Ash get her braces off today!!

Bee_Kay wrote: My daughter gets her braces taken off today!

OMG, she has went through h*ll to get her teeth to where they will be this afternoon.

Early on she developed a gap between her two front teeth. So our dentist took some x-rays and determined that her top jaw was out of alignment. It had to be pulled out (the bottom teeth were pushing her top teeth forward).

So, she had two choices. Either undergo major surgery (break her jaw and realign it) or she could wear headgear. She chose headgear.

They put her top braces on and then she had to wear this apparatus that rested on her forehead and on her chin and it had a metal bar that ran from those two points. Esentially what it did, was over time, it slowly makes small fractures, pulling the top jaw out. Then there were rubber bands that attached from her braces to the metal bar. (She only had to wear it at home and when she slept, not at school).

OMG was she in so much pain for the first few day, so the dentist prescribed her tylenol3 w/codiene.

The dentist said that some kids take up to a year to get their jaw aligned using that procedure (because they don't wear it as much as they should), but generally it takes about 3 to 6 months average.

Ash hated it so much she wore it as much as possible and she got it over with in about 6 weeks!!! LOL! The dentist was SHOCKED!!! and really proud of how much she chose to wear it!!

Anyways, she has had her top braces on for almost two years and her bottom braces for a year and a half. She got her bottom braces of 2 weeks ago and she gets her top ones taken off in a couple hours

She already has her bottom retainer cemented to the back of her bottom teeth. She'll have to wear a top retainer night and day for 6 months then after that, only at nighttime for the rest of her life.

Also wanted to add... that with Ash getting her top jaw aligned out to where it should be..... it's like women that get plastic surgery on their lips.... she gets a fuller top lip!

So, she is so excited today and can't wait to show off her beautiful smile

Bee_Kay replied: I'll post before and after pics later today

C&K*s Mommie replied: YAY!! Hope it goes as planned today!

Bee_Kay replied: Ash's teeth approx 2 years ago:




Her teeth this morning:



Whatcha think??? She got them polished after the braces came off, now they just need to be whitened a little bit.

She is thrilled

mckayleesmom replied:
The rembrant whitening works really good...better then the crest......They look really pretty.

Sarah&Mackenzie replied: They look awesome!! I know how she feels, I had braces for 2 1/2 years and luckily got them off 2 days before my 8th grade graduation.

C&K*s Mommie replied: they look great Barb!!

Bee_Kay replied: She was a little nervous going back to school.... she really wanted to show off her teeth to her friends, but she was having a little trouble pronouncing some letters

After the dentist she wanted to get a burger from McDonalds... she actually had fun eating LOL, she said "My teeth go right through the burger instead of getting caught on my braces".

Bee_Kay replied:

Thanks She goes to a wonderful dentist. We brought her to a dentist in Canada (I live near the Canadian border). I did bring her to a dentist in town here, but all he wanted to do was put braces on her and that's it.

So, we wanted a second opinion.... thank goodness we did, because the dentist in Canada told us that if she just got braces without any re-alignment, her teeth would immediately go back to having a gap!!!


I was wondering what kind of whitening toothpaste works well. I use Crest Whitening, but I really don't see how it whitens so great, I have pretty white teeth anyways though.
Thanks for the tip

mckayleesmom replied:
Ive never had a toothpaste that really worked,,,,but listering whitening rinse....THE KIND YOU USE BEFORE BRUSHING...works good.

Bee_Kay replied: Wow!
I've heard of that, but never bought it because the dentist told Ash NOT to use whitening toothpaste or whitening rinse while she had her braces on (they would be really splotchy when the braces came off).

Thanks! I'll probably run up and get some today

Bee_Kay replied: Ash at home after braces off:

luvmykids replied:
She looks great, good for her!!!

I swear by the Listerine Whitening Rinse and then brushing with the Ultra Brite toothpast, it's the cheapest one of all and works awesome. I actually had to quit b/c my teeth were glowing in the dark!

CantWait replied: She's beautiful. Congrats to her. You can tell how proud and how excited she is