update

Went in for adjustment and cleaning today. I'm no longer wearing rubber band for this area, but still wearing this one and still half-time (12hrs). This time I'm given two additional rubber bands that I have to wear full time that go on my front teeth. I was still able to eat when I got home at 6pm and had a nice spaghetti.. but around 8pm, my teeth started to hurt and felt so tight.. until now. Per usual, I'm expecting this will last for the next 2-3 days. Probably 3 days. 

I hope that nothing will break. Last month I was yawning widely in the morning, and I broke one of the hook. I came in for a fix a few days later. I was made this wire and it was placed around the bracket with the broken hook, then it was held under my chain so it stayed put. For today's adjustment, I noticed that they had removed the chain from my lower braces, but kept the upper one on. I have had the surgical hook for the upper braces since last month, but they added the surgical hook for the lower braces today. I didn't have problem with the upper one. But the lower one doesn't feel too great, and it gave me discomfort when I was eating. It felt really sharp and obstructive.. and seems like it's irritating the inner of my lower lip. Hopefully I'll get used to this very soon.

At this point, my teeth are pretty much straight.. but all the efforts now are now focused on correcting my bite that's asymmetrical (I think it's the tricky part) and to make my upper teeth meet with my lower teeth (thus the rubber bands).

Last month as I mentioned that I had a slight scare after seeing the result of the xray. There was a dense cell or some kind shown on the x-ray.. I never heard from them but today I asked again, just to make sure that it's really nothing. We compared the latest xray with the first one that was taken before my orthodontic treatment, we saw that it was already there before and no change with it so my orthodontist told me that it doesn't seem serious nor dangerous, because it means that it's not growing or moving. Also, I overheard my ortho told the assistant who was writing my info down, that the measurement of the gap where I'm getting an implant is 8mm now.

I also met my regular dentist today after my cleaning, and he did the exam today. He said that my teeth look good, and he seemed impressed with my progress since the first time I came to his office years ago. Anyway he explained to me that once my orthodontic treatment is finished then we can take care of my teeth. I asked about the implant too and he said that the mandibular is perfect for implant, and there are some areas that I can't get implants because of the bone structure. He said that once I get my braces off, my orthodontist is going to make me a retainer with something like a fake teeth to fill in that gap for me to wear, so it will retain the space for the implant. I was relieved to hear that. Because according to my ortho plan, I would have my braces off by August or October the latest.. and I'm planning to get the implant next year instead.. but I was so worried that my teeth will start moving all over the places and will impact the gap/space reserved for the implant, if I wait too long to get an implant! So hearing this explanation is good news for me. :)

Three types of elastic bands I've worn so far:
Bummer (diameter: 4.6mm or 3/16"; force: 170.1g)
Louie (diameter: 7.9mm or 5/16"; force: 113.4g)
India (diameter: 3mm or 1/8"; force: 4oz)