10-month review of asymmetry correction

This is my 10-month review of orthodontic treatment. For most of the time, I was only wearing elastics between the upper and lower right molars to match the tooth height, but for the past two months I’ve been wearing a custom-made appliance designed to fit my bite. It’s a mouthguard-like device with the upper and lower parts separated, and each side has preset positions for the elastics, so it’s a three-dimensional appliance that moves the jaw joint from right to left and pushes the right side forward and the left side backward. First of all, because it’s noticeable when worn, I took it out while at work and wore it from after dinner until the next morning. When I went out after work, I wore a mask, and since my speech was slurred, strangers thought I had had my wisdom teeth removed. Realistically, it wasn’t easy to keep it on while living normal life. Another downside is that I salivate a lot while sleeping... Other than that, there weren’t any major inconveniences. What surprised me about wearing the appliance was that the effect seemed to show up faster than I expected. If you look at the two photos below, you can tell that the asymmetry has largely disappeared visually. Of course, if I don’t wear the appliance for a long time, it will go back to the way it was. And right now my teeth still don’t fit perfectly, so the left molars don’t touch well, which means I’ll still need detailed adjustments. Still, because there are parts that change quickly on the outside, the stress I used to feel from the asymmetry has really gone down a lot, and I’m extremely satisfied. I’ll probably need to keep orthodontic treatment going for about two more years, so I’ll post updates from time to time.

More in this category