are we there yet???

oh gosh it's been that long huh?

it's been 2.5 years and I still have my braces on! Granted, I skipped a few appointments here and there because of scheduling issues. Dr Wee says that I should be able to remove them within 6-8 more visits.

hang in there~~

One year later

It's been a year since I've braces on!

The discomfort that comes with each tightening session has come to a minimum. Not sure whether I have a higher tolerance level for pain now, or the teeth do not have to move that much already. I can usually eat normally on the tightening day itself!

So now, I'm basically waiting for the gaps (remember those 4 teeth that were plucked out?) to close...From what it seems, I'm almost there!

I have a friend who took his braces off within a year. That's really fast! I'm probably 2/3 into my treatment. Hang in there!!!

MEGA late post

I uploaded this picture in June last year (wow that's 6 months ago!) on facebook, and well, let's look at the shift that happened in just 3 months! MEGA IMPROVEMENT!

1 more day to 3rd tightening!! can already see that the bottom few front teeth are aligned better now~
the gaps from removing the 4 teeth also have been closed. woot

2 months passed!

wow it's been 2 months!

well let's talk about my first tightening experience.

it was actually pretty painless, much to my surprise. I hear and read that it will be very painful after tightening. but it wasn't the case for me. hmmm I was actually hoping for more pain and tightness so that I would eat lesser. but oh well.

check out the shifting of the first few weeks!

first few days!

after first tightening, check out the spring! it's to open up the gap so that the tooth inside can be shifted out!

2 days before 2nd tightening!

I think the teeth have shifted quite a lot. I can feel the gaps getting bigger already! but of course there's still a long way to go. But a bad thing about ceramics is that I think they get stained more easily. But after getting braces I've also been brushing my teeth a few times a day, so my gums are much healthier now compared to before. 

2nd tightening in 2 days time, pretty excited! (: update soon! 

quickie

First 3 days of chewing were painful. Now chewing is not much of a problem except for the occasional squids.

But rice & nuts on the other hand are a pain to eat. they keep dropping into the cavities and getting stuck in between the teeth and wires!! :(

Pain wise... It's so funny because the ache shifts from one teeth to another each day. On the first day it was the molars, then it moved on to the front teeth. Now it's only the pre molar on the left side that's hurting just minimally. I'm not sure if it means my teeth have moved successfully?

 I've been religiously taking photos of my teeth everyday! 

I think they have shifted abit, I hope it's not an illusion!

First Consultation

 

After much googling and research, I finally decided on Alfred Cheng Orthodontic Clinic!! I dunno if I'm lucky or what, I got an appointment quite quickly - like I only had to wait a week or so (maybe cos I'm a potential customer? hahaha) Many of the orthodontists that my friends introduced, either they were all FULLY booked till april, or the doctors don't come to the clinic on Saturdays. -_-

 

Many bloggers and forumers introduced Dr Cheng, but when the lady at the other end of the line asked me which doctor I preferred, I said anything. In the end I was booked to meet Dr Wee instead.

 

So... fast forward to consultation day: It was relatively quick, now I understand when they said the doctors are chop chop no nonsense. I like it!

 

When I met Dr Wee for the first time, first thing he did was to take a look at my teeth, then explained that I have overcrowded teeth (which of course was quite obvious haha). He said my gums were pretty inflamed and my teeth were not in a good condition. I had to settle that first before the braces could be put on, in case my teeth are too weak to tahan the pressure...

 

So after that we explored the options of the braces - normal metal: $3.8k, and ceramics: $4.5k (all excluding gst hor but includes an xray and a mould).  Due to work, I decided to go for ceramics la, I'm already being called 小妹,  if I wear metal braces 别人不是不把我当一回事 ？

He asked me whether I needed some time to decide, but I was like, heck la, I'm gonna go for it. Let's just do it today. On the very same day, I did my xray and did my teeth mould on the spot.

 

The moulding was quite fast... Open mouth big big, then put some big blob of clay onto my teeth and press for awhile and take out. Do 2 times - one for the upper and another for the lower set of teeth.

 

Check out my teeth mould! Can see that it's terrible right?

 

front, right side, left side

 

 

Let's take a look at my xray!

 

Ok la actually I also 看不懂. From the xray I think they look pretty straight leh, but of cos I dunno how to understand an xray. I'm sure you can do better than me... My teeth are really crooked as you can see from the mould above. Ya ya ya I'm just trying to show off my xray lol. Oh ya now xrays are now all digital already, no more xray films like in the past!

So... I was due to extract 4 teeth. all pre-molars. relatively healthy teeth. -_-  I asked my dentist why they cannot extract the ones behind, need to extract the ones in the middle (by middle I mean between the front teeth and the molars)... So it was because it's simpler to leave a space in the centre and allow all teeth to space out, rather than leave a hole at the back and try to move all the teeth behind to space out. Sounds legit?

This first appointment was at the end of Jan. My next appointment was 9th March 2013 - a few weeks after CNY. I planned it nicely so that I could eat all the food during CNY, and do the cleaning and extractions after that. And I'd be ready to put on the braces!!! WOOT