Consulation!

Okay! So I will be using this blog to document my personal experiences with 6 Month Smiles! 

Today is officially the first day of this journey as I will be going in for a consultation at 10 am!

First things first, I will tell you a little bit about the 6 Month Smiles..
They are somewhat known as Braces for Adults! Most likely because of the duration they stay on is a lot shorter than traditional braces. They are also less noticeable due to using clear brackets instead of the traditional metal brackets. 

The main difference between 6.M.S. and traditional braces is that 6MS does not function to fix a persons bite. (The fixing of the bite and mouth alignment is generally the reason why traditional braces stay on so long!)

The average time to wear the braces is 6 months, but per my dentist, expect 8 months so you don't end up disappointed or wanting to get them off before your teeth are fully ready.

This Friday morning at my consultation Dr. Danahay basically did a quick run through of the whole process, so I will try my best to regurgitate! 

(1) The first appointment (today) was the consultation, which is where I learned all the stuff below (most of which I had already looked into :-))

(2) The second appointment will deal a lot with records, pictures, molds, etc. My date is set for Monday October 14th. Dr. D did say that we could have went ahead and done the 2nd appointment today, but he'd really like to see at least one more week of healing (I got my wisdom teeth out 2 weeks ago and my gums are still a little sore!) The appt is suppose to take around 1 hour and with the information they gather they will be able to formulate a plan! 

(3) The third appointment is the fitting where I will actually get the braces put on. This will consist of a cleaning of my teeth to better help the bonding, the bonding, and in my specific case I will have to have bite guards placed. Bite guards are kinda like little pieces of  cement placed on your back molars so when you bite down, the little cement bumps are the only things making contact between top and bottom teeth. Bite guards are used to help avoid interference between your tops and bottoms. It sounded as if the bite guards will be the hardest part to get used to. However, as my teeth shift and my bite stabilizes, I may be able to have the bite guards filed down so they aren't as noticeable. 

(4-8) After the fitting I will go in once a month to have rubber bands changed and every ~2 months I will have the wires changed out to keep a tight fit and encourage movement!
During these 6+ months of wearing there are quite a few restrictions when it comes to eating/drinking. My dentist will give me a list of "no-no's" so I will share the list when I get it. I have read that due to the light color of the braces (making them less noticeable) that they stain easily, so I am wondering if I will still be able to drink coffee! AH! 

(Take off day!) On this day I will not only get the braces taken off(!!) but I will also be given a clear plastic retainer that I will wear day and night for about 2 weeks until I go back in and get a permanent bonded retainer (placed on the inside of my top and bottom teeth) There was the option to skip the bonded retainer and just use the clear plastic one, but I chose the bonded, so I don't have to worry about remembering to wear it, etc. The clear retainer will be altered to fit on top of the bonded retainer so at night I can still wear both. It was recommended to wear the clear retainer for 6 months after the braces come off. 

I'm hoping to have the braces on by the end of Oct, so hopefully I can have them off by the end of June!
I will be posting pictures of the progress of my teeth! 

So here are a couple pictures I took a couple weeks ago. As you can see I have too much spacing on the tops and crowding on the bottom!