I realize it has been about five months since I've posted anything here! Life got a bit crazy and I had to put this blog on the backburner as things picked up at work. But seeing all the comments and messages really pulled me back into this project and reminded me I need to do my best to share this info to help others. Especially since I know how hard it is to find anything about MARPE online. Obviously my treatment has progressed quite a bit since my last post, but for consistency I'll pick up where I left off. Click 'Read More' to see the first update since my MARPE! - January -
After my diastema formed exactly a week after turning the MARPE, I had a follow-up appointment with my orthodontist. They were thrilled with the results and even surprised it worked so quickly, as they originally expected two weeks. I was done with the active expansion, and now it would be left in for another 6-7 months to retain the width we achieved (which was somewhere between 6-8mm, to be measured exactly later on). My bit had certainly changed a lot and the open bite (understandably) was worse as the teeth were now sitting tip-to-tip. The expansion would be continued dentally with the use of expanding archwires that will push the teeth outwards, and tip them to correct the crossbite. Next step was getting the braces on! I thought I might come back for that, but they decided to put them on right away. They started by slightly cleaning and polishing the surfaces of my teeth and getting them prepped for the brackets. Each bracket was positioned and placed in the best way to help that tooth move into it's ideal position. For example, the tooth to the right of my upper incisor was rotated inwards pretty harshly, so the bracket was placed to help it derotate. My resident orthodontist placed them using the Xrays as a refernce, then the faculty doctor came by and gave a final once-over. After placing them, they light-cured it so it would set. They told me at the very end of my treatment, they would file down the edges of my teeth to create a nice finish. Since my front teeth and canines have never touched, they didn't grind down to form a striaght edge and are instead a bit serrated and pointy looking. In the few days following this appointment, I had to get used to the braces all over again. However I noticed that in the last 12 years since I last had braces, the technology has improved and become more efficient. Brackets were smaller and not as apparent, and they are designed to exert more efficient force. Over the first 2-3 weeks, the metal felt incredibly abrasive and I could barely talk or even drink anything. My teeth felt incredibly loose, sore and sensitive. I managed the pain by drinking lots of cold drinks, tylenol when needed and not eating solid foods for a while. My next appointment was scheduled for a month later! Here are my first photos with the braces on! :) P.S- currently working on the next video update, coming soon!
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