I feel the need to add to my original post. The first few weeks are difficult. Let's face it, you're putting your teeth and mouth through some trauma. I found that some people are so afraid of causing further pain that they resort to a diet of soup and yogurt. You need to take an OTC pain reliever and use your teeth. That will increase the blood flow which will do wonders at decreasing the pain. When you have cuts and sore spots in your mouth a warm salt water rinse will help those heal. If you find the need for temporary relief from your teeth being moved drink something cool or even resort to a baby teething toy. Don't laugh, it works. My ortho has told me that once you make it through the first week, it gets easier. It is not easy but it is quite doable. Understand some pain may come along the way, medicate as appropriate if you so desired and enjoy the experience. There are many things worse than braces.
Feel free to PM if you desire.
Mike
People are freaking me out.
Moderator: bbsadmin
Well as far as pain goes, i think i'm good. My first daughter broke my tail bone during delivery, and i didn't take any pain meds for that...and let me tell you, its freak'n painful. Also i've read a lot about not going easy on the teeth the first few days, so thats helpful.
Quick question, does anyone know if hylands teething tablets would help with the pain? They worked wonders for me when my wisdom teeth were coming in, also for both my girls while teething. Just seems like something that might help.
Quick question, does anyone know if hylands teething tablets would help with the pain? They worked wonders for me when my wisdom teeth were coming in, also for both my girls while teething. Just seems like something that might help.
29 years old
2-18-10 baby canine pulled
3-15-10 got braces
12-22-11 Moving-SO EXCITED!!
1-2-12 Meet new Ortho
1-5-12 Begin finishing treatment
3-5-12 Canine Implants...dun dun dunnnnn
4-9-12 Deband!
I had braces for Two Years and TwentyFive Days
2-18-10 baby canine pulled
3-15-10 got braces
12-22-11 Moving-SO EXCITED!!
1-2-12 Meet new Ortho
1-5-12 Begin finishing treatment
3-5-12 Canine Implants...dun dun dunnnnn
4-9-12 Deband!
I had braces for Two Years and TwentyFive Days
cathykay wrote:
Good job, Ashesgap! Your comment about your daughter breaking your tailbone while you were giving birth has made me even more afraid of going through labor one day. What forums do to people...
lol...ok real quick its really uncommon for that to happen. I had a very short labor and her head stayed very round. Also, i have..or had...tiny hips. Sorry!
29 years old
2-18-10 baby canine pulled
3-15-10 got braces
12-22-11 Moving-SO EXCITED!!
1-2-12 Meet new Ortho
1-5-12 Begin finishing treatment
3-5-12 Canine Implants...dun dun dunnnnn
4-9-12 Deband!
I had braces for Two Years and TwentyFive Days
2-18-10 baby canine pulled
3-15-10 got braces
12-22-11 Moving-SO EXCITED!!
1-2-12 Meet new Ortho
1-5-12 Begin finishing treatment
3-5-12 Canine Implants...dun dun dunnnnn
4-9-12 Deband!
I had braces for Two Years and TwentyFive Days
I had the easiest labor and it still was awful Hahahhaa!! BUT IT IS SOOO WORTH IT! 
-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
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
Braces are not that bad! I'm a 24 year old female, and I think it's completely worth it! I don't regret my decision in the slightest! Sometimes they're annoying...but more often than not, they really aren't a big deal! I can already see how much my teeth have changed and it's great! Right now I have some weird gaps, and I still don't even care. Seriously, braces aren't a big deal. I got myself soooo worried before getting them. I'd spend hours on this board poring over stories--- and then I got them and it's very uneventful!!! Just get them and you won't regret it!
Upper: Damon3mx on 6/1/2009
Lower: 7/27/09
4 extractions done in May
Canine exposure eventually
Lower: 7/27/09
4 extractions done in May
Canine exposure eventually
haha i meant labor was sooo worth it hahaa but I am convinced braces will be too!! 
-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
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
I'm 33 and just got my braces 1 month ago and had my 1st adjustment last week.
Doing it now b/c I had a great fear of dentists...my two older sisters got them when they kids and they moaned and cried the whole time. Couple that with a bad experience at the dentist and I was scared off for a long time!
Enough was enough...I need braces not just for aesthetics, but I wanted to keep my teeth and mouth clean and healthy. I have a lot of crowding on the top, in the front and it was hard to brush, etc.
It took 1 year for me to get braces. I had to go periodontal treatment and surgery and get the final OK first. SURGERY was NOT FUN, but I needed it!
Now that I have my braces on (metal ones too b/c they are faster and at the end of the day...what the heck!), I'm so happy!
Yes, there is pain when the first week or so after the initial wire is put on...couldn't eat right for a while and jolted myself up a couple of times at night when I clenched my teeth. But after the surgery experience, it really was nothing. After all, that's how you know the braces are doing their job, right?
So don't worry...yes, there will be pain. It all also depends on your pain tolerance. I still have a fear of dentists and all, but every time I go now, I open up wide and just let them do their thing b/c it needs to be done.
I've had 5 extractions in the last year also and have not needed to take any painkillers, even though I was prescribed them. Matter of fact, the extractions didn't really hurt (before nor after), except the two I had closer to the front.
Good luck!
