Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
16th aligner pictures
See how bad they look. My poor laterals are too short for the aligners.
Ugh. Bottom teeth without the aligners. They look so uneven now.
Smile without aligners. Gap is almost gone!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
16. Still alive,
Changed into the 16th set on Monday night, late.
Had some advil but I could tell these would have been painful if I hadn't. The next morning it hurt to take the aligners off(off my bottom right canine where the button is and my top left canine and left lateral incisor), I actually let out a cry when trying to get it off my top left teeth. That morning it hurt to bite a banana(and not a green one!) with my front teeth. Luckily by my lunch/supper at 4 it didn't hurt to bite into anything like that and this morning it didn't even hurt to take the aligners out.
These aligners are still worse yet for not fitting around my lateral incisors on top. They are getting worse with each aligners! I WISH they looked as it is on my aligners with the central and lateral incisors matching up. I still feel my front teeth are too big. I don't know how this is possible though and hate to think of what the 18th and 19th are like if they are getting worse each aligner! They also don't fit as good on my central incisors. This kind of sucks because my brother is having his wedding reception next weekend and I will be talking with a lot of people. Oh well though. I feel stupid complaining about it.
I will post pictures of the aligners in and my teeth's progression as well. Camera is charging up and I will get to it today or tomorrow.
And in other news, my Brothers wedding was two weeks ago and I am happy to say I actually smiled with teeth for some of the pictures. It was kind of liberating :)
Also got some compliments from the bride about how great they were looking. Her friend came up to me and was talking and then said "oh, you've got your braces off already!" and I said "Um....no. Actually I am wearing them right now" and then pulled the bottoms half off so she could see what they were like. Needless to say I had about 3 other people come and question me about them. They were all amazed that they were "just like a retainer" and wished they'd be around when they went through orthodontic treatment.
Had some advil but I could tell these would have been painful if I hadn't. The next morning it hurt to take the aligners off(off my bottom right canine where the button is and my top left canine and left lateral incisor), I actually let out a cry when trying to get it off my top left teeth. That morning it hurt to bite a banana(and not a green one!) with my front teeth. Luckily by my lunch/supper at 4 it didn't hurt to bite into anything like that and this morning it didn't even hurt to take the aligners out.
These aligners are still worse yet for not fitting around my lateral incisors on top. They are getting worse with each aligners! I WISH they looked as it is on my aligners with the central and lateral incisors matching up. I still feel my front teeth are too big. I don't know how this is possible though and hate to think of what the 18th and 19th are like if they are getting worse each aligner! They also don't fit as good on my central incisors. This kind of sucks because my brother is having his wedding reception next weekend and I will be talking with a lot of people. Oh well though. I feel stupid complaining about it.
I will post pictures of the aligners in and my teeth's progression as well. Camera is charging up and I will get to it today or tomorrow.
And in other news, my Brothers wedding was two weeks ago and I am happy to say I actually smiled with teeth for some of the pictures. It was kind of liberating :)
Also got some compliments from the bride about how great they were looking. Her friend came up to me and was talking and then said "oh, you've got your braces off already!" and I said "Um....no. Actually I am wearing them right now" and then pulled the bottoms half off so she could see what they were like. Needless to say I had about 3 other people come and question me about them. They were all amazed that they were "just like a retainer" and wished they'd be around when they went through orthodontic treatment.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
15
Put in the 15th set last night and a bit of pressure but no pain and this one had the least pressure. My molars were a tiny bit sore when I bite down hard(just my right side) but not really anymore. And this is the first set where my two front teeth are sore. First. It is only after I take out the aligners and eat. There is no pain with the aligners just sitting on. Kind of amazing that I went 15 aligners pain free when you consider those teeth moved the most
Had an appointment today. He only gave me my next set(16th) because after that it is overcorrection and he needs to see me to check the contact points on my teeth I guess. I don't see how it is "over correction" though since on my clincheck the gap is still closing on the 16th aligner and doesn't appear to disappear until the 17th. But I looked and they did have the little "+" next to the number on the package. Anyone know anything about this and want to leave a comment? If not, I'll try at archwired later this month.
It was funny though. He was looking at my teeth and he asked Lindsay to pull up my before pictures(I regret not turning around and looking at them now. I will ask to see them at my next appointment since I didn't take any before I started.) Anyway, he was like "Oh, it was huge"[the diastema]I tried not to laugh though because he sounded so surprised by the change. Silly dentist....
Anyway, the gap is small enough now that I when I floss(I like the thick floss with lots of wax on it- not the tape stuff) it gets stuck between my front teeth now. Yay! Also when I look in the mirror from not too close, it looks like I have no gap at all. Squee! I also showed my dad and he said "You're wearing your teeth" and I assured him "No, I'm not. This is them au natural. Not encased in plastic." Not gonna lie, that felt pretty good.
