So apparently...I still suck!

I'm sorry you guys! I know I know...I suck lol. But I do have an update for you! 

My last appointment was on March 16th as I said in my last blog post. Well...I'm back in rubberbands at night and I'm FINALLY in positive overjet! 

What does that mean exactly? Well my top teeth are moving over my bottom teeth. I'm that much closer to never having an underbite again! 

*queues angelic harps* 

(Sorry I know I usually take more pics but you can see a LITTLE bit) 

I have had my powerchain break on the lower left side 2 times since that visit and I honestly don't know WHAT that's about! I've gone in and had them changed. Dr Evans is always really good about fitting me in for emergency appointments. 

Well you guys, I don't have a whole lot more to report this month. My next appointment is on the 27th....or 28th. Now I have to check lol. I'll take more pictures next time, I promise! 

Until next time 

Yep...I suck! Sorry it's been so long....

So yeah.....Happy Belated New Year? 

I've slacked COMPLETELY off of updating my blog. But on the bright side, my YouTube channel is up to date lol. I just find it so easy to film a video and post it. Done!

I'm going to try really hard to keep updating here though. I just feel like since I have no subscribers, it's not really serving a purpose :-/

Anywho.....here's my latest progress pics!

Underbite almost gone aye!!!!

I have turbos now...Dr Evans is propping my bite open so my bottom teeth can have room to move back.

That arch tho! Still working on closing the space but not right now. She's going to move my teeth back until they're in the position she wants them. I may need to have a custom implant at the end of my treatment. 

Profile view 

Anyway...I'd say we're moving along just fine! I've only been in my braces for 10 months now and Dr Evans has made GREAT progress! 

I have another appointment on March 16th. I'm hoping she puts me back in rubberbands! Oh yeah...I did a short stint in rubberbands but she suspended use to level out my molars and bite a little bit. I'm hoping to be back in them soon. They were REALLY helping with my bite! 

Well...until next time 

I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry....

I know it's been forever since I've updated this blog. To be honest it's just been easier to make a video after my appointments and put it on YouTube ( http://www.youtube.com/user/504CreoleCrystal ) 

But I won't stop posting here so here's the latest. 

I got these babies on August 4th...

Yep! My upper braces are on. I'm happy about that. They've started shifting already...sounds crazy but see for yourselves...

The two teeth next to the front teeth have already begun to shift and straighten out. That makes me happy! 

Dr Evans also talked to me about slenderizing my teeth. I had to look that up because I had NO idea what that meant! It's the process of filing the sides of your teeth down the improve appearance and the reduce the look of the "black triangles" at the gum line. 

She explained that those are usually from gum recession and the shape of the teeth. That tissue won't ever come back so there isn't much that can be done. 

Here's an example 

http://youtu.be/uCTCIVEGUFk

http://youtu.be/6HpfvzQQagI

Ummmmmmmm....

This doesn't look enjoyable at ALL! I'm going to be a good patient and comply with everything she says needs to be done but I'm SURE I won't like this! 

I'm very happy I chose Dr Evans. She's an AWESOME orthodontist. She's not cutting any corners and it seems like she's very open minded and creative. When I go for a visit and things aren't the way she wants, instantly she has another way to go about it to get the results she wants. For that I'm sticking to everything she's been telling me I need to do! 

http://www.evansorthonola.com/

(I'm hoping these links are working because I have no idea what "codes" to use to make this show up lol)

Anyway, my next visit is on August 27th and that's when I get the rest of my bottom brackets put on. I'm super excited about that. I'm going to write an update and make another video after that appointment. 

Until then... 

Update and well......that's it lol.

Hey y'all!

I know I haven't been updating my journey on here very much, but I've started a YouTube channel that I find easier to keep up with. 

But....so I don't completely neglect this blog I'll give you an update and new pictures. 

Well....I've had A LOT of power chain fails these last few months. I mean A LOT. Like I had to go back to Dr Evans like every other week, and once I went 2 weeks in a row...smh. 

I was starting to feel like it was definitely something I was eating. I got beyond frustrated. She assured me that as long as it wasn't anything on the forbidden foods that it wasn't me. 

Because of the size of the gap we're closing up, the power chains that are connected to each lingual button and the ones by my wires from bracket to bracket are kinda just out there. So they're really susceptible to breaking. After all, it's only rubber. 

