Busy summer season and now I'm back!!!

I’m back!!! After a busy summer season here at the office, now that school is back in session I am finally caught up and have time to shout out to my blog world! Woo hoo!!! So, back to the serious nature of braces….I took photos along the way of my treatment so I can give you an update of the past few months.

I got my SureSmile wires in, these are the cute boxes that the come in.

Here are the actual wires, notice the customized bends. Pretty cool technological advancements, if I do say so myself!

So, now down to the nitty gritty….These bad boys were MOVING MY TEETH. Can we say “Ouch!?!?” Ha, it wasn’t THAT bad but I could definitely feel my teeth moving. I popped an Advil and I was good to go. A few days later and I don’t even remember what it felt like, no big deal.

Now, on to the rubber band wear. I did have clear rubber bands that I was able to hook on my braces on the inside of my teeth then my teeth started moving so much (which is a good thing) that the rubber bands wouldn’t stay anymore.  So, I had “buttons” put on the outside of my teeth. I took a picture of my bright green rubber bands so you can see them! When I have my clear rubber bands in they really aren’t that noticeable. The rubber bands are to move my teeth to correct my overbite. So far so good, but I have to admit that I forget to wear my rubber bands a lot sometimes. So, I’m human, hopefully my bad doesn't delay my treatment time though. Wishful thinking, huh?!

You may have also noticed that on tooth is longer than the other right now. I asked Dr.Herrmann to even my natural teeth out so that I could have the bonding redone when I am finished with my treatment. I am okay with having funny looking teeth a little bit longer until I am finished then the end result will be great! Can’t wait!!

Until next time…don’t forget to celebrate National Orthodontic Health Month!!

 -Shannon

Braces are ON!!

After posting a couple of times, I got a little hesitant to post again because it's a little intimidating that EVERYONE can read this! After having several people ask if I had my braces on, about my blog, ect...I thought, "Wow! People are actually interested!" So, drum roll please...THE BRACES ARE ON!!!

Step by step, here is what happened....

HOLD UP- put on the brakes really quick!! Disclaimer--it was pajama day at work so we are in our PJs. Don't judge- we like to be comfy! :-) Plus, we have theme days at work...like recently we dressed up for Easter and Memorial Day. If you are lucky, I will include a picture!

Anyhoo, back to the good stuff...

1. Dr.Herrmann placed the braces on the model of my teeth, remember the impression that I took at first? He used those. Here is a picture of my braces on my lingual trays that fit perfectly to the model of my teeth.

Here is a picture of braces off of the model. Dr.Herrmann does this method of indirect bonding for lingual cases so that he can tell exactly where to put each individual brace without having to be upside down to directly bond them to my teeth.

 

2. Brittany (assistant who was sooo gentle and explained each step of the process) prepped everything to get ready for Dr.Herrmann. She propped my mouth WIDE open with cheek retractors so that I didn't have to use all my mouth muscles for so long. 

Ignore my half open eyes, its hard work getting braces put on and taking pictures! :-)

See how the tray is on my upper left section? Pretty cool stuff!

Here is Dr.Herrmann putting on the last of my braces.

Sidenote--see his bracelet? It is blue and says, "God is big enough."

He wears this everyday, just another reason I love working where I do!

After my braces were put on I was then scanned for the SureSmile process.

To break it down for you-

I have a traditional ortho wire in right now, but from my scan Dr.Herrmann is able to treatment plan my case in a very precise way down to every tiny little measurement and tooth rotation. I will get my first SureSmile wire at my next appointment. My SureSmile wire will be custom bent for my mouth only. It will be bent by the robot, remember?  If not, read this post.

This is a picture of me being orascanned by Hannah. You can see my braces on top in this picture.

Here is a picture UP CLOSE of my braces...

Yes, I have amalgam (silver) fillings from when I was younger (and apparently ate too much candy and didn't brush/floss.) The plan is to get those redone after my orthodontic treatment is completed.

For making it this far into my blog post, here is the cute picture that I promised.

(Left to right) Jeri, Ronna, Shannon & Karen

We were celebrating Memorial Day! Gotta have a lil' fun, right?!?!

Next post: Friends/family reactions and rubber bands, ugh....

Until next time,

Shannon

6 months...How?

