Powerchains, Coils, and Interproximal Redction ... And an early September Surgery Date to Boot!!!

What a day for me orthodontically, I don't know where to start. I went in for my sure smile appointment, and didn't know exactly what to expect from the SureSmile wires, but it was very interesting to see them. It is not at all like the wire I had before. This one was pre-programmed by a robot, so before it was put in you could see all the curves, twists, and bends in the wire. Apparantly, these bends in the wire will take my teeth directly to their desired state. And before they even closed the doors on my self-ligating brackets, boy could I feel the pressure, the most yet since I've got the braces on. I say ... bring it on! Get those teeth lined up as quickly as possible ... no pain, no gain, right? At least that is the attitude I am "trying" to have throughout this whole process. Then came the power chain ... my first one yet! They put it on my lowers. On my uppers, I have the priveledge of two coils on each side. The purpose ... to open things up before surgery, about 3/4 of an inch on each side. At this point, things are going to start to look much worse before they look better. As you can see in the photo below, Dr. L did some interproximal reduction today leaving me with a small gap between my lower incisors. A bit unsightly, but look where I started from. I just have to keep my eye on the end goal. The objective is to make more room so they can keep pushing the lowers back. I already have a recessed chin! Like I said ... things will get worse before they get better. I started out with a 6 mm overjet, and come surgery time I should be around 7 mm.

The best news of the day ... I will definately be ready for surgery early September! I can't schedule it yet with my OS because he is only booking through August right now, but I spoke with the gal at my OS's office today and she said to call her on June 16th and we will try to schedule on September 4th. There shouldn't be a problem because kids are already back in school, so it is considered the "slow" time. So ... in a month I should have a confirmed date ... and for now I will hope I can get my surgeon and the OR on that date.

So, other than my teeth being a little sore, things are good. I have my next OD appointment on July 14th, and I will have another appoinment with my OD mid August for surgical photos and molds, and then another to get my surgical wires on ... so only 3 OD appointments before my surgery! It is amazing to think that, if everything works out as planned (which it should) ... I will be having my surgery in less than 4 months!

So here are my teeth in all their glory, with the lovely new interproximal reduction induced gaps in my lowers, the cute little springy coils on the uppers, and the almighty power chain. You can still see the bends some from the SureSmile wire ... it will be interesting to see how quickly things move ...

Lastly, I asked my OS about my midlines, because I noticed after the interproximal reduction they were slightly off. He said not to worry. The upper will be spot on, they will make sure that one is perfect. The lowers, they will try there best, but in the end, the most important is the oclussion, so we might have to sacrifice the lower midline a bit for the best oclussion possible. He said that with adult patients, there generally is a lot of wearing so that can make it more difficult to get things matched up. I new this before I asked him, but I just want to know things up front so I can prepare myself mentally. I truly do hope I can have my midlines match up, but at the end of the day, if they don't match perfect, I will be happy as long as my bite is healthy and balanced.