second adjustment

I saw two of my dental 'team' yesterday, firstly Dr Ellis my prosthodontist who works on the appearance of my teeth i.e. my composites (since my teeth aren't very good - check my first post for details). She just gave me a look-over and told me I was doing fine with my brushing which was great :)

Then I went downstairs to see my ortho. She was extremely pleased that none of my brackets had come loose and moved me onto a new wire! I'm sore today but I really don't care, i'm so pleased everything is working as it should do. I got lilac ligs (shamelessly, because my nails are lilac at the minute and I wanted them to match - such a girl).

Unfortunately I left my memory card at uni and i'm home for a month for the holidays so I won't be able to post pictures until I get back on January 16th, but I can tell you that things are looking good, especially those teeth at the front. Dr Ellis even mentioned the possibility of not having surgery.. I was amazed at that! However if surgery is going to give me a better result then I 100% want it, firstly because it's covered by the NHS so I won't have to pay a penny, and also because I think now i've got the braces I might as well go all the way and get my jaw fixed too.

Merry Christmas to all my braced blogger friends!

time is flying by!

3 months in braces today! wowza. My appointment got moved from December 23rd to the 16th which i'm happy about, if there's going to be pain i'd rather it wasn't on Christmas day!

Hang in there everyone, remember this is just a small chapter in our lives :)

braced-up birthday (the first of three?)

So yesterday was my 19th birthday and also my first birthday with tinsel teeth! I had a great day, I went to Manchester for the night with my housemates to see some nightlife :) Braces didn't stop me from eating 3 slices of birthday cake in one go!

It was sort of weird being away from my family and friends for the first time ever on my birthday but i'm going home in two weeks for Christmas so I suppose it isn't too bad.

I hope everyone is doing well - especially those who are recovering from surgery! You all look great :)

16 months and counting...

2 months in braces today, yeee

It does not feel that long AT ALL, to be honest I can't remember not having them now haha.

In 16 months time I should be surgery ready. WOW.

If the last two months have gone that fast i'll be in surgery in no time and saying goodbye to this pesky over/open bite.

Also, even though my wire strength got upped when I was at the OD 2 weeks ago and this was the 'real test' for my weak teeth, nothing has broke off yet! (touch wood) I am so happy about that I can't describe, my teeth are actually co-operating for once!

General life update for anyone who cares:

I'm at university about 160 miles away from home and I. LOVE. IT. Moving away is the best thing i've ever done, i've met so many new people already and I'm enjoying being able to party until I drop and not wash up and not make my bed every day without getting nagged.

And do work (!!!) obviously, after all I am studying for a degree.

I'm also pleased with the fact I got my braces before I started here so everyone who knows me knows me with braces. Life is good :)

First ever adjustment!

So I had my first appointment since the braces went on! I got my wires changed for thicker ones (I heard her say '1-4' to her assistant) and apparently this is when the real test starts - if my brackets stay on this time they should be fine for the rest of my treatment, YAY! :)

As always, the bracket on my lower left incisor popped off when she was fitting the ligatures, so she roughened the surface of the tooth up to try and get it to stick better.

Before I left she got my molds out from before I had the braces, and I'm so so pleased to say I could see progress! The teeth on the top right are so much straighter already - I never thought it would happen that quickly!

Here's some comparison photos :)

Horrendous pre-braces photo...

After 45 days - look at those baby's on the left!!!! (my top right teeth)

On the photo above you can see that pesky incisor with a half-tied lig on.

Oh AND I now have bright pink ligatures! The whole colour choosing process gets me far too excited :') Next appointment is the 23rd December, Christmas Eve's Eve!

1 month anniversary!

Yesterday (the 7th) marked 1 month in braces! Yay :)

I can't believe it's been a month already, the time has flown over!

I'm feeling so much more comfortable in my braces, I'm not really that self-conscious about them anymore. They feel like a part of me now :)

I'm seeing my orthodontist in two weeks. I can't wait, the wire on the top right side is sticking out and tearing up my mouth whenever I laugh which isn't so fun.

I'll probably post pictures once I see my OD, I haven't noticed any progress myself but she might have, she's the expert after all.

