Bands A Make Her... : A Braces Update (Month 11)

Feigning bliss...peep the power chain. Every one of those teeth hurt!

I haven't done a braces update in ages. Mostly because not much had changed in the past months. I've had to wait until my top canines moved to the right places before I could make any more progress. That took months, but finally I'm on to the next stage--getting everything pulled back and closed in. Yes!

I have to wear elastic bands and a whole row of power chain for the next few months.

I'm so ready for this to be done--we're (the Ortho and I) hoping to have things finished by June. I really hope that happens.

Background Details:
When I got braces, March 2012, I had a retained primary, canine tooth that sort of got pushed to the side instead of falling out. I wanted to have that tooth pulled and the space corrected. After my initial evaluation, my ortho pointed out other spacing and bite issues--a space between the opposite canine tooth and an overbite. All that on my top row of teeth. My bottom row wasn't as problematic but I had a bit of crowding that needed correcting.

So, I got braces in March and had the retained tooth pulled in June. My bottom row corrected in a couple of months. Since then, it's been a battle to reign in the huge hole left from pulling that pesky retained tooth. Once it was gone, I had to have the permanent canine tooth pulled all the way across to meet up with my molar (it was on the opposite side initially), and after months of waiting, that finally happened! Wooo-hooo!

Now, I have power chains across most of the top row to push things together and I'm wearing bands so my canines won't shift back. The power chains will force my teeth back together and, since they have much more space now, the bite issue will be taken care of as they're pushed back.

My dentist suggested I start using a fluoride rinse, so I've replaced that with the peroxide rinse I'd been doing. I try to floss, or at least Waterpik, every night.

I'm on my way to wrapping things up! Yes!

Pics below:

So that's what those hooks are for...band torture.

  

Ortho: "Change these after every meal, 3-4 times a day."  Me: "Really", sigh?!

The Problem Zone