Metal Mouth Message Board

Wow, time really flies, doesn't it? It's hard to believe that in about 14 hours I will be getting my braces applied.

Strangely, I'm more excited than nervous at this point. I don't think it will really hit me until I look in a mirror and see myself with a face full of metal. I don't really notice when other people are wearing braces, but I have a feeling I'll be judging my own appearance much more harshly. Hopefully I don't freak out when I see myself, because that would just be embarassing!

Oh well, here are some pre-brace pictures that I took the other night. They aren't the most attractive, but my photography skills aren't the greatest at 11:30 pm as I'm falling asleep.



This is me attempting to smile normally, although it's hard to smile naturally when you're shoving a camera in your mouth! As you can see, my teeth aren't THAT bad, but they definitely have gotten worse as I've aged.



And this is the real reason I'm getting braces -- my terrible bite! My overjet is about 8-10mm. I'm sure many of you have had worse bites, but this bite is causing my molars to wear away at an alarming rate. Surgery will be fixing most of it. Fun fun.

Congrats on getting braces, I'm sure you will look awesome and when they come off you will definantly look better. Don't judge yourself to harsh

SDFD TSchott

I'm sure you will do just great. I was super excited at first, then I got nervous Follow Karens advice & you will do just fine. Post some brace face pics soon ok?

Warm salt-water is going to help out alot and from what I've been told chapstick for the lips the day you get braces since you will more likely be having your cheeks and lips retracted for around 1-2 hours so keep them moist

SDFD TSchott

Thanks for all your encouragement and advice! Braces go on after lunch, and then I'm out for most of the day, but I'll try to post brace face pics soon.

Wish me luck!

I've just caught your post and am guessing with the time difference and all you must be all braced up and looking good by now! I truly hope it went well and that you are looking forward to the rest of your journey - ditto to what Meryaten says: with teeth like you have for your ortho to work with, your finished smile is going to be a real stunner! Best wishes and big smiles to you x

Good Luck for your brace day HippyHippo.

You will soon get used to having the extra bits in your mouth and no-one else will notice them. Just think what a great job they are doing while they are there. How long is your treatment time? I look forward to seeing your brace pics and you look forward to watching your progress.

Good Luck,

Julie

Hi Hippyhippo

Hope it all went well It does feel a bit weird looking at them at first but you get used to it surprisingly quickly. My front teeth had the same little overlap as yours and you'll be amazed how quickly that disappears! I haven't had my first adjustment yet (only on week 6 now) and the overlap is gone!! I know its gone because even my husband noticed lol

Good luck and look forward to the pictures. You're teeth are very similar to mine and I've only had my braces on for 2 weeks and my two front teeth have already moved a bit. I went into shock when my braces went on but I'm starting to get used to them now. I'm impressed with your photo skills, I tried taking them of my teeth but couldn't get the right angle/focus. Will have to get my husband to take them for me.

All the best and welcome to the club.

Well, I'm back and braced! I don't have a lot of time to write now, as it's past my "bedtime" and I still have to attempt to brush & floss before bed .

Anyways, I quickly took a couple of pictures and tossed them up on the web. Hopefully I don't have any food stuck in my teeth! Heh.


Here is me smiling again. Wow does it feel weird! I was really surprized at how low some of the brackets were placed on my teeth. The ortho assistant explained to me that this was pretty common, but as the teeth move they will eventually appear to be more central on my teeth. I think she tried to explain how this occurs, but I was a bit distracted when she was talking to me because I was playing with my braces with tongue! Oops!



Just another picture of my bite. Here you can see that I have the full metal braces on the bottom, and damon 3s on my top 6.


Well, I've got to run, but I'll post more in the next few days. Thanks again for all your words of encouragement! I don't think I would have braces if it wasn't for all of you!

They look great - congrats. Very similar to mine and only two weeks behind me so we I shall follow your progress with interest. I'll get some photos loaded soon and let you know.

Start the salt water rinses - thats the best advice I got!

Yay hippo they look fab. I thought me and you were going to start the brace journey at the same time..nevermind...not got long left.....

Bet your really pleased that there on yay

Hello everyone! Just thought I'd post a more detailed update of my braces journey.

Actually getting braced was a breeze. The ortho had preset all of my braces on special trays made from my impressions, so it really only took maybe 30 minutes in the chair to put them on. Thanks for the advice on the lip balm KK! My lips definintiely appreciated it!

Immediately after being braced, I didn't have much of a problem with my teeth. My lips just felt really weird because I didn't know where to put them. I'm still struggling with that (apparantly I'm curling my lips over them.. doh!). Flossing wasn't as bad as I thought (using a floss threader), though it did take me a solid 10 minutes.

Today, on the other hand, was a different story. It started out well, but by the end of the work day the inside of my cheeks were killing me! They are completely raw, so I'll be using dental wax tonight. I also developed a headache by mid-afternoon, but I think that was also partially due to not enough sleep and not eating enough. I can't talk normally, and eating has been a challenge. My teeth aren't in a lot of pain (just a slight dull ache), but they're very sensitive to the touch. All in all I'm just not happy with my braces right now. I don't regret getting them by any means, but I just wish there was an easier way to fix my teeth.

Also, pretty much everyone at work noticed my braces and commented on them. So much for my theory that people don't look at other people's teeth! Then again, I know I wasn't smiling as much as usual, which probably drew attention to them. That, and the afforementioned drawing my lips over my braces problem. Thankfully, I received almost all positive feedback

Well, that's my update for now! Thanks again!

KK, SDFD TSchott, and wiredkitty thanks for the advice on the salt water rinses. I haven't done too many of them, just because I don't have easy access to salt at work, but I did one tonight and it seemed to help immensley!

Meryaten, florencegal thanks for the compliments on my teeth. As much as I don't want to be overly vain, comments like those really make a girl smile

fitchick, I was originally told that my treatment time is going to be 18-24 months, with surgery somewhere towards the end of that. I'm hoping for the 18 months!

pippy, I'd be thrilled if my overlap went away that quickly! I was told the most noticeable changes would occur with this first wire, so I'm crossing my fingers for a result like yours!

wiredkitty, I know what you mean about shock! Every time I see myself in the mirror, I cringe just a little because I'm not expecting so much metal! As far as the photo skills go, I had to use my digital camera on "macro" mode (the symbol looks like a flower) to get it to focus properly. I was looking into a mirror as I took those photos, so I could line up the shot by seeing the lcd display in the mirror.

Iccle_Peanut, off the top of my head I can't remember when you are getting braced... was it September some time? Whenever it is, trust me, they'll be on before you know it! In the meantime, enjoy all the perks of being brace free! It's only been a day and I'm having cravings for food I can't eat (my teeth are still too sensitive to chew).

Awesome thanks for the update KK I'm going to be eating a huge steak before I go and get my braces on September 5th at 9:30 am then I have school at 6pm at night so it will be my first time out in public with braces on. Hopefully not many will notice but I'm sure they will notice since I seem to smile and show my teeth alot.

Well Goodluck keep up informed on your progress and if you want you can check out my progress as I update my blog at http://sdfd-tschott.blogspot.com/

SDFD TSchott
Over and Out