P.S. Kissing in braces = not a problem! He said he didn't notice them AT ALL so that's another myth busted :)

all fixed.. again!

Finally got my arse over to the hospital today to get my brackets recemented. I look and feel much better! I hate how i've only had my braces 16 days and i've had to get things fixed twice already!

On a brighter note I love university! I'm really enjoying the freedom and loving all the parties that have been going on!

complications

Posts have been lacking recently because I just moved into university! I got here on Sunday and have been absolutely loving it. I even met a girl on the floor above me with braces! She's the only person i've seen so far with them, we are definitely a minority group here.

Unfortunately one of the brackets on my front teeth has slipped right down and is causing me quite a bit of pain. I'm not really sure what to do about it, I live too far from home to just pop back there. There's a dental hospital in the city near me, I think i'll give them a ring and hopefully they can see me soon. For now i'm just using a lot of wax and trying to forget about it!

Things i've learned after 4 days in braces

1. My teeth are SO SORE in the morning!

Seriously. The pain actually wakes me up in the morning it's that bad. Not fun.

2. Eating is HARD

Due to number 1 my teeth are still only nice to soft food. I would kill for a McD's right now but I can't get one because a) even the phrase 'bite into a burger' makes my teeth scream in pain b) 90% of it will probably end up on my teeth and c) it would take me about 2 hours to eat it.

3. Bonjela becomes your new best friend

Ok, so this only really started yesterday but ULCERS!!!! Oh my goodness! The wax isn't even doing anything anymore which means hello more pain. When I smile/laugh the braces catch on the corners of my mouth so I have two matching ones there, and a huge one on my bottom lip. Nice.

4. Brushing is a pain

Takes me twice as long as it used to, and now it also brings more pain (see 3)

and after all that ranting...

5. It isn't as bad as you think

Because sore teeth = movement, the ulcers will disappear in a day or two, its better to have a clean mouth than to have bits of food stuck in your teeth and who needs to eat anyway?

All patched up :)

Feeling so much better than I did yesterday :) it's 11pm here now and nothing has come loose yet (touch wood!)

Went back to the dental hospital today and got 5 or 6 brackets replaced - I stuck to light blue ligs as they've only been on a day! It was an uncomfortable appointment with more pain than yesterday to be honest, I'm definitely not looking forward to my first adjustment.

I'm taking painkillers right now as my teeth are sore, but I don't really mind because it means something is happening in there! I can't wait to see progress, even if it is the tiniest bit of movement.

I'm also getting more used to my appearance as time goes on - I went out with two of my friends to cheer myself up earlier and I was self-conscious at first because they were the first people outside of my family to see me with braces, but after 10 minutes or so I had forgotten about them and was talking to my friends like normal :) yay!

Frustration

So I was brushing my teeth tonight extra carefully due to the soreness that started a few hours ago and ANOTHER bracket is loose! I've had my braces on for nearly 12 hours and 2 brackets are already loose. Looks like i'm phoning the dental hospital tomorrow for an emergency appointment - I'm moving 150 miles away to university next Sunday and I need this fixed before I go.

It's just not fair. I didn't particularly want braces but I was willing to try them, at this point I'm willing to try ANYTHING to make my teeth look better.

My teeth give me serious confidence issues, like many other bloggers going through this process. I'm conscious of opening my mouth in front of anyone. I haven't smiled with my teeth since I was about 5. I can't eat anything hard/chewy/sticky in fear that I'll lose a tooth.

I'm not complaining about having braces at all, I just wish that they'd stay in place like they would do for anyone with normal, enamel coated teeth. If the braces don't work I have no idea what plan B is, but at the moment I haven't got a good feeling about them sticking like they should.

It just isn't fair.

And so it begins...

They're on!

The appointment took about an hour. It wasn't painful at all, just uncomfortable - I wasn't a fan of the giant plastic device that felt like it was trying to rip my lips apart.

My orthodontist had a bit of trouble with 'lower 1' as she called it - the bracket popped off when she was fitting the ligatures, but she replaced it with no problems.
I went for light blue ligs (on Amanda's advice!) and I'm quite happy with them :) hopefully they'll distract from my yellow teeth.

