Adult Braces Update 7 | Managing Expectations
It’s been a couple of months since I made a formal braces post, but this post will make up for it. I’m chatting about all the craziness that has happened over the last eight weeks – including spacers, power chains, expander-contraptions and most importantly… how to deal with frustration and managing your expectations regarding your treatment timeline (which may or may not go according to the initial plan). Let’s get to this big adult braces month 9 update and check out where I’m at…
Managing Expectations
Two months ago, I talked about hoping to get rubber bands at my next appointment and finish my treatment on schedule. I’ll cut to the chase here and tell you I am not wearing rubber bands yet and we are closing in on month 10. You can imagine my frustration, even though I was warned this would happen by many braces-wearers.
I had a complete breakdown after I left my last appointment and nothing was adjusted except the color of my ligatures – no wire upgrade (I’m already at the strongest rectangular wire), no wire ties on the brackets… nothing. Again, he told me, “Rubber bands soon!” But no further information… no information on what he was trying to do and nothing on what’s holding things up. I called my husband (who is a dentist (not orthodontist) within the same practice) and begged him to find out what the orthodontist was thinking because, at this point, I did not foresee myself finishing braces within 18 months. He called and spoke to him and we decided it would be best for me to switch to the other orthodontist who works within the practice for two reasons:
- The ortho I was currently seeing is a perfectionist – which is wonderful – however, he tends to go at an extremely slow rate. Apparently, most of his cases don’t finish before three (yes, *3*) YEARS. We didn’t realize this when I got my braces put on and I just don’t have that luxury of time. If I knew that it was going to be more than two years, I would have considered the clear ceramic braces to soften the blow of the look of wearing them so long…
- The office is over an hour away from my house. I don’t want to drive over an hour just to change the color of my rubber bands like I’m 10 years old. It’s a waste of a tank of gas, honestly, and we all know gas isn’t free here. The other orthodontist practices out of an office 30 minutes away. At the time that I initially got my braces put on, this 2nd ortho hadn’t been hired yet, so I didn’t have any other choices.
I was able to get an appointment with the new orthodontist the following week. He did my consultation and gave us what his treatment plan would be. He estimated that I have a solid 10-11 months left (19-20 months+, total). Again, I cried in the chair like a giant 31-year-old infant. I cried mostly because I was frustrated, but the silver lining was in the plan of attack he had for moving my treatment along quickly and safely.
He gave me a mirror and had my husband and I look at exactly which teeth were holding up the process (a couple back molars affecting my crossbite). He advised moving to a power chain on my top teeth immediately to start pulling them back. He recommended an expander-wire device (not your standard palate expander typically used in kids) for the couple molars in crossbite to expedite their movement. Lastly, to quickly come in with some heavy rubber bands to pull everything into place. This ‘expander’ to correct my crossbite would take about 3-4 months. From there, another few months to tweak things and then the ‘baking’ period. This was the first time in nine months that the doctor actually showed me what was really going on with my teeth.
I asked if I could finish my treatment with Invisalign once my crossbite was corrected (albeit, an added expense). He agreed that taking off the metal braces and finishing with Invisalign was completely doable and common practice for those who are deeply frustrated by the metal braces.
I felt lied to by my other orthodontist. I still don’t understand what his game plan was, but now I understand why I haven’t had any pain every time I got an adjustment. He was basically moving my teeth with pillows… SO slowly that there was NO pain.
Advice for others feeling frustrated
Insist on time to talk to your orthodontist at each adjustment appointment regarding what’s happening. I trusted that things were moving along on schedule until about two months ago. Don’t let your doctor make you feel rushed. Ask as many questions as you feel you need to understand which teeth are moving… why they are moving… how long it should take, etc. BE PROACTIVE. Had I not been told “Rubber bands soon” for three months, I probably wouldn’t have been so excited that things seemed to be progressing quicker than they really were. My doctor set an unrealistic expectation and I hope you prevent that from happening to yourself by speaking up more than I did.
If you’re totally miserable, ask what your options are. Maybe you’re also in metal braces and can switch to ceramic or Invisalign later in treatment (of course, finances may affect this option).
When all else fails, there’s no shame in getting a second consultation with another orthodontist within the practice or at another office. Don’t feel guilty that you’re ‘cheating’ on your doctor. When it comes to anything medical, doctors all have their own unique ways of treating patients and there is rarely only one way to get it done. Take ownership of your health and wellness needs – whether in orthodontics or any other field of medicine. Life is too short to be unhappy!
