Thursday, July 11, 2013

BOOM - Braces Off!!! (Day 267 - 8 months, 3 weeks, 3 days)

I am no longer a Braceface.

My days of being carded at restaurants are over, but so are the days of ripped up lips and food stuck in my grill!

Yee haw!!!

The process: It literally took 2 minutes for my ortho to pop off all of my brackets.
Then about 25 minutes to grind down all the cement - which was the most uncomfortable of the two.



Seeing my teeth for the first time in the mirror was bizarre. They looked so big! The only drag, is that I have one tooth that is darker than the rest. I went to the dentist following my ortho appointment for some major help. After xrays, he was able to determine that my dark tooth has root resporption (say what?). There was a horizontal crack in the root at one point, and it has now broken all the way through. So, basically, my dark tooth has a really short root.

Bracefree! Instagram filters do wonders for a random dark tooth:)

I also did Bright Smile at the appointment, to see if it would help. It got my other teeth sparkling white, but my one tooth is still darker. Sadly, I will have to get a veneer.

A note on Bright Smile... After applying bleaching solution on your teeth, they shine a light at them for 3, 20 minute sessions. Some people have sensitivity and get whats called "zingers". It literally feels like a drill is being put to your teeth.  I had done something similar years ago and it was terribly painful. This time around I used Sensodine for the few weeks leading up to it, took advil right before and I didn't go all three rounds. I lasted two full rounds - when I felt my first zinger at the end of the second round I stopped.

So, in the next two weeks, I will have a veneer put on my front tooth...c'est la vie...


My discolored tooth post whitening. Looks worse with flash. 
Last Braceface photo!!

11 comments:

  1. Congrats! Sorry to hear about your one tooth but that can be fixed.

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  2. Looking great, Amanda! Congrats and here's to the "wifehood" countdown!!!

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  3. I've heard of some people getting bleaching inside the tooth.... Can't hurt to ask first.

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  4. CONGRATULATIONS Amanda!!!! Look at that beautiful smile. Your wedding mustn't be far away now - exciting times.

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  5. You look fantastic!! Congratulations! I also have a tooth that's become darker than the rest, though for no apparent reason. Don't worry, they can fix it so it looks good as new!

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  7. Awwwww. Thank you ladies! I am very excited. I will definitely post wedding pix! Two more weeks!!!

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  8. Woohoo! Congrats on your beautiful, brace-free smile! I feel you on the "zingers". I did 4 rounds of the zoom light, yowzas. I was white knuckling the chair handles, damned and determined to get white teeth. I then did the home bleaching for 3 weeks and I'll get my bottom veneers on the 30 th. It's all worth it in the end. You will have a perfect smile on your wedding day :)

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  9. That smile certainly makes the braces worth it! It’s worth all the uneasiness, inconveniences and expenses, right? Now, the only problem is the dark tooth. But no worries, as it’ll only take a few bleaching sessions to get your pearly whites back. Cheers!

    Robert Kelleher @ Kelleher Ortho

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  10. Hi! I am currently in braces and I am noticing discoloration in one of my teeth. I've already had the ortho and dentist look at it. The ortho sent me to the dentist because it wasn't external staining, my dentist couldn't tell exactly with an x-ray if there was anything major going on so he referred me to a specialist. I dropped off the x-ray per request of the specialist but By looking at the x-ray the specialist couldn't tell either and asked me to schedule a more thorough appointment in the future since I was able to make it the same day I dropped off the x-ray. Anyhow, I have had tooth sensitivity to cold/heat/ and even just air to the area the discolored tooth is located. Nobody hinted at anything about root resorption but that the tooth may be dying and I may need a root canal if the symptoms persist (which I told them they had subsided). Do you remember if you had teeth sensitivity on the tooth that turned dark?

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    1. I don't remember having any sensitivity. Good luck!

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