Traveling Twosome
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Braces Update:  Four Months In and Elastics Are Working!

12/28/2017

2 Comments

 
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Exactly two weeks before Christmas Day I had my most recent orthodontist appointment, and he started me on elastics in a triangle configuration on both sides, worn 24/7 except when eating and brushing/flossing my teeth.

I may be the most excited patient he's ever had to be told she has to wear elastics, but I was really anxious to get them and start working on straightening out my bite, as that was the reason for getting braces in the first place.  I could have lived with the slight crookedness of my teeth easily for the rest of my life had I not fractured my jaw and messed up my bite, but not being able to chew properly is a big deal.

In just a little over two weeks of wearing my elastics religiously, I can already tell a difference in my bite.  I am so pleased!

Here's what my bite looked like on day 1 in braces (left) and eight weeks later (right).  You can see how off-center my midline (the line between the center two teeth) is on the bottom.  As a result, my molars were not meeting correctly.

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Today's photo on the right, four months since I got my braces (to the day!) you can see that my midline is perfectly centered when I bite down while wearing elastics.  Woo-hooh!

Although I still have an "open bite", which means that my front top teeth don't overlap the lowers at all, it is closing up a bit with the elastics.   And my bottom teeth are much straighter; there's no longer a downward bend in the wire on the lower right side (left in the mirror-image photos), where I had a tilted incisor.
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You can't see from straight-on photos how much of an overbite (technically an "overjet") I have.  It's still there but less severe since starting elastics.  One of these days I need to take a side view photo.
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The alignment of my top teeth hasn't changed nearly as much as the bottoms as he's been using a lighter wire there, and top teeth just tend to move more slowly, for reasons known only to orthodontists, but there has been a small amount of improvement there.


If I were to stop wearing elastics today, I am sure my bite would revert back quickly.  I'm not sure how long I have to wear them to make the changes permanent, but my orthodontist will keep me in them until he knows the changes will "stick", I'm sure.  Although I want to be done with braces as soon as possible, I want to wear them until I know my bite will be fixed permanently.  I'll wear retainers afterwards to keep the teeth aligned, but they do nothing for bites.

My teeth have been a bit sore since I started wearing elastics, but after the first 3-4 days, nothing I can't handle.  My next appointment is not until the end of January, so we'll see how things go between now and then.
2 Comments
Allison link
12/29/2017 05:57:38 pm

Way to go with the teeth! It will be so good when this is over.

Reply
Barb Nutting
1/22/2018 01:30:21 pm

Lookin’ good - now you’re going to need a teeth guard like Steph Curry when your on your bike to protect those beauties 😁

Reply



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    ©2018 by Barry & Emily Smith .All rights reserved.
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    Emily & Barry

    We're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base.  After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible.

    Our passions are bicycling, walking and hiking, birding, continuing our midlife struggles to learn Spanish, enjoying healthy food (and the occasional donuts & pie!), traveling (duh!)  We travel with a fleet of bicycles and Paisley, our 10-year old Boston Terrier. 

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    Paisley, May 2016
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    States visited (pre-RV)
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    Pearl, a 2007 Newmar Bay Star
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    States visited in "Pearl"

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  • Traveling Twosome Blog
  • BeBelize - Our life in Belize (2011-2013)
  • Earlier adventures (2003-2010)
    • First Belize Trip 2010
    • Fall Sail Cruise Aboard Logos 2009
    • Conch Key 2007
    • Charleston Sailing School 2007
    • Biscayne Bay Sailing School 2007
    • Key Lime Sailing Club 2006
    • Southwest Parks 2006
    • BEYC/Jost van Dyke, BVI 2005
    • Offshore Sailing School 2004
    • Annapolis Sailboat Show 2004
    • Finger Lakes 2004
    • NY State Bike Tour 2004
    • Biras Creek, BVI 2003