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.

Over the last few months, I have noticed the following changes - see pix below:

• The hole where my tooth was has reduced even more

• The brace on my lower teeth has really straightened them.

The bracket on my crown has still been giving some problems. I was at the dentist last Friday and the ortho tried to fix it back on, but it pinged off as soon as I reached home. I fixed another appointment to have it glued back on. The ortho tried again, but the moment I sat up, PING! She was really calm about it, but this has to be some sort of record. Anyway, she has really glued it firmly this time, and so far there have been no problems.

I still have the TPA in place, though - I am used to it now, but I will be so relieved when it finally comes out.

Almost 3 months since my last posting - I didn't write because I was busy doing life stuff and there wasn't anything new to report. (Well, possibly apart from my new "spinach without tears" technique, which I developed because I was so desperate to eat salad again.)

Tonight, though, I had my lower brace fitted. I've become so used to my upper one that I had forgotten what the whole palaver was like. I feel much more conscious of these new brackets. They are causing a little bit of soreness against the inside of my lip, but I know how to fix that. The brace is also making my teeth tingle, because the lower ones are very sensitive and I guess the nerves are reacting. This happened last week as well, when I went to get my teeth cleaned - the gums tickled and tingled for about a day and a half, having been denuded of their protective layer of gunk. I found that rubbing my gums with neat TCP stopped the stinging, or at least replaced it with another kind of stinging, but I hope this dies down soon.

I still have the TPA in, while my canine gradually slots into its new position. I think it is on the move again - the (much reduced) remains of the old socket have begun feeling mushy again, which is always a good sign.

My ortho has recommended that I eat lots of ice cream while my teeth calm down. Well, that's not exactly what she said, but I just wanted to see that written down in black and white!

Was travelling home on the tube when I felt the bracket on my crown go "pop". It had already popped once, just as the ortho had applied the wire - that must have been some kind of record. We agreed that it wasn't a good record. I decided to carry on home, as I felt she and I had probably had enough of my crown for one day. I will try to get it sorted out next week.

I didn't realise that a whole month has passed since I last posted! Various things have happened since then. The brace on my crown came off again, but it was less than a week until my next dental appointment so I just left it.

Last Friday I had my appointment. The orthodontist asked me how I was doing with the TPA, and I said I was "coping" - which I am, as I have learned how to live with it and what to avoid. (In particular, I have learned to avoid eating stringy rocket leaves, after an unfortunate dinner with a friend, where I had to dash to the loo to remove the tangled wodge of green stuff that had wound itself around the wire. Nice ...) Still, I am counting the weeks and days until I can have it removed.

The ortho also said it was time to fit the lower braces. I didn't actually realise I was going to need lower braces, so that was a bit of a shock - especially after that nasty experience so many years ago. Since then, however, I can see that they might be necessary. My wandering canine has now come into line with the rest of my upper teeth (see photos below), but this means that the tooth below bumps into it when I close my mouth. I am hoping that the canine will shift over a bit further and this should help. However, it does sometimes feel as if I have been fitted with someone else's teeth!

I now have a thicker wire fitted on my brace. This definitely made the brace feel more bulky at first, but I've got used to it. I could really feel it pulling powerfully on my canine for the first couple of days, but it seems to have quietened down now. I am looking forward to the gap in my upper teeth closing up - and counting down to my next appointment, towards the end of May.