11 Sep 2012

Hi, I'm Ianne. I'm 25 years old and I just had my braces installed this morning. But first, I'd like to show you how my teeth looked like without braces. 

Here's the awful picture from my previous Orthodontist:

The photo was taken on 29 Feb 2012. I had all 32 teeth then.

After a few months, I had all 4 wisdom teeth extracted (all impacted) in 2 separate surgeries, scheduled 2 weeks apart. It was a very gory experience!

As you can see on the photo, it's not much when it comes to crookedness--but it's a big deal for me. As I grew older, it got worse. And you might also notice that I don't have the correct bite which sometimes cause indigestion if I eat hard types of food or if I don't chew my food longer than I should.

Unfortunately, my mom couldn't afford braces during my teenage years. So now that I'm earning on my own, I decided to go for it. 

On my first appointment a few weeks ago (with my new Orthodontist), another set of photographs plus 2 x-rays were taken & impressions were made. According to my Ortho, the treatment (in my case) could take 18 months or less, depending on how my teeth will respond to the treatment. He suggested extraction of my 4 premolars (bicuspids) but, in my case, he also reiterated that it isn't necessary (just like what my previous Orthodontist said). The purpose of the extraction is only to improve my facial profile and the decision is up to me. I decided to opt out of the extraction, since I only have 28 teeth left.

The next appointment I had was this morning from 9:30 to 11:00 for the installation of the brackets & arch wires. Luckily, my Orthodontist did not use spacers on my teeth (I heard those hurt a lot). He did not put molar bands as well. Anyway, I just thought that maybe I don't need it (for now or for the entire treatment, I've no idea).

Here's a photo of my first day with ceramic upper & lower braces:

I've read online that Clear or White ligatures stain easily, so I chose Light Blue. 

The red and blue dots on the brackets have now disappeared (I think they're just indicators as to which tooth they're supposed to be glued on to). Anyway, it's been 9 hours since the installation of the 'appliance' and I couldn't chew on anything. Even speaking is painful whenever my lips touch my braces. I also find it disgusting that so much saliva sort of "clings" on to the spaces between the wire and brackets (as you can see in the photo). I feel like there's soap inside my mouth because of the saliva forming into bubbles. And as much as I want to get rid of it, there's nothing I can do about it. I do hope this 'bubbly' thing is temporary and will soon return to normal once I get used to my braces.