Apparently it's not over till it's over, and sometimes not even then ...

Today I went back to the ortho to be fitted with my removable retainers. She was a bit concerned as I should have had these fitted early last week, but I could not get to the dentists at that time. So for the past 2 weeks I have been brace-free apart from the bonded retainers.

I have been given clear "Essix" type retainers. They hurt when the ortho first fitted them, probably because my teeth have shifted a bit since the cast was made. I was concerned at the hurting, and also concerned because - in my view - my teeth have started to fit together a bit better since the braces first came off, and I didn't want them to go back to the old awkward bite.

I was surprised how much I disliked the Essix retainers. They were actually much more of a big deal than the bonded retainers, which I hardly notice at all now. These big clunky plastic things in my mouth collect spit, scrape the sides of my cheeks and interfere with my speaking. I can't close my teeth, which freaked me out a bit when the retainers first went in. And I have to wear them all day for the next 3 weeks, except when I am eating or brushing my teeth.

I'm afraid I whipped them off when I was travelling home from the dentist, and only replaced them at the end of this evening. I have managed to fix the scraping with the use of some dental wax. Now I will have to see what it is like to sleep in them.

Anyway, here they are:

I've made it! Just over 2 years since my first appointment, the braces have finally come off. After a lot of waiting, plus mysterious wizardry from my orthodontist, I now have a set of nice straight teeth. We had been waiting for more than 6 months for the gaps around my left canine tooth to close. These were closing up, but very gradually. Here is a picture of how they looked last month:

This month there had been barely any further change, and the gaps were almost too small to see, so the ortho offered me the option of having the braces off now. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance!

The ortho cracked off the brackets and their concrete mounts. Suddenly my teeth felt naked, and kind of springy, like a set of dogs let off their leash. When I tried to close my teeth I found the front ones bashed together, but the ortho said this would be OK.

Then the ortho and her assistant thoroughly cleaned my teeth and got every last scrap of cement off. Here are the results:

But - I was not quite out of the woods yet. One last thing had to be done: I had to have retainers fitted. The ortho fitted "bonded retainers" to the backs of my upper and lower teeth. These comprise a wire fixed in place with blobs of resinous stuff. I couldn't get a photo of these, even after shoving the camera lens right into my mouth, but there is a link on the Archwired site showing what these are: http://www.archwired.com/6-_come_off.htm . Apparently I have to have these for the next 6 months at least. They are not uncomfortable, but I can feel them constantly with my tongue. Apparently they should not interfere with my eating.

Last of all, I will have to have a removable retainer too. I had to have new casts done of my teeth. Having this done was not pleasant, especially for the upper teeth, as the rubbery stuff pushed against my palate and made me gag. It was all over in minutes, though.

I just have to collect my retainer next week, and go back in 6 months for a further check-up, but ... my braces journey is at an end!

I have had a couple more visits to the ortho since my last post. I have now been fitted with elastics on both sides - see pic:

I have developed quite a skill at applying the elastics - I can even slip 'em in without looking, or while walking down the street! (It has to be a quiet street, though, with nobody looking.) I can feel them pulling on my teeth, and the upper and lower teeth are slowly getting straighter and more aligned.

The ortho says the next stage is to get the upper teeth rotated out a bit more, as they still slant inwards a bit, then try to close up the holes. (I am still wearing a power chain, but so far it doesn't seem to be having much effect.)

I found this photo of my pre-treatment self on a friend's Facebook page. This is why I am putting myself through the treatment - I don't know how I could have left my teeth looking like this for so long.

Just in time for Valentine's Day (I should be so lucky), I have been back to the dentists. My canine had moved quite a lot, but the ortho was a bit concerned that the power chain had not been working to its full extent - the pain and pulling sensation from last session only lasted for a day or so.

She went for a different approach this time. She applied another power chain, and then - all praise the Flying Spaghetti Monster - she ...

... drum roll ...

REMOVED THE TPA!

Yes - the inside of my mouth is mine all mine again!! I wasn't expecting this, but after just over a year of having that bar in my mouth, I can move my tongue freely again. The bands are still in place around my teeth, but I have already forgotten the Scold's Bridle.

I have another Z-string around some of my front teeth, to close up the gaps, and this time the ortho has applied an elastic on my left side. She says I have to fit a new one every morning and evening, and advised me to remove it before eating and to clean my teeth before re-fitting it.

I have just had the first go at fitting it, after having supper. I really hope this gets easier, because the thing was pinging all over the place. I am thinking of buying a crochet hook tomorrow, to make this task easier. Seriously.

Never mind, though - the TPA has gone!

Had my ortho appointment this afternoon, and was surprised to find that I needed more equipment in my mush. The orthodontist was concerned that the gap in my teeth wasn't reducing as fast as she had hoped. Therefore, she fitted a power chain. I had not expected this so had not done my usual research on ArchWired - I was imagining a(nother) huge hunk of metal in my mouth. In fact, the chain is made of elastic, as Archwired explain here: http://www.archwired.com/power_chains.htm

The orthodontist also fitted a "Z-string" around my gappy teeth, although it seemed more like a G-string to me, as it was twanging a merry tune while she was working with it. In addition, I have the thick wire back on my upper teeth, and a thicker wire on my lower ones - so my mouth was feeling pretty crowded when I left the dentists.

As threatened, here are the pictures:

I particularly like the big hook things on the corner brackets - I'm feeling like a cyborg with all this lot!

Not much to report in the last few months - I have been getting on with my life, and not paying too much attention to my teeth. The lower ones have really straightened up, though.

Last Monday it was the first anniversary of the start of my treatment. There are now signs of light at the end of the tunnel - I had an appointment just before Christmas, and the orthodontist said that I would be brace-free by next Xmas!

I still have the TPA, but I'm hoping I won't have it for too much longer.

Next appointment is next Friday - I will do a photo after that.