sehick19

As I approach 30, the last thing I ever imagined that would be happening to bring in the new year would be me getting braces...again! This will be my 3rd time undergoing orthodontic treatment. Needless to say, the past two attempts have only masked my major problem (moderate overbite) instead of fixing it. The fix in the past always involved jaw surgery, but the cost was never covered by insurance, so it never happened.

At this point, I have extremely straight teeth, a beautiful smile really, but my overbite has always bothered me. I jut my lower jaw forward when pictures are taken to cover it up. It's not terrible, but it's enough that I wanted to do something about it. So, 3 days ago I had a consultation with a local orthodontist. Well, he found more issues than just my overbite that needed corrected, and can do it all by avoiding surgery. Here is a list of the issues he identified and listed as my general diagnosis...

Upper jaw too far forward on left
Upper teeth cover lower teeth moderately
Upper front teeth are off to the right
Lower front teeth are off to the left
Upper teeth are slightly crowded
Lower teeth are slightly crowded
Flared lower incisors

Apparently my previous orthodontist, instead of fixing my overbite, merely tipped my lower front teeth forward, to help mask it. Well, this is now a concern and has to be corrected. So, the bulk of my treatment will be to "tip" the bottom teeth back where they belong and then re-contour my jaw to correct the overbite.

I will give specifics about my treatment in a later blog. Anticipation for any of you reading this!

In the meantime, my thoughts are consumed with braces, and the orthodontic journey that will start in less than a month. I kinda wish it could happen tomorrow just to get it over with so I don't have to keep dwelling on it. I'm not scared, not in the least, I am excited more than anything.