First off, I got my first wire changed. Contrary to the common belief, which I myself was a victim of, one's wire does not get "tighten" when you go to the orthodontist for a readjustment. Rather, the whole wire gets replaced with a new and thicker one. What essentially is happening is that the wires are constantly exerting pressure onto the teeth, which causes them to move and be straighten. Thicken wire means more exertion of force onto the teeth. Check out this animation to know what I mean. Similar to the first placement of the wire, there was initial pain that lasted for about 2-3 days then my teeth didn't hurt at all. Here's a picture of my new "thicker" wire.
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| 1 month 1 week |
So far, there has been some movement (see below) and I have felt it. For instance, the two adjacent teeth to my front teeth used to be turned but they have started to straighten up. You can't really tell in the above picture but they are starting to. Remember the left side of my mouth that hasn't had as much movement as the right? Well, it's finally moving rapidly too. The orthodontist was right when he said I didn't need to turn the RPE anymore.
However, remember when I was excited to find out that I didn't have to turn the RPE anymore? Also remember when I mentioned how lucky I was to have my upper molars move out so far with just the RPE? Well, it seems like there is a negative side to all of this. When I was at the orthodontist changing my wire, they noticed that the RPE had dislodged itself into my upper gums (the metal bottom piece) --- so much as to have left many imprints in them when it was removed! This was definitely not part of the plan. The current RPE that I am wearing now was made into a removable one until I get a new device. I was advised to only remove it during meals and brushing my teeth, if I wanted. So far I have only removed it twice, which felt good but it can take a while to orient the device when placing it back on. For this reason, I don't remove it much. On the other hand, I was fitted for another RPE-like device that has a nicer design that would help keep my teeth from retracting but at the same time not dislodge itself into my gums. Yup, that meant I had to get another impression (I nearly gauged...twice). The order was placed so I will be getting it next week.
Next week is also when I get both of my first pre-molars removed! I'm a little scared to be honest but they are being removed in the office and I will be getting anaesthesia so it's going to be okay....I hope.
Last off, here are two pictures to compare my progress so far. It's hard to decipher the little changes that have happened from these pictures but there are nonetheless changes, which makes me happy. I find that it helps to flip between these two pictures to really notice the changes.
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| Day 6 |
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| 1 month 1 week |
