Tenth (and last!) Adjustment - April 9th, 2009 - THE DATE IS SET!

Okay, well, "adjustment" is a bit of a misnomer. I didn't really have anything adjusted; the only thing that's changed is my powerchains - same kind, just new ones.

I expected a quick visit, and it was. The biggest surprise was...Dr. D again! I swear I thought he retired. Anyway, the tech told him to "check for deband" and he spent a few long moments poking around my mouth and looking at stuff, and all the while I've got my fingers crossed and I'm hoping for the magic words. Finally he commented about the tiny triangular space between my front teeth and I explained it had always been there, I was used to it, didn't mind it, etc.

Dr. D: "Well, technically braces CAN correct that."
Me: "I really don't mind it."
Dr. D: "And we're on a deadline."
Me: "Yeah..."
Dr. D (to tech): "All right, well, give her new chains and take impressions for the bonded lingual, and she can come back in 1-2 weeks for deband."
Me (internally): "w00t!!!!!!"

So she took my old powerchains off and then got the tray ready for my impression. It wasn't the same two-toned playdough they used on me way back when - this was some kind of powder mixed with water into a putty. I was seriously worried it was plaster, but it was gummy and tasted faintly/pleasantly of mint, and set up fairly quickly. Bits of it got stuck under my lower archwire - not a problem, since they only need the back surfaces to be perfect for fitting - and I had to go brush it out.

The tech told me my permanent (lingual) bonded retainer would be a braided wire shaped to fit the back of my teeth, and anchored with spots of the same bonding cement that holds my current brackets to the front of my teeth. It will run from lower canine to lower canine, across 6 teeth total. Sounds pretty low profile. I'm prepared for it to irritate my tongue for a bit, and trap food, but I'm used to living with braces now so I don't think it will be a huge deal. I already own a waterpick, and (before the advent of the powerchains) I'd gotten pretty good at flossing around braces with no extra contraptions, so only having to mess with 6 should be cake.

Here are some pics from today:



My current smile.



Upper arch...now that it's rounded out, there aren't many other changes to note.



Lower arch...again, mostly the same. You can *kinda* tell the gap in my lower incisors has closed, but that's more obvious in the next pic...



This shows the detailing. The red line approximates the bends in my upper archwire, which are hidden behind the powerchain. Supposed to intrude the left lateral (on the right in this pic), extrude the right central, and really extrude the right lateral. My smile does look more even now that the bends have been working, and Dr. F will finish the job by shaping the edges of my teeth at deband.

Also, the gap in my lower incisors has FINALLY closed, as shown.

Funny story: I have the completely un-serious superstitious habit of making a wish when the clasp of my necklace reaches the pendant. Today it happened on my way into the appointment, and I thought a moment before wishing to "get my braces off in three weeks," hoping it wouldn't be 4 or more, or worse - needing another check before setting the date. Color me surprised when Dr. D said "1-2 weeks" and I fairly skipped up to the receptionist to schedule my freedom.

She had me all set for 2 weeks out, on a Wednesday, and told me it would take about an hour. "Even with bonding my lingual retainer?" I asked... She frowned, went and asked, and came back with the answer that they didn't have a long enough appointment slot for all that, which would actually take more like an hour and a half. First they'll bond my permanent retainer, then they'll remove my braces, then Dr. F will shape my teeth, and then they'll take impressions for my vacu-formed (aka clear, Essix-type) retainers. Lots going on that day.

After some pecking on the computer she found a slot for me: on Thursday, April 30th...one day before Dr. F's target date of May 1, and EXACTLY 3 WEEKS from today. Heh - be careful what you wish for!

But no matter what - I'm thrilled. April 30th will be MY LAST DAY IN BRACES. w00t!!!

(I will probably keep blogging, at least for a bit: life with retainers, follow-up appointments, etc. So stay tuned.)

Ninth Adjustment - March 19, 2009 - The Devil's in the Details

Only 3 weeks after my cleaning-adjustment day, I was back in the chair, but this time I got some VERY good news.

I'd made good progress and the gap in my lower arch had finally closed, so Dr. F said he would make the bends in my archwire to start detailing, putting me in Phase IV at last! He also said something I had to ask him to repeat to make sure I heard correctly: "Next appointment, check for deband!" which translates to "At your next appointment, if the detailing is doing what it should and it looks like another few weeks will be all that's needed, we will schedule your debanding date."

He said his target date was May 1st (!) - about a month earlier than I strictly NEED them off, but that gives him some leeway in case anything takes longer than expected. So at my next appointment we should know for sure, but he expects to give me a date at that time. WOOHOOO!!! My freedom is so close I can almost taste it.

The detailing he did was pretty simple - just a couple bends around my right central incisor to "extrude" (bring it down) a bit so he can smooth it off even with the left one.

Only I misheard him, and thought he was extruding my "short" right lateral incisor. A few days later I called in a panic, visions of delaying my deband dancing through my head. They brought me back in for him to look at and I felt very foolish when he explained that's what he'd meant all along. BUT I did talk to him about my lateral incisors being different lengths and how that made it look (to me) tilted, so he decided to put a few more bends in to extrude the short right one a bit, and intrude the longer left one. My upper archwire is a .019 x .025 TMA. At the next appointment he'll smooth off the edges of my teeth to make them look straight and even.

I left happy, especially because I also taked to them about retainers and got the news that since I wanted a permanent bonded retainer on my lowers - which they only agreed to if I SWORE to floss regularly - I'd get the clear plastic "Essix" retainers for both arches, instead of the plastic-and-wire Hawley on the bottom. They'll take impressions for the bonded retainer at my next appointment, so they can have it ready to bond before my braces come off on deband day. I can't believe it's this close!

I don't have pics this time, but I'll likely post them after the next adjustment; I expect they won't change much. Coming up soon on April 9th.