What’s happened since the last update
It’s been two months since my last formal update, so this will be a lot! Both top and bottom teeth are on their 2nd (strongest) rectangular wire. It’s the strongest wire they make before I am eligible for rubber bands – then I switch to a stainless steel wire. I went back to silver rubber bands for a month, but decided the navy make my teeth look whiter, so I put navy back on.
I have a power chain on my top teeth. A power chain is a long piece of rubber band that is attached to each bracket in one piece to help pull the teeth together and close up any gaps. They put these really painful delightful spacers in between my back top molars to make room for this expander-appliance that is going to adjust my crossbite (the BIG hold up). It literally feels like I have popcorn kernels stuck between my teeth 24/7. I got fitted for the expander last week and will be getting it installed this Thursday. Not sure if I’ll be getting rubber bands simultaneously, or after a few weeks of wearing the expander.
apologies for the iPhone pic… but those blue things are the spacers shoved between my teeth that feel like popcorn kernels lol…
As for the pain… YES. After having barely any pain since the first month, I finally had 3-4 days of soreness with the power chain and spacers. I know this isn’t a reason to celebrate, but when you’ve been through my experience, it means things are moving and that’s a great thing!
My poor bottom teeth are just hanging out waiting for the top to get their shit together.
Here’s where we started 9 months ago:
Here’s where we are today:
Here’s the aerial shots:
My *new* estimated timeframe
(in my opinion, lol)
- expander + rubber bands to correct crossbite – months 10-14 (Sept. – Dec. 2016)
- possible switch to Invisalign – month 15-20 (Feb. – Jul. 2017)
I hope this helps those of you who told me you’ve been frustrated with the timeline changing for your braces. I also know I’m extremely blessed to afford to switch to Invisalign later in treatment. Orthodontics are so expensive and I’m thankful to have the family perk of having a spouse that works in the dental field. Don’t think I take it for granted – I totally get it.
That wraps up my excessively long adult braces month 9 update. Congratulations on making it to the end, lol. Let me know if you’ve experienced something similar or just give me an update regarding how your treatment is going in the comments or by email via brighterdarling@gmail.com. I’ll be posting my next update Oct. 17 (month 11). Don’t forget, you can always search my braces posts by using the “Topics” drop-down on the top menu bar.
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Happy Power Chains,
-Steffanie
Oh no! Sorry to hear about the orthodontist-patient mismatch. That must have been so frustrating, if it’s any consolation I’m pretty sure I’d have cried, too! At my last appointment my orthodontist told me that my teeth have actually moved too far. Ha. So I have to have another 6 weeks of my current wire before I can move onto my finishing wire, which I was supposed to have done this time. Most annoying! I hope things go well for you with your new orthodontist, it sounds like he’s on it.
HAHA oh my goodness – braces can be so frustrating. How exciting you’re so close to being done though! 🙂 That’s going to feel so awesome. Keep me posted!
I found your blog when googled “can I make adult braces cute?” and have been following your updates ever since! I use the same whitening dental products and have tried several makeup tips! So THANK YOU!!! I now want to offer you encouragement!!! I hear your frustration and am living so many of the same frustrations! But please know there are those of us out here encouraged by what you are doing, what you are describing, and how you are persevering!!! Your teeth have really moved and you have inspired me to start taking pictures so I remember how far I have come on those frustrating days. I’m 5 months in and am trying to let go of the end point. Instead of being “I’ll be happy when they are off”, I’m trying to be more “I’ll let that be a surprise”. I’ll let you know if this coping mechanism works out! Lol! I too have thought about switching to Invisilign, but from what my ortho says, braces are the only way to guarantee 100% correction, some still end up in braces after Invisilign, and Invisilign can add extra time. So now I’m not sure. I feel better knowing you too are considering the switch. I was feeling like a big quitter for even thinking about it!!! Thank you for your blog, perspective, and honesty!!!
