Day 79

I thought I would do a quick update with a progress picture....
My teeth don't seem to feel any pressure from the last turns that the orthodontist did, but my face feels it.
Just a dull ache across the bridge of my nose and cheekbones, the last of the dreaded expansion pain!
I'm pretty excited about getting the expander removed. I am trying to work out all my appointments so that I don't have too much of a delay between visits after it comes off.... Fingers crossed that my usually booked out dentist squeezes me in somewhere...

So, the picture...
These are my teeth, they aren't pleasant, but a few of them only have a matter of time before they're gone for good and making much needed space for the others. All that you can really see from this shot is the expansion of my actual palate. Quite significant if i say so myself, without surgery and on a 27 year old woman, who says that it doesn't work?

My smile is included, this is to show the crookedness of it and the general crowding of my teeth at the front.

Hopefully in a few months time, I will have a much better profile for photographing!

Fingers crossed!

day 75

So today I had another orthodontist appointment..
I got some really good news :)
And some not so great.

The expander is doing its job nicely. After turning the key a few times at today's visit my orthodontist told me that my expansion is now complete! Hallelujah! No more turning, bye bye spanner!
:) I now need to leave the device in place for a while for everything to retain its positioning.
He also said that my next visit, he will take the expander out! I was so happy to hear this, I wasn't holding up much hope for talks about removal today and yet here I was getting ready to hear when to book the procedure. I am booked in for the 17th April, that makes my total time with the palate expander to be (at a quick glance) 131 days, four months, one and a half weeks. I have to say that I am pretty happy with that! In roughly six weeks time, I will be expander free!

So that is my good news, finally I will be able to feel my mouth, my tongue will no longer rest against a piece of metal and I shall never have to turn that thing again!

As we were talking about it all, my ortho was saying how nice my teeth are starting to look. *blush
I have to say that I agree, much more attractive than even a few weeks ago!
My smile is broader, my teeth are starting to move into position, bar those horrible second incisors and after my dentist removed the mottling they are looking much healthier also.
This is all good, they are looking nice and most are healthy.
But my lower central incisor (i believe I have mentioned before about this one having some receding in the gums) seems to cause my orthodontist some concern. He went on to tell me that he is starting to think it would be a much safer and better idea to remove this tooth rather than my first premolar on that side. This is because of the receding gum, I will never get it back and it is looking quite low. This tooth is at much larger risk of decay and future extraction than any other tooth in my mouth, so he thinks it is best to be rid of it rather than take the healthy premolar, and then need this removed in the future anyway.
I asked him how it would look and how we would fill the gap and he showed me his teeth!
He had braces about 6 years ago and had crowding at the front, rather than remove two premolars, he had one incisor removed and the braces filled the gaps with the surrounding incisors and canines. His teeth did not look off-set or anything like that, just straight healthy teeth.
He then told me that it would leave quite an unattractive gap once he did remove it so it was also my choice. I agree with him, after all of this I would rather lose the tooth which is least healthy, the gap will be ugly, but its on the bottom arch and I can hide it easily.


Anyway I will post again soon when I get over the excitement of knowing the expander will soon be a thing of the past!! Bring on the braces, they will be a walk in the park!

Day 72

I just read my last post and realised that I probably should update, and edit it! It is terribly written! (possibly due to the fact it was done at 11pm on a mobile device) My apologies....
It is early morning now so I will give it a better go this time and check my spelling and grammar before posting.

I decided to post again because things have changed since then, a whole 8 days ago! My Expander has decided to remind me of its presence almost on a daily basis now....
Even after I have stopped turning!
My mouth is more then aware that there is something in there.
I could really only explain this as an aching jaw, it feels as though the rest of my teeth are trying to catch up with the molars the expander is bonded to. These molars sit out further in my arch, probably due to the fact that they are the ones taking all the force when the spanner is turned. I really don't know if the other teeth are following suit, it feels as though they are, but I am not sure if they should be moving... Non-Surgical Adult Expansion, why can it not be a straightforward process? Oh that's right, because we are humans and must all be different....

