Finally got my braces wahoo!!

[EmBee]

So after years and years of knowing that I was going to need braces, and dreading it and putting it off, I finally took the leap and got the ball rolling at the start of this year.

And to be honest, the only reason I took the jump was because I was experiencing jaw pain, not because of any newfound desire to shell out the $$ or go through the experience of braces

Back around Christmastime, I was having problems with my left jaw clicking when I opened my mouth, and eventually started experiencing pain bad enough that it drove me to the dentist. I've always felt strong anxiety about going to the dentist due to admittedly less-than-stellar teeth brushing habits and some traumatic experiences when I was young. Well, after he cleaned my teeth he sat me down and told me in no-uncertain terms that I needed an orthodontic consult (which didn't really come as a surprise).

I visited the orthodontist he recommended to me, and we set down a treatment plan that would fix both the TMJ pain I was having, plus I would come out at the end with a much straighter smile

Basically, for the last 7 months I did bite splint therapy with a mouthguard which I wore at nights, to resolve the acute irritation of the joint in my jaw. Now that the pain is pretty much gone, I've gotten self-ligating braces put on most of my teeth and we can start the bulk of the treatment.

1. I need to have 4 pre-molars removed, one baby canine, and a partially impacted second molar that has some serious decay under the gumline. The pre-molars are to create room in my arch for all my teeth. They also want to take care of cutting out my wisdom teeth, all of which are sideways and impacted. May as well get it all over with, right?

2. Right now I only have brackets on the top 4 center teeth and the bottom 8. The rest will go on after the extractions. These will space the teeth out to put them in their "correct" positions.

3. They are going to give the impacted canine a chance to come down on it's own, but if it doesn't they will expose the tooth and lasso it down with a bracket.

4. Last but not least, they are going to correct my overbite with elastic therapy, using hooks on the bottom and (this makes me feel sick to even think about) a screw that is going to be put in my upper jaw But fixing the bite and straightening out the teeth is hopefully going to lead to a healthier jaw.

I'm looking at about 2 1/2 years of braces altogether, and as of right now that seems so far away it's hard to imagine a day where I'm going to have an ideal bite and nice straight teeth, but seeing as how I'm already noticing small differences I think the progress will be noticeable enough to keep me patient

Here are my teeth on day 11 of braces:


I also have had spacers in now for 18 days, and they honestly might be the worst part of the whole thing. My back teeth STILL are hurting when I chew! But hopefully they can get the molar bands on when I go in next on 9/3. Also thinking about getting some colors on top next time I go in!

[TMJJill]

I got my braces as Phase II of my TMJD treatment. I'm due to get them off in a couple of months and at this point (just over 2 years), my symptoms have improved incredibly. I'd say that the treatment has been successful. I also wore a lower mandibular repositioning splint for a couple years (about 26 months) as Phase I of my treatment.

My arch has increased from 'twin' to 'king' size and my bite aligns well. I had to erupt some teeth taller to accomplish this

I was lucky that I was able to treat the arch without extractions. I wish you well with all of yours.

[EmBee]

I'm glad to hear you had success in getting the TMJ under control! I should post a picture of my arches, I'm definitely at the "twin-size" right now lol

[SunshineRay]

The screw is called a TAD. Make sure you take Advil/Tylenol/whatever before you go in. It usually doesnt hurt but mine really did.

[EmBee]

Here are the pictures they took when I did my consult at the orthodontist:



They are planning on pulling the first bicuspids on top and the second bicuspids on the bottom. Then they can fill out the arch a bit where it's bent inwards and straighten all the other teeth out once there is room for them to move.

Sunshine, that is exactly what worries me! I've had cavities filled where the numbing never really took affect I'm hoping that when they do my extractions, they can just put them in then because I will already be knocked out.

[EmBee]

Well, I'm two weeks in, and I feel like I'm finally getting used to the braces. I've been able to go from always having wax on ALL the braces, to limiting it to just short periods at work (working at the hospital = talking to patients all day = really sore lips from rubbing all day lol). The pain in my teeth is pretty much next to nothing, except for occasionally when I chew. Even the pain from the spacers is gone Sometimes I even forget the braces are on!

Definitely feeling more optimistic and happy about going through all this Next step is my consult at the oral surgeon to have all those teeth extracted. I had to go an hour north to find an office that would accept my medical insurance, because the dental insurance would have only been a drop in the bucket of the cost. I'm not particularly looking forward to the extractions, because I'm pretty much a huge wuss and I know the procedure and recovery is going to suck

I know I need to stop Googling things, because most of what you see are horror stories of things gone wrong....does anyone have any stories of things that went OK, or even great? LOL

[EmBee]

Starting to feel like my life is revolving just around my teeth nowadays!

