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Hi everyone! I have been lurking on archwire for quite some time until I finally decided to see 2 different orthos to consult my "shifting teeth."
The first ortho's proposed treatment was invisalign without extractions and second ortho were braces with "possible" extractions (4 in total) to correct my overbite and bimaxillary protrusion.
I decided on the second ortho because she made me feel comfortable and totally understood what I wanted to achieve (aesthetically) with getting braces. Since I didn't feel comfortable with tooth extractions, I was given the option to get my braces first and see from there if we can correct without having to extract.
I got my braces (Damons - all metal) on March 21st and it has only been a few days and I'm still unable to eat comfortably. My teeth feel extremely sensitive that I'm afraid it will fall off if I bite/chew on anything too hard. Other than that, I have not experienced any pain or haven't had to use wax.
Here are some photos from day 1. Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics
I agree! You have a lovely smile and they look pretty straight to me too
The pain is normal. For me it took about 2-2 1/2 weeks before I could chew bread and stuff and at least a month before chicken breast (steak was a little longer again). It will pass though, I promise!
rhibee83 wrote:wow your teeth are pretty straight as it is! I dont think your treatment will take long at all, they look great
Thank you Rhibee I hope it doesn't take too long as well. I was quoted 24-30 months, which could be longer if I get extractions. Hopefully, I don't have to
Good luck on getting braces. I hope to read about your journey/progress on here since we both started around the same time
Tobilei wrote:I agree! You have a lovely smile and they look pretty straight to me too
The pain is normal. For me it took about 2-2 1/2 weeks before I could chew bread and stuff and at least a month before chicken breast (steak was a little longer again). It will pass though, I promise!
Aww, thank you Tobi! I surely hope so. I love to eat and being very limited right now is killing me! Does the pain last and you just eventually get used to it or does it just go away? My teeth feels very sensitive and tight (don't know if that makes sense) that it hurts to floss so I bought a waterpik and it really helps. I'm surprised how much gunk gets stuck in there lol
Tobilei wrote:I agree! You have a lovely smile and they look pretty straight to me too
The pain is normal. For me it took about 2-2 1/2 weeks before I could chew bread and stuff and at least a month before chicken breast (steak was a little longer again). It will pass though, I promise!
Aww, thank you Tobi! I surely hope so. I love to eat and being very limited right now is killing me! Does the pain last and you just eventually get used to it or does it just go away? My teeth feels very sensitive and tight (don't know if that makes sense) that it hurts to floss so I bought a waterpik and it really helps. I'm surprised how much gunk gets stuck in there lol
I wish I could say the gunk goes away but sadly it does not
The pain does though. Mine hurt for a few days to a week after an adjustment (depends on what they do at the adjustment as to how much it hurts) and then occasionally I get random teeth that hurt for a few days then that passes but the hurting all....the......time thing definitely goes away (it just feels like it won't in those first weeks!).
For me, worse than them hurting is when they get to the point where they kind of itchy ache. That drives me batty!
Tobilei wrote:I agree! You have a lovely smile and they look pretty straight to me too
The pain is normal. For me it took about 2-2 1/2 weeks before I could chew bread and stuff and at least a month before chicken breast (steak was a little longer again). It will pass though, I promise!
Aww, thank you Tobi! I surely hope so. I love to eat and being very limited right now is killing me! Does the pain last and you just eventually get used to it or does it just go away? My teeth feels very sensitive and tight (don't know if that makes sense) that it hurts to floss so I bought a waterpik and it really helps. I'm surprised how much gunk gets stuck in there lol
I wish I could say the gunk goes away but sadly it does not
The pain does though. Mine hurt for a few days to a week after an adjustment (depends on what they do at the adjustment as to how much it hurts) and then occasionally I get random teeth that hurt for a few days then that passes but the hurting all....the......time thing definitely goes away (it just feels like it won't in those first weeks!).
For me, worse than them hurting is when they get to the point where they kind of itchy ache. That drives me batty!
I agree. I'm starting to get an itch on my right side. I'm not sure if it's because of the elastics I'm wearing but that's on both sides.