Next aligner I will post pictures(if I am home. If not I will by early September)
Had an appointment today. He only gave me my next set(16th) because after that it is overcorrection and he needs to see me to check the contact points on my teeth I guess. I don't see how it is "over correction" though since on my clincheck the gap is still closing on the 16th aligner and doesn't appear to disappear until the 17th. But I looked and they did have the little "+" next to the number on the package. Anyone know anything about this and want to leave a comment? If not, I'll try at archwired later this month.
It was funny though. He was looking at my teeth and he asked Lindsay to pull up my before pictures(I regret not turning around and looking at them now. I will ask to see them at my next appointment since I didn't take any before I started.) Anyway, he was like "Oh, it was huge"[the diastema]I tried not to laugh though because he sounded so surprised by the change. Silly dentist....
Anyway, the gap is small enough now that I when I floss(I like the thick floss with lots of wax on it- not the tape stuff) it gets stuck between my front teeth now. Yay! Also when I look in the mirror from not too close, it looks like I have no gap at all. Squee! I also showed my dad and he said "You're wearing your teeth" and I assured him "No, I'm not. This is them au natural. Not encased in plastic." Not gonna lie, that felt pretty good.
Next aligner I will post pictures(if I am home. If not I will by early September)
Friday, August 1, 2008
Clincheck pictures
My ortho office has got ortho sesame(site that has your appointment times, financial info, newsletters clinchecks, ect) and for that I am SO greatful because I can watch a shortened version of my clincheck online rather than asking to see it at every appointment.
Here we go. Prepare for the horror.
My teeth before treatment and at each aligner. Sets 1-18(18 being my last on the bottom)
After my last aligner(top only) at 19. Ideally, this is how my teeth should look.
On the right: My lower arch before treatment and on the bottom, at aligner 19
On the left: My upper arch before treatment and after on the bottom
I showed my parents this and they said "your teeth were not that bad!" and I am like "believe it. You see what you wanted to see. They were this bad"
Although, I have to admit. It has been so long that it is hard for me to remember back then. I can't believe just how bad they were.
As it turns out, my midline will be off in the end. I am sure I can find a way to live with this though ;)
And journal update for my 14th set.
July 29. 08
Took two advil before I even started. As always, put the bottoms on first. A little hard to get on. I had to sort of squeeze the molars together just to put them on(so, it seems as if the arch is widening further). When I put the first one on I noticed that it cuts into my frenum a bit. A little bit of discomfort on that front. It only hurts when I put the aligners back on for a minute or two so not too bad yet. What is happening is that piece of skin is quite thick and sticks out past my teeth(if you were looking at my teeth from a side view) so it is like this little ridge between my two front teeth and the aligner isn't built to accommodate that skin so it cuts into it horizontally when the aligner is on. I don't see any cut on it when I take the aligner off thank goodness. I don't want to get it infected or anything. Next appointment, that is if it isn't hurting my then, I will ask him what we are going to do about that. I would kind of like to not have a fenectomy but we'll see. If it is necessary then so be it. I just hope I can find a place that lasers it off rather than cuts and then stitches. I would rather pay extra....
Here we go. Prepare for the horror.
My teeth before treatment and at each aligner. Sets 1-18(18 being my last on the bottom)
After my last aligner(top only) at 19. Ideally, this is how my teeth should look.
On the right: My lower arch before treatment and on the bottom, at aligner 19
On the left: My upper arch before treatment and after on the bottom
I showed my parents this and they said "your teeth were not that bad!" and I am like "believe it. You see what you wanted to see. They were this bad"
Although, I have to admit. It has been so long that it is hard for me to remember back then. I can't believe just how bad they were.
As it turns out, my midline will be off in the end. I am sure I can find a way to live with this though ;)
And journal update for my 14th set.
July 29. 08
Took two advil before I even started. As always, put the bottoms on first. A little hard to get on. I had to sort of squeeze the molars together just to put them on(so, it seems as if the arch is widening further). When I put the first one on I noticed that it cuts into my frenum a bit. A little bit of discomfort on that front. It only hurts when I put the aligners back on for a minute or two so not too bad yet. What is happening is that piece of skin is quite thick and sticks out past my teeth(if you were looking at my teeth from a side view) so it is like this little ridge between my two front teeth and the aligner isn't built to accommodate that skin so it cuts into it horizontally when the aligner is on. I don't see any cut on it when I take the aligner off thank goodness. I don't want to get it infected or anything. Next appointment, that is if it isn't hurting my then, I will ask him what we are going to do about that. I would kind of like to not have a fenectomy but we'll see. If it is necessary then so be it. I just hope I can find a place that lasers it off rather than cuts and then stitches. I would rather pay extra....
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