40WithBraces

If you want to share the detailed saga of your braces story, this is the place to do it. You can use this forum as a braces journal, editing and updating your posts as your treatment goes on. Remember to also visit the main ArchWired.com site for additional stories from other readers!

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40WithBraces
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:33 am
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40WithBraces

#1 Post by 40WithBraces »

I am really enjoying this message board... I am finding it very helpful to see everyone else's stories and knowing that I am not alone in this adventure.

I am a happily married 40-year old woman. We have one son, who is 14 years old. He has had his braces on since June 2007, and will hopefully be getting them off this summer.

I have had my upper braces on for 9 Days. Today is the first day I haven't desperately needed to apply wax to the brackets on my rear teeth. My inner cheeks are finally building up some nice callouses. Yay!!

I will get my lower braces at the end of May. My top teeth need to move out a bit before I can have them put on.

I am still having a hard time chewing, I find that I much prefer soft foods these days. It doesn't really hurt anymore, it just feels strange, I feel like I am not able to bite down completely. On the positive side though, it is helping me stick to my Weight Watchers Points though, since I am so conscious of everything that I eat!

I still feel like my top lip does not want to completely cover my braces, I wonder how strange I really look. So far, the friends that have seen me say that my braces are hardly noticeable, which is good. My husband is the only one who is teasing me, but I don't mind because he is the one who encouraged me to get braces in the first place.

Most people would have said that I didn't need braces, but I was really unhappy with my smile. I have some crowding on my upper teeth, and a little bit of a crossbite/overbite going on. For the past few years, I have cringed whenever I looked at a picture of myself smiling, I felt like my teeth looked terrible. My husband knew this, so when our then 12-year old son needed braces about two years ago, he encouraged me to go in for a consult with the orthodontist as well. I debated over whether or not I should go, whether I should spend the money (adult orthodontics were not covered by our insurance), etc. for the past year and a half.

I went in for a dental cleaning in February, and the dentist actually recommended that I get braces to help with the crowding/crossbite/overbite issues. I decided to stop debating and just do it. I went in for a consult with my orthodontist at the end of February, and because all of the kids here are taking the FCAT tests, they had an opening the very next week.

So I got my upper braces on March 2, 2010. I opted for ceramics because we have some travel planned, and I didn't want a metal mouth for all of the pictures I hope to take. So far I am happy with them, even though the brackets are bigger than my son's metal ones (which is what he wanted), they are hardly noticeable from a few feet away.

That's my story so far :D

Vieve25
Posts: 65
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 3:13 pm

#2 Post by Vieve25 »

YAY! Congrats!!!! How do you like your ceramics? Im getting mine on the 24th - clarity ceramics on top and metal on lowers (after a few months of having the uppers). did you get the clear ligatures on your ceramics? Im excited but understandably nervous about how i am going to percieve my new look!! I hope I am one of those people who look 'cute' in braces hahha am I vain or what? :roll:
-Jennie (Vieve25)

Diagnosis:
-Class II division II type malocclusion
-Severely deep overbite
-Upper Left Permanent Cuspid is Impacted
-Midline deviation

Treatment Plan:
-Full banded appliances
-Lower lingual arch
-Extraction of upper left deciduous cuspid
-Re-evaluate the need for extraction of upper left first bicuspid
-Exposure of the upper left permanent cuspid will be necessary

Estimated Treatment Time is 24 months

40WithBraces
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:33 am
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#3 Post by 40WithBraces »

I think I have "self ligating" ceramics... the brackets are clear, but there is a door on each one that holds the wire, the ortho has to use a special tool to open them. So far I really like them.

My cheeks are a little sore today but I am trying not to use the wax unless absolutely necessary... I hate worrying about the wax coming out while I am eating, it just grosses me out.

My friends tell me I look really cute in them, like I am about 16 years old lol. At 40, I will take that as a huge compliment :D

I was so worried about what other people would think about me getting braces, but now I realize that my braces are a bigger deal to me than to anyone else, and I am really glad I got them. The people that have seen them so far have been very supportive.

Heather

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HeyBuckey!
Posts: 323
Joined: Tue Sep 29, 2009 10:56 am
Location: North Carolina

Hello!!!

#4 Post by HeyBuckey! »

Congrats on the dive into Orthodontics!

It takes a lot of courage to join The Brackets and Wires Club and you did it! I bet that was probably pretty alarming to get seen so fast! I went into my consult hoping I'd come out with braces but...no luck :(. You are very lucky! It took me two months to finally get started so I'm amazed at how quickly yours went and very impressed :D. Those first two weeks are the most awkward. Once you get past that it's smooth sailing! Good luck with the rest of your journey and find comedy in things that make you want to cry (like shreaded cheeks :D). It's great therapy. Thanks for stopping by my thread :)!
~*iHeY^bUcKeY!*~
Image Image
Upper row braced 9/23/2009
Lower row braced 10/5/2009
Molar banded 11/16/2009
Final Eval/Braces Removal 4/10/2012
Sentence: 24-30 Months
http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... =heybuckey

40WithBraces
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:33 am
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Updated Pictures

#5 Post by 40WithBraces »

It will be 10 weeks tomorrow since I got my upper braces, and I can't believe how much movement I can see already... especially in my front 2 teeth, those were the teeth that particularly bothered me.

2 Days After Getting Braced:
Image

Pictures from Today:
Image

The only discomfort I am feeling is in the very back of my mouth - the ends of the wires still sometimes poke me, but its nothing a little wax won't help. Overall I am doing OK with the whole braces thing. I know it will be worth it in the end, but I am definitely encouraged by the progress I see so far :D

I am supposed to get my lower braces in 2 weeks.

40WithBraces
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:33 am
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#6 Post by 40WithBraces »

I got my lower braces yesterday, and a really thick wire put on the upper braces (they said it is the thickest wire they have!). The tech warned me to start taking Motrin as soon as I got home, which I did, but the pain wasn't too bad until this morning. I am really feeling sore today, but the Motrin is working to keep it bearable.

The tech also did a great job of trimming the ends of the wires that were making me so crazy last time. He trimmed them much shorter, and just left a little wire on each end, which is bent around the edge of the bracket. I don't think these will bother me at all, I am so happy.

He also did some fancy wire wrapping to keep large gaps from forming between my teeth, which I am happy about, even though it looks a little wierd.

Here is a picture of my fully braced mouth:

Image

It feels a little strange now that the lower teeth are braced, but it is not nearly as big of an adjustment as when the top row went on :D

Under Construction
Posts: 93
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 2:25 pm

#7 Post by Under Construction »

Wow! You have a perfect smile already! I hope my smile is as lovely as yours in about...oh...another YEAR! How long are you told you'll need the hardware?

Good for you to finally do this for yourself!

40WithBraces
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:33 am
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#8 Post by 40WithBraces »

The ortho originally said 2 years to fix all of my bite issues. I am really hoping it won't take that long, but I will try to be patient and wait and see.

I am really happy with how quickly my front teeth straightened out though :-)

Heather

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