New guy! 30/M Getting braces for the first time

[ashesgap]

Thats a good idea to call and pre-schedule your future appointments. But its typical for appointments in the beginning to be booked out that far. The offices are usually booked up for 4-6 weeks in advance for regular apointments. All my initial consults and records appointments were about 4 weeks apart.

[Robot Teeth]

Good news!

I was able to get some clarification on scheduling, and things aren't as bad as I had thought.

They're going to try to move my next appointment up a week to July 12th, and they've reserved an appointment for me to get my braces on July 26th! That's great news for me, considering how busy they seem to be.

I'm feeling a whole lot better now

[Robot Teeth]

Super awesome news!

Got a call from the office, and they've moved up my appointments!

Final consultation is now June 28th (instead of july 12th) and brace day is now July 12th (instead of july 26th)!

Now THAT'S the phone call I've been waiting for!

[bedazzlemouth]

It is common for Dental Colleges to take a summer recess (summer break) which often lasts until August, so perhaps the ortho just isn't back from break until then.

[Robot Teeth]

Well, it doesn't matter now! (I don't know if you made it to my last comment)

I'm happy. I totally didn't want to have to wait any longer than necessary!

[hellokitty]

I got my braces at 30, too. Good choice with the dental school. I wish I had thought of that. I think the professors will provide some good supervisory experience and you'll probably get more attention due to the training purposes than you would normally at a private practice.

I wouldn't worry about the scheduling of appointments. It's typical for them to spread out over weeks and months. This time is strategic to allow spacers to create enough space, wires and brackets to move and rubberbands to do their job. Braces work due to slow, continuous pressure so along these lines, the dentist schedules your next appointment within the timeframe they think the teeth have moved. It typically takes about 1-3 months to close small gaps and up to 4-6 months to close bigger ones. The appointment is mainly to check the progress and direction of movement so don't expect the appointments to fit exactly with the closing of spaces.

Just a heads up on what some things mean.... itchy feeling around the teeth is when the teeth are moving and the gum tissue is undergoing resorption (stretching out, compressing and decompressing to accommodate the shifting teeth). It may later turn into a cavity-like pain (an all-over toothache kind of pain). Callouses inside your cheek will hurt like hell at first but then you learn to get through it and you get used to it. Ask for dental wax to cover brackets that rub against your cheek. It's a life saver! I had some brackets on the inside of my backmost molars which felt like I was swallowing razors everytime I swallowed, spoke or moved my tongue. I made an emergency visit to the dentist the next day and asked her to remove it or switch it out, and she ended up drilling them off. It turns out that they were not really necessary in my case. Observe the different pains and symptoms so that later on, you'll know if there's a pain that's irregular. Everytime I feel an irregular pain for more than a few days, I make an extra visit to the dentist to let her know something's not right. It usually ends up in an adjustment.

If your mouth feels dry, get some Biotene mouthwas for dry mouth (I buy mine from Target). Ambesol is good for callous pains.

Some good soft foods for the first few months:
yogurt
applesauce
macaroni
non-chunky soup
ramen noodles
pudding
carnation instant breakfast
sticky rice

Hope everything works out well!

[JulieFL]

Good tip about the moutwash for dry mouths - I need that, thanks!!

[Robot Teeth]

Hellokitty, thanks for your very informative post! Nice to know I'm not the only one who can fire off a few paragraphs without much effort. I find that people are increasingly brief with each other lately.

I wanted to respond to a few of the things that you mentioned individually.

First off, I think the dental college is about the only reason I'm actually able to do this right now. I'm not sure at what point along the last couple months I got it in my head that I should finally follow through with getting braces, but I know that the thing that is making it possible is the fact that they offer a discount in relative comparison to most private practices, and that their payment plan is very accommodating. I'm able to make the decision to do this because my tax return is a bit bigger than usual this year, and they have a $100 cap on payments per month. They want about a third down (and it sounds like even that is sort of flexible), and if I'm able to throw a hundred or two extra at it after a good paycheck, birthday, or christmas, for instance, I should be able to pay them off around the same time they come off (about 18 months, approximately) When I got the impression that scheduling and waiting might be a hassle, I ran the numbers for the private practice, and not only was the down payment a lot more, but the monthly payments were almost twice as much, not to mention, a quoted 6-12 months' longer treatment time... which is sort of confusing, because we're talking about In-Ovation vs Damon, which seem virtually the same to me. So I wonder what it is that the doctor would be doing differently that would take almost twice as long.

Speaking of "the doctor", it will not be a student performing my work, but a faculty instructor who also has her own private practice. I am unsure as to whether my treatment will be performed as a form of instruction to students, but I did in fact have the option of having a student perform the work at an even bigger discount. From my own reasoning, I figure that an instructor who trains the people who eventually become professionals might even have a greater competency in the work than any random orthodontist with a private practice. Either way, the price is right, and I think I'm set up for a positive experience.

Don't know if you made it to the part where I mention so, but I'm happy because all of my appointments are set now, and have been moved to be earlier than when they were originally set for. (is there a less-confusing way I could have written that last sentence?) So my final consult is June 28 and brace day is July 12th. If I need spacers, they will be put in on friday, July 1st. I'm really glad the receptionist/appointment-setter lady called and set these for me, because they had just sort of left me hanging, after booking an appointment for six weeks out (when it was supposed to be 3). But we're good now!