Had to schedule a short-notice appointment with my dentist today because I'm pretty sure the gum flap behind my second molar is infected. It's something that's happened off and on since high school, on both sides of my mouth. I've always thought the pain and swelling was from wisdom teeth trying to grow in, but I've been doing some research, and it sounds like something called pericoronitis. The second molars on both sides aren't erupted fully, and there are gum flaps over both. When food particles get stuck under there, it causes bacteria to grow and causes redness, swelling, and a bad taste/smell coming from the affected area. I know I've had times where I've gotten popcorn pieces stuck in there and retrieved a day or two later after pain and swelling, so I think this is the culprit.

Normally it wouldn't bother me and I would just let it resolve on it's own since it has many other times, but I have my extractions appointment set now for the 30th, and I'd just as soon them not have to be cutting around back there if there is a possibility of infection lingering around.

On the plus side, I finally got my extractions appointment set for the 30th! I'm REALLY nervous, but super excited at the same time because I think once they get those pre-molars out, we can finally get to straightening these teeth and getting my bite in shape. Plus, once my back molars are where they should be I won't have to worry about food getting caught in places I can't reach!

I have one quick appointment at the ortho 3 days before the extraction to replace a spacer, and then another 3 days after to fit the molar bands and get the rest of my teeth bracketed up.

[EmBee]

So I went to the ortho this morning to have my disobedient spacers put back in. There were actually 2 that came out, both on the upper left side, and they don't seem to have any intention of staying put. So the assistant put in 2 metal spacers instead in hopes that they have a less likely chance of falling out. All the other spacers are still in place, those starting to feel very loose now that space is opening up

It also appears that my nighttime grinding/clenching has made a reappearance. My one lone little molar buildup on the left side doesn't touch my upper teeth AT ALL during the day as my front teeth hit the bottom brackets before it can make contact (it's actually kind of pointless). This would be just fine if I wasn't clenching so hard at night that somehow it IS making contact with the upper teeth. I don't know if teeth or the braces become "softer" at night or what, but either way I was worried that biting down so hard on that bracket was going to chip my front tooth. Luckily, the ortho was just fine adding another much bigger build up on the right side.

We also reviewed my treatment plan and everything, since the last time we'd discussed it was back at my consult during the winter. I'm having my teeth extractions Friday, and then one week from today my first real adjustment. They are going to (finally) band my first molars, place brackets on the rest of my teeth, and change out my current wire for a closing wire. Also, since we are using SureSmile technology for the wires, the ortho is going to do a scan of my teeth, and they will be able to show me a digital image of what the final results will look like! And THAT might just be the most exciting thing I've had to look forward to now for 2 months!!!!!

[Quins]

Hi EmBee

Glad to see you are coping. I can see you have a long road ahead. Just hang in there. I also had a simple extraction that turned into surgery. I pray and believe your extractions will go smoothly. Im at 3 months now and it gets a little bit easier as time goes by. 21 Months for me to go. Hang in there!!!

[EmBee]

Hey Quins, thanks for the words of reassurance. I had the teeth extractions about 3 hours ago, finally starting to snap out it a bit (thank god for my hubby because I have no recollection of getting home at all )

Apparently all the extractions were just fine, no complications. He did say that the bottom left side would suck the most because the molar and wisdom tooth next to it were both extracted, but so far the pain is minimal and mostly from biting on all this darn gauze. I cannot BELIEVE how much blood I have coming out of my mouth, it's really rather gross

Hubby is getting my pain medicine, antibiotics, and anti-emetic at the pharmacy now, and hopefully when he get's home the bleeding will have tapered off and I can finally get something to drink and maybe some jello.

My only concern right now is that my chin is COMPLETELY numb. He did say one of the risks of removing bottom wisdom teeth is that it cuts close to where the nerves are, and that sometimes they can become damaged and take some time to heal, which results in the numbness. Or maybe it's just the local anesthetic, like for fillings.

All I remember from the visit is being hooked up to the moniter, getting the IV place and when he put the medicine through, I said "Oh, my ears are getting cold...." and after that I got nothing I woke up briefly in recovery feeling like a drunk in a fun house, and then I remember walking from my car to the house.

Thank god this is all over with now!

