't there. All 4 back brackets upper and lower are metal. So it's odd that its not there because I thought they would have told me if they were taking it off!! He did tell me he was drilling off some of the ceramic, because where the bracket next to it had come loose, only half the ceramic had come off with it!
Well, I'm pretty sure I'll be back there in the next week or 2 any way, because every time I have a wire change, the pressure causes a bracket to ping off somewhere!!
So, not much to say this last 4 weeks! Not much pain! Am eating everything and anything! Except this week I'm sure will be a soup week due to the wire change!!!
I'm due to go back for another appointment to change the elastics and check the spacing on 1st December! Again, I hope this wire change will work miracles and he'll whip the braces off! However, I'm a little worried that next month will be like this last one and nothing will have change :( Hope that's not the case!! Fingers crossed!!!!!

14 weeks:Anna

So 14 weeks in!! woop wooppp!! Still have the odd few days where the inside of my cheeks are really sore and swollen! I don't really get any tooth pain now, but I can feel that some teeth just feel a bit weird at times-must be when they're moving!!I still wear the mouth guard to sleep a few times a month when the cheeks are sore!!

 I've just returned from another trip to the dentist, as another 2 top brackets came off! I think even the Dentist and Dental Nurse are getting fed up with my visits, let alone me!! Must be at least the tenth time I've been back for a bracket re-stick! I have another appointment in 4 weeks and have been told not to return for a bracket re-stick unless its on one of the teeth that need to move :( Well, I shall not return if one comes off-UNLESS its really annoying or painful! The upper, back left bracket came off and kept pinching my cheek causing an ulcer! So if it annoys me, I'll be back-I'm paying £3,500 for this-so I want the least discomfort possible!!

So how are my teeth doing?
I was at the dentist last week for a general check up and to check the spacing was OK still, so my teeth will still move. I had some very light filing. I told him about the really sensitive bit between my bottom left 2nd and 3rd teeth from centre and so he put de-sensitising agent on before filing! Don't know what that is-but it worked, filing was pain free and I can now get the inter dental brush in between those teeth again without hitting the ceiling and nearly vomiting-phew!! The teeth I was worried about not moving, are moving, its just slow and less obvious now!! But I have photographic evidence!

So, I go back on the 1st of November for THE FINAL WIRE CHANGE!!! yaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy! That will be the 4 month check! The dentist initially said my lower teeth could be done in as little as 4 months, so I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hope I'll get there on the 1st and he'll say my lower teeth are done!! Fingers extra crossed!!!! Still, I can't help hoping my teeth will do some serious moving in the next 4 weeks and will be perfectly straight next month-and the dentist will whip all the braces off!! Once again-day one photo's on the left, week 14 on the right!

These next few pics are 5th sept on the left, 5th October on the right and are the only teeth left to turn!!

First the bottom left teeth-definite movement in the last 4 weeks, the canine (3rd tooth) is not overlapping the 2nd tooth as much-but not that easy to see on the computer pics. But there's still a slight overlap between the 2 front bottom teeth

Then the top left teeth. The tooth next to my front tooth is definitely more in line-again easier to see on the camera, than the computer! But you can definitely see that the next tooth along has finally started to turn, you can see a slight gap between it (3rd upper left) and the next tooth(4th).