6 months in braces; pretty quick time, huh? How? Well Dr.Herrmann is just that talented of course! :-) Seriously, Dr.Herrmann is THAT awesome, plus he uses SureSmile. Because of SureSmile, Dr.Herrmann is able to get treatment times down 30-40% FASTER!! Here is a quick video about SureSmile...

Technology has come a LONG ways since I was in braces the first go around. I remember appointments with the sweet doctor bending my wires by hand. Dr.Herrmann doesn't have to do that, he is able to get the exact measurements, precise movements and a realistic treatment time because of SureSmile.

Actually, there is a robot that will bend my wire (the robot can bend yours too!) Most people think the robot is here in our office, but its not. Bummer! However, Ronna (the sweetest scheduling coordinator EVER) and I did get to meet "THE Robot" a few months ago.

If you want to check out SureSmile's Blog too then just click here.

Next time, I'll blow this whole "QT" thing wide open...

XOXO

-Shannon

I'm the patient now, what?!?!

Okay, so my very first step in this process is for me to actually be the patient, usually I am on the flip side of this situation. I got to have my photos taken by some awesome assistants! By photos, I mean I got by cheeks and lips stretched then my pictures were taken up close and personal. Think like a very clinical version of glamour shots (yes from the 90's.)

Next step was to get my scan taken- pretty cool stuff here. The office is completely digital and electronic so I didn't have to have my x-rays taken but I had a scan done. Once again, those awesome assistants strapped me in, got my head in the perfect position, had me bite down and sit REALLY still! I felt like I was getting ready for a Six Flags ride rather than getting a scan done. :-)

So, photos and scan are done now its time for the actual consult with Dr.Herrmann. I was a little nervous and excited all at the same time! When you work at orthodontic office you want to have picture perfect teeth and I don't because I am just a regular person....well that is all about to change! So, Dr.Herrmann and his perfectionist's eyes (when it comes to straight teeth) and I sat down, looked at my photos, he listened very carefully to what I wanted to change about my smile. Just to give you the low down...


I want:

• Broader smile- I feel like my smile is very narrow, but I do have a small mouth
• Correct bite- this mega overbite has got to go!!
• My front teeth have rotated to where one of them is really sticking out now.
• Bleach my teeth after my braces come off
• Change my silver fillings after my braces come off
• Have my bonding redone on my front tooth (where my sweet sister accidentally hit my tooth with a flash light when we were on vacation crawling through a cave. I was fine, she was the one crying because she felt so bad.)

His feedback:

• Gum contouring after the braces come off- because I am very "gummy" when I smile
• He said I was class 1 (which is good thing for all you normal folks out there that aren't "ortho nerds" like me
• He will have to do "occlusal buildups" on me because I want lingual (QT--braces on the inside of my teeth) and my overbite is THAT bad
• He will get my smile to where I am really happy with it----Music to my ears!!
• 6 months in braces---Okay, now the music is BLARING in my ears---WOO HOO!! That is fast!

So, now I leave you until next time when I get to do my impressions and break the news to my husband, this should be fun. Ha!

 XOXO
-Shannon

My teeth look that bad?!?!

So, I am posting these first couple of posts a little late in the game, oh well. 

Those awesome assistants poured my model up after I go to do an impression. Yes, a yucky impression BUT it was not that bad! I have had two impression done. One by Hannah and the other by Kandace; both assistants were truly AWESOME! There was no gagging involved and very little mess, plus they put flavor in it for me so it tasted alright.

So, here is the model of my teeth- looks like a statue...I have my very own statue--YEAH!! The statue is of my teeth---BOO!!

So, I filled my hubby in on my little secret that I was getting braces in a week. He really wasn't that bothered by it. As we sat on the couch talking, my mind was going 90 miles an hour wondering if he still thought I would be attractive. Side track a little---currently my hair is cut with bangs. He likes the hair cut, but NOT the bangs. So, I imagined him not liking how I looked with my 10 year old girl looking bangs with braces on. Oh no, full panic mode set in....then he reminded me that the braces were going to be on the inside of my teeth and my bangs would grow out. Whew, big relief!

Here is a picture of me and my hubby from about a month ago (pre-bangs), isn't he handsome?!?

Until next time....XOXO
-Shannon