scared newbie

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#1 Post by **karebear46168** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 10:28 am

hello, I have my appointment for the pictures, x-rays & impressions tomorrow the 6th. I have been reading the info here on the site & I am terrified to get this started. I am a BIG baby when it comes to pain, however I have dealt with TMJ since I was a preteen, I have had the quadrant perio scaling & a tissue graft from the roof of my mouth to the bottom front teeth due to my gum line regressing. help! I'm a scardy cat

#2 Post by **Maggsie** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 10:41 am

Hi there

when it comes to being a scaredy cat - I have a degree in it! If I can do this, then you can too. As for tomorrow, you don't need to worry. X rays, pictures and molds are totally painless. Even the gunk they do the molds with isn't as bad as it was years ago. So do not fret, you'll regret having wasted energy being frightened, tomorrow will be a non-event as far as procedures are concerned. Nothing to worry about.

I've just had my braces put on yesterday. Took three hours and I was terrified. So I know all about being a baby, but you know what - courage is when you are scared and you do it anyway. And it wasn't bad at all, there was no pain involved AT ALL. So, start your journey and whenever you get scared, post a message and you'll see that lots of people have had similar things done and they can tell you what to expect and what it will feel like. Let me know when it's closer to brace day for you and I will tell you exactly what they did and what it felt like. And then you won't need to be scared of that either.

Good luck for tomorrow!
maggsie

#3 Post by **karebear46168** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 10:47 am

Thanks so much for the pep talk, I have a very easy gag reflex, so I hope I don't gag when they do the impressions! I had one appointment on the 28th to have the initial exam, but there was a mix up with the time & day of the appointment, so it was just me & the girl who helps the ortho out, it seems that the office I went to was actually closed for the day they told me to show up (by mistake) so she went ahead & did the exam & set up the picture/xray appt. I'm not sure how fast I will get to brace day, I do have a crown that needs to be done on #15, but not sure if they will do that before or after brace day.
thanks again for the pep talk!

#4 Post by **MarvinBrace** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 12:08 pm

Hi Karebear46168,

I just want to tell you that i took my x-rays and molds yesterday, and it was very easy.

You just have to be relax when they take the impression of the upper teeth (that is a little "uncomfortable") but like Meryaten said you have to breath through your nose.
But all around it was nothing, there is NO pain involved.

I can assure you that.
Hope to hear from you, how it goes.
GOOD LUCK.

#5 Post by **karebear46168** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 12:56 pm

I keep telling myself that braces should be a breeze compaired to what I have already been through. when I was about 10 I was running across the street in front of a car & slid on the gravel in the curb, fell face first onto the cement & busted my front teeth off! right in half, I had raw nerves hanging out for days until the swelling in my face went down & they could attempt repair work, then there's the TMJ that has been ongoing since childhood, I was abused by my ex (he hit me in the face/jaw) which didn't help the TMJ, I had a root canel on one front tooth abcess & had surgery for that (about 7 stitches in front gum line above front teeth) finally got the nerve up to go get help for the jaw pain & now here I am finally doing something about the teeth I have hated since I can remember (my mom was single raising 3 kids...no money for braces), so I keep telling myself it has to get better! I just am a big fraidy cat.... stupid since I have already been through so much huh? maybe if I make it worse than it actually is I will think "hey not so bad after all" I'm so glad I found this site & I thnk you guys for the support, I'm sure I'm going to need it!

#6 Post by **Delag** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 2:51 pm

My admiration for you has no bounds! You are really come through a lot and you should be very proud of yourself. You say you are a fraidy cat, but it does not sound that way to me by a long shot.

About the gag thing - here is my trick, when they put the molds in I push my toung up and out against my palate a bit. This wont let you get that gaggy feeling by having something pushing towards your throat. The stuff gets un-sticky pretty fast so you can force some air out of your mouth and unstick your toung.

As for the pain of braces. For me they have been mildly unfortable. I only felt discomfort, (in my first few days of braces) when I bit down on things. I actually would bite down on grapes (not enough to break the skin) to get some good blood flow and speed up getting back to normal. Take some advil and keep ahead of the discomfort if need be. You may not even need it

#7 Post by **KatK** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:48 pm

My gag reflex isn't bad, but I get very very panicky when I can't control when I get to close my mouth and how long they are poking around in there... etc I read up on breathing techniques and I used this one the day I had my pendulum installed (took about an hour)

breathe in deeply for 5 seconds
hold for 5 seconds
breathe out for 5 seconds
breathe normal twice

(Make sure you are breathing with you are doing the "stomach" breathing as opposed to the "chest" breathing)

You get so wrapped up in how many seconds you are on and what the next breathing step is that you become completely relaxed. Give it a try! Goodluck!

#8 Post by **karebear46168** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 4:59 am

I again thank you guys for the support, my appointment for the pics, xrays, & impressions is this afternoon, I will let you all know how it was tomorrow. I am so glad I found this site & people who are going through the same thing. I will try all of the advice on how to keep from gagging!

#9 Post by **Lena** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 9:29 am

karebear46168

I wasnâ€™t too nervous at the actual apt for the molds and x-rays, because I knew it was going to be painless, but when the day came to get my braces on, I was soooo nervous! Donâ€™t be scared to ask youâ€™re orthodontist to tell you exactly what he/she will be doing as he/she is doing it, that alleviates the fear. It wasnâ€™t bad at all. I think that we imagine it to be much worse than it actually is. The first day you get your braces on isnâ€™t bad at all, the next few days are a little uncomfortable, but the most important thing is to stay positive, and remember why youâ€™re doing this, when your all done with braces your going to have a gorgeous smile!!

Best of luck to you!!!

Braces put on November 30, 2006

#10 Post by **karebear46168** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 4:56 am

ok, so I survived the impressions! I used the trick of sticking my tongue up against the palate.... and concentrated on breathing... great advice thanks! it also helped that I got bubble gum flavoring. they took pictures & xrays as well. I was uncomfortable with the picture part, I hate the way I look so I hate pictures of me! now I have to wait until the 21st to find out exactly the game plan, but he said that I have crowding on the top with an overbite, not so much crowding on the bottom. he did say he would start with braces on top so that I can keep my night gard from my TMJ dentist, then once the top start to move he will brace the bottom and make me a softer night gard to wear with the braces, he just isn't sure if he can do this without taking any teeth out., he aslo said I would be braced for at least 2 years. thanks again for the support, you guys are great!

#11 Post by **Lena** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 9:08 am

Meryaten wrote:
Donâ€™t be scared to ask youâ€™re orthodontist to tell you exactly what he/she will be doing as he/she is doing it, that alleviates the fear.
Lena - that's great advice!

THANKS

#12 Post by **Lena** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 9:12 am

karebear46168 I'm so glad you had a good experience!!! See it's really not that bad!!!

Good luck