Ame_malia's braces journal

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#1 Post by **ame_malia** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 9:07 pm

So, today (Sept. 2) I registered with archwired. yay! Anyways, I got my spacers put in three days ago (Aug. 31) They hurt like hell at first, but as long as I continualy take ibuprofen and tylenol, its down to a dull ache. I go back to the orthodontist on Wednesday 6th, where, I believe they said, they will take out the spacers, make a mold in order to make the bite plate I will have to wear on the roof of my mouth, and then put new spacers back in until I get my braces put on, the next Wednesday (13th) Unfortunatly, my ortho only puts braces on in the mornings for some reason, and I am going to have to skip a class that day, but I have a friend who will lend me her notes, so its all good. It's kinda funny/irritating/ironic; all the appointment times that they usually have available are Mon-Thurs, in the morning hours, which is when all my classes are. Granted, its easier to skip a class than a lab, but I have Fridays entirely free except for one hour, yet Fridays my ortho doesn't work (well, not in the town where I live, he has a practice in a town about an hour from here just on Fridays, I suppose because there is no other ortho there).
This is kind of a long and rambling post, I suppose I will try to make the next one a little more concise.

#2 Post by **lionfish** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 9:34 pm

Hi ame malia and welcome. You will find plenty of support here.

I didn't go down the spacers route and am grateful for having missed the experience! Those who have done spacers say that this is the worst part of braces.

Good luck for the rest of your treatment.

#3 Post by **ame_malia** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 9:35 am

So, I forgot to mention this yesterday, but Anbesol is a wonderful thing. Too bad it starts wearing off in about 15 minutes. Its not very practical to use during the day, unless the pain is just horrendous, but numbing my gums before bedtime helps me drift off to sleep. Even if there is not much pain, when I lay down to sleep, it seems that I focus on the uncomfotable feelings in my mouth, which makes it difficult to fall asleep. I would definately recommend it. It doesn't exactly totally numb everything, but the semi-numb tingly feeling is preferable to sore mouth I am experiencing right now. (And it may work better on others than it does on me. I think my body is resistant to numbing-type products. You know the shot they give you at the dentist to numb you before they start drilling and filling cavities? Well, it doesn't work so well on me; I can always feel it, and sometime it gets pretty painful)
Anyways, yeah, Anbesol is my new best friend.

#4 Post by **SDFD TSchott** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 10:27 am

haha, thats awesome, anyways when I had 4 extractions they numbed me up with one shot on the upper region jaw, and it took at least a good 8-10 shots to numb me up on the lower, so I guess the lowers are harder to numb.

My ortho told me that I might not have to go through spacers so I will find out when it comes to that time in just 2 days. Well off to work I go, talk to you all later, and ame_malia hope your not in as much pain as you were in the past

SDFD TSchott
Code 4

#5 Post by **ame_malia** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 5:55 pm

Well, I have found an up side to not being able to chew. I am eating healthier! Fast food doesn't tend to be soft and mushy (not counting ice-cream and deserts, of course) I have found that the flavored tuna in pouches is very soft and easy to eat, which is good, because I went about 3 days without meat, and was starting to not feel so great as a result. I didn't even think about tuna untl mky mom mentioned it to me when I called her complaining about my lack of food choices. I had a can of plain tuna last night, and then went out today and bought some of the flavored kind, plus some none-chunky-type soups.
I am also eating lots of applesauce!

#6 Post by **ame_malia** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:14 pm

Thanks for the advice linda21!

#7 Post by **ame_malia** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 10:16 am

Good news! My mouth no longer hurts because of my spacers. My teeth do feel really weird, especially my right upper canine for some reason. Unfortunately, I somehow managed to bite both my cheek and my tongue (I think that happened when I was asleep with my mouth semi-numbed with Anbesol) But anyways, no more painful teeth, and I can semi-chew again.

#8 Post by **Lisa65** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:34 am

Good news about the spacers, see it does get better!

Sorry about biting your tongue and cheek though, I HATE it when I do that!

#9 Post by **ame_malia** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 10:30 am

This morning I went to the ortho and got my spacers taken out (which felt great!) and got my bands fitted. Putting the bands on wasn't painful at all, which actually suprised me. Then they made yet another mold of my mouth, just the top this time, so they can make my Nance bite plate. The assistant who did it loaded the tray with so much stuff that when I bit down some of it started oozing toward the back of my throat, and I started gagging. I really tried not to but I couldn't help it; I have a strong gag reflex. I was just glad that I didn't vomit on her!
Then came the dreaded part: putting new spacers back in until next week. It wasn't as painful as the first time, but it sure didn't feel good. And it took her a couple of tries to get the top ones to go in and stay in, which made my gums start bleeding. What fun! (That was sarcasm, by the way)
Anyways, the ibuprofen I took beforehand, and the Tylenol I took afterwards quickly made the pain go bye-bye, so its all good now.
Just one more week!

#10 Post by **ame_malia** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 7:39 pm

Ok, so I decided to post some "before" pics. I figure I want them for comparison later. It took me forever to get some half-way decent looking pictures.
Smile from the front, back teeth closed. Notice the "fangs".

From the side, back teeth closed.

From the side, with mouth slightly open in order to better the my wonky canines that cause me to have "fangs".

Top teeth. Note the beautiful blue spacers, and you may not be able to tell from this picture, but my far back molars are way off to the outside compared to the rest of my teeth.

Bottom teeth. More spacers, and lots of lovely fillings. If you can see, my front teeth kinda point inwards.

#11 Post by **ame_malia** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:14 am

Thanks, linda21!

#12 Post by **ame_malia** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 8:32 pm

Ok, so I'm finally posting pics.
Top teeth. I'm kinda getting used to the bite plate...

Bottom teeth.

This is my mouth completly closed. Yep, none of my teeth touch each other. No chewing for me, darn bite plate.

So, anyways, I'm getting used to them slowly but surely. My teeth don't hurt at all, the backets are just tearing up the inside of my mouth. I literaly bought all the wax that CVS had. And of course the bite plate sucks because its physically impossible for me to chew. No steak for me!

Oh, yeah, aren't my ligs pretty? Yay, purple!

#13 Post by **ame_malia** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:14 am

I will have to have the bite plate for 3-6 months. (My total treatment time is estimated at 12-15 months). I have been trying to remember to use salt water everyday, but occasionally I forget.....

#14 Post by **ame_malia** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:34 pm

Ok, well its been about 3 weeks, and I'm getting better at chewing, although raw veggies and most meat is out of the picture. There hasn't been much pain, usually just one tooth will hurt at a time, just for a while. I suppose thats a good thing though, if things are moving. Also, my mouth has toughened up considerably, and I rarely have to use wax any more. I've found that drinking water before bed and having a glass on my bedside table helps to prevent the lips-sticking-to-braces from happening when I wake up. A little more than a month until my next appointment! If I get my ligs changed, I'm thinking about a baby-blue type color.

#15 Post by **ame_malia** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 11:41 pm

Well, today I went for my first adjustment. I got a new top wire; I think he said it was a 16? I don't know what my original wires were, but he said the new one wasn't much heavier. The same bottom wire stayed on, and I got light blue ligs. I'm a little sore, but its not too bad. I'll post pics tomorrow.

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Ame_malia's braces journal

Ame_malia's braces journal

"Before" pics