10 Weeks-Anna

So, I've survived 10 weeks in total! Honestly, half the time I love the braces, especially when a few teeth feel tender and I know they must be on the move, a quarter of me forgets they're there! The rest of the time I just want to rip them off so I can go out and eat without talking with my lips over my teeth, or doing the lip freeing manoeuvre on my top lip-which gets stuck on the braces when I laugh! I was actually recently asked why I kept doing the lip freeing manoeuvre-I explained my lip gets stuck on the braces, the person replied "oh, I thought you were on drugs!". Charming!! Especially as I had only met this person once before!! I had a bracket stuck back on the day before a holiday 2 weeks ago, woke up the next morning and the one next to it had pinged off-no time for the dentist before the holiday, so had to wait 10 days to have it put on! Horrible feeling!! Not only did I think my tooth (the naughty bottom left canine which needed all that filing!!) wouldn't move (which it's being stubborn about anyway!!) but I was worried it would actually move back! However, I think it just stayed put :(. I'm finding hard to notice much movement now, because they moved so much at the beginning. The easiest way to see what needs to move is my looking at the angles created on the wire from the wonky teeth.  However, my wonky teeth are pretty much straight now-just 2 or three on the bottom right which need to come up-its the only angle visible on the wire now really. The rest is about turning the teeth, so its more difficult to see if they've moved! I had a wire change the other day when I had the bracket re-stuck, it wasn't due to be changed for a week-but he said my teeth were ready-YAY! So I got a thicker, less flexible wire! To me, that means I'm a week ahead in treatment and the teeth will start moving quicker again! The wire is noticeably thicker and more obvious-but hey-I'm over a third of the way there now-so if the thicker wire means the teeth move more, that's fine with me!!! Still have the odd day of the inside of my cheeks being swollen, but I just make sure I wax the odd sharp bit,sleep with the mouth guard on that night and take anti inflammatories and that sorts me right out!! I'm back for a check up at the end of the September,(in 3 weeks time -which will be the half way point!), then the next appointment will be at the end of October for the final wire change!!! Not sure if the next wire is thicker again, or just a new one the same as this one!! Also, the exciting thing about that visit is that the ortho said my bottom teeth should be finished in 4 months and THAT will be the 4 month appointment-fingers crossed this damn tooth moves!! It would be very nice if this last wire change does the job for the top and bottom teeth and it all comes off in October! But we'll see!! Fingers extra crossed for that!! I have taken a few extra pics this week of the teeth that need turning-the bottom left canine and the top left canine plus its neighbour to the left! Want to keep an eye on those in the next few weeks and see how they're doing! Again, Initial photo's left, week 10 on the right!

 Upper Left

 Lower Left

6 weeks! Anna

So, I'm 6 weeks in and the difference in my teeth is amazing!! I've realised I'm much less self conscious about having the braces-just have to be bold and smile a lot, then people can see them, they have a quick look and thats it!!My top lip still gets stuck on them when I smile, so I still have to do the weird lip freeing manouvre-but it doesn't bother me much now! I've been on a few nights out and no one really seems to notice them much-or they've had too many drinks to notice!!  I'm still getting lots of questions about braces-how much they cost, how long will it take and can people have the number of the clinic I go to!! I'm managing to eat whatever I like really, but still consuming things that don't require much chewing at work and when out-to avoid the mess of half a meal being caught in them!! I went on holiday 3 days after my wire change-haven't had much tooth pain-a bit weird and numb at times and a tiny bit tender-but it's no where near like when you first have them put on-phew!! The only thing was on the 2nd day of holiday, the insides of my cheeks and lips got a bit swollen and the braces started to rub again, but obviously I travel everywhere with wax now-so it was easy to avoid the ulcers. Seemed to settle down after a nights sleep with the mouth gaurd in! Apart from that day, I haven't needed the wax at all this week! I think its because my teeth have moved so much, no one particular tooth is sticking out to cause rubbing. 3 teeth still need to move in a bit-but they don't stick out so obviously! Most of the movement left to go is moving the teeth left or right, and 3 need to turn to face forward! I have to say I still like the pressure you get on your teeth because you know they're moving! I feel like the time is flying by now, but I'm still eager to get them off and am still counting down the weeks! This really helps though-as does looking at the pics regularly!
Once again, day 1 on the left, 6 weeks on the right
Again my snaggle tooth next my front upper middle tooth has moved in a bit!!
The same tooth on the other side has straightened a bit! But I think the biggest change in the last 2 weeks is the 3rd from centre, lower right tooth-which I didn't realise how misplaced it was until seeing this weeks pics! It's really moved back and up into its proper place, so there is much less of an angle on that bottom wire! and it's turned slightly!
My two front bottom teeth are very nearly not overlapping and a gap has opened between them at the gum line-so ready to be straighter once they're not overlapping-yay!
 I think the 2 teeth I have yet to see much movement in are the bottom, left 3rd from centre-which is pretty much side ways and required all that filing last time! And the top, left, 3rd from centre-next to the snaggle tooth!! Come on you 3 teeth-keep moving!!!