No more turning! No more turning! I can finally stop turning my RPE!
I went into my appointment today expecting to be fitted for another RPE. Currently, the underbites on both my right and left sides are gone BUT the left side is at a cross bite right now. I beyond maxed out my RPE because it's currently measured at 11.5mm! Everyone was so surprised that the screw didn't fall apart since 10mm is usually considered the maximum. However, when my orthodontist checked my progress he said that I could stop turning. The braces will be able to finish the job by pushing the teeth on the left side out, which would fix the cross bite. Hence, I won't be turning my RPE anymore and will be getting my top braces on next week! After more than 5 months, this is really BIG news.
I really want to show you guys pictures of my teeth right now but I don't have my camera on me at the moment and won't have it for another week or so. Don't worry though I promise I will post tons of pictures when I get it back.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
"But your teeth aren't even bad..."
A: "Just a heads up, if I sound like I have a speech impairment it's because I'm wearing an expander"
B: "An expander??"
A: "Yeah, a jaw expander."
B: "A what?"
A: "Oh... it's because I'm getting braces soon"
B: "What?!?! But your teeth aren't even bad..."
Have anyone experienced a similar conversation like this? I have... a few times now. At first, I thought people were just being nice by saying that my teeth didn't look that bad. However, the volume of these responses have been increasing as of late. It must be noted here that there are have also been many who don't say this and happily agree that braces is the way to go. However, as time goes on and I ponder about it more, I finally came up with a few reasons why people might have responded in this manner:
1. My severely rotated canines are very noticeable but my lower lip covers them when I smile. Hence, no one notices them.
2. I have lived with these teeth for 22 years and have seen them everyday. Hence, not everyone sees them (and notices how bad they are) everyday.
3. No one (that I know of) is obsessive with teeth as I am. Since starting treatment I've started to notice how bad (and good) some people's teeth are. Hence, no one obsesses and notices my teeth like I do.
4. People are actually just being nice because there aren't many responses one can say after someone tells you that they're getting braces. I've gotten a few "nice..." or "braces are expensive right?" responses though. Hence, there are too much nice people.
5. My teeth aren't that bad. Although I think they are. Hence, my negativity is the problem.
Whatever the reason, I have to admit that it nice to hear from people that they previously didn't think that my teeth were THAT bad looking. Cheers to those individuals!
B: "An expander??"
A: "Yeah, a jaw expander."
B: "A what?"
A: "Oh... it's because I'm getting braces soon"
B: "What?!?! But your teeth aren't even bad..."
Have anyone experienced a similar conversation like this? I have... a few times now. At first, I thought people were just being nice by saying that my teeth didn't look that bad. However, the volume of these responses have been increasing as of late. It must be noted here that there are have also been many who don't say this and happily agree that braces is the way to go. However, as time goes on and I ponder about it more, I finally came up with a few reasons why people might have responded in this manner:
1. My severely rotated canines are very noticeable but my lower lip covers them when I smile. Hence, no one notices them.
2. I have lived with these teeth for 22 years and have seen them everyday. Hence, not everyone sees them (and notices how bad they are) everyday.
3. No one (that I know of) is obsessive with teeth as I am. Since starting treatment I've started to notice how bad (and good) some people's teeth are. Hence, no one obsesses and notices my teeth like I do.
4. People are actually just being nice because there aren't many responses one can say after someone tells you that they're getting braces. I've gotten a few "nice..." or "braces are expensive right?" responses though. Hence, there are too much nice people.
5. My teeth aren't that bad. Although I think they are. Hence, my negativity is the problem.
Whatever the reason, I have to admit that it nice to hear from people that they previously didn't think that my teeth were THAT bad looking. Cheers to those individuals!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Another expander?
The title tells the whole story. It's possible and very likely that I am going to get fitted for another RPA. The reason is because my teeth have not moved as far as was initially hoped. Although they have moved approximately 10 mm so far, it is not far enough. This is especially relevant to my left side, which you can see from previous pictures that its movement are much slower than that of the right side.
Currently, I'm still turning my RPA but I should be done soon. I'm not sure how I'll know when to stop. I'm hypothesizing that either there won't be a hole for me to insert the stick or the stick will get stuck when I try to turn.
I was feeling a little bummed out when I was first told the news. I don't know after a few months I was kind of anticipating braces. Maybe I'm dorky but I was excited to know that I was getting braced. Oh well. I will be braced eventually.
Currently, I'm still turning my RPA but I should be done soon. I'm not sure how I'll know when to stop. I'm hypothesizing that either there won't be a hole for me to insert the stick or the stick will get stuck when I try to turn.
I was feeling a little bummed out when I was first told the news. I don't know after a few months I was kind of anticipating braces. Maybe I'm dorky but I was excited to know that I was getting braced. Oh well. I will be braced eventually.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Happiness for change.
Happy 2012 everyone! Just thought I get that out of the way first. Now onto the teeth.
Above are pictures showing the distance that my RPA has moved so far. It's approximately >7mm at the moment. As I've mentioned before, the average maximum distance is approximately 10 mm. My guess at this point is that I will finish turning the full 10 mm in early February. Hopefully by then I will finally be braced.
Nevertheless before the braces I'm going to have to get both my bottom two first pre-molars removed. This is because I need to create the appropriate space for my crowded canine teeth to turn back into their positions. I heard that canines are the hardest type of teeth to move due to their long roots. This is interesting because during my initial consultation with the orthodontist he commented on how long all the roots on my teeth were. At the time, I wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not so I just smiled back at him. For those who may be curious, the picture on top of the blue x ray are not of my teeth. I found that on google.
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| Turn #2 |
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| Turn #34 |
Above are pictures showing the distance that my RPA has moved so far. It's approximately >7mm at the moment. As I've mentioned before, the average maximum distance is approximately 10 mm. My guess at this point is that I will finish turning the full 10 mm in early February. Hopefully by then I will finally be braced.
Nevertheless before the braces I'm going to have to get both my bottom two first pre-molars removed. This is because I need to create the appropriate space for my crowded canine teeth to turn back into their positions. I heard that canines are the hardest type of teeth to move due to their long roots. This is interesting because during my initial consultation with the orthodontist he commented on how long all the roots on my teeth were. At the time, I wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not so I just smiled back at him. For those who may be curious, the picture on top of the blue x ray are not of my teeth. I found that on google.
So far, my experiences feel as if I'm taking a small road trip just before I venture on a grand journey. Five months with the RPA before I can finally get braces. However, time is flying by. To get by I have the habit of always imagining the end result (having a Hollywood smile hehe), which always gives me the motivation to keep turning my RPE. For those who are currently using an RPE or have been lucky enough to have used one (sarcasm), you probably know what I mean. Every other week or so when I turn it and notice the very little movement that has occurred I can't help but smile to myself. I don't think this type of happiness can be replicated often --- happiness for change.
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