Don't eat greens in public!

I learned something new today. Never eat greens in public...especially spinach. Or any other veggie related to spinach. They will stick onto your braces like glue and are almost impossible to remove. After I brushed my teeth, irrigated with high-pressure water, and flossed, the spinach is still stuck in between my teeth and wrapped around my brackets. It's already embarrassing to have green stuff stick in between your teeth. When you have braces, it's 10 times worse. So word of caution, don't eat spinach in public.

I hit my 20 day mark today. YEAH! I am quite amazed that my teeth has already started to move a little bit. My front teeth are still sore and sensitive. They're not painful nor bother me at all, but I can't bite food with them. I usually have to break the food apart into smaller pieces and then chew with my back teeth. In fact, when my mouth is idle (not eating or talking), I almost forgot that I have braces on.

Like I promised last time, I'm posting some of my "before" pictures. Hope they won't scare you!

When you look at my front view (right), my teeth and jaw don't look too bad. In fact, I've learned how to smile so that only my upper teeth show and no one really notices my protruding jaw.


Now if I turn to my side and you see my profile... YUCK!!! I hate my profile. My jaw protrudes out sooo much. My lower lip sticks out so much! I never take any pictures with my profile. It's ugly, ugly, ugly!!

Here is my teeth. Sorry to scare you! Notice that the top and bottom teeth don't touch each other. There is at least a 5mm gap in between. My bottom teeth tried to accommodate the irregularity by growing inward, attempting to touch the upper teeth. For the most part, my front teeth are inusable. I only chew with my back teeth, which aren't fitting to each other that perfectly either. Some parts of my teeth are crooked. The bottom right has some crowding.

My first day in braces! September 16, 2005. The crookedness is noticeable when I have the braces on because you can tell from the archwire. It's not straight. The worse part is the bottom right crowding.


Here is my teeth today, 20 days later. Notice the lower right teeth...the crowding is a little bit better. The tooth no longer "leans" to the side. The wire has also straightened out. I am happy that it's progressing. My orthro tells me that since my lower bottom teeth leans inward, the plan is to have them straighten, so before surgery, the gap in between the top and bottom jaw will be wider. My teeth and lip will appear to protrude out even more. Until then...