Damon Clear Braces Progress - Day 64

I went for a follow up check with my orthodontist on May the 23rd, she has noted that the extraction site are healing up nicely

My canines have also come down to align with the rest of my front teeth

The gap on the right side is a bit wider than the one on the left, she put in a ribbon like formation on the right side that is a bit tight but intended to give more pressure to the gap to close faster

I have been told that the gap can take up to 6 months to close which is a bit unnerving but nonetheless probably necessary and normal

The good news that I did receive is that my bottom row teeth will not be braced for another 4-6 months and that they will probably only be in braces for 6 months or so - most of the work needed is in my top row

This is a bit of a relief as so far I have had very little stress in terms of eating and cleaning, only top row braced for another 6 months is fine by me! hehe

*will update this post with some pics when I get to my home laptop later 

Tooth Extraction for Braces - Day 36

As promised I thought I'd also do a blog post on tooth extraction for braces. My orthodontist had already mentioned at the beginning of the treatment that I'd need to get my top 2x premolars extracted to make way for my canines to come down and align as well as for my overbite to be corrected

She did however make me wear the top braces for about a month before scheduling the extractions. I thought this was good as by then even I could see why I needed the extractions, there simply was no space for the canines to come down otherwise

Extractions took place on 25th April 2015, I was advised to take no pain killers before the procedure as this would thin out the blood and cause more bleeding when the teeth are extracted.

I first got my brace wires removed followed by the removal of the brackets on the premolars

I was then taken into another room where numbing cream was applied to the areas where the anesthetic injections would take place, after a while the injections were administered on both sides of the gums just above the premolars.

The waiting then began as the anesthetic begun to take effect. Thankfully the whole experience was made a lot more pleasant with the surgeon who was doing the extractions being a real chatterbox after finding out that I'm from Sydney since she spent a few years in Melbourne.

After about 40 minutes or so she decided that the numbness was enough, I knew this because when I was told to gargle I actually couldn't feel the cup on my lips LOL, this may have resulted in some spillage.

The yank and shove then begun as she worked to get my premolars out, this whole process was painless and was over within about 10-15 minutes (one premolar was a bit more stubborn)

I was then given some cotton buds to bite on until the bleeding stopped, once this was completed my orthodontist came back in and gave me new nice and white wires and sent me on my way with some more cotton buds and some painkillers

And that was it, just like that the most invasive part of my braces journey was over, if there is one piece of advise I can now share is I have no idea why I thought it was gonna be such a big deal, if you have your extractions coming up just know that you'll be fine and just that one step closer to perfect teeth

Here are some picture of me taken the night after the extractions whilst I was practicing how to smile without showing my gaps

Turns out my extractions are practically not visible unless I  choose to reveal them like below which I do on a regular basis to anyone who would listen to my brace talk lol

In my next post I will talk about post extraction care to prevent things such as the dry socket which can be very painful

A big thank you to the amazing staffs at Smileworks Paragon for making this process that much easier

As always feel free to ask me anything about my braces journey in the comments section

Damon Clear Braces Progress - Day 58

Well its been 58 days (aka close to 2 months) since I got my top row braced so I guess I should show some progress pictures, here's a snapshot

As you can see my canines have come down quite a bit and my front row teeth have come forward a bit to line up with the canines. The right canine is a bit more stubborn whereas the left one is almost in line with the rest of my teeth now

My archwire has also straightened out a bit from day 3 to day 58 which is pretty exciting =)

The top premolar extractions happened around day 30 (I will do a late post on the extraction process later on) and I am at present waiting for the canines to rotate into position and also of course for the gaps to close

One thing that is really obvious now (for me anyway) is how jacked up my teeth were before this which is especially obvious when I compare the top and bottom rows (bottom row is yet to be braced)

And if this is how I feel 58 days into treatment I cant wait to see what the final results will look like

All the pain, lack of confidence and food abstinence is suddenly worth it

Oh and I am the fittest I've ever been in my life thanks to the brace diet, I have even managed to burn off the elusive belly fat that I've always had despite by best efforts at eating well lol

Any questions please feel free to ask in the comments section, I will do my best to address them

My story

Hullo world,

I started this blog because (like several others) I've noticed that a lot of the literature available out there is geared at kids/teenagers getting braces, not many are geared towards adult brace wearers. Hopefully my inane ramblings here serves to be informative for those who are thinking about getting braces.

