Week 70 with the Damon Braces

Summary: Pain lasted for three days this time around

Pain lasted 1 day longer than normal but the latter days of pain was actually pleasurable. It is actually already the 4th day and I still feel a very slight pain and I can't eat anything too hard yet.

What has happened so far? I can feel that my front teeth have come back a tiny bit because I can touch a little bit with my lower teeth. I also think that my lower teeth shifted a tiny bit back to the left undoing some of the work the rubber bands did in the last 6weeks. I also really hope my gap is closing and continues to close. 6 more months is all I can take with braces.

These pictures were taken the day after my ortho appointment. They were taking without the rubber bands.

Week 70 - Ortho Appointment

Summary: I am all rubberized

I just got back from my ortho appointment and decided to give a quick update. I just realized I did not write or post pictures since my last ortho appointment 6 weeks ago but it has been really busy for me lately :(. Sorry!!!

Here is my quick update of what was done to me today:
1) New wires on upper teeth again (went back to the strongest wire with the little hooks)
2) New side rubber bands (the ones I don't replace daily) on the bottom right and left side
3) No more spring on my upper left side (they are trying to close that big hole)
4) New side rubber bands (the ones I don't replace daily) on the top right and left side
5) New daily bands on left and right side.
6) New power chain on front teeth to close small gaps

These are all pretty vague but I will update later this week with pictures. I sense a really painful day today and tomorrow with all of these changes.

Week 64 - My Ortho Appointment

Summary: Itchy teeth

I kind of lost track of how many ortho appointments I've had so far. It would be kind of cool to compare my treatment period to that stated on the Damon Braces website.

My 30 minute visit, which usually only lasts for 15 minutes turned out to be a 40 minute visit this time around. After I got in my wires were taken off and I was asked if I wanted to brush my teeth. At that point in time, I really did. I am sure there were a lot of left over food particles stuck inside the brackets as I smelled a bad smell when the wires were taken out. Here are the things that were done afterward:

1) Wires taken out: Pretty standard at this point to make adjustments although in my last appointment the ortho said these were my last set of wires which probably means these are the strongest ones they have or use.


2) Upper left incisor had the bracket readjusted: Yup, I knew the bracket was not positioned right. I actually think it could still use more adjusting but we will see where it stands after 6 weeks.


3) Lower incisors were filed: I was frankly scared when he was filing in between my teeth. I was afraid he would it my gums and I'd be bleeding to death. But apparently this was to help bring my front teeth back a little so that there would be a less of an overbite with the upper teeth. This seems to have worked as my lower front teeth moved back immediately with the rubber bands


4) Stepped back and go a new archwire on the top: As my incisor bracket was readjusted, I got an older wire. This wire is probably not as stiff as the last wire. It also doesn't have the little hooks.


5) Lower archwire was manually re-adjusted: It it is pretty interesting how the orthodontist will reuse the same wire but will bend it however they want so that the teeth move accordingly. In my case, my ortho bent both sides of the lower wire in a "steps" shape. This will probably help level out my molars (as I mentioned before one of them seemed to be higher than the others).

6) No change with rubberbands: I was asked to continue to use the rubber bands

My next appointment is going to be in 6 weeks. As you might have noticed, the time between appointments is shortening. I think I started off with 10 weeks, then 8 weeks, then 7 weeks and now it is down to 6 weeks.

Progress pictures

As promised, here are my latest progress pictures. Slight differences, but definitely progress!!

Week 63 with the Damon Braces

Summary: My teeth are almost aligned!

In a couple of days I'll be going back to the ortho for my next appointment. It has been a long journey with my braces and I wanted to summarize it below.

1) Lower left teeth used to be leaning inwards

2) Upper left teeth used to be leaning inwards

3) Teeth weren't all level

4) Teeth were not centered

5) Front teeth were right on top of each other

Much progress has been made so far. I think I am almost there!! The only really noticeable difference is that I have a crooked smile. Sounds weird but it is because I still have a cross bite on my left side which makes my left teeth seem higher than those on my right.

The pictures above were taken a few days ago.

Week 61 with the Damon Braces

Summary: Slight soreness on my lower left molars but with much progress!

This week is already week 61 which is equivalent to 14 months (8 months more to go). The past few weeks have been pretty good so far. There were a couple of days I totally forgot to wear my rubber bands. I did freak a little but whatever. It probably wasn't good that I forgot, but I am sure it doesn't mean that all the work done in previous days was wasted.

