Braces: Seventh Adjustment (10 May 2013)

During this visit, my orthodontist mentioned that my teeth have been making good progress (they're becoming more leveled!). I had an x-ray taken, which showed some shortening of the roots of my teeth, but within an acceptable range. He also said that if he were to get down to writing a textbook, he would include me as a case study/example. HAHA. I was also advised to control my lip muscles when I smile because the right side of my lips tends to rise higher than the other.

According to my orthodontist, I have roughly another year of treatment to go. My gaps have yet to close fully and my mid-line is still being corrected... But I'm so glad the teeth have straightened out already. :D I can't believe that it's been (almost) a year since I've gotten these metal things on!

Braces: Fifth and Sixth Adjustments (22 January 2013 and 8 March 2013)

I didn't realize that it's been 4 months since I last posted! I've had two adjustments since then and had gotten a little too lazy to update. But I'll try to revive this space for the sake of tracking my progress.

On my fifth adjustment, the orthodontist placed a power chain on a hook attached to the micro implants to another hook on my upper lateral incisor (both sides). My teeth are finally getting retracted and my gum line corrected! The sixth adjustment was similar. He merely replaced the old power chains with newer ones to continue the process of correcting my gum lines. I also had power chains placed across six of my bottom teeth, from the first premolar on one side to the first premolar on the other (I have missing lateral incisors on the bottom), to close two tiny gaps.

Speaking of gaps, as of today, my extraction gaps are still there. The one on the right is ALMOST closed while the one on the left still has a slightly larger amount of space. I can also still feel dents from where my wisdom teeth were extracted and the line where my gum was cut open... Lol.

Also, an update on my gum line: My smile is much less gummy compared to the past, so yay! My upper row of teeth is also more or less leveled now. I can't believe how slanted it used to be! Best of all, it is so much WIDER now; No more dark corners when I smile because more teeth can be seen!

Just some photos:

After my fifth adjustment. On hindsight, the gummy smile doesn't actually look that bad now that my teeth are much straighter.

After my sixth adjustment.

And here is how my smile looked on Day 1 of braces:

10 and a half months into wearing braces... Time REALLY flies.

Braces: Micro implants insertion (11 December 2012)

 I had two micro implants inserted into my gums on Tuesday. The procedure was a lot less scary than I had expected. I could have fallen asleep in the dental chair haha.

I had local anaesthesia injected into my gums twice (one jab on each side) and it surprisingly didn't hurt at all. I remember receiving a few local anaesthetic jabs in my gums when I was younger and those really hurt. The taste was just as I had remembered - bitter. When the anaesthesia took effect, I had holes drilled where the micro implants were to be placed. Apart from pressure, I couldn't feel anything else.

The effects of the anaesthesia wore off about 2 hours after my appointment. I thought I would start feeling some sort of discomfort but there was none at all! Guess I'm really lucky to have such a pain-free experience.

I have another appointment in two weeks' time to check on the condition of the micro implants. Till then!

Braces: Fourth adjustment (4 December 2012)

I had my fourth braces adjustment this morning!

Apparently everything is looking good. Exactly what, I have no idea because the differences were not visible to me at all even though I scrutinize my teeth every day. Lol. My orthodontist said it was time to move on to the next stage of my treatment, which involves the leveling of my gums and making my smile appear less gummy. I have another appointment next Tuesday to have the micro implants as mentioned here inserted.

Till next week! I need to go back to studying for my last paper. :(

Braces: Third adjustment (9 October 2012)

I went for my third braces adjustment about 2 weeks ago!

The changes that my teeth went through in the few weeks before the adjustment were pretty minimal. I guess it was because all the visible unevenness had been straightened out so you can't really see any changes from my pictures anymore. I personally feel that my two upper front teeth don't protrude as much anymore. I now have gaps between my two lower front teeth, which seem to be tilted outwards too. I hope they will be upright soon!

I'm also off those rubber bands which I had to wear since my second adjustment because my molar moved A LOT! It's a lot easier to chew on my right side now. I'm so happy that my teeth are touching in places they've never touched before. ^^

My orthodontist scheduled an X-ray appointment for me the next time I see him. He also told me that I will most likely need micro implants to make further corrections to my teeth/bite/smile. My smile is actually quite gummy (you can't tell from the picture above because I tried to restrain it HAHA) so I really hope that the micro implants will correct that!

I can't believe it's been 5 months since I started wearing braces. I love watching my teeth move and I'm glad I've never experienced any of the major discomfort I've heard/read of. I should probably do a braces journey post when I hit my 6th month!

Till the next adjustment!

Braces: Second adjustment (17 August 2012)

This is my I-just-survived-the-first-week-of-school face!

Anyway, I just had my second adjustment this morning. Throughout the past few weeks, I felt that there weren't as many visible changes compared to when I just had my braces put on. My two upper front teeth don't protrude that much anymore and the gap between two of my lower teeth have closed. That's about it, it seems!

My orthodontist gave me some Penguin rubber bands to use 24/7, except for when I'm eating and brushing my teeth. It runs from the tongue side of my lower first molar to the cheek side of my upper first molar on my right. It isn't bothering me so far because the rubber band is pretty stretchy!

He also mentioned that he isn't going to rule out the use of microimplants in the course of my treatment.

And that's about it for my second adjustment! ^^

Rag And Flag

So if you don't know yet, Rag Day happened on the 10th of August! Flag Day happened 3 days prior to that on the 7th of August.

I had just 1.5h of sleep the night before Flag Day. Took the chartered bus and reached Orchard in the wee hours of the morning. Goodness, it was pretty creepy at that time! When it was time for flagging (7am!), I walked around checking on the D Block Orchard Flaggers. It was so tiring, especially for my poor feet. I was in ballet flats. :( I really need to get some proper sneakers!

The funniest thing that happened on Flag Day was probably Jiaqi's typo on whatsapp:

HAHAHA

After Flag Day ended, we sealed the tin cans and brought them to U Town for coin-counting. IT WAS THE MOST INTRIGUING EXPERIENCE EVER. Imagine opening and emptying the contents of each tin can on the table. SO MUCH MONEY. We had another coin-counting session the next day as well. My hands were so smelly after that.

 At the end of it, when we added up everything, we were shocked/surprised/elated to realize that we have beaten the NUS Flag record by an amount of $9000! Sooo happy that KR residents alone managed to raise $146608.60. ^^

Our shields. The effort of every KR resident who came down to help out on Flag Day. Thank you so much!

Now, on to Rag Day! We brought the kids from our charity down to the SRC to watch all the Rag Performances put up by the various halls and faculties. They were so adorable and they kept cheering for us!

Face-painting for the kids.

KRaSHers.

The kids love sitting on peoples' shoulders. Hahahah.

Why so serious?

Finally a clearer, non-iPhone photo. Lol.

When we swept the awards:

Flag 10/11/12/13!

I can't believe that my Flag journey of 3 months have come to an end. Year 2 officially begins tomorrow. I guess Sze Ling was right when she told me to treasure the 3 months. I would write an emo post, but it's 1.09am and I think I should rest early for school (gotta get up early to print my notes cos my printer at home was running out of ink, zzz). Plus this post is getting pretty long too!

Good night! ^^