[Quins]

Hey Quins, thanks for the words of reassurance. I had the teeth extractions about 3 hours ago, finally starting to snap out it a bit (thank god for my hubby because I have no recollection of getting home at all )

Apparently all the extractions were just fine, no complications. He did say that the bottom left side would suck the most because the molar and wisdom tooth next to it were both extracted, but so far the pain is minimal and mostly from biting on all this darn gauze. I cannot BELIEVE how much blood I have coming out of my mouth, it's really rather gross

Hubby is getting my pain medicine, antibiotics, and anti-emetic at the pharmacy now, and hopefully when he get's home the bleeding will have tapered off and I can finally get something to drink and maybe some jello.

My only concern right now is that my chin is COMPLETELY numb. He did say one of the risks of removing bottom wisdom teeth is that it cuts close to where the nerves are, and that sometimes they can become damaged and take some time to heal, which results in the numbness. Or maybe it's just the local anesthetic, like for fillings.

All I remember from the visit is being hooked up to the moniter, getting the IV place and when he put the medicine through, I said "Oh, my ears are getting cold...." and after that I got nothing I woke up briefly in recovery feeling like a drunk in a fun house, and then I remember walking from my car to the house.

Thank god this is all over with now!

EmBee

Good to hear you doing ok. PLEASE DONT RINSE YOUR MOUTH FOR AT LEAST 24 HOURS!!!. I did that and was never told that a bloody clot needs to form in the hole. If the blood clot dissolves or dislodges you will get a dry socket. Then you will die of the pain. I had it and it was not fun.

[EmBee]

I take back what I said about the pain.... this is miserable I rinsed away from the extraction sites with a small syringe just to clear out the blood a bit so I could see if the sites were done actively bleeding, and they seem to be clotting nicely. Just the bit of exertion made me nearly pass out and throw up. It's just the wisdom tooth sites that hurt the worst, but now I have some painkillers in me with an anti-emetic and a wonderful husband to bring me applesauce and 7up

At last I'm getting feeling back in chin. I guess I just don't do well with anesthesia. That, or I'm a big wimp LOL

[anedia]

Hi EmBee!

I had all 4 wisdom teeth and a baby tooth extracted last Thursday - the first couple days were tough but after that I got better MUCH faster. The swelling stayed for about 5 days, and I still do have a nice bruise on my cheek.

My whole face was numb pretty much the first day but came back after that.

Keep us updated and I hope you feel better

[Quins]

I also had my wisdoms or rather dumbdoms surgically taken out. The whole surgery was done in the chair with only local sedation. No feeling good or sleeping stuff. It took about 2 hours for the surgery. I had headaches after the surgery. I turned blue then green and looked like the michillen man. I was very swollen. Stitches disolved after two weeks. Rinse with salt water. Helps a lot. Just watch that the blood clot does not get disslodged or dissolved.

[EmBee]

Today I am doing a lot better. I don't really remember anything much at all yesterday now except sleeping a bunch and eating mashed potatoes for dinner...I see that I posted updates but I definitely don't remember getting on here and typing them LOL. Don't know what they gave me to make me sleep but wow talk about some short-term memory loss! The funniest part is that we made an offer on a house that we are hoping to purchase yesterday morning before the appointment, and I guess the seller's accepted while I was having my procedure done!! Now my husband is telling me all this stuff today that he swears up and down he told me yesterday.

I felt much better pain-wise when I woke this morning, but had to take another pain killer a few hours ago around lunchtime because the pain is really flaring up. It's the bottom wisdom teeth extraction sites that hurt the worst, and my jaw is super stiff so I can't really open it very well and that is adding to the painfulness. Kind of figured that would be an issue with my TMJ. Now my biggest fear is developing dry socket, and I'm absolutely paranoid of losing these blood clots. Can you develop dry socket in an area that is stitched up? I guess that's the part that confuses me because there really isn't a "socket" there, just stitches holding the gum tissue together. They are annoying in addition to being painful because they are really kind of long and the one on the left is kind of hanging out in the socket where they removed my second molar. Nervous about touching or moving it because I don't want to disturb the clot that has formed.

My surgeon told me to avoid rinsing my mouth for the first 24 hours, so I rinsed with a salt rinse for the first time today after lunch and it's helped a little bit with the soreness but mostly it helped get rid of the nasty rotten old-blood taste/smell that was hanging out in my mouth My face feels more swollen than it looks, and luckily I haven't turned blue or purple yet lol. I'm sure that will come to surface about the time I have to return to work!

Thanks for all the well wishes, I think it's time for another nap!