Hi everybody! I'm new. I just got braces (metal) on Wed. 1/25. So far, so good. They're actually not nearly as uncomfortable as I expected. I'm doing good with the mouth cuts because I immediately befriended [b]wax[/b]. I let the braces rub until just before a cut, then apply wax. I don't want to wax too soon because I want there to be enough irritation to necessitate a healing (i.e., toughening) process. That seems to be working well. I'm only wearing wax on the molars and on the 2 center bottom teeth. The roughest part for me was definitely the installation. I had no idea what I was in for; didn't even give it much thought. But they had so much gear crammed in my mouth that my claustrophobia began kicking in. Anybody else experience that? I had to really concentrate on my breathing and silently talk myself down from bolting out of the chair a few times. Compared to that, this is very do-able.
The biggest problems I'm having now are sensitivity caused by the chemicals they used to prep me (even before the metal went on, I could feel my teeth reacting to them) and discomfort on chewing/biting. I've been sticking to yogurt, milkshakes, mashed potatoes, soup, bananas, and stuff like that. Eventually, though, I'll start craving solid food again so hopefully it won't take long to cross this hurdle. Ortho says 18-24 months total, but I'm trying not to look too far down the road seeing how I've only now started.
By the way, I forget your name, Mr. White On the Top/Blue On the Bottom, but when I saw your picture I envied those white brackets. I'm so not lovin' the Full Metal Jacket but that's what my Ortho said was best for me. ~sigh~
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