Thanks for the heads-up on the sensations. I think I know the itchy feeling you're talking about. Never experienced that in my teeth, just in wounds that are healing. Not really looking forward to it either! (the swallowing razors, on the other hand, sounds wonderful) I hope I don't have a lot of (or any) hooks, because I'm pretty sure the inside of my cheeks aren't going to like little metal protrusions embedding themselves into them. Should I just immediately start with wax? Will that decision make itself? I hope I can get used to that asap. That, and the loose teeth do scare me a bit. I eat whatever the hell I want... currently, anyway. I hoped that just about ANY soup would be okay, since the meat stews for so long. But you're saying even chunky will put a hurtin' on me? I can deal with a few weeks or even months of this stuff, but I'm going to need it to become bearable at some point!

[catgyrl]

Hey Robot Teeth!

I "followed" you over here from the other site. haha I'm so glad to hear you're appointments are all set. I can feel your excitement!

I just wanted to make one comment about eating/soft foods. It would probably be in your best interest to try to eat "normal" foods (albeit, maybe eat them in a different way; i.e, cutting them up) as soon as you feel comfortable, and not wait months to do so. The chewing action actually helps alleviate pain and helps teeth move faster. My first day was totally mashed potatoes and soft pasta dishes (with my bite going crazy trying to find teeth that actually MET together!) because I was scared to try anything else, but after a couple of days, and mucho hunger, I tried a piece of toast, and that was fine. Grilled cheese was fine, too, albeit a bit messy. I "graduated" to a McDonald's burger and fries about 2 weeks later. Now, I eat pretty much everything. Of course, if you're in excruciating pain, then of course, go back to the soft foods. Chewing gum (yeah, I know... no-no list, but I do it anyway) and biting down on a cold, wet washcloth also helps out with the teeth aching.

As for the wax, no need to use it if you don't need it. When I got my braces, I wanted to walk next door to my dentist's office (yep, ortho and dentist are "neighbors") to show them my new grill, and in the time it took me to get braced and walk next door, I could feel the brackets rubbing already. I don't see any need to be "brave" and stick it out by not wearing wax when you need it, because that would make for a most miserable 18 months. And yes... that decision will make itself. LOL! (Love that!)

As I'm sure you know, everyone has a different tolerance for pain. Some feel they need to pop painkillers or ibuprofens every day, while others take nothing. You'll discover your own and what bet to do to alleviate it.

Good luck!!!
-Cathy

[Robot Teeth]

Hey Cathy!

Yes... I am REALLY freakin' excited!

[Rach44]

I definitely agree with Cathy (btw, nice seeing you over here too, Cathy! I'm just "Rachel" at the other place ) The first thing the orthodontist and ortho tech told me were to not "baby" my teeth. They said it's okay to eat soft foods if my teeth are in excruciating pain, but to try and get back to normal eating as soon as possible. I think it was about four days for me and I was eating just as normally as before. The only difference for me is that I never bite into my food now. I cut everything into small pieces and then eat it. I think it's just because I have an open coil between two of my teeth on the bottom and I'm terrified it's going to break off if I try to bite into anything. I also avoid most of the foods on the "no-no list", but I've made alterations in order to still eat some things. (e.g. I eat shredded carrots instread of baby carrots and cut apples into small pieces now.) I ate pizza on the fourth day (albeit, most was "chewed" using the roof of my mouth) but I think you'd be okay to have soup with meat in it after a few days. You want to try to get back to eating normally as soon as you're comfortable enough to do so.

As far as the wax goes, I've only used it a few times since I've had braces. Mine have honestly hardly irritated my mouth at all, so I think it varies greatly between people. You'll definitely know pretty quickly if and when you need it. I recommend taking some sort of OTC pain reliever before your appointment and then as soon as you're able to afterward. (I forgot to do this for my first adjustment and I could really feel the difference in pain levels). Also, don't feel bad if you can't floss the day you get them on. My teeth were so sensitive and the pain was unbearable when I tried to floss that first night. Like Cathy said, everyone's pain levels are different and you'll find out really quickly what works best at alleviating yours. I've never heard of the washcloth trick she mentioned, but I'm definitely going to try it after my next adjustment!

Anyway, I'm glad that your appointment got moved up and still love how positive your attitude is about braces!

[ArchWired28]

I have just gotten mine today, just the tops for now. I feel lots of pressure, other than that more or less ok for now... Can't believe I got stuck with it for the next 18-21 months. Pretty sad...

[Julia221]

Chris, congratulations on your decision. You will not regret it.
I looked in to going the university route. I had convinced myself that it was the best decision mainly because of the reduction in cost, but also because it's always good to feel beneficial to someone else's educational experience. Unfortunately, the university program here required an extensive approval process. I would have gone through approval around the first of the year, then wait until the Fall for treatment to begin. I was like you, very anxious, and decided to go with a private practice simply because I couldn't wait.
I have to agree with the previous posters when it comes to pain/discomfort management. It's different for everyone, of course, but it's also a fun challenge as well. I told myself from the beginning that I wouldn't use wax unless absolutely necessary. As it turns out, I haven't had to use it except for the first two or three days. The same goes with eating. Definitely get back to eating the way you normally do as soon as possible (with the exception of the no-no foods like tortilla chips, sticky caramel, and the like). You'll be surprised how quickly you get used to having foreign objects bonded to your teeth!
One thing that people didn't mention much to me that I wish I had known: when you go for the bracing appointment, bring lip balm with you. I happened to have had some with me and am sure glad the orthodontist's assistant suggested liberally applying it before they got started. Even having done so, my lips felt dry and stretched out after the bonding was finished. Other than that annoying discomfort, though, the bonding process itself is painless.

Have fun with your journey. I hope the treatment goes quickly for you.