First Adjustment

Well I had my first adjustment today. Nothing much to report because they just tightened the wires I already had and changed my ligs. My teeth look basically the same way it did last post so I did not bother to take any more pics. I mentioned to the dental assistant that I thought my top teeth were getting more crooked while the bottom where getting straighter. He claimed that if there was any movement at all that it was not noticeable but that it did not matter cause at the end of the treatment it would all be aligned. At least my incisor that was sticking out is back where it should be , that was the most noticable problem. The rotated incisor is usually covered by my overbite and is almost where it should be.Progress is shown here and at my rotated molar where the teeth were so close together that the ligature could not be placed on the bracket properly. Now they both have the ligature on the entire bracket. As a result there is some increase in tension in these areas.I am hoping that the molar will begin to rotate faster now that the bracket is fully engaged.

I was a bit disenchanted when I was given my payment coupon book today. It has reminders for all the days when payments are due as well as for my dentist appointments.Every time you make a payment you rip out the slip and hand it in and get your book stamped. So I made the mistake and asked what date is on the last page .....september 2009. That is over 2 years from now! I cannot imagine being in braces that long sigh. I am really hoping that time is cut to a year and a half. The assistant said that I may get my top wire changed next visit in 8 weeks. Again its torture to have to wait so long between adjustments. You feel it working for the first week or too and then you have 6 weeks where you feel like nothing is going on.

I am feeling the increased pressure but it is not even remotely uncomfortable.I will see if I will be singing the same tune tomorrow.

Two months in braces and counting

So I have not been really viligant in my updates. But thats cause I have been really busy in work and its funny how you kinda forget you even have braces especially when you're like me and you're not having any major issues. To date I have not broken a bracket or archwire and I have not popped a ligature. I have had several instancs where I am talking to people and they have stopped me to ask about my braces. I forget who has seen me with them and without them. The peopel who don't ask I don't even bother to explain. I have noticed that the clear ligatures have inevitably turned a shade of cream that is similar to tooth enamel so although discoloured, they are not really noticable. That is off course until today when my mom decided to cook Paella and they did turn kind of yellowish. My next appointment is in two weeks and I amnot really sure if I can live with them that look looking like that. I asked my mom what was in the paella that made it yellowish cause I've eaten spanish rice before and got away with it. She told me she put in fresh saffron which was my undoing. Any natural colouring is dangerous to clear ligs!! That includes curry, mustard and saffron!! Funily enough I actually got away with eating doubles a few times without changing the colour, I have no idea why that curry did not stain when obviously it stains in every other form. I still am trying not to have too much curry till closer to lig change day.

Soother than some occasional jaw pain I have been doing pretty well. I only get a sore mouth when I spend and evening taking with friends and forget to keep my mouth moisturised.I supposed that since I was not really in any pain nor was the gap in my top arch looking like it was closing that I wasnot making progress. How very wrong I was! On e day while looking in the mirror (which you do constantly when youhave braces) I realised that the zig zag look that my bottom archwire had was gone. So I had to pull out the old pics and check to make sure. (check previous post or gallery)

And I was stunned to see that although I had a bottom incisor that was still rotated, all my teeth were pretty much aligned in an arch. The other incisor that was sticking forward was back in line to the point where I was not sure which one it was. My guess is once that molar at the back rotates some more to give the incisor more space everything will fall right into place easily. That molar has barely budged so I imagine with my next adjustment that would be tightening and starting to move. So athough not all the teeth are level, the archwire is quite straight.Its funny how I was quite sceptical when I was told I would not have my first adjustment for two months. I could not understand how they expected anything to happen if they were not adjusting the braces on at least a monthly basis.This goes to show why I am not the orthodontist and she is.

I am really hoping that this positive sign is an indication that my teeth are moving very quickly. On the downside I think my midline of my front top teeth has actually become MORE crooked. I have heard that your teeth go through many changes as they rearrange them and may have to get worse before they get better. It is however beyond me why the top teeth are moving at all. I had them on for a full month before I got the bottoms and they did not seem to do anything but open up my bite. HMM actually, its probably the contact with the lower brackets that are causing it to shift. Or maybe the tooth that went back where it was supposed to be, who knows, I have to remember to point that out. I am certainly looking forward to get things moving.