POSTED UNDER Braces REVIEWS
Ceramic Uppers Metal Lowers. #Bimaxillary Protrusion and crowding - Bicuspid extraction
ORIGINAL POST
After wanting to have braces all my life but never...
WORTH IT$6,100
After wanting to have braces all my life but never having the courage to, I finally decided to fix my smile at 40 years old! I have crowding in my teeth and have neither an overbite nor underbite or crossbite, but my upper and lower front teeth protrude in a bridge like position where they touch. They are now so bad I had to take action and straighten them. I got the braces installed on May 7th 2015. My orthodontist told my my treatment would take about 2 years and that I would need 4 premolars extracted in a couple of month, in order to create space for the front teeth to move back. Here are some pictures showing my starting point, and how severe my case looks. Yikes! Look forward to the journey to straight teeth!
Braceface5's provider
Replies (15)
May 24, 2015
Whoops, sorry, I didn't mean to hit send. Anyway, so excited for you! I started traditional braces in Sept. Teeth move relatively fast and time goes by faster. My Ortho said my teeth are moving like a teenagers. It was a challenge to get used to at first but after I "got over myself" it's a piece of cake. Good luck with your journey. Oh, I'm 54 now and right up the street from you in Sarasota.
May 26, 2015
Hello there :-)
Thank you so much for the encouragement! Wow lucky you your teeth are moving fast! How long is your treatment supposed to take? I feel some teeth movement too in the last 2 weeks. Feels like the lower teeth (with the metal ones) are moving even faster than the upper teeth. I am excited and ready to see more changes in the upcoming weeks. Hopefully when I go back in to the Ortho, he will tell me my teeth are moving ahead of schedule and I'll complete treatment sooner than 2 years :-) *wishful thinking right ;-)
Good luck on yours and let's keep in touch with our progress!
May 29, 2015
Hello, I'm with you here. My initial time table was 18 months. I started last Sept. I had an appt today and he said possibly December!!!! I'm so excited. My next appt is the last week of July and they will do X-rays to see how my roots are moving. You know what they say, under promise, over deliver. No one will have a "cow" if their ortho takes them off sooner. I have an overbite so for the last 2 months I have had elastics. It's a little extra work and for some reason I forget to put them in before bed and have to drag myself up. Other than them winding up all over the house they aren't a big deal. I suspect you won't need them since what I've read they are for over/underbites. Also, sounds like he's thinking about permanent retainers for me too. Upper and lower. They go on the back side of my teeth and no one can see them. I don't know how I feel about that yet. Maybe if it keeps me from wearing a night retainer it will be OK but I didn't ask that question. If you didn't get one, go buy a Water Pik. They are fantastic!!! I use an electric toothbrush for almost 3 minutes, a water pik and then floss. I don't use mouthwash everyday. It can stain. The little brushes are great during the day. After a couple months I stopped using wax. Give it 6 months and you will have a pretty good idea how you are doing. You will see changes every month. I'm happy you chose the traditional route like me. The ortho has so much more control over your teeth. Let me know how your next appt goes. -Rose
June 5, 2015
Hi Rose,
Wow lucky you! Only 6 more months to go! I know it always feels great when you finish treatment sooner than the Ortho predicted. I am hoping to finish before the 2 yr mark. I've heard of the rubber bands and heard that they can help all align teeth faster if you wear them religiously. My Ortho did not say anything about them to me, so not sure if I will have to use them. I also did not get any molar bands andnone of my molars have even brackets on them. They basically only 10 upper teeth and 10 lower teeth have braces on them. He did say that I had a good arch on both upper and lower teeth but we just needed to fix the crowding up front. My next appt is in 2 weeks and I sure will have a lot of questions for my Ortho, haha.
I know what you mean about the waterpik. It's awesome and so soothing on my gums. I hadn't been able to use an electric brush since I got the braces (due to sensitivity) but have just started using it this week.
I 'll post again after I go in in 2 weeks. Hope they say I am ready for the extractions so my teeth can start moving even faster.
Hope you are loving your smile already ;-)
June 29, 2015
Hi! At what point in the process did they do the extraction? I am basically having the same problem as you and was recommended extraction
June 30, 2015
Hi,
They have not done the extraction on mine yet. When I go back in 5 weeks, they will le me know when it will be time to get the 4 premolars out.
They have not done the extraction on mine yet. When I go back in 5 weeks, they will le me know when it will be time to get the 4 premolars out.
October 5, 2015
Hopefully your face won't look sunken in after have the 4 extraction. I don't have any extractions but my face has thinned out a lot. I started googling " sunken cheeks with braces" and looking through the forums and seeing what people were saying. Id be something to definitely check into before you get that done
October 5, 2015
Oh wow I never heard of the 'sunken face' effect. I will most definitely read up on it. My extractions will only be the premolars, 4 in total ( 1 on each side top and bottom teeth). I am hoping it won't affect my face negatively lol.
I do look forward to having them out though so my teeth can have more space to move back. They are are so tight together and definitely need some more room to move.
I do look forward to having them out though so my teeth can have more space to move back. They are are so tight together and definitely need some more room to move.
Replies (2)
May 19, 2015
Thanks for sharing these. They'll be so nice to have as your track your progress through treatment!
May 19, 2015
Thank you so much for the encouraging words :-)
I am excited for the process ahead. Been wanting braces for a long time! I'll be updating my progress regularly.
UPDATED FROM Braceface5
18 days post
Feeling some movement these 1st 2 weeks
I have now gone through the early days pain and can now feel some slight changes in my bite. Yaay! Also I can bite down comfortably on my molars whereas before the braces I barely could do that due to the crowding in my front teeth. Here are a few pics
Replies (5)
June 9, 2015
Please keep sharing. I would love to continue to follow your progress and see your finished result. I would appreciate seeing at least monthly progress, especially after your extractions. I am fascinated by cases like yours that are somewhat similar to my own. Braces can really work magic. Guessing by the rapid retraction you have already had, I predict you are going to look amazing!
June 28, 2015
Oh forgot to say, the Ortho said he would let me know when I can have the extraction when I go back in 5 weeks. I am really anxious to have the extractions ASAP so my teeth can have more space to move inward.
January 4, 2018
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Good for you for taking this step for yourself! It might seem challenging at first, but your smile will look great by the end. Please continue to update us on your journey!