But what I noticed was, by me going back so often to get my chains replaced...my teeth started shifting more. That's a plus for me! Also we noticed that when I switched to my beloved purple chains they broke wayyyyy too quickly. I started with grey so Dr Evans asked if I wouldn't mind going back to those. She feels that even though they're all supposedly made the same, she has less issues with the grey ones and she feels they do a better job. So because I'm an awesome patient...

and I'd be pretty much willing to do whatever she tells me to so this process can go smoothly...back in grey we went! 

I have another appointment on July 17th and she told me that since the teeth are finally moving that I can get my next brackets! 

I was starting to feel like 2-3 years wasn't going to be realistic. I mean I've had this same set of brackets since 4/28. The only thing she added was lingual buttons on the inside of my teeth and that was to help move these teeth from both sides. 

What are lingual buttons you ask? 

Well...

See those things mounted to the inside of each tooth? Those are lingual buttons. She decided to add these because she didn't want my teeth to rotate out instead of moving together. Makes sense. 

I now have a space behind the back molars. That's new. One side of my teeth are moving faster than the other side. I'm sure there are all kinda tricks that they can do to counteract this. Ion't know what they are tho lol. 

Anyway. On to the progress pictures...

These are pictures that Dr Evans took on April 28th for my records and 1st brackets appointment vs pictures I snapped this morning 

This one doesn't show a whole lot. The angle is weird and I can't get my phone in my mouth 😐 

But you can see that the space is a bit smaller. 

Here's the right side of my mouth. I tried to blow it up so they would be similar in size. You can see the space is wayyyy smaller and you can see that my teeth are moving back. My molars are actually moving up as well...yesssss!!! 

Here's the awesome left side! My assumption is that because I had a molar extracted RIGHT before this process was started, my bones are less sense on this side thus allowing more movement. 

You can REALLY see how much my teeth have moved. 

Even as I'm writing this blog and looking at before and after pictures it seems like they've move A LOT more than I thought. 

Well y'all, that's pretty much all I have to update y'all about for the time being. I'll be recording a new update video when I go back to the ortho on July 17th. I'm SUPER excited! 

If you wanna check out my YouTube channel...it's 504CreoleCrystal!

http://www.youtube.com/user/504CreoleCrystal

Until next time loves 💋

I know it's been a while....

And I know I haven't updated in quite a few weeks...but there really wasn't anything to update. I couldn't take weekly pictures well, because my teeth really weren't moving. 

So it didn't make any sense to take the same pictures every week. I'll say my right side is moving faster than the left. 

Anyway....my 6 week adjustment appointment was on yesterday. 

Now I'm no orthodontist so I had literally no clue how much my teeth should be moving. I had an idea they weren't really moving but meh, what do I know? 

Well Dr Evans reiterated what I thought...maybe my bones are a lot deeper than what we thought and no, they aren't moving as fast as they should. 

So I wasn't able to get any new brackets added to my premolars....soooooo what does that mean?

Well Dr Evans added what I assume are TAD's (temporary anchoring devices) to the interior of my teeth. They feel like little knives slicing at the sides of my tongue.

She removed my wires and powerchains 1st, added new wires, bands and powerchains. Then she added these anchors to my teeth. She then added tighter powerchains to the wires outside and the new anchors inside. Dr Evans explained that we needed more force to pull my teeth together. 

Now the honest truth...

These bitches hurt!!!! Not only are my teeth hurting because if the adjustment...I expected this...but these "buttons" are really hurting my teeth! I've been in pain all day. I've tried to eat a peanut butter and honey on toast?! Most painful shit EVER!!! I've had a green smoothie, a strawberry smoothie, that sandwich & a small bowl of grits for breakfast. I'm STARVING! I feel like I've just been snacking all day. I tried to eat a few Town House crackers? I broke out crying. 

These blood clots and red irritated areas are the places where those God-forsaken buttons have rubbed my tongue raw. It hurts when I talk, chew, gargle, swallow, leave my tongue still...it just never stops hurting. 

Bad part is, because of where the powerchains sit...the wax won't stick so I'm basically fresh outta ideas of how to protect my tongue. 

Last night I slept with rolled up gauze in my mouth. I didn't sleep much because I kept thinking I'd choke on them. 

This shit better be worth ALL this pain!!! 

A little better....

These last few days have been something else! I can't eat the way I'd like to. I've been drinking smoothies and protein shakes for the last few days. I've consumed maybe one meal each day, and to be honest it's such a chore to eat I quit halfway through. 

