ceramic uppers w/bite block on lower, best diet EVER!
Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2010 1:07 pm
A little late to the braces game, and boy am I paying the price for my reluctance. I am 23, and was told years and years ago that I needed braces for my crossbite or that I would eventually look like a bulldog. I informed my parents I did not want them, and I think they always figured it was something we would do in the future. Of course, eventually I moved out and am now married. My parents managed to dodge a bullet.
I have a pretty bad crossbite, with almost all of the teeth in the front being behind my bottom teeth, although luckily it has not distorted my jaw or profile very much at all. I still have a baby tooth also. I had no idea... which is crazy, since I have worked in dental offices for years. I broke a peice off a tooth and applauded myself for not feeling any pain, only for my dentist (I used to work for him, still won't let anyone else near my mouth with a needle) to tell me that I was not, in fact, very brave because it was a baby tooth and had no nerve attached anymore. Unfortunately, I have a small mouth and small teeth, and if we pull the baby tooth there is no room for the secondary tooth to erupt so.... the braces had to be done now. I avoided it as long as possible, but in order for me to deal with my broken baby tooth, it must be done now, he told me. I made an appointment. Glad that I did, because the few days before Christmas were miserable for me as I battled my very first toothache ever, involving that baby tooth and some very swollen/irritated gums. I'm not sure what it's deal was, because when I got back to work that Monday and had the doc examine it, the gums were normal with no signs of infection. I guess it was a sign. So this past Monday I had braces placed on my upper (can't put them on the lowers yet, since I would essentially bite them off, and to deal with the baby tooth this was determined to be most logical.) I have ceramics, and they are pretty invisible unless you are standing directly in front of me and I smile pretty big. The pain (ache) was terrible. I could feel my teeth being pulled, but for $4600 (not including the oral surgery) I decided I was glad I could feel them working. My biggest problem, so far, is eating. I had a bite plate made to wear over my lower teeth since my molars do not touch unless I completely close my bite (which I can't do unless I want to shear these braces off.) This bite plate is removable of course, and it makes eating quite unpleasant. I am so paranoid about any food touching my brackets and wires that I have to chew very, very carefully, and chewing isn't easy when it consists of bludgeoning your food to a pulp with a peic e of plastic and a few very sensitive molars. My molas have easily caused the most trouble for me... as I said, my mouth is very small, so after I had my wisdom teeth extracted, my mouth healed in such a way that puts my molars thisclose to my jaw bone or whatever one would call that hard area at the back of the mouth that covers the actual jawbone. There is little to no room back there for my poor teeth, let alone brackets and wires, but alas. They are shoved back there, and it's quite uncomfortable. They gave me one measly pack of wax on that first day, and I went through a pack a day from work since. I have to put it on, discard it to brush, put more on, discard it after eating, apply more, it's a constant thing. Without the wax, my gums would be rubbed so raw I wouldn't be able to speak (which is a negative, since my job consists of talking about dental insurance 10 hours a day.)
All of that being said... I can already tell my teeth have moved, and it hasn't even been a week. I was never able to put my upper front teeth in front of my lower teeth before, but now I can, after only 5 days. I'm hoping this means my teeth are shifting easier than we first thought, and that maybe we can get the ball rolling with the oral surgery and the lower braces sooner than we planned. I am crossing my fingers...
In the meantime, I will continue to live on Atkins meal replacement drinks and popsicles.
I have a pretty bad crossbite, with almost all of the teeth in the front being behind my bottom teeth, although luckily it has not distorted my jaw or profile very much at all. I still have a baby tooth also. I had no idea... which is crazy, since I have worked in dental offices for years. I broke a peice off a tooth and applauded myself for not feeling any pain, only for my dentist (I used to work for him, still won't let anyone else near my mouth with a needle) to tell me that I was not, in fact, very brave because it was a baby tooth and had no nerve attached anymore. Unfortunately, I have a small mouth and small teeth, and if we pull the baby tooth there is no room for the secondary tooth to erupt so.... the braces had to be done now. I avoided it as long as possible, but in order for me to deal with my broken baby tooth, it must be done now, he told me. I made an appointment. Glad that I did, because the few days before Christmas were miserable for me as I battled my very first toothache ever, involving that baby tooth and some very swollen/irritated gums. I'm not sure what it's deal was, because when I got back to work that Monday and had the doc examine it, the gums were normal with no signs of infection. I guess it was a sign. So this past Monday I had braces placed on my upper (can't put them on the lowers yet, since I would essentially bite them off, and to deal with the baby tooth this was determined to be most logical.) I have ceramics, and they are pretty invisible unless you are standing directly in front of me and I smile pretty big. The pain (ache) was terrible. I could feel my teeth being pulled, but for $4600 (not including the oral surgery) I decided I was glad I could feel them working. My biggest problem, so far, is eating. I had a bite plate made to wear over my lower teeth since my molars do not touch unless I completely close my bite (which I can't do unless I want to shear these braces off.) This bite plate is removable of course, and it makes eating quite unpleasant. I am so paranoid about any food touching my brackets and wires that I have to chew very, very carefully, and chewing isn't easy when it consists of bludgeoning your food to a pulp with a peic e of plastic and a few very sensitive molars. My molas have easily caused the most trouble for me... as I said, my mouth is very small, so after I had my wisdom teeth extracted, my mouth healed in such a way that puts my molars thisclose to my jaw bone or whatever one would call that hard area at the back of the mouth that covers the actual jawbone. There is little to no room back there for my poor teeth, let alone brackets and wires, but alas. They are shoved back there, and it's quite uncomfortable. They gave me one measly pack of wax on that first day, and I went through a pack a day from work since. I have to put it on, discard it to brush, put more on, discard it after eating, apply more, it's a constant thing. Without the wax, my gums would be rubbed so raw I wouldn't be able to speak (which is a negative, since my job consists of talking about dental insurance 10 hours a day.)
All of that being said... I can already tell my teeth have moved, and it hasn't even been a week. I was never able to put my upper front teeth in front of my lower teeth before, but now I can, after only 5 days. I'm hoping this means my teeth are shifting easier than we first thought, and that maybe we can get the ball rolling with the oral surgery and the lower braces sooner than we planned. I am crossing my fingers...
In the meantime, I will continue to live on Atkins meal replacement drinks and popsicles.