One Year Anniversary with my Stouffville Orthodontist!

The half way mark has come!! The one year anniversary of getting on my braces in Stouffville! Lots has happened this year. Reminiscing from a year ago, I wasn't even sure about getting the braces. I couldn't make the decision. He knew I did not want surgery for my jaw and told me I could get a very similar result without surgery. Having worked with Dr. Jason Tam for many years, I trusted his work....so why not! Here are the before and progress photos from 1 year later :)

MCO Orthodontics Initial photos

One year later, Here I am!

MCO Orthodontics Progress records 1 year later

The space where my #25 tooth was extracted is pretty much fully closed & my upper midline shift is 2mm away from being perfect!! Very happy with the result so far!! One more year to go!!

KEEP SMILING!!!!

My co-worker Isha after her Invisalign & myself after Colour me Rad, Toronto!

Relieving Discomfort from Stouffville Braces

Hi everyone!

For those of you who have had or are currently in treatment with braces, you should know exactly what I am talking about. The discomfort of wearing braces. Most people would assume it is worse than it actually is. Yes, the first week was not enjoyable. Any drastic change to your mouth with metal, one would not assume to be enjoyable. However, after the 1 week, things settle down and get better. Eventually, you forget you have braces!

What I want to talk about today are the little discomforts that come up because of the braces once in a while. The cuts that happen in your mouth caused by the metal rubbing against your inner lips or cheeks. Below is a picture of a cut that I have gotten a couple of times. If you look carefully, it is present on my inner bottom lip and caused by the braces.

Cut from braces

DO NOT FRET! There is always a solution! MCO Stouffville Orthodontics recommends putting wax in the area. We supply this special dental wax for all of our patients specifically for this issue. The key is finding the cause of the cut. In my case, like I mentioned, it is the wire. I placed the wax directly onto the cause of the cut, and INSTANT RELIEF!  The wax allows the lip area to be shielded from the wire, allowing it to heal.

Wax on top of braces

In the picture above, I have been wearing the wax for 12 hours and you can see my cut is starting to heal. You have to remember to remove the wax before you eat, or else you will end up eating the wax. However, if you do ingest the wax accidentally, it is not toxic to your body. When you have braces, wax is your best friend if you have any cuts in the mouth!! :)

Dental wax for braces

Stouffville Braces Correcting My Midline!

I would like to officially share with everyone that my upper midline is about 2mm away from being centred to my nose with my Stouffville braces. It's incredibly exciting to be able to smile with a normal midline!! It hasn't even been a year since I got my braces on.

Midline shift with Stouffville Orthodontics.

Little background story on my progress; The centre of my two front teeth was very off from the centre of my nose when I smiled in pictures.

Me before braces with one of our patients

So as per Dr. Tam's treatment plan, we removed my upper left second premolar to shift over my teeth to the left and match up the midlines!!! I am incredibly happy with the result so far! 2mm to go!

Celebrities who have had braces!!!

Have you noticed that most celebrities have perfect teeth!?  Unfortunately, nobody is born with perfect teeth, so they have used orthodontics at some point in their lives. Some have used Invisalign, lingual braces, ceramic braces or metal braces.

Niall Horan from One Direction

Gwen Stefani

Dakota Fanning sporting ceramic braces

Above are a few celebrities who sported their braces with pride :)

At MCO Stouffville Orthodontics, Dr. Jason Tam offers Invisalign, Ceramic braces & Metal braces. I have chosen the metal braces and you can barely see them when I smile!

MCO Stouffville Orthodontics smile!

Another year till my perfect MCO smile! Until then, wearing my MCO braces with confidence!!!

Progress with my Stouffville Orthdontist!

Wanted to give you all an update on my treatment for my Stouffville braces!!! It has been 9 months now since I started treatment and really happy with the changes. Keep in mind that my estimated treatment plan is 2 years. Still lots to do!!!

Stouffville Orthodontist Initial photos

Stouffville Orthodontist 5 month photos

Stouffville Orthodontist 9 month photos

You'll notice that my midline has shifted slightly, still needs a couple more mm to go. My deep bite is opening up, and all the teeth are very straight!!! I am still wearing the elastic on the left hand side to prevent my canine from moving forward while closing the space. Excited to see the half way point in May :)

Braces-Friendly foods for Braces in Stouffville!!!

Eight months into treatment and still enjoying the braces...most of the time. The thing that can get slightly annoying has to do with what you can and cannot eat. Some foods can cause your braces to break, your teeth to hurt, or even increase your chances of cavities if not cleaned properly. Unfortunately, the discomfort to chewing while eating foods can be related to any tooth movement it being braces or Invisalign. However, if you really don't enjoy the food getting caught in the braces, Invisalign is a great alternative. For myself, I am able to clean out the food properly with brushing and flossing.

Braces-Friendly foods consist of anything soft (breads, yogurt, cheese, raspberries, pasta). Anything really hard such as apples, carrots, cookies can break the dental glue that attaches the braces to your teeth. Be very aware of anything too sticky such as caramel, taffy and gummy candies. They get stuck in the little grooves of the teeth and cause cavities. If any of your are on Pinterest, there are some fantastic Braces Friendly foods and recipes available. I have tried a couple and they are great!!!

Keep in mind that in order for treatment to go as planned and smoothly, you must be aware not to break the braces during the treatment time that your Stouffville Orthodontist estimates. It can be annoying to always have to bo aware of your braces and what to eat/not eat, but in the end it is completely worth it!! Hopefully it will also encourage you all to eat healthier :)

At MCO Stouffville Orthodontics, we encourage eating most foods and go over specific instructions on how to eat certain foods properly at your initial visit! Eat right and be aware!!!

Starting Elastics with my Braces in Stouffville!!

7 months in and starting elastics!! Elastics are used for many different reasons, usually connecting the upper jaw with the lower jaw. There are many different patterns which are specified to the patient by your Orthodontist.

Orthodontic Elastics

Reasons for elastics include closing a bite and/or shifting over the lower jaw either forward or back depending on the bite.

Orthodontic elastic on left hand side

For my particular case, you will notice I am in a full upper Power Chain (Chain that closes spaces). The particular elastic I'm wearing is to prevent my upper left canine from shifting forward so my upper midline can shift to the left. I wear the elastic all day and all night except when I'm eating and brushing. It's not bad at all!!!! I barely feel it to be honest :) Which is why it is difficult to remember putting it back on after a meal. A good way to remember and here, at your Stouffville Orthodontist, we tell our patients to keep the elastic around their pinky finger while they eat. It has been working so far!! I cannot wait for my upper midline to shift and all the spaces to close!!! Tune in for the progress!

Orthodontic Elastics