Day 36

Day 36 with Damon Braces

Day 36, no real change but the past few days my two front teeth have been a bit sore, as well as the crooked tooth next to them. I was told by the orthodontist to brush vigorously but when the bristles catch on the wire and pull, it makes it slightly more difficult.
Today the moving teeth have just been feeling loose, and the feeling in the gums below can be quite irritating. As if they're 'itchy' somehow but also ache at the same time.

Day 30 with Damon Braces and 'before and after' comparison pictures!

So it's now been a little over four weeks and although the time has not really flown by, it hasn't dragged so much either, in part because it's quite fun to write this blog. There's not really much pain to report, and eating is mostly fine. I still don't bite into anything like a sandwich though. I find it better to cut it up into smaller pieces.
I feel I can now bite down and my back teeth fit together. I felt that I wasn't able to before, not properly, and that my front overlapping teeth were hitting the brackets on the bottom front teeth. At first that was painful and sensitive. When I would try to grind my teeth at night, I instinctively opened my jaws again because it hurt a little. But now my back teeth all connect together.
I don't push it and really try to bite down because I don't want the brackets to be damaged. But it's enough now that I can chew my food properly.
So here is a quick 'before and after' review after a month of having the braces on.

Left picture taken at 3 days. Right picture exactly 4 weeks later.

The change is quite subtle to see from the front, maybe you have to zoom in a little, but you can definitely notice that the wires are much straighter in the after picture. The teeth either side of the two front bottom teeth have really come out from behind those front teeth. And looking at the two front teeth I can also notice that the one next to the very crooked tooth has actually been turned to face the front more, which has straightened the wire out considerably.
Then there's these comparison photos which were taken 9 days apart.

Left picture taken on Day 21. Right picture taken on Day 30.

The difference is much harder to see, but the tooth just to the left of the two front teeth has very slightly moved, perhaps only a few millimetres, but it still is moving.

Day 25

Day 25

Over the past few days, it's been looking like one of my front teeth is starting very slightly to overlap the other front tooth. Although I've read from other blogs that this also happened to them, I'm not sure if this is part of the normal movement. I suppose if it starts to get really bad then I should contact my ortho, just in case.

Other than that no other news to report. Nothing hurts, eating, flossing and brushing has been easy. Only the front four bottom teeth feel a little loose at times.

New Damon Braces FAQ added!

To help inform you, if you're thinking about having Damon braces, I've made an FAQ which has many questions I could think of that you might be curious about. If there is any information I can add, feel free to let me know in the comments.

Day 21 - first wire change!!

Day 21 with Damon Braces

This morning I had my first appointment three weeks after getting the Damon Braces on. I thought they would just check to see what had happened and ask if everything was comfortable and that would be it. That did happen and they also took out the old wire and give me a new one. I’ve heard from other Blogs and Vlogs that at some point they possibly switch from a ‘rounded’ wire to a ‘rectangular’ wire. But I was told this new wire is similar to the other (‘rounded’) one, just stronger. To me, it doesn’t appear to me to be that much thicker. It appears very much like the old one. Incidentally if anyone was wondering (like I was) about how many wire changes one goes through with Damon Braces and how quickly, I found this thread which suggests that it’s really different for everyone, and more wire changes do not necessarily equal a faster treatment time.

Bottom teeth with the braces on

The dentist also took out this hook from the bottom bracket that was tearing into my cheek and caused a huge ulcer in my first week. Now it’s a lot smoother and I don’t have to keep putting wax on it. But I was given two more packets of wax in case things start moving and hooks start to rub against my cheeks again.

It’s hard to see from the picture just from the front but my bottom teeth have already moved a lot. There’s less crowding together of the bottom four, which I think means that the surrounding teeth must have also moved back to create space for them. A clearer picture is to the left which shows the two teeth either side of the bottom front teeth moving out from behind. 

My next appointment is in five weeks, I think I’ll be able to see a lot of change by that time!

My top row of teeth with the braces on

Day 19 - Aches and Pains

Day 19 with Damon Braces

Day 19 with the braces, everything seems to be going ok. Yesterday the front four teeth were aching quite badly, it really felt like teething pains as a child, when you had a new tooth coming through. The out of line tooth next to my front teeth was also aching a bit this morning, but I suppose as it's the tooth that's going to move the most, it will hurt more.
Luckily for the aching feeling, the gingivitis gel I bought is handy as it numbs everything so well.
I eat pretty much like normal now, except I avoid nuts or very hard or chewy things, but then I never eat a lot of those things to begin with.
I also drink coffee and tea as normal, but I avoid red wine. I probably don't drink as much coffee and tea as I do normally, to avoid possible staining. I have only two more days until my next consultation, I'm really looking forward to what my dentist will say.

Day 17 - gingivitis scare and loose teeth

Day 17 with Damon Clear Braces

Day 17 with the braces. Of course I'll be glad to have them off once they're finished but I have to say that wearing them has not been so bad so far. I'm even quite starting to like how they look, I think they look quite cute. It's really something I never thought I'd think before getting them on!

After a few days of using the gel for gingivitis, the gum is now looking ok, and no more trouble with ulcers. Yesterday my front tooth (the one next the one that is not straight) was quite sore and felt a little loose. I had that same feeling with the front four teeth today, but it passed quite quickly.
As far as movement goes, the photos from the front don't show much movement, but three of the front four bottom teeth look as though they're being turned to the side. I'm guessing that as time goes on they'll keep being pulled from left to right until they eventually all fit in one straight line together.

Day 16 - Progress Picture

Day 16 with Damon Clear Braces

Day 14

2 weeks with Damon Braces

So today marks two weeks with the Damon braces on. They feel fine and I'm even chewing a bit more. I am able to bite into soft things using my front teeth, but I prefer to use my back teeth.
I do notice I'm still trying to grind my teeth in the early mornings and because of the brackets I can't. My mouth keeps trying and then my brain realizes that the brackets are there. Perhaps it's possible that I'll even stop trying after a while, who knows.

Today I was in a bit of a panic because I've been using wax on this one bracket and it's been covering part of my gums, and today the gums were looking a bit odd. So just in case, I went out to the pharmacy to buy medical gel to treat gingivitis. It wasn't hurting but if it ever started to, I know that this gel would sort it out. I ended up getting a little on my lips as well, and they went so numb. The gum seems to be looking ok now, but I'll keep an eye on it over the next few days.
My bottom front teeth are ever so slowly moving. I notice because the wire gets slightly straighter. The two teeth either side of the centre bottom teeth are being pulled out from behind those two. Before the braces, I couldn't feel all of the backsides of these two centre teeth, because the teeth either side were kind of slotted in behind them. Now I'm able to brush the entire back side of those centre teeth.
Only one more week until my next appointment, I'm pretty excited to hear if they will do anything next!

Day 13 - Progress Picture

Day 13 with Damon Braces

Day 9

Day 9 with Damon Braces

Day 9 with Damon braces and everything going ok, they're slowly everyday becoming more normal.
The only worry I have is the ulcer, I'm worrying it will really take a long time to heal because even with the way over the braces, it still rubs a little. Sometimes it's so swollen, my cheek evens sticks out a little. So I've been rinsing my mouth out with salt water to try to make it heal faster, but I don't know if it's really working.
With my teeth, I can definitely feel today that some teeth are loose and they even feel a tiny little bit wiggly if I touch them with my tongue or fingers. This is really exciting because it means they are starting to finally shift, and I hope that in two weeks time for my appointment I'll see some real progress.