SOOOO SORRY!

I'm so sorry I haven't posted for a while. I "retired" from my job at the end of November, ok it was a glorified quitting with a teeny tiny stipend every month...then I went on vacation for 3 weeks...then Christmas...then my mom was in the hospital for 3 weeks before she passed away. :-(

It's been a long, tough road.


This all being said, my teeth have been in a holding pattern. I have gotten rid of the blasted vertical rubber-bands....but until the last 5 weeks, my bottom teeth have been refusing to close the gaps. This is the last thing keeping me from getting rid of the braces.

In December, they did another panoramic  x-ray and all the roots are straight.

The gaps on the bottom have stayed.

But the ortho got tough with them! The other "power chain" they were using was made sort of like this:
()-()-()-()-()-()

The "closing chain" is made like this:
()()()()()()()()()()

It is very strong and with no spaces between the loops it pulls very HARD.

I'm now down to one small gap between the center two teeth on the bottom and that's it.

I don't have a recent picture...but will post one later this week.....

I promise to try to get back to posting on a regular basis now that things are calming down.....

Week Thirty Four

Well...as I said in last week's post, the rubberbands were giving me a lot of problems. The near-constant headache for three weeks was driving me nuts so 2 days ago, on Tuesday, I went in to see the orthodontist. He's happy with the progress but agreed that a 3 week long headache is a little much. So he changed the size/thickness of the bands from the "Ken" to the "Louie". Where they came up with the names, I don't know.

The "Louies" are thinner and longer. The "Kens" went from the top hook to the one directly below it in the front. The "Louies" actually are stretched from the top front hook to the hook on the top back band, to the hook on the band below it and back to the front...all on one side so it makes a big box shape. I tried to take a picture, but I just can't get a clear shot.

Because the bands are thinner, they cause less pressure. Additionally, because the pressure is spread out over the entire side of my mouth, it is causing less pain. We moved my next appointment up so that it is in three weeks so we can see if I can go back to the "Kens" as they are the recommended size.

Here is a picture of the differences....the Ken is the little one, while Louie is bigger...

Ken is on the left, Louie on the right

So far, the pain is nearly gone.  I feel so much better and hope to get some sleep!

As always, here's this week's pictures:

First Day

Week Thirty Four

(Sorry about the chapped lips)

If you compare week thirty four and week thirty three, you can see in thirty three, both sides of the rubber band as it's looped in the front. Here in week thirty four, you can see it's just the single strand as the other half is looped over the back.

Hopefully, I can get the Kens back on soon...I don't want to fall behind schedule. I want to get these buggers off ASAP!

Week Thirty Three

I am still dealing with the pain of the rubber bands. It's now been two weeks and I still have a headache. I know it's the bands causing it because the minute I take them out to eat, the headache starts to go away. The minute I put them back in, it comes back. It's so much worse in the morning. I think I will see if I can schedule an appointment with the orthodontist next week if it doesn't get better over the weekend.

First Day



Week Thirty Three



I don't know why I took this picture without the vertical rubber bands, but I did. :-S



Week Thirty Two

Sorry for posting this late, life's been a little hectic....I've had a lot of pain and discomfort from the new vertical rubber bands. They are very thick and strong and have been giving me a headache every day. I have been lacking in sleep because of the pain.

I know when they started the chains, I had pain for 2 weeks, so I'm going to give it a little more time to see if it lessens/goes away.

As always:

First Day



Week Thirty Two



I see a lot of differences and am happy they are moving right along, even if they hurt a bit.

I can't get over how much my teeth have moved! it's not even a week and there is easily visible evidence that the top has moved down!  I can't believe it....it's so AMAZING!



This is Wednesday, October 27th




This is Thursday, October 28th




Monday, November 1st





On Wednesday, you can see a fair amount of space between the canines on the right side of my mouth (left side of the picture) By the next morning, only 24 hours after I got the rubber bands, the teeth are about even and by today, not even a week later, the space is practically closed! My jaw is nearly level! IN LESS THAN A WEEK!!!!

