First 'Official' Appointment

Hi guys! Last time I wrote I had had my consultation and paid my money but I wanted to just give a bit of history first. Now that that is out of the way I can continue with my story!

I had my first 'official' appointment on the 3rd Jan 2014. As part of this my dentist did a more thorough check up on my teeth. He advised me he thinks I have a 'dead' tooth but as it is causing my no pain at the moment, I have decided to leave it alone. In the future I may need this removed.

I also had a tooth that needed a filling, and he advised I should get this done before the brace goes on.

As part of this appointment I had lots of photos taken, for the benefit of my dentist and also 6 month smiles themselves. They used these weird plastic things that go on each side of your mouth to hold your lips open and take close up photos. They also take photos of you from the neck up smiling. For me it was a very forced/fake smile as I NEVER show my teeth when smiling normally! They also took photos of the backs of my teeth, they do this using a mirror that does not mist up when you breathe. They rest it behind your teeth on the top and bottom.

They also take XRays of each side of yur mouth. This is where he told me I would need a filling redone. He showed me WHY I needed it done. I know that he isnt trying to rip me off and get me to pay for things that arent needed, he actually shows me the XRays and points out what they are showing and what they mean.

The next part was the casting. I had decided to only get my upper arch (top row of teeth) straightened, but after they are all done, I will be getting my teeth polished and whitened, again I have paid upfront for this as well. So I only had to go through one lot of casting. He put some purple gel like stuff into a tray and pressed it hard onto my top teeth for approx 3-5 minutes it felt like. When I had braces as a child I seem to remember the gel stuff feeling like it was going down my throat. Well my dentist had put it in the tray in a way that it wouldn't do that. He also explained exactly what was happening before he did things so I knew what to expect. When he removed the hardened gel from my teeth it did feel like my teeth would come out with it but it was fine!

They have to use a gel that will hold its shape for a long time. Normally it only holds shape for approx 24 hours, but he was sending the cast of my teeth to America for them to sork out where the brace needs to go on each tooth. For a normal brace, it just goes to a lab within the UK but for 6 month smiles it goes to USA.

The last thing he did was take my email address for his records so he could email me a Consent form to read and sign, and bring back on my next appointment. 

Once that was all done, my appointment was over. It took a total of around 45 minutes this time. As I was paying in full on a debit card I got a small discount off of everything so I was pleased with that! I got some mouthwash to start using, it is alcohol free and had fluoride in it. He said I will go through a lot of this when I have the braces!

My next appointment was booked for the 7th January so I could get my filling sorted out, and I also booked the appointment for the brace to be fitted. This is the 24th January! Eeek!

Any questions please feel free to ask me :)