The pictures for this week are a little blurry so just look at them in their thumbnail size.


Progress: if you compare my current pictures to the last ones I posted you will most definitely see that my underbite is pretty much gone!!!! My front teeth are definitely in front of my lower teeth. they are no longer right on top of each other. However, my upper left teeth still need to move out further. They seem to be really stubborn!

I will be posting another progress picture with all of my snapshots soon... soon... I promise

How do Rubber Bands work?

I found these really great youtube clips from MolenOrthodontics which did a great job showing how rubber bands work.

Overbite Correction Using Rubber Bands & Braces

Underbite Correction Using Rubber Bands

I also found out I have what they call "Class 3 elastics." This is exactly what I have to do 3 times a day! Clip from mikez117

Class 3 elastics

Week 59 with the Damon Braces

Summary: Back to normal

I can't believe it has been 2 weeks since my last ortho appointment. I was just asking myself this weekend when I had my rubberbands put on and I really thought it was just last Tuesday but I checked my calendar today and it has been 2 weeks! I guess time flies when you are used to something. LOL.

Nothing much has happened. I do feel a very very slight tension whenever I have my rubber band on but that is really negligible. I have gotten used to it and sometimes I forget I have it on!

Yesterday, I totally forgot to put a new rubber band after brushing my teeth in the morning and went off to work without any supply :(. I didn't realize it was missing until 2 hours later! So I spent the entire day without rubber bands. Hopefully, this won't set back any type of progress made.

Also, I am supposed to replace them whenever I brush my teeth. But technically, I don't brush my teeth after every meal because I am lazy so I don't know if this will affect my progress. So, I think I'll just replace them after every meal or at least 3 times a day.

5 more weeks before my next ortho appointment!

Week 57 Update

Summary: Moody

It has been 24 hours since my ortho appointment and I am feeling very irritated. I woke up this morning and took off the band to brush my teeth. I replaced it with a new one and then had breakfast without taking the band out (which is ok to do I think).

My lower front teeth feel like they are teething. It hurts a little, it itches and it is uncomfortable. In addition to that my bite has changed. If I slowly bite down, I can feel that my molars on the right side don't sit well against each other. Maybe this is a good sign of moving teeth but it feels awkward. Actually, I do see that my upper and lower teeth are a millimeter more aligned. :D

Let's wait and see.

Week 57 with the Damon Braces

Summary: Feeling elastic with rubber bands!

Today was my ortho appointment. Hurray! The good news is that now it seems like my appointments are every 7 weeks and not every 8 weeks anymore - at least for the next one, it will be in 7 weeks and so was the previous one.

A lot of things happened today.

1) New archwire - my lower teeth got new wires. My ortho said these would be my final wires for my lower teeth. I had already gotten my final wires for my upper teeth. Now both my upper and lower teeth have wires with extra antennae for rubber bands (as I discovered today)

2) Adjusted archwire - my upper teeth are still not opening up. The left side needs to wide out to be where it should be. These were also my last wires. So what did the ortho do? Did I get new wires? Nope, he took them out and with pliers he twisted the left side to be a wider arc. LOL. That was just funny.

3) New rubber bands - I got a total of 3 rubber bands. 2 of them are simmetrical - one on each side of the lower teeth. These are, as you can see in the pictures, to bring my teeth closer together. I think it is also bringing my lower teeth back a bit. These I do not have to change and will stay there until my next appointment. I can see a lot of food getting stuck in the near future. The 3rd rubber band is going from my 1st molar on the upper right to the antenna on the lower right. This band is supposed to help shift my lower teeth so that the upper and lower teeth are centered. It has another function too but I forgot :D. The annoying part is that I have to take it off to eat and brush and replace it with a new one every time. I also got a little tool to put it on.

I also felt a little embarrassed today because as the assistant took off the old archwire I could smell something coming out of my mouth probably from dirty stuff stuck inside the brackets (not my fault!).

Week 52 with the Damon Braces

Summary: 5 more weeks until my next appointment

I took these pictures last week so I am calling this entry 'Week 52.' Wow, it has almost been a year. I think tomorrow will be my 1 year anniversary with the Damon Braces.

From the pictures, I think there is a slight improvement on my upper left side. It is probably minimal, but I think the improvement is there!

Here are my pictures for week 52. This time around I went for a scary shot.

