Brace-less Caleb

As you can see, after nearly 2 years, fast in the bracing world, Caleb's braces are off! Woohoo!

His retainers are unlike any I've seen before - and you know I'm an expert. NOT! After his brackets were jack-hammered off, a new mold was made of his teeth then a model, then the hard plastic covers were created. They are called essix retainers. Here's how they are made if you REALLY want to know.


See all the beautifully straight teeth?

The retainers are in his hands. He has to wear them all the time except when eating then has to brush prior to putting them back on. They are cleaned with soap & water rather than toothpaste. When he first got them, he said they were worse than braces since they go all around his teeth. We've been told that after a month or two he'll only have to wear them at night.

He also has a permanent retainer cemented to the back of his bottom front teeth to keep those geese from migrating back to where they used to be.

Here he is in 2007 a few months into having the RR tracks applied. His bottom teeth had already lined up, no longer the scary, jagged criss-crosses that made me fear for their survival.

He had some pain and mouth sores usually only for a few days after adjustments but had a good attitude about the whole thing. He said the biggest pain was getting food stuck in his brackets and one of the pluses was getting into the habit of keeping his teeth cleaner.

Mom says Yea!!
As my dental student years ago told me, "Ignore your teeth & they'll go away."

I had a tough time finding a photo of Caleb prior to braces that showed his teeth. His smiles were with curved lips - no teeth so here's the best I can do for a "before" shot.

Scrolling through My Pictures, I've noticed how much Caleb has grown physically these past two years. He still looks like a sweet little kid in this "before" pic. Now he's mid-teens & headed straight into adulthood.

I'll see if he lets me grab a shot when he starts to shave. :-)