Doing it now b/c I had a great fear of dentists...my two older sisters got them when they kids and they moaned and cried the whole time. Couple that with a bad experience at the dentist and I was scared off for a long time!
Enough was enough...I need braces not just for aesthetics, but I wanted to keep my teeth and mouth clean and healthy. I have a lot of crowding on the top, in the front and it was hard to brush, etc.
It took 1 year for me to get braces. I had to go periodontal treatment and surgery and get the final OK first. SURGERY was NOT FUN, but I needed it!
Now that I have my braces on (metal ones too b/c they are faster and at the end of the day...what the heck!), I'm so happy!
Yes, there is pain when the first week or so after the initial wire is put on...couldn't eat right for a while and jolted myself up a couple of times at night when I clenched my teeth. But after the surgery experience, it really was nothing. After all, that's how you know the braces are doing their job, right?
So don't worry...yes, there will be pain. It all also depends on your pain tolerance. I still have a fear of dentists and all, but every time I go now, I open up wide and just let them do their thing b/c it needs to be done.
I've had 5 extractions in the last year also and have not needed to take any painkillers, even though I was prescribed them. Matter of fact, the extractions didn't really hurt (before nor after), except the two I had closer to the front.
Good luck!
-
Bellalalala
- Posts: 169
- Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2009 8:02 am
lol, as much as many of the threads are about fear and pain, you may also notice that the VAST majority of responses are positive and happy.
Not only is there a posting bias that people come here to post when they're scared, upset, and in pain, but there's also a reader bias that the negative posts are more likely to stand out to you.
Seriously, go in to any thread and you'll see that the amazingly positive statements outweigh the negative ones dramatically.
As for distress and suffering...
...well, my first week was *horrible* in terms of tearing up my mouth. I'm probably the one you saw who posted about oozing cheek sores. Mine were the worst anyone I've talked to has heard of.
It lasted one week! That's it! Within one week, I was all healed up and it's never bothered me again. I wish someone years ago had told me that the worst would be over in only one week! lol
I also didn't live on soup and yogurt. I ate softer food, but not just mush.
As for the emotional trauma...
...well yeah, there are a few posters on here who have a very very hard time going through braces. You'll notice that they're in the vast minority, but they post a lot because they continue to suffer.
The hard part is kind of unexpected for some people. It often has little to do with being self-conscious or in pain, and much more to do with being incredibly emotionally invested in their improvement, but because the process is hard to understand and very very slow, it's easy to start obsessing about every tiny little thing, and freaking out that it won't work out well even after so much time and money.
I said in a previous thread that it's much easier for the human mind to fret than it is to be patient.
Pair that together with the deep insecurity about teeth that many people have and it can be a boiling pot of distress.
However, keep your cool, remember that this is one of the most reliable treatments in the world and has been around forever, and you won't succumb to the fretting.
Finally, I LOOOVE, my braces. I really do, and I'm going to miss being a brace-face when I'm done. Like everything else in life, it's about the journey, not just the destination.
Oh, and take lots of pictures, it's really interesting to notice the movements and changes that happen over time that are impossible to see by looking at yourself in the mirror every day. You will really understand your treatment better too.
Cheers, and congrats on doing something really good for yourself!!!
Not only is there a posting bias that people come here to post when they're scared, upset, and in pain, but there's also a reader bias that the negative posts are more likely to stand out to you.
Seriously, go in to any thread and you'll see that the amazingly positive statements outweigh the negative ones dramatically.
As for distress and suffering...
...well, my first week was *horrible* in terms of tearing up my mouth. I'm probably the one you saw who posted about oozing cheek sores. Mine were the worst anyone I've talked to has heard of.
It lasted one week! That's it! Within one week, I was all healed up and it's never bothered me again. I wish someone years ago had told me that the worst would be over in only one week! lol
I also didn't live on soup and yogurt. I ate softer food, but not just mush.
As for the emotional trauma...
...well yeah, there are a few posters on here who have a very very hard time going through braces. You'll notice that they're in the vast minority, but they post a lot because they continue to suffer.
The hard part is kind of unexpected for some people. It often has little to do with being self-conscious or in pain, and much more to do with being incredibly emotionally invested in their improvement, but because the process is hard to understand and very very slow, it's easy to start obsessing about every tiny little thing, and freaking out that it won't work out well even after so much time and money.
I said in a previous thread that it's much easier for the human mind to fret than it is to be patient.
Pair that together with the deep insecurity about teeth that many people have and it can be a boiling pot of distress.
However, keep your cool, remember that this is one of the most reliable treatments in the world and has been around forever, and you won't succumb to the fretting.
Finally, I LOOOVE, my braces. I really do, and I'm going to miss being a brace-face when I'm done. Like everything else in life, it's about the journey, not just the destination.
Oh, and take lots of pictures, it's really interesting to notice the movements and changes that happen over time that are impossible to see by looking at yourself in the mirror every day. You will really understand your treatment better too.
Cheers, and congrats on doing something really good for yourself!!!
-
jessica2104
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:10 pm
I was in the same boat when first getting braces. I absolutely hated them the first week I had them. I felt I had made the biggest mistake by getting them on. Now 7 months later, I hardly notice them. The only part that is annoying is the constant brushing and flossing after eating. On the bright side, I have lost nearly 50 pounds since being braced because I do not want to have to brush my teeth after snacking!