For the first time since my first turn of the spanner, I caved and took pain medication... Not just once but twice this week, and for the whole duration of those days. After my very first turn of the spanner at home, I realised the pressure wasn't so bad and didn't take anything prior to turning again. I have been quite proud of the fact that I have done close to 50 turns of my expander, with no pain medication, as I need to minimise my use of them due to stomach problems.
This week I have dealt with the soreness in my mouth by taking medication, and suffered for it later with my stomach acting up horribly in response. It's a catch 22 situation, I have to decide if the pain meds really are worth the aftermath...
It's funny too, people can tell when you are in pain, I don't know how I let it show but my work colleagues are already on the ball. There is quite an age gap between us, most of them have had orthodontic work, or their teenage children did. They understand my lisping, running to the bathroom with a toothbrush and sometimes they even notice I am in pain before I do! -.- often, one of them will tell me 'your mouth is hurting today, your not as boppy!' Lol!
I am usually what some would call 'a bubbly person' I enjoy life, (even work, I am a preschool teacher, best job ever) and people quite often tell me I am happy and smile all the time, even with my teeth as they are... Hahah! This last week, I must have looked like I had lost my dog...

The expander is annoying me a lot. I dream about getting it removed often, not the actual procedure but afterwards. Being able to feel the inside of my mouth without metal being in the way!
Oh what a day that shall be! I will talk and sing and swallow and eat peacefully once again, hopefully better than before!

I have noticed that breathing through my nose is something I am doing a lot more now. I can get just as much air into my lungs by breathing via my nose, then my mouth! How exciting right?!?!?

My bite is still off, I think I have more teeth actually touching now, but they're molars. So my eating is still somewhat relatable to that of a baby T-Rex.

Anyway, a short post just to let you know that I haven't forgotten my expander.... It has its ways of reminding me that it's there, that it's changing things....

Oh the joy!!!

Day 64.

Two days have gone by since I have seen the dentist, i have to live through another 12 before my next orthodontic visit.
It's ok though, I haven't been noticing my expander, my jaw pain has eased a lot since I stopped turning the key. The only part that does bug me constantly now is the lifted expander arm (please see previous posts)
It hangs off like a little hook and I manage to get everything caught and stuck.
I have included a few links (ohhh go me!) which hopefully work and link to the YouTube vids that I have seen which show how things work and stuff.

The palate expander in this video is quite differently shaped to mine and has a key, not spanner. It also shows a gap forming between the two front teeth, my expansion has resulted in small gaps between all my molars and a tiny gap between the front upper two at the top, the bottoms of the two teeth are still touching. :/

http://youtu.be/UkOMI8eUNHk


I was complaining before, my Moaning Myrtle alter ego is here....
:)
But she only has a few small complaints.

My two upper front teeth were buffed two days ago at the dentist, these teeth felt quite tender yesterday. I didn't really notice until the afternoon as I was super busy at work, but once I did take note I wasn't keen on even rubbing my tongue over them. Gosh they look great though, well much better than before! I am starting to see them turn into 'normal' teeth, the bottom of the two teeth is starting to straighten and have less ridges, they are now white spot free and are sitting in the right position! I am still over the moon with the results of buffing them, I actually looked at them for longer than a few seconds.

In my last post I mentioned these spots and the dentist prescribing me 'tooth mousse' to use everyday.
Well vanilla isn't as trusty as I believed, I would describe the taste of this as being tolerable, rather than saliva inducing. Which is what it is supposed to do.
I put it on in bed after I have done brushing and flossing etc. I have learnt to use a cotton tip applicator because of the sheer crowding of my teeth, I rub the mousse over all teeth making sure that they are coated with the mousse and then refrain from spitting, swallowing and rinsing for at least 3-5 Minutes. Rinsing shouldn't be done at all. I then can't eat or drink anything for 30 mins so I usually go straight to sleep anyway. The taste is not pleasant, but it's not bad either, so it doesn't worry me too much.
The more saliva produced, the better the product works. So far I think it works ok, either way I have no white spots annoying me again yet, and shouldn't get any if its doing its god properly. He is a video that describes what tooth mousse does.

