Week 6: Braces tightened!

Hey! ✋

So yesterday I had my braces "tightened." For those of you that aren't sure what this means, they change your wires and ligatures (bands). I'm not sure why people say they are getting them tightened...

When I arrived my dentist asked how I had got on the last few weeks and was really impressed with how much my teeth have moved already! It was more than she was expecting!! Although she said the movement will slow down a little now!

She had a look at my teeth to make sure everything was looking good then she removed the bands and the arch wire. It felt really strange with only the brackets on. For a few seconds there wasn't any pressure on my teeth and it was great!! 😂

Firstly, she put a power chain on. This is a series of bands attached together and is used to close the spaces where my teeth were extracted! They were applied on each side.

I had some discomfort getting the power chain put on as the dentist had to apply pressure to my (already sore) teeth to get it on!

Next, she applied a new arch wire and then the normal donut bands to hold the wires in place.

This is the progress my teeth have made so far! My front teeth are nearly completely beside each other! Because one used to overlap the other it means one tooth is now shorter than the other but I will get this filled in when the time comes so that they are both the same! 😊

I have circled the second photo to show where the power chain is being used to close the gap. It is the same on each side! As you can see, the gap has nearly closed! Theres still a little more to go though. It's still big enough that food is getting stuck there when I'm eating 😤 It's very annoying...haha!

I have been quite sore since I got home yesterday. I'm sore where the power chain is closing the gaps and my 2 front teeth are sore as well. I've been taking paracetamol and ibuprofen and sticking to soft foods for now. It was agony to brush my teeth last night! My teeth are feeling tender and sensitive and any sort of pressure on them is uncomfortable! To be honest, I'm in more pain now than when I first got the braces on!!

So far, I couldn't be happier with the progress my teeth are making! I didn't think I would be seeing results this quickly! I'll be back at the dentist in 7 weeks to get the wires and bands changed again!

Until next time....

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