I'm so excited! I'm going to hae a "movie star" quality smile very soon!

What a difference a night makes? Week Thirtyone

So...it's been a little over 24 hours. I won't lie, I HURT. The rubber bands are really pulling on my mouth and it hurts. But I honestly think I can see a difference! The first picture is the one I took yesterday. Note the left side of the picture (right side of my mouth) and the amount of space between my canines as well as the space between my upper front tooth and the one below it...



Yesterday, October 27th, 2010



Today, October 28th, 2010



Yesterday there was space, today, there isn't! It's not a LOT of movement, but you can see the difference and it also explains the amount of pain I am in. Just think, In 7 weeks I'll be so much further along...

The only bad thing is I'm only supposed to take them off to eat and brush and only 3x a day....I'll just have to eat all my Halloween candy in place of meals, LOL!

BIG NEWS! GREAT NEWS! SURPRISING NEWS!

Last night at dinner, I was eating some "home made" chips at a local sports bar. I felt a "twang" in the back but knowing how stretchy the orange chain is, I didn't think much of it. This morning I was eating a piece of coffee cake and I felt something flapping around...it was a link of the black chain on the bottom.

I called the ortho and went in. As she was getting ready to change the chain, I asked that since next thursday was my adjustment, could we just do the adjustment today and then I wouldn't have to come back? She checked her schedule and since she had time we went ahead with the adjustment. After a moment she asked me to wait she wanted the doctor to look.

Alarm bells went off. Usually the ortho doesn't look until after everything is done or just before, not during. So he came over and after some conferring he stated that I was to get a "twisted" wire on the top, the ideal wire on the bottom, chains on both and verticals.

"Verticals?" I asked, "You mean the rubber bands that hook from top to bottom? I thought I wasn't to get those until I was almost done, like the end?"

He smiled, "Guess what! You're there!"

WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?

He explained that my teeth have moved very fast and that the top is nearly perfect, except for moving down the one side, which is what the vertical rubber bands do. He said that once the top moves down and the small gap closes on the bottom, I'm DONE!!!!! I'm DONE!

When I started this journey, I was told they were expected to be on 2 years or 730 days...(approximately) they could be on less or more. Now, only 216 days in, I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Because of some schedule conflicts on my part, my next appointment isn't until December 21st, a little longer than normal, but still within the acceptable range. When I go in, they're going to take a new panorama x-ray and if all my roots are straight, then we'll begin doing the last "tweaks" to make everything pretty and we'll schedule a date to get my molds made for my retainers! RETAINERS! I will likely have 2 different sets of retainers, one set of clear ones, sort of like Invisalign trays to wear during the day and one pair of retainers that have metal to wear at night.

I am so excited! I really wasn't expecting this and I had fairly resolved myself to having them at least until my 39th birthday. I had also kind of made peace with the idea that I could reasonably have them on my 40th birthday when we are tentatively planning on going to Europe. Now to know there is a possibility I could have them off by say late Spring!

As far as the rubber bands go. *glares* Not a fan. I have to change them 3x a day and can only take them off to brush my teeth and eat.  They lose their stretchiness after a while so when you put the new set on it's a whole new world of hurt. I'm really feeling it, but I have taken Advil and next some Tylenol. I'll live. I'll grumble about it for a bit, but I'll live. Knowing that the light at the end of the tunnel is nearing makes it easier to bear. :-#


The dreaded rubber bands



First Day



Today with the new rubber bands



















It's really amazing how they've changed in only 216 days, isn't it? I'm so tickled. Not only have I gotten a beautiful smile, the problems I've had with the TMJ have left as well. Well all except the jaw clenching. I'll have to worry about that later.

I'm really happy, just walking on air right now! I feel so lucky and grateful that I am "getting off" so easy.

*giggles*