http://youtu.be/tcZQqheu-ps

When I got home from the dentist I could not stop looking at the two 'new' teeth at the front. Both my husband and I were examining them when we both noticed the crookedness of my smile. :(
My face has changed from the expander. Not drastically, but definitely enough for people close to me to notice. I have a broader face, which is good. The bad part is that my expansion is working better on the left, so the right has catching up to do. My smile looks crooked as a result.
Of course it is temporary, but I makes me nervous for future extractions and treatments. I have read a lot of information online in relation to the changes in facial structure from both upper palate expansion and extractions of the four first premolars. Most information is negative, but a few people stating expansion made them look better.
Removing teeth can alter the face as the canines,incisors and first premolars all provide lip and facial support, when removed the support can be lost and the face can have a sunken in appearance.
We have all seen people with that sunken in look, I now wonder if they have suffered from bad orthodontic work or a dentist who likes to pull teeth rather than heal them....
It all comes down to trusting my excellent orthodontist and dentist. Now I know they are both on the same page, I will have two people to blame if it goes terribly wrong...

Of course I am joking!!! They know a lot more than I do, have explained it and it is the patients choice to go ahead with the treatment....

Reading into it is both beneficial and not so, doubts can form that really are not relevant.

My treatment plan is on track and it is easy to understand. Much more so than what i had always thought would happen. I have always want my canines removed as they stick out the most and push the 2nd incisors back. I now know doing this would cause total loss of lip support, and is very rarely done in practice because of this. The first premolars are the better and safer choice and will leave a much less noticeable gap when they are extracted, with braces the two canines will move down in their place and the two incisors forward to sit in line with the front teeth.

Here is a video that shows the deal, these teeth closely resemble my upper teeth, especially at the front, (without my open bite problem) so it gives me a good idea of what is going to happen.

http://youtu.be/VeyAvem4p2w

I hope the videos work.
I'm sure I will post again soon, hopefully not for the next 12 days though!

Day 62, general dental check up with dentist.

Today I had my first appointment with the dentist lucky enough to extract my first four premolars in the near future.
I haven't had a general dental check up in well over 5 years, mostly due to visiting crap dentists in the past and giving up on the hope that anyone would care about my teeth, so I was looking forward to hearing about the general health of them rather than their positioning, especially from my husbands dentist who is pretty good, he has amazing things planned for him so I know I was going to safe hands.

They always ask you the general questions, health insurance, time since last dental check up, what bothers you about your teeth.
My main issues now that my crowding and bite is being fixed is my teeth's appearance, orthodontists don't remove stains or calculus. That and the fact that my teeth have white spots on them, I have never known what it is or how it got there, but it seriously has affected my confidence in relation to smiling and showing my teeth, as if the crookedness isn't enough!

After he had a look around in my mouth and made me bite a few times, he said that it looks like my expander is working well, my orthodontist was right to expand my arch and it will help a lot in the long run. My teeth are also handling it well and I do an excellent job at cleaning, he could see from my nice pink gums. Lol! I was smiling at that! I told him I had a waterpik and he said that was perfect for the job.

He wanted to look in my mouth again, this time checking my gums, which are all healthy except for the dropping I have at the front. It's still healthy, just needs to stop detaching from my tooth. He removed a small amount of calculus and told me to use a soft tooth brush at a 45' angle and gently massage the area when I brush to keep it healthy.

He also noticed what he called mottling on my two front incisors, or four incisors. This is what annoys me the most other than my crowding. It looks like horrible white stains. I was and still am so happy with the result after he buffed and polished them, no more white marks!
They have annoyed me for years.
He told me that this can be helped by using a tooth mousse, a topical creme
With bio-available calcium and phosphate. I can place it over my teeth after brushing before bed without rinsing.
It will help a lot when my bands go on, too! They had a few flavours of tooth mousse but I chose trusty vanilla, it's hard to get vanilla wrong.

X-rays were then done and he confirmed something I didn't want to know, my back left molar needs a filling. :(
Oh well.
Booked in in a few months for that, I am also on the standby list incase anything comes up.