Week 51 with the Damon Braces

Summary: Feeling great and slowly seeing my teeth coming together

The next couple of days following the change of archwires were abnormal. Why? Basically I wasn't in much pain. First of all, even though my lower teeth got a new set of wires, I did not feel any pain. Does that mean my lower teeth are done moving? Are they in the position they should be? Are they too old and stiff that the wires can't move them anymore? Truth is, I don't really care as I think they are perfect the way they are now (except for a small gap that needs to be fixed with some power chain or bands).

My upper teeth experienced something different. Only my 3rd molar on my left side was painful. The remainder of my upper teeth did not feet a change! After 2 days it felt like it was back to normal. Hopefully this is a good sign!

This morning I woke up and had a funny sensation in my mouth. I felt that my bite was actually perfect but when I looked in the mirror I noticed it still needs some fixing :(.  Maybe the power of the mind will make them move faster. LOL.

That's it for now.

Week 50 with the Damon Braces - Another Visit

Summary: New funky archwires and more pain :D


I went to the ortho this morning for my appointment. It lasted 15 minutes as usual. I got in, got a chair and I immediately got the ortho to take a look at it. First thing he said was "is it done yet?" Which is exactly what I wanted to ask. hahaha.

Afterward he said we will be changing both the wires and hopefully on my next appointment I will be getting rubber bands. Currently, I can't get the bands yet because my upper teeth needs to overlap the lower. I can't wait!!!

Once I got the new archwires on, I felt a tightness on my teeth (the best feeling in the world). I also noticed there were 2 wires poking out which was kind of weird - see the pictures below.

So far, I haven't had too much pain as compared to my other ortho visits. Usually, by lunch time my teeth would be really sore, but today there were slightly sore. I still had a hard time biting but not as bad as in the past.

At the end of the visit I asked, "How much more do I have?" and unfortunately I heard the words "11 months". I was not happy at all. At this point, I thought I had about 8 months left because he said we were half way through. So I guess my treatment is going to be about 22 months long. darn.

Next appointment will be in 7 weeks (not the usual 8 weeks).

Week 49 with the Damon Braces

Summary: Mild pain comes and goes.

It is very awkward - every 2 weeks for the past couple of months, I have been having a slight pain on my upper left incisor. It feels good because it still needs to move outward and it only lasts for a day at the most.

My overall progress seems to be OKAY. My entire upper left teeth need to move out such that it is on the outside of my lower teeth. At the moment, I still have some sort of under bite - see the pictures below. Also, even though my lower archwires weren't changed, I can definitely tell my lower teeth have moved as a see a new gap between my incisor and the tooth before it.

The other day I also did a boo-boo. I dislocated the end of my  archwire - the little bit connected to the molar. I was basically eating almonds and I chewed away. I then was using my tongue to clean out the bits and pieces and noticed the wire at the back was bent. I went to the restroom to check it out and and the almond was string enough to bend the strong archwire. Now, that explains why we aren't supposed to eat hard foods. LOL. It took a little bit of effort, but I was able to get it back in place.

In a couple of days I will be having my next appointment. Hurray!

Week 44 with the Damon Braces

Summary: Not much excitement going on.

Now that I am past the halfway point with my braces, it seems like everything is slowing down. I was feeling a very slight pain on my upper-left incisor but that was only for a day. It is weird, once I feel it hurting I would push it out with my toungue to try to make it move even more. That is just dumb, I know but it helps psychologically.

Sorry folks. I don't have pictures this month as I lend my camera out to a friend :(. But, I will take pictures as soon as I get it back.

I forgot to mention that in my last dental appointment the dentist found 3 cavities. He said I need to coordinate with my orthodontist and have the wires removed for them to fix the cavities. The entire process will probably be a pain which is why I still have not done it yet. It would probably take the entire morning - driving to my ortho, having my wires taken off, driving to my dentist, fixing my cavities, then driving back to my ortho to put back my wires. I might just wait until my next ortho which would be coming up in a month and a half. :D. I am in no rush!

Dental Appointment #2

Summary: I got my 2nd cleaning with my braces on. They hurt this time around :(

Today was my second cleaning and regular checkup with my dentist. Last time I had it, I had my teeth cleaned but that was pretty quick (and maybe not very detailed). It was actually done by the dentist!!!!

