Virginia Smiles

Back to Smile page

I had braces for 4 years when I was younger for an open bite (the buck teeth sort of scenario) and back then my orthodontist basically decided my bite got close enough and took them off. My front top and bottom teeth never touched each other - ever. Just about a year ago my fiancé mentioned he thought my teeth were moving - something I had noticed but did not want to acknowledge. They were heading right back towards the open bite/buck teeth look I had when I was little. I went to Dr. Babiec with the impression they could just throw some Invisalign braces on my and that would fix it all. It ended up being a bit more than that. Dr. Babiec determined it may be my breathing that was moving my teeth and sent me to an ENT. I had never heard of that being a cause for bad teeth alignment. It ended up my turbinates (structures that the air passes through as you inhale/exhale) in my nose were almost completely obstructing my airway, and my septum was deviated. I always knew I was a mouth breather (I drooled a lot at night, slept with my mouth open, had trouble running/exercising because I always ran out of breath), but this showed the reason I was breathing through my mouth - and why my teeth were moving. The force of my breath at night through my mouth was moving my teeth out. I had surgery to correct both those issues in my nasal passage. The surgery was really easy - in the outpatient surgery center that morning by 8am and out by Noon. I had no bruising or swelling. The first time I went back to the ENT to be examined post-surgery and they cleaned out the nasal passage it was AMAZING how much better I could already breath - and that was just the beginning. A couple weeks later I could close my mouth and just breath through my nose - something I was never able to do before! After I healed from the surgery Dr. Babiec gave me a palate expander and then traditional bracket braces. I am continually impressed with his thoroughness and expertise in orthodontics. It made the first time I had braces seem like the dark ages. I religiously wore my appliance, and then once that was gone the rubber bands that were helping close my bite were always on. It was obvious the surgery was a success because of how quickly my teeth started to come into alignment. If I was still breathing through my nose there was no way my teeth would have moved so fast. I got my braces on Jan. 29th and got them off August 2nd. The difference this has made in my life is unreal. I used to smile a lot before - now it is non-stop. I can't stop looking at my teeth in the mirror - I never imagined they could look this good. My teeth actually touch - I never experienced that before and never thought I would. I am getting married next year and I had said at first I was doing all this to have good wedding pictures. Little did I know how much this would change things beyond just good pictures. I sleep so much better now that I breath through my nose, I lost 30 pounds because I can actually run further than a mile without getting out of breath, and I don't have that occasional out of breath feeling I used to get when I was just doing nothing. Also, I am confident my teeth will never look like they used to again since there was a clear reason for their movement.. Breathing properly is something that is completely taken for granted. You never realize how much something like misaligned teeth and mouth breathing can affect so many aspects of your being. I just turned 30 and I can honestly say I have never felt better about myself - and that is all a result of this experience. Dr. Babiec and his staff are amazing. Nicole Paduch Aventis Pasteur Medical Science Liaison