Any tips please....

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Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:07 pm

Well tomorrow is the start of my journey. I am starting to think what on earth am I about to do. I have an early morning appointment with my dental hygenist to get the toothie pegs cleaned and then a very quick appointment with the ortho to get I think they are called spacers (fit at the back of your teeth so that the braces can then fit onto that). Is that right? I am pretty sure they are called spacers. I wont get my braces on until the following week. Any hints tips for my appointment tomorrow would be appreciated, what should I expect, is it painful? I have quite a bad gag reflex and found the appointment where they took the casts of my teeth really awful - didnt much like the tray of stuff in my mouth felt like I wanted to be sick all over the ortho - not a good start. I will definitely post some pics before the appointment tomorrow. I am a little nervous/excited/scared (not really sure what I am feeling) for tomorrow. Look forward to hearing replies. Thank you in advance.

#2 Post by **funshine** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:46 pm

I don't know much about spacers, but I tend to gag too. Concentrate on breathing through your nose rather than your mouth. That works wonders. Good luck! You'll be fine.

#3 Post by **ReneG** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:09 pm

My spacers appointment was pretty anti-climatic. My ortho inspected my teeth then jammed the spacers in, one after another and that's it! The shortest of all my appointments so far.

#4 Post by **ReneG** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:09 pm

My spacers appointment was pretty anti-climatic. My ortho inspected my teeth then jammed the spacers in, one after another and that's it! The shortest of all my appointments so far.

#5 Post by **ReneG** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:10 pm

My spacers appointment was pretty anti-climatic. My ortho inspected my teeth then jammed the spacers in, one after another and that's it! The shortest of all my appointments so far.

#6 Post by **ReneG** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:11 pm

My spacers appointment was pretty anti climatic. My ortho inspected my teeth then jammed the spacers in, one after another and that's it! The shortest of all my appointments so far.

#7 Post by **insinu8** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 1:47 am

Are you getting the wire spacers or the rubber ones?

Make sure you get some Advil and take it!

Also, you may find one or more of your teeth will start to hurt...a lot. Chewing may be painful. That's what the Advil is for. The discomfort may move from tooth to tooth (and back again) as your teeth start to move about.

After a couple-three days, it gets better though.

Oh, I almost forgot...having the spacers in (the rubber ones) makes it feel like you always have food stuck between your teeth. It may also make chewing difficult (I started chewing on the spacers...until they broke). Make sure you brush and rinse well after every meal. If you have a waterpik, use it. If not, get one

Thankfully, you'll only have your spacers for a short time. You probably won't need any extras (like I did) before they come out.

I'm getting my second round of spacers in about 3 weeks...

Don't worry though...everything you'll be going through won't last terribly long and you have a lot of folks here for support if/when you have more questions/concerns/complaints.

You'll get through it!

#8 Post by **TucsonDeb** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:08 pm

FWIW, my spacers didn't so much "hurt" as they made those teeth/gums itch and throb slightly. Most people compare it to the feeling of having a big chunk of meat stuck between your teeth. Not painful, but irritating as heck.

#9 Post by **Katt** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:38 pm

My first day in spacers was a walk in the park. In fact I went to work and had a cheeseburger and all kinds of yummy food. But as someone else mentioned they were VERY annoying. I feels like a big hunk of meat in your teeth. I think days 2 - 4 were the worst and it was difficult to eat and pretty sore but nothing I couldn't manage with a little motrin.

#10 Post by **purpleteeth** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:36 am

After reading all of you all's experiences with spacers, I am thrilled to have not had to experience spacers! Yikes!! The braces give me enough pressure and I think I would have probably been more loopy had I gone through it. I hate the feeling of stuff stuck in my teeth. Gratefully, my ortho did not band any of my teeth because I am an adult and he said he didn't like to do that to his adult patients (something about them having better hygeine and such or something like that).

Best of luck!

#11 Post by ***melissa*** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 4:57 pm

purpleteeth, you mention how your ortho didnt band your teeth...what does "banding" mean? are those like ligatures? i have ligs on my tops (i have ceramic on top) but not on my metal bottoms...was wondering why i didnt have ligs on the bottom.

#12 Post by **jenny101101** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:06 pm

*melissa* wrote:purpleteeth, you mention how your ortho didnt band your teeth...what does "banding" mean? are those like ligatures? i have ligs on my tops (i have ceramic on top) but not on my metal bottoms...was wondering why i didnt have ligs on the bottom.

Melissa...I was wondering about your question about ligs on your lowers so I went back and looked at your pics in your journal. It looks like you have silver or gray coloured ones on the bottom. I think, unless you have self-ligating brackets, you'd have ligs and/or powerchains. It's hard to see your lowers but I'm pretty sure you do have them.

As for bands, they go all the way around the tooth, usually on molars(someone correct me if I'm wrong as I don't have them). Unfortunately, I don't know why some orthos use bands and some don't but I'm sure someone can answer this?

#13 Post by **XCrun&ride** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:20 pm

Congrats on making the first step!

I've gotten spacers twice. (One set for my top teeth and one set for my bottom teeth). For me, the spacers hurt more and hurt for longer than the braces. The pain for me was just a dull ache, but I couldn't eat ANYTHING! It can hurt a little to get them put in, and it can just be really uncomfortable. But after you're done, it feels nice to have them out. My recomendation would be to take some pain medicine before hand, and to have plenty of soft yogurts, milkshakes, etc on hand for the first few days. Here are some soft food ideas that I was able to eat after the first few days: italian wedding soup, grilled cheese (w/o the crust), and lots of milkshakes or things you can drink. Good luck, and welcome to the world of braces!

#14 Post by **iBorg** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:34 pm

Congrats on starting the journey. In many ways getting through the first month seems the hardest. Remember always that hopefully treatment will make a positive improvement for the rest of your life.

Hopefully you have pictures pre braces. If not, your orthos probably took some. Take pictures with braces as soon as you can. When you get disgusted with the process, look at the progress shown in those pictures. Even after a couple of weeks or a month, theyâ€™ll give you great encouragement.

Welcome to the board. Whatever you do in this process try to have fun. Maintaining a positive attitude truly will make this a good experience instead of a treatment to tolerate.

Mike

#15 Post by ***melissa*** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 10:27 pm

jenny101101 wrote: Melissa...I was wondering about your question about ligs on your lowers so I went back and looked at your pics in your journal. It looks like you have silver or gray coloured ones on the bottom. I think, unless you have self-ligating brackets, you'd have ligs and/or powerchains. It's hard to see your lowers but I'm pretty sure you do have them.

hey jenny, thanks for the response. its really hard to take a pictures of my lowers, for some reason, my lips always cover my lower braces. ill try taking more tomorrow...but your comment really makes me wonder, do i have damon brackets on the bottom? the ortho really tried to talk me into getting damons on both top and bottom, and i said nah, i want ceramics. but i agreed to do metal on bottom, and they said to just go w/normal metal on bottom then...kinda confusing, but in the end, i didnt get damons at all. but, they had damons written on my contract/agreement, and i had to corrrect them later on and said i wasnt getting damons.....but it makes me wonder, did they mess up and put them on the bottom anyways? ill have to call monday and find out...im so curious now!