This time around, the hygienist actually did the cleaning. She spent an entire hour cleaning my teeth and I could taste the blood. A few things she noted were:
- gums are slightly receeded, but not too much (they have been like that for at least 2 years as far as I remember)
- gums are a bit swollen (I had no idea)

So after an hour of painful cleaning, she told me I needed to stimulate my gums because they are bleeding which indicates a sign of unhealthy gums. By stimulating them they will get a tighter grip to the teeth as well. She gave me this tool with a rubber tip and asked me to basically go through the gum line with it and that was it.

We'll see how it goes, it feels a little sore now.

Oh yes, she also spent time cleaning the space between my gum and my last molar and I just kept wondering, "Am I supposed to floss that too? Is it possible?

Week 41 Part 2 - Ortho Appointment

Summary: Interesting day at the Ortho with new tools

My day at the ortho a few days ago was pretty fun. I got in a couple of minutes early but was seated right away. I usually go early in the morning to avoid the crowd.

Once I got seated I was asked to go to the x-ray room and got another panoramic x-ray. The interesting thing is that I don't get a vest. Is that normal? Maybe these new x-ray machines are better?

Afterwards, my ortho took a look and looked at my brackets. He then got one of his tools (the one used to cut off extra wires) and took off 3 brackets off the upper teeth. It was not painful at all!!! All it took was a little be of shaking and they came right off. Then came the purple washing liquid - they cleaned my teeth and re-glued the 3 brackets.

Later I got my new archwire. Interestingly enough, the new wire had a section with a spring coil. The ortho said this was actually to open up my gap. Also, my power chain was removed and I was given wire cables.

The teeth didnt' really hurt that much. It only hurt for a day. There are no drastic changes but I did notice my incisors have now gaps with their adjacent teeth.

Chipped tooth

I forgot to mention I chipped my front tooth somehow. Take a close look at my latest post and look at my front upper tooth. There is a slight piece of tooth missing!

This seemed to have happened about 2 weeks ago and I only noticed while I was flossing. It feels rough and sharp but there is nothing I can really do. The funny thing is that I got braces to prevent exactly this chipping on my front teeth! So I guess I got my braces on a little too late :(

I also told the orthodontist today and he said the dentist will fix it. Lucky for me, my dental appointment for regular cleaning is next week and I am sure he will get that fixed as well.

Week 41 with the Damon Braces

Summary: It has been an awkward 2 months

I just had my ortho appointment today but I wanted to write about my experience over the last couple of months in this entry.

As usual, it was normal in the beginning. It hurt for about 2 days this time around which is a little more than the past few times. Afterward it was normal again and I was back to my normal self. However, about a month in I started feeling more pain, just like it did the day they changed the wire but this time around it was on a different too. It actually got pretty bad and it hurt for 2 days! Even though I was happy because this really meant my teeth were moving but it was just totally unexpected. Then about 2 weeks later I got more pain but this time it was a slight pain and only lasted about a day.

So the moral of the story is... your teeth never stop moving with braces :D.

Movement wise, I don't see much improvement now that I am right about midpoint. Teeth movement will become more subtle for sure.

On a side note, the rubber power chain did stain a little. As you can see from the pictures below they are a little bit yellowish -probably from all the coffee I drink. But, it is not as bad and still blends in with my teeth.

Here are pictures I took this morning before going to the ortho.

Week 37 with the Damon Braces

Summary:Feels like I have a cavity or is that the feeling of molars moving?

Let me start of my talking about my weird pain. A few days ago I started feeling a slight pain on gum area by my upper right part by the molars. It want really gum pain but more like the pain you feel when the dentist is drilling your teeth to extract a cavity (without anesthesia). Every now and again I feel this pain when I jump or shake my head. However, I don't feel any pain eating, drinking cold water, or any other symptoms of cavity. For now, I am going to assume it is the pain of moving molars unless told otherwise at my next teeth cleaning

It has been about 4 weeks since my last ortho appointment and I feel like my teeth have taken a step backwards. I am not alarmed - it is just probably the way it works. The gaps in the front have closed (but not by the side - and it probably never will). However, now my bite is pretty much back to the way it used to be. My upper and lower teeth are hitting against each other. I also don't really see much progress with regards to my upper teeth widening out. Yes, I know, they are still moving even though we don't know it but the movements have slowed down drastically. I might just have to do another post showing time stamped pictures to keep myself motivated.

Also, I can't help thinking that I could have waiting 2 months and gotten clear brackets at my ortho. Why didn't the assistant tell me they were going to offer them?

So far the powerchains are still barely noticeable. Not much staining from the coffee I drink daily.