One ecstatic teenager!
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| Wed, 01-10-2007 - 7:59pm |
This morning DD14 finally got her braces off! She wore them for 5 years, 1 month and 1 day, so we hadn't seen her without her "tin grin" since she was 9. Her original treatment plan called for a year with a Herbst appliance, then a year of braces and she would have had them off at 11, in the middle of 6th grade. Instead, there were ankylosed primary molars, a 12 year molar coming up sideways, a stripped gum in front, and other unanticipated issues that slowed her treatment down.
She ended up never wearing the Herbst (jaw position corrected with rubber bands for 2 years), but the end result is the same- she now has a spectacularly beautiful smile. The ortho put a permanent retainer on her bottom teeth and we go back to see him next week for her upper retainer. All day long today she had friends rushing up to her asking to see her teeth- very few of the kids she knows had ever seen her without her braces- even DS18 flagged her down in the hall to see, lol.
She has been smiling all day- it sure is nice!

Yay! What a great day!!
Sue
Yes, I understand your dd's excitement! My dd actually begged that she WANTED braces, then after wearing them for about three years, she was delighted when they finally came off. She has no clue why she ever thought that wearing braces was so cool!
Congratulations to your dd - she has passed a milestone in her life!
Amelia
Don't you love it? My DD got her braces off in August -- she wore them for just under two years. She smiles a pretty big smile these days!
Now DS is in the midst of it all. He has so much hardware in his mouth, I thought he would set off the metal detector at the airport when we went on a trip over the summer!
One down, one to go!
YAY!! So happy for your DD!!
My dd14 actually gets hers off FINALLY the 23rd of this month. The same day ds11 starts his treatment. She has had some form of wires in her mouth since Valentines Day of 2nd Grade! The actual braces went in her mouth on Halloween of 6th grade lol..
She's actually worried about what she will look like w/out braces and thinks she is going to miss them - she's definitely different!
Congrats to your dd!
All 3 of us can relate - ds was like me, wanting them off before 8th grade graduation, but no luck. He got his off in Aug, dh got his off in Nov (yes, '06 - it was SO cute, some little kid came up to him over the summer and asked if he'd had them on since he was a kid!), and I got mine off after 8th grade graduation. DS and I also got contacts about the same time; me during freshman year; him the 2nd day of freshman year.
Sue