22 Year Old's Journey with Clarity Braces. - Redcliffe, AU

Hello, everyone :)

Here is my journey (back) into the orthodontic treatment world. I got Invisalign as an early teen when it was still relatively new in Australia. However, despite my self control, I wasn't very compliant and ended up stopping the treatment halfway through. No more about that, definitely my biggest regret and I am forever apologetic to my parents!

However, my crowded bottom teeth, deep overbite and somewhat narrow arch have begun to really annoy me. I think I have become so conscious of it in the past few months that i "played" with my bottom teeth and they really started to wear down. Also, I felt like my bite wasn't as good as it should be, as some teeth felt like they met but others didn't. I had been thinking about getting braces to correct my teeth for quite a few months now, but when I got home from a 2 and a half month overseas trip I finally decided to book myself in for a couple of consultations.

My first consultation was at Ethos Orthodontics in Redcliffe. My boyfriends brother (and his girlfriend) have both been here and were very happy with it. The price quoted is all inclusive of all appointments, the braces themselves, retainers when the braces come off and 5 years worth of check-ups post-braces. I had a very pleasant experience at Ethos with Dr Atkin, both him and the dental assistant and receptionist/practice manner were very receptive to my concerns and informative. The orthodontist informed me that my estimated treatment time should be between 12-15 months, which is shorter than I was expecting :)

I had booked another consultation appointment the following week at an orthodontist in Noosa (Sunshine Coast, where I grew up) however due to recently moving to Brisbane and having to travel to the orthodontist every 6-8 weeks I felt like this option was no longer viable. When I received my quote and information about the interest-free payment plans at Ethos, I was pleasantly surprised - they were charging me somewhere between a child and adult quote and happily waived the $350 additional fee to get clear braces on my top arch. So, I decided to go with Ethos and cancel my other consultation. When I told the receptionist that I was happy to book my first appointment to get my braces fitted ASAP, she told me that if I was really that keen I could come back in a couple of hours that afternoon. After a quick chat to my mom and boyfriend, I decided - WHY NOT! The receptionist was not at all pushy about me coming in that day, but I was very happy to - they even waived the $80 consultation fee for me as I was coming back later that day. Score :)

At my first appointment that afternoon, I had my top (clear) braces fitted. It wasn't uncomfortable at all. The brackets were glued on, the wire was inserted... and then I felt like he was tightening the wire, but instead it was just the clear bands being put on around the braces! That felt a little weird but definitely not uncomfortable. The dental assistant then ran through oral hygiene for braces with me, I paid and claimed my insurance benefit and left happy! I definitely could feel that there were foreign objects in my mouth but it wasn't too uncomfortable. The orthodontist said I probably wouldn't feel TOO much pain considering my top teeth are pretty straight so there won't be too much dramatic movement during this first stage. He was right, that night (and the next day) I was able to eat solid foods. I also didn't really experience any need to use the dental wax, as I haven't yet got any ulcerations from the brackets annoying my lips.

I will be getting my bottom braces fitted at either my 3rd or 4th appointment depending on how my teeth are going. Because of my deep overbite, he plans to try and move my top teeth "upwards" a little before placing the bottom brackets on. Then eventually I will be wearing elastics to correct my bite.

It's day 3 now and I can feel a bit of movement. I feel like my bite is better, more teeth feel like they "fit in" together if that makes any sense!

I'll be documenting my braces journey so that myself and others can see my progress. After braces, I would love to get some whitening treatment and re-shaping of my teeth, as I feel they are a bit small and some of my bottom teeth have wear.

Just some photos (taken yesterday at Day 3) of my upper and lower arch. Would like to see how this changes over the course of treatment. I didn't really mention my arch shape issues to my ortho at my consult/first visit, as I guess there was already so much talking about what I/he expects etc. Will definitely write it down to bring it up at the next appointment.

I think some of my arch concern isn't really anything to do with my arch, just more that my teeth are on the smaller/shorter side so you can see back to my molars regardless. I'm sure some of this will improve once the braces are off and I get cosmetic treatment (dental bonding/composite veneers/whatever happens) to re-shape and re-size my 'smile' teeth.

Hi all,

Just went in for my first appointment since getting my top arch clear braces on. My braces have made barely any difference to my daily routine - since having them on I have barely noticed any discomfort (which my ortho said was unlikely anyway, given that my top teeth aren't super crowded) and have been able to quickly adjust to the brushing and flossing. I've still basically been eating and drinking everything as normal. Despite my daily coffee habit, my clear bands didn't really discolour until a couple of days before my appointment and even then it wasn't bad. Otherwise, I've felt my teeth slightly moving but no major differences that I can see. I have noticed that there are gaps forming between my central incisors and between my left central and lateral incisor and lateral incisor and canine. I know that gaps are a positive so I'm happy that this has happened so soon. The other thing I've noticed is that the gum line difference between my two central incisors is a lot more noticeable. Perhaps this is because the teeth are starting to 'push up' to open my overbite. I'm not worried about this from an ortho perspective, as I'm keen to get gum recountouring after orthodontics to expose more of my teeth so they are a little larger.

My ortho was happy to hear that life is as normal as ever with braces for me and said that everything was moving along really well, so he was able to 'fast track' and change the wire to a slightly thicker one. He explained to me he was 'bending' the wire in such a way that it would open my bite slightly, such that at my next appointment in 7 weeks time he could bond brackets to my lower arch. This wire feels a little bit more snug but definitely no discomfort. I can already feel that my bite is aligned a little differently and as such you can see more of my lower teeth.

I've attached some photos to monitor my progress, but as I said I can't really see any major, noticeable changes. My next appointment is in 7 weeks on the 19/01/15. Will update again then :)