Well guys...looks like I'm done

That's right. I had my last (well not technically last, but last major) orthodontist appointment today. I couldn't sleep all night stressing about how I was going to tell them my concerns. I hate confrontation and normally prefer to keep quiet, but this was a big deal to me. I told them about my bite problem and then the center lines (idr what they're called!) not being lined up. As far as the bite problem, they agreed that was an issue and offered to order me some retainers that actually cover more of your tooth and mouth to kind of make my teeth settle together. So I agreed to that because an off bite could be an annoying problem. Which meant I had to get new molds. Oh molds, how I loathe thee. I almost three up 2-3 times during that process. But breathing through your nose helps. My tongue never knows where to go, but luckily the molds only had to be on for a minute each and they didn't need to be repeated. Phew.

Then the problem with the line not matching up. I told him and he said, "It's not going to. No one's does these days. Tom Cruise's is all the way over and he had braces 2 times" Ok, not what I was expecting. "You can fix it, but it takes a long time because every tooth has to move over" So the solution? Ignore it. That's right, I'm going to ignore my need for perfection and just try to live with it. It's not that bad. But I wished it could have been fixed. However, I've come to realize my teeth look better now, so that's the main thing to focus on.

I got my attachments off, which I think he just filed off with this electric tool. It didn't hurt at all, and went pretty fast. It feels great not to have bumps sticking out! Then he gave me my new retainers. I will eventually switch to the new ones they're ordering, but that won't be until they come which will be a few weeks. So these ones I'm supposed to wear as much as I can the hygenist said. I asked the orthodontist and he said they usually say 2 months, but my mouth is fine so just at night is good enough. I tried them on and the tops fit fine. But the bottoms didn't. Not that they were right, no. They literally were not the right fit. There was no way they were going on. SO I have to wear my old bottoms. Which are old and have the bumps in them from where my attachments were, but he was with another client and I guess that was the solution the hygenist came up with.

So when they call me, I will get those new retainers to wear at night to correct my bite. Maybe more than at night? I'm not sure. And then after like a month I believe, I'm supposed to come in to make sure everything settled. It's so weird not wearing my retainers! I'm not used to it, but I'm beginning to like it. It's weird because this morning I was sad about it. I was hoping they'd give me longer treatment. How weird, I know! But the last year this has been a constant when everything else has been crazy. And it was nice improving something I always wanted to.

And I've also started the whitening process. I used my Crest 3d white luxe glamorous toothpaste for the first time today. I'll use it morning and night, with dry brushing and gum is between. At least that's the plan. The taste wasn't bad. It didn't foam weird like some reviews of other whitening toothpastes claim. I spent the entire 2 minutes my Sonicare runs really brushing good and spending time on each area, mainly focusing on the front and sides, which are the teeth you'll see mostly.

Now that it's said and done, I'm not as grumpy as my last post. I'm pretty happy with it. Not perfect, but I guess close enough for now.

Anyway here are some final pictures:

BEFORE

AFTER