This comment was SOO kind! I read it to my husband and my mom, LOL! <3 I can't get over all the support and funny anecdotes I've received from these braces posts – it's been wonderful having all these readers to share my story with so although it's painstakingly annoying, it's worth it if it's helping even ONE person in the same situation. I'm really happy to hear you're taking pictures. It's definitely helpful when you have those moments where you think you're not making any progress (even if you're just saving them on your phone). I've been looking at pics pre-braces lately, too, and that's even MORE helpful! If I switch to Invisalign (which I most likely will), it will definitely take a bit longer to get to my 100% end-result, but I just cannot take the metal braces. As a beauty blogger, it's made me feel a bit frustrated and not as confident to do certain things, so for me, it's the best decision. If you're someone that isn't taking pictures of yourself regularly, or on camera, in the spotlight, etc., stick with the metal because they certainly work the fastest! As always though, I'll keep everyone posted on how things go 😉
I’m on month 6!! Sometimes I feels like it flew by but then I feel like it’s taking forever and I try to not even think of the end date. I’m probably giving my husband whiplash. I make him look at my progress and say look how great they are looking! Next thing I say is I’m over them and I want to rip them off. He just kind of nods and says I’m doing great. I might be driving both of us crazy and he might start his own countdown soon. I have the Damon metal braces. They are just like yours minus the elastics. Instead they have a metal type door that locks the wire in place. I feel like it’s moving along nicely. So far I have an appointment every 2 months which is a bonus for having the Damon brackets and every appointment I get a new stronger wire and I just had my 6 month appointment and finally got my rubber bands to fix my cross bite. I was glad I got my bands just because I felt like I’m taking the steps faster than I thought because some of my cousins didn’t get theirs until a year in; but I have to wear a triangle band on each side and they are so heavy that I can barely fit a straw through the gap and I have to wear them atleast 22 hours a day. Let’s not even talk about the pain but I’m hoping after a few days I’ll get use to them. I’m loving your blog and can’t wait for the next update!
Hahaha oh I totally understand… it’s even worse because my husband is a dentist so I constantly am asking him to look at my mouth and tell me what’s going on/if he sees any changes (like that’s even possible in 24 hours LOL). Now that I’m at month 11, I’m definitely starting to lean towards, “This is taking forever, I can’t wait until they’re off/I can switch to Invisalign!” I heard of the Damon system – my ortho’s office just doesn’t have it 🙁 The elastics definitely move things along faster, thankfully. Mine are “medium” strength (Gorillas are on them), and now that it’s been over a month, I’m used to them. It will get easier 🙂 How long ae you supposed to wear your braces overall, approximately? Thanks for stopping by my blog 🙂
Hello! I found your blog through your post about braces on Pinterest and I am so happy! I’m following all of you social media handles now because I appreciate the transparency of your posts so much. I’m 24 1/2 (lol) and I got my braces on in August. I’ve always been REALLY self conscience about my teeth- I would cringe whenever someone brought up a discussion about teeth and nice smiles- and knew time is just ticking away to get them!! I completely share your frustrations and rollercoaster ride. Some minutes I’m happy that I got the braces and others I feel ridiculous and hopeless. I’ve stopped wanting to go out to bars, etc. because I have a baby face already and, obviously, this is amplified times a million because of my “train tracks.” (I loved when you said that, haha). Im sure I will have to get rubber bands eventually, but I will make sure to ask my dentist of updates and make sure I’m in the loop after reading your posts!
I am trying to retrain my thoughts to focus on the positive and keep a brighter outlook on them. It is going to be so worth it, like you said. And I really think yours look cute! Your progress is incredible and there is a definite audience that I think you can benefit from as a blogger that other bloggers cannot because of your relatability and inspiration! There’s a model I found on Instagram (I’ll have to look up her name) whose signature is her braces!
You are so close, hang in there. 😀 & thanks for sharing your journey. PS- your pictures are so great!!
-Ashley
(thatLAwriter.com)
Sorry it took me so long to respond to this message but it was SO kind and I am very thankful you took the time to write all of this 🙂 It truly means a lot to me! I’m also very glad my experience hopefully can help you take ownership of your treatment and make sure you’re progressing (so important – no one wants to wear these longer than necessary, haha). As hard as it’s been for me wearing the braces (particularly as a beauty blogger), it’s nice to hear from readers and of course my good friends (IRL) that they are loving the honesty. If you knew me in real life, I’m always the one known to have no filter, so it just comes naturally LOL! Thanks again for your support and keep me updated on your progress as it continues. In the end, this experience will be a little baby blip on our radar (or so I hear, haha). XO!
I sort of went the opposite way. I wanted to get an implant in a tooth that had been extracted many years ago and my dentist recommended Invisalign to straighten my teeth and make room for the implant. What I didn’t know was that it was Invisalign Express and did nothing on that front. So I went to a separate ortho and just got metal braces, which I am excited about finally getting this problem taken care of. I guess I just wanted to share how I share in your frustration of feeling like you’re lied to/misled.
Oh my goodness! I’m shocked the doctor recommended Invisalign. Everything I’ve heard always says that big moves need to be done with traditional braces; there’s just some things (especially on adults) that Invisalign just can’t handle. Even if it can, it may take YEARS lol. I hope you see big changes soon and enjoy your new smile 🙂