And they're off!

Message

#1 Post by **MrMetalMouth1029** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 7:17 am

After a relatively short stint in braces, I finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel today...and my teeth look great! To those of you who are frustrated with the change of lifestyle and not being able to eat certain foods and stuff, know that it's temporary, and your teeth will turn out to look much better than you even anticipated! I'll try to post some pictures later.

I get my retainers this afternoon, but they already put a fixed (permanent) one on my front bottom teeth.

#2 Post by **Steph in Sac** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 7:53 am

Congratulations!

I'd like to know how you like your permanent retainer now and down the road. I'll be getting one and I think I'll like it over any other option. I've heard pros & cons. The flossing won't bother me, but if anything else quirky comes up, please post.

Wed Mar 17, 2010 12:53 pm

Steph in Sac wrote:Congratulations!

I'd like to know how you like your permanent retainer now and down the road. I'll be getting one and I think I'll like it over any other option. I've heard pros & cons. The flossing won't bother me, but if anything else quirky comes up, please post.

Thank you! I'd be glad to note anything that comes up. It didn't take that long for them to put it in, and compared to the brackets and all the other materials they put in your mouth, you can barely feel or notice it. I've had to try really hard to notice it--I let my tongue wander as its readjusting to not having braces.

I still can't believe how fast they got the actual brackets and wire out. It took several snips and maybe 2 minutes. It was super fast. When they scraped the glue out, mylanta, there were times I wanted to take the scraper out of their hands and throw it somewhere, but it wasn't too bad. They also took these temporary night guard thingees out. They kept me from grinding my teeth together since that's a major problem for me.

I received clear retainers. I have to wear them nonstop the first 3 days, then 12 hours a day per portion of my mouth for the next many months...so I don't have to wear tops and bottoms at the same time. So far, so good

#4 Post by **loradora** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 2:41 pm

That sounds like a reason to celebrate. Congratulations.

#5 Post by **MrMetalMouth1029** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:06 pm

loradora wrote:That sounds like a reason to celebrate. Congratulations.

Thank you

The troubles were definitely worth it!

#6 Post by **Donna** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:06 pm

Congratulations MrMetalMouth!! I can only dream of the day when mine come off.

#7 Post by **wycket** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:53 pm

Congratulations, that is great news!! I'm sure you are thrilled!

When you say "temporary night guard thingees", can you clarify what they were?

I am a terrible nighttime grinder. I am currently using a Splintek guard, but have already ripped one of the bite pads practically in half - after only 2 months. I'd love to get something that might be a bit more effective (and cost efficient), if possible.

#8 Post by **gokix** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 1:23 pm

Congrats on your new smile! Wooo hooo

#9 Post by **MrMetalMouth1029** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 7:57 pm

wycket wrote:Congratulations, that is great news!! I'm sure you are thrilled!

When you say "temporary night guard thingees", can you clarify what they were? I am a terrible nighttime grinder. I am currently using a Splintek guard, but have already ripped one of the bite pads practically in half - after only 2 months. I'd love to get something that might be a bit more effective (and cost efficient), if possible.

Thanks, everyone! It's been a little over a week and I've not stopped smiling since

To answer your question, I'm not sure exactly what they were called. The day I got braced, my orthodontist put like little daps of some blue stuff on my back molars and he said that would help me until I got my braces off. Granted, they worked, but because I have such a strong bite and I do grind a bit, I wore them down. I can't remember the name of them because I wasn't really paying attention to that part of the bracing that day, lol....I'm so sorry! I'll try to look it up and tell you what it is. The retainers are wonderful though. I alternate every 12 hours between tops and bottoms. I've been wearing my tops to bed and they're pretty thick, so there's been no chance of my teeth touching one another and grinding. My dentist is going to kiss my orthodontist because he was very concerned about the wear and tear on my teeth as a result of my bite!

The one thing I don't like about the fixed retainer is that there really is a learning curve when it comes to flossing the teeth that are bonded to the retainer. The first night, it took me like 30 minutes to floss because I didn't know how to reach through. It's gotten easier, but it's still bothersome. The other teeth are a piece of cake since I no longer have to work around brackets and wires and stuff