The 6 Month Smiles Adventure

Thursday, May 15, 2014

waiting and waiting and ....

No pictures this round...
I have decided to keep them on for another 2 weeks. Next appointment is scheduled for Wednesday May 28th.
Here is the thing... My dentist says that when I say "I'm happy, lets get 'em off", they will come off.
My thought from the very get go was, when he says "you're good to go", well then I'm good to go.
I wanted to put all of my trust into my dentist, which I do, by all means, but I never thought that the ultimate decision would come down to me... which, yes, I am the consumer in the scenario, but I am no dentist!
I just don't want to be excited to get them off to the point that I forego changes that could be made!
So, this appointment he filed my teeth a little bit, making refinements and then he handed me a mirror and said, what are your concerns?
I mentioned my front tooth and how I felt it needed to move back just a smidge more. And from there he removed the bracket, re positioned it, etc.
It is still somewhat hard for me to be "picky" as my dentist suggests I should be, when my teeth have already come SO far from where they were. I'm already happy! Pictures do not do them justice!! But, he wants perfection, which by all means... I'll take it! So, my "brace off" appointment is scheduled for May 28th,**
**As long as I am happy with how they look.
That day, I will go in in the AM and get the braces/brackets off and get the wire retainers placed on the inside of my top and bottom teeth. Then in the PM I'll go back and get my actual retainer that will be cut to fit over the wire retainers.
Today I also had my 6 Month cleaning/hygienist appt. Safe to say, that since my teeth have straightened out, the time to clean them was way shorter! And on top of that I feel that since I have money invested in my teeth, I put much more effort into brushing/flossing and so forth! So, to say this is a cosmetic change only would be a lie! I am already seeing the benefits of it!! No cavities! :-)
-Shelby

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Made it to the 6 month mark!

OKAY, so the braces did not come off. But in two weeks they will! My front two teeth overlapping did not correct itself, so my dentist moved the brackets on my front two teeth again. And if the "popping off" of the brackets is what its going to be like times 20 when I get all of them off, OH MY GOODNESS. It felt like my teeth were going to fly right out along with the brackets. That may very well be the worst part of this whole process!
So I will be sure to take some tylenol or something before I go in on May 15th!!
I have pictures uploaded.. In my opinion, they do not look that much different from last month. And this I suppose makes sense, all the drastic teeth moving is done, and according to my dentist everything is good except for the front two teeth! (minor overlapping)
After the brackets come off my dentist will do some filing/shaping of my teeth.
I was a little sad that I didn't get them off right at 6 months, but going in, the thought wasn't even in my mind, like holy cow! I get them off today!!!... because of the overlapping. Good thing I didn't get overly excited!
And in all honesty, now that I have been wearing them for 6 months, yes, I'm excited to get them off, but its
not the end of the world if they have to stay on for 2 more weeks. You get used to them pretty quickly, and I've only been called brace face twice. and brace face four eyes once. SO it's all good :-)

Before, Initial, May

Initial vs May
** You can see the overlap that formed, but! the teeth/arch have rounded out (check out the outer edges of the two front teeth in comparison to the next door teeth)

-Shelby

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Month 5

I know this is late.. St Patricks Day did a number on my camera, so I am having to use my Iphone camera, which works, just isn't ideal.

The brackets on my front top two teeth were moved outwards in hopes of getting my teeth to turn in on the outer edges to create a more rounded arch.

Theoretically I will be getting them on on May 1st (my next appt, as well as the 6 month mark)
I personally think it will have to go a little past because my front two teeth are starting to overlap.

-Shelby

Friday, March 7, 2014

4 Months down, Hopefully 2 to go!

I have been wearing the braces for a little over 4 months at this time. So far I am still on track for the 6 months. Today I went through the usuals.
Bands taken off, wire taken off, etc.

I now have a 6 band power chain on top and a 6 band power chain on bottom. And I moved into the final wire, the 3rd of 3rd! So hopefully 2 months from today I will be brace-free!

I did feel as if one of my teeth was over rotating past the point of alignment, but that should all straighten out.

Until next time. Shelby

Monday, February 3, 2014

HALFWAY THERE!!

So I have been wearing braces for 3 months, which, in the world of 6 month smiles, means I'm at the halfway point!
Today they replaced all but 1 quick tie (metal o-rings basically) with a power chain, just like the one on my top teeth.
My dentist seems VERY pleased with how things are moving along and I must say I am too!

top: today (2/3/14)
bottom: day one of

no braces, day 1 of braces, halfway done

Before braces, First day with braces, 3 months in

Thursday, January 2, 2014

January 2nd Appointment (2 Months in)

I went in for my appointment today. A couple things happened
-Took off bands and wires, cleaned teeth
-Removed and replaced two brackets on two of my bottom to too facilitate moving them down
-A new wire put on! (The 2nd of 3 diff wires)
- More composite on my upper molars to account for teeth movement (bite guards)

I am right on track for "6 months" which would put them coming off at the end up April. He said he won't know for sure until we see how well my teeth adjust with the fine tuning.

INITIAL VS. TODAY (2 months in)