August 2012

After many months thinking there is nothing else our dentist can do, he finally took off my top braces.

The bottom row is still on braces due to the alignment problems that is still not yet fixed until now, I guess I will be using this bottom braces for a while longer.
Will keep you posted!

January 2012

Hello again and Happy New Year! Just visited my dentist and wished him the same. Another year has passed and I can't believe it has been 1 year and 2 months with this ceramic braces. Hopefully things will progress better from now on, as for my ceramic braces, hopefully I can take these off before my birthday this year :D Here are some pictures for comparison. Slow progress is still a progress, I'm just staying positive :)

Movement in December

Just a documentation I put together for comparison purposes on the ceramic braces progress. I will let you be the judge of it.

One Year Monthly Comparison

If feels like a long time and I can't wait to get the ceramic braces to finally finish its job. But I know I have to still be patient, since 1 year apparently went by pretty fast. I got another 6 to 8 more months until it is really ready, since as you can read from my previous posts, there are still a few problems needed fixing. So here they are, progress pictures I wanted to share with you at the end of year 1.

MONTH 1

MONTH 2

MONTH 4

MONTH 5

MONTH 7

MONTH 8

MONTH 9

END OF 1ST YEAR, with White Power Chains hahahaha....

Month 11 on The Ceramic Braces

Here is how my alignment look today. Still slow progress. Compared to previous months' alignment, at least it is still progressing, right? :)

How do you like my pink power chains? Hahahaha....

Slow Movement

I have lost count on the weeks and the months. So I'll just go with the flow.

Even parting 2 months in between pictures still hasn't showed any significant changes. This time I use a pink power chain on the bottom row. Just trying something different but do not have the guts to use it on the top row.

Before the dentist visit:













After the dentist visit:







See my new pink powerchains? hehehehe

Very Slow Progress

*sigh*
I wish they would move to their proper places faster :(

Ceramic Braces Progress

No photos today.

My dentist said my bottom teeth are fast if it is only to shift left and right with the power chain. And it was actually too fast, it caused the crooked alignment that you can see on my previous posts. So last week he decided to take it slow. He removed the power chain from half of the bottom row.

As a result, the gap in my front bottom teeth came back a little bit. And the crooked alignment on my left side shifted a little bit to their original positions (it happens within 1 week). So the power chain left in the bottom row are on the right side to push the alignment of that particular side to the back.

Anyways, I am going out of town for the rest of the week. When I came back it will be the week of my next schedule to visit the dentist regarding the top row.

Will post more progress soon.

2nd week on Month 7; Ceramic Braces Progress...

I'm back in uploading pictures. The tooth I circled in my previous posts moved back a little bit. But the alignment is still crooked. I'm visiting the dentist again today. Hopefully he'll be able to give me some good news, since the teeth that you can see on your left bottom row is still looking like an overbite compared to the right bottom row. Hopefully the current improvement is just as he wanted it to be. If the bottom row alignment is not tidy, my dentist told me he won't be able to change the top row wires yet.

Ceramic Braces Progress, Month 7

As promised, here is one picture to update you about my visit to the dentist last night.


What he did was:

1. He replaced the ligatures on 3 upper teeth with power chain to fasten the shifting before he can change the wire for the upper row.

2. Notice the ligatures at the bottom row? Yeah... he noticed that one tooth that I circled on the last update and so... he changed the bottom row ligatures with the power chain and the mass pulling for my bottom row teeth has finally begun.

Teeth is moving slowly but sure! So I'll get back to you in a couple of weeks for hopefully more progress.

Final statement: Auuuccchhhhh!!!!!

Out of Curiosity

I know last time I said i will post the update on my ceramic braces progress after my next dentist visit later at the end of the month. It is still 7 more days before my next schedule, but I am concern due to the movement of my bottom row teeth. Some "movement pain" came back for the past 3 days. Also, one of the top row brackets on my left is hurting my inner lip.

I am not sure if it is the correct movement or is it making too much movement instead.
Here are some pictures in case you would like to share some opinions. I know the pictures that I took are not very good quality pictures, sorry about that.





















As you may probably see, my smile is a bit crooked. My right looks like over bite compared to the left.
And I also wonder why that tooth I circled moved a bit forward.. is it because it has many spaces on its left and right? But I am already using the thick wire that was suppose to pull the teeth to the right alignment... *sigh* I guess I have to wait until next week to get the answer directly from my dentist.


I'll post an update soon.

In the middle of the 6th month

I noticed some other movements on my bottom teeth alignment in the middle of this 6th month. My bottom back row started to shift inside, causing the whole bottom row to be a bit crooked on the right (your left) as you can see on one of the photographs below. I think it is caused by the elastic bands placed on my bottom front teeth that is trying to shift the front tooth to cover the gap where my baby tooth was in the very front.