How it all started

Since it is my first post I guess I should give you a little bit of background about me and how I got to be braced.  I am 33, an Australian born Chinese who works in corporate originally in sales but have now moved up the rank to management, one thing that hasn't changed with work is the fact that I deal with people, lots of them on a daily basis.

I was officially told by my dentist I actually needed braces when I was 19 but never went ahead with it due to a combination of the following: -

1. Too self conscious and worried about what people might think
2. The invasive aspect (extractions etc,) scared me off
3. I didn't think my teeth were THAT bad
4. Being Asian was pretty sure my doctor just wanted to make more money out of me

Cue some decades later I have completed my MBA studies and made a decision that 2015 was going to be the year of change (in so many aspects) and that change was going to come from my list of things that I have always thought about but never had the courage to do, this list obviously included being braced => Hence began my journey....

The thought process

To start the process off I scheduled in a few appointments with various orthodontists as I have been told (by my good folks and fellow forum mates at www.archwired.com) that this is an essential step of the process. I saw three of them before I made the choice.

Being fairly conscious of my appearance I had initially looked into invisialign but I was told by all that I was not a candidate due to my severe overbite. I then contemplated a technology called simpliclear (clear brackets and clear polymer wires) but apparently the future of the manufacturers for that was uncertain and my orthodontist did not recommend me going through with that treament. Here's a picture of the simpliclear braces: -

I ended up going with an orthodontist who is about 4 hours away in a different country as I felt the most comfortable with her proposed plan, she also sounded like the one out of the three who knew what she was talking about

She did give me an option for a combination treatment of invisialign and damon clear however the results are uncertain with this one with a longer projected treatment time, I definitely did not want to spend many years in metal so I ended up going with option 2 which was Damon Q Clear braces with white coated wires, here's what they look like in the brochures

For better clarity you may find the following comparison between brace types useful

The diagnosis

Whilst there were some differences in the approach my diagnosis was fairly consistent across the 3 consultations:-

1.  I have a Class 2 malocclusion - a pretty deep overbite which is covering my bottom row, I have been told this only gets worst with age and that some surgery may be required later on in life if I don't fix it now (!!) - I also have bruxism, coupling this with the overbite I'd be lucky to have any bottom teeth by the time I'm 50 (as it is I can see the wear and tear on my front row teeth)
2. Upper canines left and right - they need to come down and align
3. Crowding is also beginning in the front bottom row which I have noticed is getting worst

The treatment

I went with the option of Damon Q clear braces on the top and bottom. I will have my top 2 premolars extracted to make space for the canine teeth to come down and correct my overbite.

Estimated treatment time is 2+ years

Here are some benefits of the Damon braces as touted on the brochure and why I ended up selecting them: - 

1. Shorter treatment time, less visits to the ortho
2. No elastics to hold bracket in place therefore making it more hygienic, easier to clean and no staining (I can eat/drink anything pretty much)
3. Less/no extractions
4. More subtle than metal braces but works just as well if not better (here's a pic of my smile 2 days post braces)

My musings so far as an adult brace wearer

1. It is so important to pick an orthodontist who you feel comfortable with, after all once them braces are in you're stuck with them for 2++ years! - the first one I went to seemed to prescribe a one size fits all approach of remove 6 teeth (2 on the top row and all 4 wisdom) and metal braces. The second one I spoke to took her time to explain the procedure and options and said that she would only extract as necessary 
2. Once the whole internal struggle on whether or not is done it actually feels quite exciting to get braces! if not only because I'm spending time dreaming about perfect teeth now 
3. Collecting soft food recipes and have fun experimenting with blender shake recipes - there is no need to starve yourself just because you can chew when you have braces or get your tightening done => pinterest is an amazing source for these recipes
4. If Tom Cruise can do it so can I (right?)
   
5. I've really begun to notice adult brace wearers around me and you know what? there's a lot of them! I am 33, work in the corporate world and have to talk and interact with a lot of people for my job and this actually makes me feel better about the whole pending process

In my next post I will share some pictures of me from day zero to now close to 2 months in braces

Feel free to ask me anything (relating to braces) in the comments section