DNA APPLIANCE: A bit more about me

OH! And by the way... I think I should mention something. My teeth are NOT badly crooked. (I will take a picture when I have time and put it in this post.)

I have only mild crowding on the bottom (and experience a slightly painful pressure due to this crowding).  Up top, I have one canine that does not have enough room and sticks out very far. Other than that, my teeth are mostly aligned - other than my two front teeth slightly slanted inwards.  

So my goal with this process is to finally feel very confident with my smile.  I tend to find myself smiling with my mouth closed and trying to hide my protruding canine. I also do not want my lower (slightly) crooked teeth to keep getting worse with age, as my dentist has told me they would.  (I have noticed them getting worse in the past four years, as well, so I believe they will keep getting worse if I don't do anything now.)

I am looking to widen my arch, giving it more of a "U" shape than a "V" shape ... and want my canine to finally be straight with my other teeth.  In order to do this, by widening my jaw line, I will finally have room for this canine to 'fall into place.' 

DNA Appliance: About me

Hello, my name is Leanne and I am a 24 year old American who is currently living and studying in Dublin, Ireland.  I go home every summer to spend my break with my family - and during the summer of 2012 I had a bit of extra money and randomly decided to do something about my crooked teeth.

I grew up 'loving' my sticky out tooth (I thought it made me very unique) and vehemently said no to braces every time my parents offered. Once I hit my twenties, however, I began to regret my refusing braces as a child/teenager.

I decided that metal braces were not an option for me, and I would rather keep my teeth how they are than have the hideous train tracks. I was willing to look into Invisalign, however, and went in for a consultation without thinking there were any other options other than tooth implants or veneers.

I was surprised to have my dentist recommend this thing called a DNA Appliance. I had never heard of it, and was rather taken aback ad I left a bit baffled on what decision to make. After about a week of thought, I decided to go along with my dentist's recommendation and chose the DNA Appliance over Invisalign.

He explained to me that there were so many more benefits to using the Appliance, including facial bone alignment/symmetry (which would help with venous eye pooling) and expansion of the jaw.  He said that Invisalign would force for the teeth straight but the Appliance would entirely transform my jaw, expanding it to where it wants to be.

He said my molars measure at 32mm and would be optimal at 40mm... maybe a little more! Because I cannot go in for checkups during the year due to my being abroad, I will go slow with my Appliance than if I was at home.  I was told I will be turning it half a turn every week, and then once I arrive back home in May, I will go to bi-weekly checkups.

I will take a picture of the Appliance once it arrives, and document my progress as often as I can with my busy college schedule. :)