Week 33

Week 33

My latest check up was Monday and everything seems to be going well, although they weren't ready for removal yet. This time they took off the top wire, and replaced it with a slightly thinner wire. I can't actually quite tell if it is round or square though. Two kinks have been put into the wire. One is between the brackets on my two front teeth, the other is between the right front tooth and the one next to it. This wire should straighten out and also move that tooth by the two front teeth back just a little bit more and into its final position.

The two 'kinks' in the top wire

Before the appointment, I also had a small gap between two teeth on the bottom front row. They have put new power chains on to close this gap, and a white wire running around three of the brackets to prevent any more big gaps opening up. I still have one stubborn tooth in the bottom row that moves into its right position with the rubber bands, but moves back again when I take them off. So until my next appointment in February, I've been told to wear them as much as I possibly can.

Week 30

I realise it's been so long since I updated this, apologies if I have any regular readers! I lost my camera phone so I haven't been able to take regular progress pictures, but my parents were visiting me last weekend and luckily brought their camera.

Well the teeth are moving very, very slowly. It's so frustrating right now. I have had two check ups since my last update, and both times they didn't change the wire. The October check up, they simply cleaned away some tartar (hardened plaque, gross I know) from my bottom front teeth. The last check up was last week and they tightened the wire, and also added new power chains to one side on the bottom teeth, and on the opposite side on the top row of teeth. There's also a small power chain on my two front teeth. Although I can't eat so well for a few days when I have that done, it also feels like something is being done, and I could feel the teeth were a little loose.

I also had the news that they would probably be finished in February, which I was a little disappointed at. I thought possibly Christmas they could come off. But I can see and feel that they're not quite perfect yet. The upper tooth, to the right of the front teeth in the picture, is still not quite in line with the others, although it has moved a lot since treatment started. And of the bottom front four teeth, one is still stubbornly refusing to be guided to the right place. I still wear the elastic bands around these new hooks at night and I noticed this morning that the stubborn bottom tooth looks better after the bands have been on all night.

Next check up in three weeks time!

Week 19

Week 19 - no significant improvements

Thinking about it, I've noticed since my last check up that my teeth have not actually moved so much. The bottom teeth are looking good, but the top teeth don't appear to have moved at all. Considering I'm supposedly going to be totally finished in 4 months, it's pretty worrying.

Chewing food on both sides of my mouth is a little bit problematic at the moment. I can't eat sugary things on the right side of my mouth, because every time something sugary gets near to the tooth with the receding gum and the exposed root, it hurts like hell. And on the other side it just hurts to chew hard, crunchy things.

Also worrying me is that I've still not been able to find an orthodontist to see me sooner than 3rd October and I'm trying to decide whether I should go back to Hamburg to have my next appointment, or just tell them I've found a new orthodontist that will treat me.

Week 18

Week 18 of braces

I haven't had too much to report the last few weeks. There haven't been too many aches or pains. My bottom teeth are now looking very straight (from the front anyway, from the picture below, you can still see there's a bit more work to be done). I'm really pleased with them all the same.
I've moved from Germany back to the UK, so now I'm in a dilemma about switching orthodontists in the middle of my treatment. I have an appointment for the 3rd October - about a month later than I should have had it back in Germany. My last appointment, I was told I should come in every month, but Damon Braces-trained orthodontists are apparently hard to come by in the north-west of England. I was told that the maximum you should have between appointments is 10 weeks. 8 weeks is cutting it a little fine to be honest. I think I should probably look for another who can see me a little sooner.

Bottom row of teeth, much straighter, but still with a few kinks

The other problem with this is the money issue. The appointment I have lined up is a free consultation, which is pretty good. Another place said they would charge me a fee of £150, that would only be re-funded if I signed up as a patient with them. This wouldn't be a problem, if I had even a hint of how much it would cost to continue treatment with them. But without that, I chose to look for somewhere else.

Week 15 - Third wire change and power chains!

Week 15 picture

I had my third check up appointment on Monday and they did quite a lot. The wires now run through all of the brackets. Previously it didn't reach the lower bottom teeth, but now those brackets are being used. One bracket on a top molar was re-aligned to a slightly different position. This is the tooth where there is not so much gum and they were blasting it with cold air. It was pretty painful but didn't last long.

I now have a white metal band threaded not only around the top six front brackets, but also the bottom six front brackets as well. Again, I was told these are to make sure that the teeth do not move so far apart from each other that they create gaps. I thought these were called power chains, but I guess I was wrong because this time, I actually did get power chains (like thin elastic bands) on my braces.

Misaligned tooth, top left; now with wire and power chain

In this second picture to the left, you can (just about) see that the back tooth is quite misaligned in comparison to the other teeth. The power chain stretches down from this bracket, down to one of the front bottom teeth. On the other side, the power chain doesn't stretch right to the back tooth, but the second to last. They ache quite a bit at first, but it's not so bad two days later.

I'm guessing this power chain will pull that crooked tooth into position as well.



My orthodontist also told me that this new wire would be my last 'round' wire, and the next wire I would get would be a 'square' wire. She also told me that I'd see a lot more change in the next few weeks and they'd start to look pretty much like they will once they take them off. From what I've heard, the square wire is used more to move the roots of the teeth - I found the info here, scroll down to 'Wires'.

I'm still wearing the elastics, although now with all the extra stuff on my teeth, I can't get the elastic to stay in place on my incisor/canine teeth. I've noticed my bite also feels odd and it looks as though there are many gaps. So I will go back soon and ask them what I should do about the elastics.

