5.5 months with my adult brace – 1 week after 3rd tightening

Posted on 9:09am Friday 26th Aug 2016

I was sure it was about my 4^th or 5^th tightening, but only my third! Good job I’m documenting it here so I know where I am! Last Thursday I went for my third tightening and I write this one week and one day after.

The tightening appointments are always super quick. The appointment time booked is 15 minutes, but I’m in and out much quicker than this. Perhaps once I have my bottom brace fitted the appointments will be the full 15 mins. I’m always surprised at how speedy and hassle free the tightenings are.

At my last appointment elastics were added for the first time to start moving the teeth into different positions. The orthodontist was concerned it could be uncomfortable/painful so left them a loop loose. I feel some pressure after my tightening’s, but after a couple of days it’s gone. I told her this and said feel free to put the new wire and elastics on as tight as she liked!

My wire was changed for the thickest wire. This is the last wire and my bite was already looking in the right position and the twisted tooth almost in the perfect position. She said from now on it will be the elastics doing the work – pulling my adult canines back to where they should be (they were 2^nd back instead of third!).

I could feel the pressure as soon as the wire was changed. New elastics were put on without being loosened at all. It all felt tight and ‘pulley’, but not agonising. It’s a satisfying pain as you can feel something’s happening.

Oh, one thing I did learn is curry stains the elastics!! My elastics are clear but as soon as I had a vegetable passanda last month, they turned bright yellow! Almost neon yellow! Ooooops! So I either avoid curry this month or go for the crazy neon yellow elastics which are really obvious. With the elastics clear, you can’t even see they’re there. To curry or not to curry?!

These elastics are really working! One day after they were fitted my canine next to my peg tooth had moved around 1mm. I know this as the sides of the teeth were fully touching and now there’s a gap! A week later it’s probably about 2mm. Really obvious. I’m still amazed at how quickly the changes happen.

One week after my tightening and I’m sure my other canine (the previous totally twisted one) is perfectly turned round the right way. It seems to have moved along more, but the orthodontist felt it's getting stuck on my bottom canine. Something that will be resolved once my bottom brace starts moving the bottom teeth (next month, eek!)

So much has happened to my teeth, but when I take a photo they still look blooming awful!! I made Ben take some photos the other day and we looked at them together exclaiming ‘oh gosh, aren’t they awful!!’. I’m going to look pretty hilarious soon once my canines are in 3^rd place where they should be. This is because I’m having 2 false teeth at the front (2^nd back) and before this I’ll have an entire gap on one side (luckily there’s a little peg tooth on the other side to fill most of the gap!). I’m going to look really gappy! I just hope the brace part will be 18 months instead of 24. If so I’m a third of the way through the brace. Fingers crossed.

Watch out for next month’s update when my bottom brace is fitted!