He spoke to me for a good twenty minutes all up, asking questions about my teeth, the orthodontist and my treatment. He told me my journey will be an exciting one, he can see the expansion happening and says it looks really good. I have a class 1 malocclusion and my bite is classed as an open bite now after expansion. He thinks this may be a challenge to fix, as my front two teeth are already in the correct position, it's just they need to come in more. I don't know why but let's hope these bands are ready for me when I get braced.
I told him about the teeth I need extracted, and said that they will do all at once, two at a time, no big deal. He also said that I won't know myself once they are out, I will see some big changes in the coming months.
I left there with the calculus and stains that have been annoying me, gone, a wonderful sense of confidence and a considerably lighter purse ($28 for tooth mousse!) But all was worth it.
I like him, he got me excited, hopeful and polished off those pesky stains.

: D


- my expander arm has come off just as much as before, I have just on two weeks until I see the ortho so I am kind of considering getting some pliers and bending it back myself....
Of course, after spending $7000 I don't think I will tamper with it.
But it annoys me to the point of burning temptation, ahh. It may be doing a 'wonderful job' but it is NOT my friend!!!!

Day 59 one to go!

So I posted yesterday's post today.
I was wayyyyy tired when I wrote it and wanted to read it before publishing.
Any who it's up now.


As for today...
One turn to go.
I'm pretty excited about that, I feel like I should throw the stupid spanner (key) out of a very fast moving vehicle after tonight's turns....
But I can't because its a expensive spanner.... And I may need it again.
Hopefully next appointment, my ortho will tell me that I won't ever need it again!!!

Day 58, only two turns to go.

Day 58.
Only two turns left before I return to the orthodontist in 16 days time. I am very happy about that.
I think that my ortho was right when he said that the last of my turns would be the most painful. I have felt a lot of pressure recently, my teeth hurt when I eat food that is harder than a boiled egg. Also, my bite has changed so much it is impossible to eat politely. I really have given up on foods which I can't cut up because I just can't bite into anything. The only teeth which currently meet when I bite down are my back molars, no other teeth touch at all, this makes eating really hard when you are used to teeth that do bite efficiently.

I am quite the whinger.

So while your still listening......

My teeth have moved. Most notably, my molars which the expander is banded onto have moved the most. They are further out then my other teeth but still pointing downward, so I don't think they are 'tipping' to an angle, which is apparently unfavourable with adult expansion.

I have noticed that my gums are a lot smoother, I not longer have bumpy gums where my roots would be sticking out, instead my gums are nice and flat. I don't know if that's normal, I don't know if any of this is but it's a good sign.

My teeth just generally ache. This have a lot to do with turning the key of the expander and the teeth moving. When I had my short break over new year, my teeth felt so normal, I almost forgot I had an expander until I would eat something and get it stuck. So for now, I look forward to being brave enough to eat a crunchy roll or a piece of apple again, I am sure it will only be a few more days of this pain and aching before it stops again.

Plus the pain has been worthwhile this round of turns. I think I may have only done half turns a few times last round, this time every turn has been a 'full' turn and it definitely shows. My mouth both feels and looks bigger, and of what I can feel of inside, my palate has expanded quite a lot. I am hoping to hear at my next appointment that I will never have to turn it again, that will be my first milestone in my treatment. :)

I recently booked in to see my husbands dentist for future extractions. Once I have the expander removed, the first four premolars are being removed before being braced, so I have booked in to see him now to try and make sure that there is no lapse of time within my treatment, and I don't have to wait longer than necessary.
Anyway I have my first appointment with him on Thursday of this week, the entire practice there is just awesome, I am glad to spend my hard earned money there as they have treated both my husband and daughter wonderfully.
My orthodontist told me not to have my teeth cleaned before having my expander on as we were in a bit of a rush before Xmas and he didn't want to weaken the teeth prior to placing the expander. So I'm going to ask the dentist what he thinks about having a clean now it is on. I also have signs of receding gums at the front on the bottom and hope to have that sorted asap. I know it can cause quite serious symptoms and I am not paying for braces and a expander only to end up with no teeth anyway.
Fingers crossed for me.

I may just post again soon!