I can't wait for my next visit to the dentist. I wonder what he'll do next... Come to think of it, my decision to install these ceramic braces is totally correct and certainly worth the wait.















I'll update this blog again at the end of this month after my next visit to the dentist.

MONTH 6 - May 2011

With only 20 days since the last time I recorded my previous ceramic braces image, the tooth in bottom front has began to shift. Last night I visited the dentist to change the elastic that is pulling the tooth to the right. Hopefully everything will go smooth and faster from now on. *fingers cross*



MONTH 1







MONTH 5








MONTH 6







Two more teeth to be shifted by these excellent elastics and I'll be a happier lady hahaha...

Teeth Movements

Well well well....
Here are some noticeable movements.
This is my 3rd month with ceramic braces and I know now I really really need to be patient since apparently there are a lot of step by step work that needs to be done.
My last visit to the dentist was on Monday, Feb 7, 2011.

The work that he did this time is placing a very tight elastic band on my bottom front row teeth where my baby tooth was removed.
But basically, all teeth are moving, as you can see from following comparison:

MONTH 1


MONTH 3 week 1


MONTH 3 week 3

Week 7

In this 7th week with my ceramic braces,

I'm still waiting for some kind of miracle, but of course, patience is virtue!

To make my self feel better, i will starting from now place pictures from week 1 and latest week for a more significant comparison (if any).

I was complaining today to my husband, saying that the braces is not making any progress, about how long the ceramic braces will stay in my mouth, about the pain and soreness I am going through, and he ended up scolding me for being impatient. Hahahahahahaha... it was fine, I deserved it.
Just to share my impatience with all of you, here are some pictures that I took today compared to the 1st week. Obviously, no significant changes yet.

I'll update you again next month to share any progress of my ceramic braces :)

Some Tools of the Trade

Hi all,

It has been 15 days. Yes, I am still counting the days because there are still a lot to get used to in having these ceramic braces. I have to be diligent in taking care of my braces, otherwise, I understand that there will definitely be some complications in the future!

To take care of my braces, I just brush my teeth 3 times a day, especially after meals. At first I only used a normal toothbrush for the back of my teeth and a smaller one for the front, just like this following picture:



Normally, it cleaned up my teeth well. But not this time!
I did something silly just a few days ago. I ate turmeric rice! One of my favorite rice dish, the yellow turmeric rice! As a result, it stained the entire rubber band that joins wires and each braces along the teeth... how stupid of me!!!

So what I did was, I brushed my teeth with whitening toothpaste. Of course even the small toothbrush cannot do anything about the difficult small corners of each ceramic brace. After brushing my teeth, I can still see some small yellow spots in every corners of my braces. So I went to the local pharmacy and found these small inter-dental brush. It has very small bristle and can bent around so it definitely cleans the most difficult corners of each brace. My silliness has caused me around 30 minutes brushing each tooth with this tiny brush hahahaha... but then, all the yellow stained was finally removed. What a relieve! Otherwise it will be very embarrassing to go to meeting with clients with a set of yellowing braces *yuucckkk*




Thought I should share some information about this particular tool to all of you, in case it will come in handy.

Anyways, 6 more days till my next visit to the dentist.. I am not sure if I can share any significant progress since it has only been a while. But I'll keep you all posted.

Cheers!

My first week with Ceramic Braces

Hi all,

Upon receiving an advise from my senior in the braces world, I am now dedicating this blog for updates on my ceramic braces progress. Hopefully it can somehow give you some sort of an inspiration for those who are contemplating on getting a pair of braces.

I got my braces on a week ago, 8 November 2010 to be exact and so far, the pain is gone and now my teeth are feeling a bit loose and i can feel more gaps between the teeth. Well, no significant progress yet as it has only been 10 days since the first time I got it.

Anyways, for now I will just share a few things with you.
The procedures that I took was:
- day 1 (Friday, 5 November 2010) - dentist pulled out my one last baby tooth (that never came off since I was little), leaving an empty space on my very front bottom row teeth and placed 4 rings on the back teeth.
(No turning back now!)
- day 2 (Monday, 8 November 2010) - installing the ceramic braces
- day 3 (Tuesday, 9 November 2010) - back to the dentist because one of the ring was hurting my right tongue)
- day 4 (Wednesday, 10 November 2010) - back to the dentist because 3 of my front right braces's glue came off so the wire went up and down my teeth hahahahahahhahaha *oh dear....*
- day 6 (Friday, 12 November 2010) - back to the dentist, this time 1 of my back left braces's glue came off ... geezz... how many time do I have to visit the dentist in a week!!!

But until today, (it's been 6 days since my last visit), everything seems fine and the pain is gone.

This following picture was taken last Sunday, when the pain gradually disappear and I could grin a smile again.