Hey everyone! I went to the ortho on March 8th and he said everything looked great! I know they arent perfect, but I think I would rather get them off like they are than keep waiting. So, he said I have to go back in 6 weeks for my next to last appt. They will take the molds and get everything ready for the final appt. that should be a few weeks after that appt.!!! I am sooo excited! I only have to wear rubber bands at night, but I have been wearing them whenever possible. This time I got blue bands and I really like them. I can't believe I never got them before. Well, in April it will be 1 year that I have had my braces on. My original term was for 31 months! Oh I did ask about the filing...that is what I am really excited about! He said he will file them when I get them off.

Well, thats really about it. Nothing new except I am pretty sure within 8 weeks I will have them off!! If you have any questions please ask.

Thanks Again,

Kristi

So sorry I havent posted anything in such a long time. I recently moved to the big city of Austin. But now I am all settled in and things are going great.

As for the braces...

I went to the orthodontist in January and he said I should get them off in May or June!!! So I am thrilled! He said they are just about done and since I have moved they should be fine to take off then. I go back in March and then we will see for sure how things look. I only have to wear the elastics at night, but sometimes I wear them during the day as well...I want them off asap!! :) One reason I want them off...my teeth have gotten pretty yellow! :( I want to be able to use crest whitening strips again! I use whitening toothpaste but it doesnt work. Oh well..

They dont really have much else to move other than the tooth next to the big front tooth.

I hope he files them soon so I can really see how they will look.

Im so excited.

I will be going back to Las Vegas in June so my fingers are crossed they will be off by then!

Well thanks for reading and again I apologize its been so long.

I will update again in March.

Thanks again,

Kristi

almost 3 months

Hello all! Hope you all are having a great summer so far. I am.

Well I went to the ortho today and this appt was supposed to be just to change out the clear ligs and the assistant didn't know that, so she called the Dr. in the room.

He looked at my teeth and started right away with what she needed to do...and ta daaaa....

I have square wires already!! Yayyy!!! I also have to wear the rubber bands as you can see in one of the photos I posted.

My teeth are really sore but I love it!! That means I will get done with treatment faster. He said I was way ahead of schedule (which originally was 2 1/2yrs!!!!) so now we will see what happens. I go back in about 3 weeks to get the spacer so I can have a band put on my last tooth on the left side. (they cant get the bracket to stick to the filling)

I was sooooo excited to get the square wires. I am so happy with my bottom teeth. They look awesome.

Well I think that is about it. Ohhhhh I also decided to get the lavender on the clear brackets and I really like it. It gives me character! LOL! (as if I needed anymore!) But I think I will be happier since the staining wont be so noticeable. And my teeth wont look so yellow.

If you have any comments or questions, please ask or tell me.

Thanks for reading!

Talk to you soon.

Kristi

Progress

Hey everyone! Just wanted to update you real quick. My bottom tooth is where it should be already! I can't believe it. It will have to be pushed down but it is lined up. The gap is closing on my top teeth as well. Well, that's about it. My next appt is July 21. I will update then. Thank you for reading.

I would love for you to comment.

I hope you all have a great 4th of July weekend. Be safe.

Thanks again,

Kristi

2 month Update

Great news!! I had my 1st ortho appt since getting braces on, and he said I was ahead of schedule. If you remember, my sentence was 31 months! So being ahead of schedule already is excellent news!

So about my appt...

I got an 18 wire on top and kept the 14 wire on bottom. I have a power chain on top to close the gaps that I didn't have originally. They also put in wire ties on the top 4 teeth. She said that was to keep them straight so they don't turn sideways with the power chain. I will also have to go back in to have a spacer put in. I will have to have 1 band on a lower molar. It has the silver filling and the metal brackets wont stick to it. But that's nothing...Just one band! I can deal with that. I also asked the ortho if I could come in once a month to change out the clear ligatures and he said absolutely! So he is a nice guy and understands i am not a 13 yr old that doesn't care about staining. :) So all in all...the appt went great. And to top it all off....there isn't much pain so far. I know tomorrow will be worse but so far so good. I didn't think I would be this excited about my appt but I am. Progress is exciting! Please comment or ask any questions. The assistant said I ask great questions and she was surprised I knew what to ask. I got the questions from all the blogs and videos I have been watching. So I know they will help you also!

6 Weeks Update and Pics

Well these are pics of the progress so far. The top pic is right before I got them on. As you can see...the "clear" ligatures (or donuts as some call them) are not clear! They have stained a light orange color. Its mainly the ones on the bottom right and that is where I chew all my food and bite into my food. So I will see if the ortho will see me once a month to change out the clear ligatures. If he does I will be much happier! My first appt. since getting them on is June 23! I cant wait. I want to see what they say about the progress and if maybe the time I have to have them on will shorten. *wishful thinking?-maybe!*
Well as you can see, the little tooth on the bottom that was on its own planet!!--has decided to join back with its friends! LOL! I am so happy it is moving now. It took a while but its almost there.
I also have gaps in the middle of my top 2 teeth and on the next tooth to the left. Those gaps weren't there before.
As for my experience with braces the 2nd time around...its much more painful than I remember. Some days my teeth don't hurt at all and other days I can hardly eat. I think that is caused from when I sleep. I bite down really hard when I sleep so when I wake up my teeth are sore. They put in these blue bite things so when I bite down the braces don't hit each other. Well those have worn down so much that now I can't bite down all the way! So eating looks awful!! I have to chew really weird so I don't hit the braces with other teeth or braces. I am hoping at my appt I will tell him all my worries and the next time in between appts wont be so awful!
Its really not that bad I guess. Its just different and takes some time getting used to. I can see a difference in my teeth and how they are moving, some I'm not happy about-like the gaps. But I know its all part of the process.
I will update again after my appt. on June 23.
If you have any questions, please ask. That is why I decided to make a blog. All the blogs and pics really helped me know what I wanted and what to look forward to when I was researching about braces.
Thanks again and hope you all have a great summer!

3 week update

Hello everyone. Sorry it has been so long. A lot of things have happened in my life the past 3 weeks.

Well as for my braces...

I don't think much has changed. They don't hurt near as bad and I can eat pretty much anything. I just have to be careful and eat slow. The clear ligatures have started turning yellowish so I am not too happy about that. It makes my teeth look yellow! So when I go in for my first appt since getting braces (appt is june 23) I will get light pink or purple and see if how that goes. Its been 3 weeks and there are still some people at work saying "oh my gosh I didnt know you had braces" and those kinds of comments so they really arent that noticeable at all really until I smile real big or I am pretty close to you.

I have found that the Crest Glide threader floss is awesome!! It is much faster than the threader thing the ortho gives!

Here are some pics of my teeth as they are now...I dont see much change. Hopefully they will move after my first adjustment appt in June. Sorry this is short, but I gotta go.

Please comment. And follow.

Thanks again! THE 3RD PIC ON THE LEFT IS A PIC FROM THE DAY I GOT MY BRACES ON...SORRY IT MOVED OVER AND IT WONT LET ME FIX IT!

THIS SIDE IS NOW -------HERE ARE A COUPLE BEFORE PICS