Week 13

Week 13

From today, I’ve started to really wear the elastics as much as I can manage. I really want to make sure the braces are working as quickly as they possibly can do and don’t want my orthodontist to be disappointed in a week and a half when I have my next appointment.

Other than that no real change. Same old, same old.

Week 9

Week 9 with Damon Braces

I've been so busy the past week, I haven't had much time to write. In any case, there has not been so much to report over the last week. I began to get an ulcer the first few days of wearing elastics and as it got so much worse and more painful with the elastic bands rubbing against it all the time, I decided to stop wearing them altogether until the ulcer healed, so today has been the first time I've had them on in about a week, I think. It doesn't seem like my teeth have made major movements, so I can only hope that the bands will still be able to make the changes that my orthodontist is hoping to see by the next appointment. Speaking more about elastics, I've discovered this channel Ortho2 Systems on Youtube that has video demonstrations of how elastics move your teeth, how you should brush your braces, as well as a bunch of 3D videos, it's really cool!

Week 8 - Second wire change and new top wires

Update: Today I had my second check up since getting on the braces and they replaced the wires again. Now on the top teeth, the wire runs through all of the brackets. I'm not sure if it's actually thicker, but the wire seems to look stronger and thicker every time it's changed!

Week 8 with the new top wires (white, a bit difficult to see)

Also on the front six teeth I have another wire that is threaded around the brackets. It looks like a power chain, but whenever I’ve read about power chains, they all say that they’re used for closing gaps between teeth. When I asked what this would be for, I was told that this wire will prevent gaps from forming between the teeth while they’re being straightened. I was initially a bit surprised to see them on when they gave me the mirror, but they’re practically invisible from a short distance away (it's not such a great picture this time, but you can just about make them out).

My teeth weren't hurting when I left the dentist but during the day they've started to ache and chewing hard things is again becoming painful, so I will eat softer food for the next day or two.

Another thing now is that I have to wear elastic bands at night while I sleep. I was kind of bummed out by this news. I really thought that my bite seemed fine and that I’d be able to get away without wearing the bands, but just at night is ok I guess. I have to wear quite a lot (six in all) for the next six weeks until my next appointment. 

Oh god, just got the elastics on now, and jesus christ are they strong, another six weeks of this!! But hopefully if I follow all my advice correctly then I could be looking at a shorter treatment time, who knows.

I got a comment to my last post, but I've been trying to reply and can't, I don't know what I'm doing wrong (it also happened with the last post, sorry to Kiki, who by the way if you're reading this, I really appreciate you reading my blog!). So to the person who asked: I've been told they really look very subtle, not so noticeable at all. There is this loose feeling that comes with the braces, but that is totally normal, and not so painful that you have to take an aspirin or anything. As far as dating goes, I've been asked out and have been on dates since getting my braces on, so really don't worry about that aspect of your life. Good luck with your treatment, I'm sure you'll never regret it :-)

Week 6

I've decided to change the titles to weeks now, as they are easier to keep track of than days. So I am now 6 weeks, almost 7 weeks through wearing the braces. Last time I wrote, I'd been having real aches in my top front teeth and the crooked tooth next to it, but when I look at it, it's amazing how much it's moved in the whole time I've been wearing the braces.
The bottom front four teeth have slowed down in movement quite a lot. From what I can see, a bit more space needs to be created, and then they need to be turned to created a nice 'U' shape.
My bite feels fine, and looks as though it's still ok, not moving wildly out of control. But now when I bite down, the crooked tooth on the right side comes into contact with the bottom teeth, so I think it really needs to come over the bottom teeth.
My next ortho appointment is in two days, not sure if they're going to make more changes, but let's see!

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

Damon Clear Braces - the initial process

Getting the braces on!

I got my Damon Braces on yesterday and although there are lots of Vlogs and Blogs out there about Damon Braces, I thought I may also be able to add something to the discussion and provide info for people.

The whole process of getting the braces on took about two hours altogether, with the time spent in the chair for the teeth cleaning and brackets about an hour. Before putting them on, the dentist makes an impression of both the top and bottom teeth, meaning you have to bite into this plasticine-like stuff for a few minutes. An X-Ray is also made of your teeth. Before they put the brackets on your teeth, they have to thoroughly clean them with a powerful electric toothbrush. Before putting the glue onto your teeth they need to make sure all the toothpaste has been rinsed off and the teeth are completely dry. This was the only part that really hurt. On the left side of my mouth a lot of gum is missing from one top tooth and the nerve is sometimes exposed. During the brushing they must have got a bit too close to this bit, and when they used the water jet to rinse everything away, I really jumped.

So after the teeth are very clean and everything is rinsed away, they then put an apparatus into your mouth which holds the sides of the mouth open, and also a drain which sucks away any saliva (they told me I wouldn’t need to swallow, but I did feel the need to a few times).

Glue is applied to the teeth and the dentist applies the brackets to the teeth, and a bit of pressure is applied to make them stay in place. Then all the remaining glue is washed away and the wire is put into the brackets.

Right now the wire only stretches over the front teeth on my upper and lower jaw, it doesn’t stretch all the way to the back teeth.

Cost

My Damon Clear braces cost in all 5000€. I didn't shop around because I was happy with the first dentist I visited, and to be honest, I just wanted to get on with starting the treatment, once I had set my mind upon it. But I would advise others to shop around, especially if you're not totally satisfied with the people who are going to be undertaking your treatment.

Treatment Time

After my initial consultation I was told that my braces would need to be on for about 9 months. Of course, like most people, I'm hoping that it will be shorter than that.