Hannah Malone: Braces

I am certainly one to believe that a nice smile is very important, and that everyone should feel confident with their smile.

Since I was younger, my teeth have never been the nicest yet I still smiled because at that age I didn't worry about the way my teeth looked. Growing up, however, was a different story. I have always been self-concious about the way my teeth looked which would mean I would smile without showing my teeth (which, looking back, meant I looked strange on pictures - as if I had no teeth!).

Especially once I reached high school, it affected my self-esteem more than ever before. Starting high school is scary in itself, let alone when you're panicking people may make comments about your teeth. Thankfully, despite a few comments made, nobody said anything about my teeth (well, that I know about!)

In year 8, I was referred from my normal, check up dentist to the hospital to see an orthodontist. After multiple appointments, I was given a 'twin block retainer' - that looked like this...

These pictures may be hard to understand as to what the retainer does, however I will try and explain. It is a type of 'functional orthodontic appliance' and works by harnessing the power of jaw muscles and tries to modify the way a patient's jaw functions, in order to bring an improvement in someone's bite. It's made up of two parts, one for each jaw. They are removable plastic braces usually with a number of metal clips to keep it in place. When a twin block retainer is worn, it encourages a patient to keep their lower jaw forward which stretches their jaw muscles and uses the muscle power to exert a force on the teeth; therefore, decreasing the overbite of the patient's jaw.

I wore this retainer for two years, which got rid of my overbite and although it was a huuugggeee pain and gave me a lisp, it helped. Following this, before I could have my permanent braces fitted, I had an operation to have 5 teeth removed as my mouth was overcrowded and so my teeth could not 'be fixed', as such, if there wasn't enough room. So, on October 15th 2012 I went into hospital and had 5 teeth (2 from the top, 2 from the bottom and another from the roof of my mouth) removed under a general (whole body) anaesthetic.

** if you're squeamish, you may want to scroll past the next pictures!! **

Myself after the operation, with a swollen mouth
and looking very tired (and upset - I was in pain, obviously)

So, after my operation, I had two large gaps on my top and bottom teeth (all were molars that were removed). I had to take a salty solution for two weeks following the operation that would ensure the gaps didn't get infected. I also had a diet of chocolate buttons and soup for the rest of the week!

Two months and three days later, on the 18th December 2012 I got my permanent braces fixed and was told I would have them on for about an 18th month period (but in fact I had them on for over 24 months). To say I was scared would be an understatement but I was so so excited, that my fear was forgotten about. Here is a photo I took of myself just before leaving to get my braces...

As you can see, my two front teeth were particularly large in comparison to my other teeth and as I described them were, 'rabbit teeth'. The teeth next to the front two were small and very pushed back, which emphasised how large my front teeth were. Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of my bottom teeth however they were particularly bad also and were very out of place and crooked.

Here is a photo of myself just before getting them on, to then just after getting my braces on.

This next photo is taken from a One Direction concert in March 2013. My orthodontist had applied what I called 'springs' (they looked very similar), to the top of my teeth and this was so that my teeth would spread out and therefore the gaps that had been left from my teeth being removed would close.

In June, this is how my teeth looked. My teeth had been 'pulled back' is the only way I can think to describe it, by the 'springs' that had been applied on my braces. My two front teeth now looked like they actually fitted my mouth, haha! Although I had only had my braces on for 6 months, I could 100% tell a difference and I was so happy with the outcome so far.

A photo of the change in my teeth from before I got my braces, to July 2013.

In August, my teeth started to get a gap in them and I started to panic because I thought they were taking a turn for the worse. However, I was soon reassured that it was all part of the process. Here is a photo of myself during our family holiday to America in 2013. My teeth had formed a gap in the middle and the other teeth had also formed a gap in the middle. I honestly have no idea why this happened so I can't explain why it did, it just did!

The following photo, is the ONLY photo I have of my bottom teeth and this was taken in Septemeber 2013 - when my braces had been on for just under a year. As you can see, they are still quite crooked so just imagine what they were like before braces!

The next two photos were taken at the end of October 2013. A gap between my two front teeth still remained and it was very prominent and noticeable, however the rest of the gaps between my other teeth had closed. This was probably my least favourite stage of my braces process because the gap was very noticeable and I really didn't like the way it looked!

By December 2013, my front gap had closed a lot and was almost unnoticeable. This photo was taken on Christmas Day 2013, over a year since my braces had been applied and the change is, well, unbelievable. (Excuse the weird face I am pulling in this, I'm sure I was sending the picture to a friend - not taking a serious photo, haha!)

2013 had been a year for change when it came to my braces. I couldn't quite believe the sheer change in my teeth, from being so self-concious when it came to them to not being worried about the way they looked.

I would describe 2014 as being my 'waiting year' when it came to my braces. My teeth seemed to me like they were perfect and that my braces experience would be over yet I knew that they would still remain on my teeth to keep them straight.

This photo, was in February 2014 and as you can see - my teeth look sorted. You can also see my bottom teeth, ever so slightly, and see that they are straight too (such a change from September 2013!). Again, excuse the weird facial expression, posing again haha...

(Shout out to Megs)

The following photo is from June 2014, from the time of my prom. So 4 months after the previous photo I have just shown you, as you can see there is not much change as like I said - 2014 was all about waiting.

Here are four more photos, the first two from August and the third and fourth from December. As you can probably see, there is practically no change. However, I was originally getting my braces off on October 15th 2014 BUT a gap still remained between two of my back teeth and I was given the option to get them taken off with the gap still there, if I really wanted. Although it was tempting, I knew I would regret getting them taken off when they weren't perfect and so I decided against it. Unfortunately, the only appointment next available for them to be taken off was the 5 January 2015 and I was devastated that it would be another 3 months before they came off, but I had to wait.

After over 2 years of having braces, I finally finally finally got them removed on the 5th January 2015. I have been sooooo excited for this day since I first got them on and here it is. Although I missed my first day back at college in the new year to get them off, I did not mind one bit! And here they are..