Well... It has been 24 hours...

[Maggie Lou]

I had to move my appointment up from the 25th to yesterday because my husband and children and I are going on vacation in two weeks, I wanted to make sure I had plenty of wiggle room the first couple of weeks in the event anything went wrong.

I got my braces yesterday morning- my teeth started hurting by mid afternoon, and by evening I could not eat. One thing that I also am having difficulties with is flossing my first molars (they banded these) and the cement residue still seems to be around one of them making it impossible to floss.. and, it freaking HURTS to floss...

I read all the threads about products out there, I have a hummingbird, I tried to use it to floss last night and found it literally impossible to use.. my gums did bleed a little which hasn't happened in a very long time, so I'm a bit concerned but think it might have something to do with the way I threaded the floss.. I basically ran the length of the floss thru the wire, under the gum and then all the way thru the back until it was out. It took forever!

Anyways, anyone have any suggestions or what they use for flossing methods and especially around banded molars? I'm anal when it comes to my teeth.. I am a two per day flosser prior to being braced and I brushed eafter every meal before, the ortho told me yesterday, I won't be flossing twice a day, he said to do it at night once per day only.

I'll post pics later... I'm on the milkshake diet for now, and that's the other issue- I have a very low tolerance for sugar (hypo-glycemic) too much sugar puts me to sleep so I'm trying to figure out how to do the smoothy/milkshake thing without globs of sugar associated.

Thanks all

[Miss Smiley]

Aww...like you, I am also hypoglycemic so I'm with you on the major food coma thing. It doesn't take much, just that little bit more and then comes sleepy time! Happy for you to join the board, sorry that you're having flossing issues. I hope that gets sorted out before you go on vacation.

[mindykatz]

If you really need to drink some more mikshakes for the next few days, try finding shakes that are made for diabetics (glucerna is one brand, I think). You can find them in grocery stores and drug stores/pharmacies, usually where the Slim-Fast and protein bars are. This should help with your sugar problem. But like KK said, chew what you can. It will be a little painful for a while, but chew slowly. It doesn't seem like it would work, but chewing really does make sore teeth feel better. Even stuff like pudding or mashed potatoes is better than only drinking meals - I lived off of pudding cups and mac and cheese for about a week!

I had the same problem you did with not beind able to floss between certain teeth because of the leftover cement. You can call your ortho to get that out, or you can try to floss it out yourself. You'll probably end up making your gums bleed because you REALLY gotta push and work it in there until *POP*, the floss goes in and the cement shoots out! Just salt-water rinse after and they will heal up fast. But yeah, if you're uncomfortable with this, I'm sure your ortho can do it for you.

I've had my braces 2+ weeks and it still takes me about 30 minutes to floss at night. I'm sure I'll get faster at it, but it is always going to take longer to floss with braces than without. Just the nature of the beast, I guess.

Anyway, congratulations on your braces!

[Maggie Lou]

Thank you...

One thing I'd like to add, is that they didn't bleed a lot.. just a little around where the bands were and when I flossed a little too hard.. Today at lunch I had some soft chow mein noodles and those were ok.. even had some chicken with it.. and yes, it did feel really good to chew..

Thanks for the info on the flossing.. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon.. in the meantime, just adjusting.

[iBorg]

Hmmm another hypoglycemic. I thought I was the only one in the world. Seriously, if you must do milkshakes consider McDonalds. Their ice cream is a lot lower sugar than Wendy's. If I have a Wendy's Junior I'm guilty of driving under the influence. I agree with KK, you must use your teeth to get the blood flowing or you will not get better.

As for fishing (I mean flossing)I tried about five products. Crest Glide Strips are my only choice. Everything else is too much of a struggle. Most large box stores and drug store have them in the US.

If you haven't done it yet, smile big and take some pictures. In the next month they'll be a great way to compare progress and get encouraged about your decision to join the "Wired" family.

Finally, do your best to have fun! This is something you are doing for yourself, enjoy it!

Mike

[Jesus Freak]

Hi Maggie,
I'm a newbie too! I got my top braces on Wednesday (6-20). When Karen told me about the chewing to get the blood flowing and the healing started, I thought she was crazy! Chew when it already hurts?! It totally worked!!! WOW! The first few times it is a little painful, but it gets better. I started trying it yesterday and now I am able to eat things that are a little closer to normal. Good luck and keep posting!
Lana

[iBorg]

Slight correction needed. Its Crest Threader Floss. Oral B makes another product called Super Floss. Cheaper but not nearly as easy to use.

Mike

[onedayperfect]

stick with it! its all worthwhile!

[Laurie]

I use a floss threader with the dental floss tape.

[Lisa65]

me too Laurie. I buy floss threaders in a pack of 6 and use them with regular tape floss. I don't put the threader between my teeth, just up under the archwire, and one threader lasts me for weeks.

I'm interested to read how many people here are sugar-intolerant. I also get sleepy after eating sugary food, but thought it was just an idiosyncrasy of mine

Maggie, glad you are adjusting to life in braces and have started chewing. It really does help with the soreness.

[Miss Smiley]

I love to bake sweets and make my own doughnuts covered in sugar and cinnamon, but I can't eat them. So my friends reap all the benefits of eating tasty and fresh from the oven delights. I sit and watch so that I can drive home safely. I had no idea there were other hypoglycemics, I thought it was just one of those random, weirdo things. We should start a msg board for that too. Hehe, as if we don't spend enough time on here.

[bracieb]

Yet another hypoglycemic here. Interesting to see how much company I have!

Try Source yogurt- it does have sucralose but it won't put you to sleep. That may be just a canadian brand, though- try any "diet" yogurt that doesn't have aspartame. It has enough protein to keep you going with the amount of sugar it has in it.

You could also try adding soy protein to your smoothies, and use some sucralose as sweetener (Splenda is one brand) to cut back on the sugar. I find that as long as I eat every couple of hours I can keep my sugar levels even. I try to include a protein source at every meal and snack- low sugar yogurt, cheese, I used to eat almonds until I developed an allergy. Now it is more challenging, but I manage! I hate the aftertaste of fake sugars, so I rarely use that stuff except for the yogurt.

Having said that, keep chewing. Soft food gets boring, and chewing helps tha pain go away sooner. For me, Advil works better than Tylenol, but for my daughter it is the opposite. Experiment with drugs.

[Maggie Lou]

Well, I can eat now.. well, nothing hard.. I knocked a wire loose and had to go back today.. but all is going better.

Here is a picture. Day two of at least 104 days, no more than 192...


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