My FAVORITE thing to eat is ribeyes. I have a good friend that's a chef. He does catered lunches everyday (check out Chef Kenneth Temple at www.chefkc.com). I had been planning this meal for my daughter, boyfriend and myself for a couple of weeks. Yesterday was the day! I was so excited! When we sat down to dinner I felt overwhelmed. I was able to finish the smashed potatoes, 1/3 of the steamed garlic green beans and about 1/3 of the ribeye. 

As hungry as I was...I couldn't even finish my meal. That made me sad. So this morning I just had a vanilla protein shake....yayyyyyy 

I made enough to have a few throughout my work day. I guess I'll have mashed potatoes for dinner....😢

One thing that I've noticed already is that the premolar on my right side has already started moving. It's not noticeable to the eye but when I flossed this morning, the floss slipped right in between the 2 premolars. Whereas before I had to really saw back and forth to get in there. That's a good thing I guess. The left side maybe slightly but not so much.  

Hopefully since I'm wearing the wax almost 24/7 (except for when I brush and floss) my cheeks may start to heal. The 1st day really did a number on my mouth. I was surprised that it bled. All my friends that have had braces tell me this is inevitable. I guess I just have to get used to it.

Well I'll come back when I have something more worth reporting. 

Oh and starting next week I'll take weekly pictures. I'm thinking this may help speed these 6 weeks along. 

Here's the pics from my last blog post. This was on a Monday so I guess that'll be the day I post them. 

It's hard to get good angles because of the position of the braces. I'll try to get better pictures next week. 

The day after....

I apologize to my readers...I was supposed to update yesterday after my appt. I was so busy and honestly...in pain.

I have lots of pics and my summary of what happened. I have to say that Dr Leeann Evans is really dedicated to her patients. There was a mistake when they scheduled my appointment. Apparently they had a CE to attend, and I wasn't supposed to even have an appointment. Well I had to request off from work and change my schedule so I couldn't not go. She came in alone and did everything! From checking me in all the way to the impressions and of course the braces. I was her assistant lol!

Anyway...if you're looking for an orthodontist and you're in the New Orleans area, I can't recommend her enough. Did I mention she's gorgeous? 

So we got all my pretreatment pictures taken and got everything done. She started by pumicing the surface of the teeth that would have the brackets attatched to them. There was a lot of water and suction and air. Finally she had all the brackets attatched and the wires hooked and secured in place. She placed small power chains to the brackets. If you aren't familiar with them, a power chain is a small rubber piece that is strong and used to move the teeth faster. It's made of the same material that the small o rings that hold your wires in place are made of. Your orthodontist may use these if you have large gaps or spaces to close up. They make this happen faster. In my case, we're closing the spacer where I've had teeth removed. 

These chains are TIGHT.  She hooked the chain to one bracket after measuring and attaching the wire. Then she wrapped the chain around the wire and hooked it to the next bracket. 

The metal digs into and scrapes the inside of my cheeks and THAT'S more painful than the actual pulling of the teeth!  I was told not to use the dental wax until a few days have passed, it helps the cheeks to toughen up and get used to the rubbing. However....EYE can't take it!  

(Picture of power chains from www.braces.com) This is the type of power chain that Dr Evans used on me. 

I told her that I was blogging about my whole treatment and she was kind enough to share my before treatment pictures! 

Seriously, check out Dr. Leeann Evans at 

http://www.evansorthonola.com/

She was willing to create a treatment plan that doesn't require me to have surgery. That's huge to me. The office is great and VERY chic! 

Pics of the after. I know this isn't the normal "I got braces" picture, but then again this isn't a normal treatment plan. In 6 weeks she'll add 2 more brackets to my last premolars to pull them back. 

I'll take pictures as my teeth move and shift into their new position. 

Anyway....that was yesterday. 

Today is a different story! 

I tried to sleep without wax...BIG mistake. I can see now that most of my money will be spent on dental wax!  I worked today and most of the day I've been in pain. My mouth is soooo raw on the insides. The shifting and pulling of the teeth is becoming more and more noticeable. It was so bad my pharmacist bought me some Ambesol! 

I couldn't eat. All I had was a medium smoothie from PJ's and once I got home a bowl of spinach casserole. I'm very hungry! But I guess I could actually lose some weight if this keeps up! 

So I broke down and pulled out the dental wax, this stuff is gonna be my BESTEST friend! 

I'm going to rest. I'll have a smoothie for dinner....yeah I'm not feeling this so far.