braces round 2

[emmie]

Hey everybody! I was so glad to find this site, first of all. Well I'm 21 doing the braces thing again. When I was 14 years old I got braces and they came off at 15.. or maybe 16, very close to that time anyway. When I had them off it was a "surprise" from my dentist, he warned me that some teeth were not in correct position on top, but hey, i was young and was like OKAY YEA LETS GET THEM OFF. Factors such as my dentist retiring who did my treatment, wisdom teeth (recently removed), and my immaturity of not wearing my retainer I have some unpleasant crowding on top and my midline shifting, seems to be getting more noticeable.
Made 2 consultation appointments w/ orthodontists, had my first one and according to him it may only take 9mo - 1yr w/ ceramic braces.. I'm on the fence about Invisalign, im afraid that I would be too tempted to take it out and I refuse to mess up anything this time around. Plus ortho work is expensive in my area, $5300 for my treatment time and extent, he said Invisalign would be more.

Looking forward to reading and checking everything out

[Phantom Muse]

Here's to a lifetime of retainer wear!

I am in my second round of treatment, too, and I use Invisalign now. I do think that Invisalign is less convenient than regular braces (which I had the first go around) because you cannot eat anything at all without taking out the aligners (and that is no fun during the first few days of a new tray for me). I find, as a result, that I rush through meals. However, treatment time for me this time around with Invisalign will be MUCH shorter than it would with regular braces. This, along with not wanting the appearance of regular braces, helped me make the decision to go with Invisalign. Since treatment is temporary, I am able to make the commitment to comply (because it won't last forever!)

It is good that you are thinking this through so carefully. It is very important to be compliant with Invisalign and wear them 22 hours or so each day, so think on it some more and decide what will be most comfortable for your lifestyle.

By the way, my ortho charges the same for Invisalign as he does regular braces ($5050).

Good luck!

[Sunny]

Hi and welcome Emmie!

It's great you're getting your teeth corrected while you're so young and here's to your teeth staying put this time, with commited retainer wear for life.

Here's to your treatment going smoothly!

[emmie]

Thank you both!
Committed retainer wear for life will be no problem this time =)

[emmie]

Just got damon clear braces put on my top teeth today! WOW its just as achy as I remember it! I will say that the damon clear braces dont seem to be as scratchy as the traditional ones i had when I was younger. I dont know if its because my mouth is still callused up or because they aren't as rough. Anyway, although my teeth ache its like I went back into "braces mode", im already use to the feeling of them being there again.
I am amazed at how clear they are. Although you can still see the metal wire they are hardly visible from a distance and in pictures... But im already excited to get them off! haha

I will only have them on the top and the price I paid was less than 1000 w/ insurance. There is a small possibility he may have to put them on the bottom if my bite gets off, but he said that is just a small chance. The ortho I ended up going with was cheaper than the first guy I went to but seemed to be more thorough and he explained things much better, I just seemed to trust him more. So a message to potential brace-es, the most expensive is not always the best!

[Sunny]

Great your treatment has started Emmie!

It's generally agreed that ceramic brackets are smoother than metal ones. The ceramic brackets are slightly larger than the metal ones, which also helps make them more comfortable. Think of how sharp a small needle is, compared to a thicker one. Many people find this a tough idea to grasp ... but it's a truth.

Good luck with your uppers doing all that's necessary to get your teeth corrected quickly and without your lowers needing to be treated!

[emmie]

okay, everything i said about them not scratching me as much i take back! I went through about 4 days of getting cut up, i think its over now. I have already gone through a lot of wax! I noticed that my teeth have already been moving, i cant tell by looking but i could tell when i flossed in the bigger and smaller spaces between teeth.

I loaded some pics up in an album today. In a way im kind of excited to get them going!

Anyone know why the wire is thick on that one tooth next to my front tooth (im not sure of official teeth names, forgive me )

[Sunny]

Hi Emmie ... great that the wax is doing it's job and your mouth is feeling better.

It's fantastic that you can feel the changes ... this is a great way to get motivated.

About the wire, do you mean there looks to be a thick piece of wire in one place by your incisor? It may be a 'stop' ... or have a name similar to that. We use them if we think the archwire will move too much, as that would mean it would get off centre and therefore not correct the teeth the way it should. The 'stop' won't allow the wire to go through the bracket, so it has the affect of stopping it from moving.

Great that you're excited ... that's always good to read!

[emmie]

Thanks Sunny!
I wondered what that thick wire was for, i didn't remember seeing one there when i first had braces.