I decided i'd do an update on my treatment, as I realised it's been nearly half a year since I last posted. I guess this just reflects that in the world of moving teeth nothing happens quickly!
To summarise what's happened since April:
- I've had something called an e-link
attached to the hooks on the upper wire at the front to hooks on the molar
bands at the back, to close an extraction gap on either side at the top where
the first molars were extracted shortly before my braces were put on in
January. The gap on the right hand side has closed significantly faster than on
the left, which is a bit frustrating in a way as obviously both gaps would need
to be fully closed before my treatment can progress to surgery. The fact that
the gap has closed up quicker on one side has I believe shifted my mid lines
which are certainly more out than before.
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| Right upper side has elastic link to close extraction gap. Also shown is elastic band. |
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| Extraction gap of left side has closed a lot slower. |
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| Midline has shifted |
- My front teeth have continued to be
brought forward at the bottom and back at the top, to continue to decompensate
them, which has certainly opened up the gap at the front. I know the underbite
was always there but when you see the gap grow from 1mm to about 7mm it
certainly makes my bite look worse, and affected my speech. I knew all this was
going to happen however and i'm happy because it shows the braces are working
and i'm one step closer to eventually having jaw surgery.
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| This is the gap when I am biting together |
- I'm wearing an elastic band on my right
side now. I'm not exactly sure what this is for, but I have been wearing it 24
hours a day. I don't even take it out whilst eating and just chew on the
other side. It only ached a bit on the first few days I wore it. Then after a few months one day
when I forgot to put a new one on after taking another off, I realised it
was aching when I wasn't wearing one,
so I guess it's working in shifting whatever it needs to and my bite is
adjusting.
That just about sums up everything that's
happened. I'm now 9 months into orthodontic treatment and my appointments are
about 6 - 7 weeks apart. I've become totally used to wearing braces now and I
guess it's just become normal being careful what I eat and having to clean my
teeth very thoroughly. For those that haven't read this blog before - the
braces are moving my teeth in preparation for double jaw surgery (orthognathic surgery) to correct my
underbite: my lower jaw will be broken and moved back, whilst my upper jaw and
part of my midface will be moved forward. The last two photos really show how bad the bite is from the side (my upper canines nearly hit my lower molars!) and the effect of the misaligned jaws on my profile.