I'm still on a soup diet. Hopefully, I lose weight lol
Finally got through my 1st week with braces. My teeth are still feeling quite sensitive and I'm still having a hard time putting on my elastics (Toucans - upper 5's to lower 3's). I was advised by my ortho to wear it 24/7, change it every 6 hours and remove it whenever I eat.
Also, does anyone else experience teeth clenching? I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night because I am clenching my teeth. I'm not sure how to prevent it or what is causing it
I have my first ortho appointment in 4 weeks to do interproximal reduction and I'm not sure what else they will be doing as I was too distracted when my ortho was explaining it.
I've always clenched my teeth in my sleep but it has gotten SOOO much worse since braces. My ortho said unfortunately in some people that's normal as your mouth tries to adjust to your new bite (on the bonus side it generally means things are moving!). Maybe talk to yours about it though. They can give you a mouthguard (I bought one) but it's really big and I can't close my mouth around it so it sits in my drawer.
You'll be fine with the IPR. My 13 year old just had some done between her 2 front teeth and she didn't even realize he was doing it while he was. She was amazed when it was all over because she'd been quite nervous going into it.
I had my top brace applied on 3/6/13. I have also started clenching. It wakes me up through the night. I never did this before. It is quite uncomfortable. I will definitely broach this when I go back to the ortho next month. You do have a lovely smile. My mouth was in pain for about a week. I tried to describe what was going on in my mouth to my daughter. It felt like my teeth went on a road trip and ended up back where they started. Most disconcerting when you only have a couple of teeth meet.
Funsizee, don't get extractions. Your teeth look so nice right now. I can't tell by the photos posted how far your protrusion is, but it doesn't appear to be that bad. I bet with ipr your teeth can be pulled back quite a bit.
I've always clenched my teeth in my sleep but it has gotten SOOO much worse since braces. My ortho said unfortunately in some people that's normal as your mouth tries to adjust to your new bite (on the bonus side it generally means things are moving!). Maybe talk to yours about it though. They can give you a mouthguard (I bought one) but it's really big and I can't close my mouth around it so it sits in my drawer.
You'll be fine with the IPR. My 13 year old just had some done between her 2 front teeth and she didn't even realize he was doing it while he was. She was amazed when it was all over because she'd been quite nervous going into it.
Thank you so much Tobi!
I will definitely inquire with my ortho re: my teeth clenching and the mouthguard. Also bite is definitely feeling a bit off that I kind of find it weird to bite down as tooth that weren't touching before does now.
I'm glad the IPR won't hurt. My teeth are a bit sensitive and I'm scared I'll feel the entire thing lol I'm sure that if you're daughter didn't even feel it, I won't either (hopefully)
Chicken wrote:I had my top brace applied on 3/6/13. I have also started clenching. It wakes me up through the night. I never did this before. It is quite uncomfortable. I will definitely broach this when I go back to the ortho next month. You do have a lovely smile. My mouth was in pain for about a week. I tried to describe what was going on in my mouth to my daughter. It felt like my teeth went on a road trip and ended up back where they started. Most disconcerting when you only have a couple of teeth meet.
Hi Chicken! It's such a pain to wake up in the middle of the night grinding/clenching your teeth
I do hope it get's better. I will let you know/post on here if I get any tips from my ortho.
Kipepeo wrote:Funsizee, don't get extractions. Your teeth look so nice right now. I can't tell by the photos posted how far your protrusion is, but it doesn't appear to be that bad. I bet with ipr your teeth can be pulled back quite a bit.
Thanks Kip! I do hope that I don't have to get extractions. I will post a picture of my protrusion from my consultation so you guys/gals can see. I'd appreciate any opinions you all may have
Here are my photos taken from my initial consultation. I decided to post my current day 10 photos just for comparison. Sorry for the crappy pictures. I didn't have access to a scanner so I took the photos using my cell.
As you can see from the first picture, my smile is quite different with the braces. My bottom teeth shows because I feel like my lip gets tucked underneath the bottom braces whenever I do smile. I'm finding it very awkward to take photos so I just end up smiling with my lips closed, which makes it look like I'm smirking compare to before, when I tend to smile like the 1st photo before getting braces.
