Metal Mouth Message Board

All,

after one month in braces I found it time to step back and share some of my experiences. Feel free to chip in with yours!

1.) Time goes by quite quickly, and I got used to braces fairly quickly. I knew that everybody keeps telling this, but it is true nevertheless. I don't think much about my braces any longer, I live my normal life. I was self conscious the first two days, later only in special moments. However, these moments of self consciousness still keep popping up from time to time.

2.) Nobody cares (other than you). There is no point in worrying about your appearance, literally nobody else does. You'll quickly realise that a couple of other points are much more relavant: the small impairment to your spech, the sour spots and little wounds that you get from time to time, the difficulty to bite, chew and eat, the cleaning. It's fairly easy to deal with all of that, but this is how the braces demand attention..

3.) Wax is a great help. Use it freely and in liberal amounts, and your wounds will heel much quicker.

4.) Brushing and cleaning your teeth takes longer than before. I bought an Oral B triumph, and it works great. I also learned quickly how to floss. Try the threaded floss from Crest, it is great.

5.) I also bought mouthwahses, but don't feel I need them. Brushing and flossing does it much more effectively. I used Crest Total Health because it is clear and experienced no staining.

5.) My teeth are kind of sensitive to pressure and chewing. This is a sign that the braces work and the teeth keep moving, but I didn't expect it to linger on for so long. It was worse initially, but it still hurts today when I chew. My first adjustment is due in <2 weeks and I'm curious how thinkgs will be after that.

6.) Eating is MUCH less fun than before. I learned how to eat 'normal' stuff, but it is just no fun. I don't find it worth the effort of cleaning, so I go soup very often. After 3 weeks, I had lost 4-5 kg. I'm a 6" male and weigh now 74 kg. On the brink to becoming underweight I started to eat more, but as said, it's less fun than before.

7.) I also learned how to eat forbidden stuff like Peanut M&M, but it's no fun. I'm unable to chew them in really small bits, I keep biting myself with the braces and I don't get the full taste and pleasure of eating. I go for mushy food instead... mashed potatoes, risotto, pasta etc. If pasta, I avoid spaghetti which I have to cut in small pieces. Rice and Couscous is worse than it looks, you have the pieces sticking everywhere in your mouth afterwards. Avocados are a nice addition to my menu.

8.) I also have a bite plate. I got used to it by now, too, but I hate it much more than my braces. Not sure if that helps, but if you don't have one, be happy and don't worry about your braces, they are harmless in comparison.

9.) Before you get braces, help yourself to a cleaning... but allow for some time to recover. After the cleaning, I had some dentine exposed and horribly sensitive teeth. Putting the braces on was VERY bad.

These are the key things that come to mind when reflecting. After all, if that are all the concerns, it's not really bad, is it? And another 11-17 mths, and the story will be over. Even if it's all not bad, I'll be nevertheless glad when it is over

DireWire

Great observations and reporting!

I especially love that you said that nobody cares that you (we) have braces. It is one of the biggest reasons adults don't get them and it is such a non-issue to everyone out there.

The eating should become fun again, for me it became quite normal after about 3 months; so "normal", in fact, that I gained 10 pounds in my 21 months treatment.

You've got a great sense of self awareness, keep giving us your observations, for those newbies here, it could be quite helpful.

I am so with you on the eating not being fun. I even avoid meals some times because it's not worth the clean up. My husband tells me it's the best weight loss program I could have found. I too also take a long time for my care, in fact I have to plan for it before I go to bed because I hate doing it when I'm tired, and because of that I no longer do the late night snacking because that would require me to brush again.

that was very interesting to read. Thanks for posting that.
I'll be getting my braces this Tuesday.

I think your observations are accurate and they have been my experience. The part about no one cares . . . at this point, the only ones that care seem to be the ones on this board. I told my husband today that I see so much movement in my teeth and my alignment is better and he said, "my boredom level has been breached." He believes I think about my teeth too much and that I have "extraction gap obessive-compulsive disorder". He claims I spend hours measuring my gap. Obviously an exaggeration.

You are soooo right about the eating thing. I used to love to eat, and now it is just a pain. Not only is it more difficult to actually eat, but I am so hung up on trying to keep my teeth clean. I feel like I could spend 20 minutes cleaning my teeth after every meal, and they still don't feel clean to me. Snacks are just not worth it anymore... On another note, I found melliemoo's comment about her husband's boredom with her progress reports absolutely hilarious. I haven't asked, but I would bet that my husband has heard enough about my mouth as well! Thank goodness for this forum. It's nice to know I have somewhere to go where people actually care...

So true about the eating part. I will be in braces for 1 month in a couple of days and yes, eating for me is no fun anymore. And worse, my DH is a chef and is always cooking yummy food. I have also stopped snacking at night because I am lazy to clean up. I can't wait till the eating part gets fun again like jennielee81 and Meryaten say it will.

melliemoo, I had to laugh about your husband too lol. I get my braces Tuesday but I am all ready obsessive about keeping my teeth clean. I am trying so hard to get no new cavities. All I do is talk about getting my braces and I think my husband is pretty bored w/ the subject. he's a good sport though, he lets me yap away.

My husband is usually pretty good about listening to me but he did tell me that we (adults in braces) are weirdly obsessed about our teeth. While watching TV, even commercials, I'm always telling him, "Doesn't her teeth look good?" or "I love his teeth!" He has responded, "Okay, you are officially banned from discussing anyone's teeth the rest of the evening." I never felt like this way before about teeth. Now, I'm even scaring me!