My OD didn't seem too convinced that the brackets were going to stay put. I think she used a different primer to try and get them to stick better but we'll just have to wait and see! I asked how long she thought I would need braces before I get surgery and she said 18 months, which I was expecting.

Things keep popping and cracking inside my mouth and I jump every time I feel something - did anyone else feel this? I really hope nothing breaks off. Also, my mouth feels absolutely huge and I can't speak properly at all, I keep lisping.

All in all i'm just pleased the journey has begun. My next appointment is 21st October

I'll post more pictures tomorrow, I'm at my dad's at the minute and I don't have my camera with me!

EDIT: one of the brackets is wobbly already. It's been 4 hours.

ahhhhh

Operation Fix Beth's Face officially commences in less than 24 hours.
I'm scared.

pre-braces photos

As promised, the before photos! I must admit, like every other person i've been so apprehensive to take them, simply because I avoid looking at my teeth in all their glory at all costs.
Because I have major self-confidence issues, they're in black and white. Maybe one day i'll have the confidence to show you lot what they look like at present, but that wouldn't be until i'm completely finished and happy with my smile.
Anyway, enough blabbing from me *takes deep breath*, here we go:





Looking straight on. My open overbite casts a shadow over my bottom teeth, that's how bad it is!





Angled slightly upwards, this gives you a better view of my open bite. You can see my brackets peeping out from behind :)





Taken from the side, biting down. Again this shows you the extent of my open bite.





Bottom teeth. Notice how none of them are embedded straight in my gums? All wonky :(
You can also see how thin my incisors are, due to the amelogenesis imperfecta





And the top teeth. Again you can see how thin the incisors are here.





Side profile as of September 2011



And that's me. Horrendous I know, I have a long road ahead of me! I get my braces in 6 days and I don't know whether to feel scared or excited, I suppose I can't really look any worse! It feels strange that the next time I post i'll probably be all braced up.






And for those that were wondering, this is me with my friend :) i'm the blondie!

tomorrow

I'll post my 'before' pictures, i've been putting it off for long enough!
Just as a disclaimer, they will be in black and white. I'm not confident enough to you show my discoloured mess, sorry!

Beth

i'm going to university!

Not really tooth-related but... I've just found out I got into my first choice university! That means my a-levels didn't go too badly :) I can go and pick my results up in a few hours.
I'm going to Edge Hill University to study English and Media :)

My first post!

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog! I'm Beth and i'm 18 years old, and in 26 days (7th September) I will be getting braces. I've decided to blog the whole process because in terms of my teeth i'm a pretty complicated case.
I've been going to my local dental hospital since I was 5 (yes! a whole 13 years!) due to me having a genetic disorder called Amelogenesis imperfecta, which put simply means I have little to no enamel protecting my teeth (head to http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/amelogenesis-imperfecta if you want more information). This means my teeth are extremely sensitive and yellow - at the moment I have various crowns and composite veneers covering them.

Unfortunately, this isn't the end of my problems - as i've grew my dentist (or dentists really) have noticed I have an anterior open bite, just to complicate things. I'll post photos before I get my braces so you can see what I mean - basically my top and bottom teeth don't join together at all. It's hard to explain.

Anyway, the solution to all of these problems is going to be a pretty lengthy process. As my teeth aren't in good condition to start with my orthodontist is unsure whether the brackets will stick to the composites, but she said we will try braces and see what happens.
As of today I have had bands cemented to my back teeth in order to try to get the wire to stay in place better, and I can tell you they are hurting like hell, basically ripping into the side of my cheeks. Again, you'll see them in my 'before' photos.
After I get my brace fitted I have a nice wait of 1 1/2 to 2 years before I have jaw surgery, then after that we have another 6 months of braces. Then after that, when my teeth are nice and straight but not necessarily attractive, I have the whole restoration process which will be when I get porcelain veneers glued onto what is left of my actual teeth.
So, I have a long road ahead of me. I aim to have the perfect smile by 7th September 2014 - three years from the day I get my braces. But we'll see, to be honest i've waited 18 years to smile confidently with my teeth, whats another 3 going to do?