Starting with removable brace.

[Twinks]

Hi there,

Long time reader, first time poster on the forums here. I'm 34 and finally took the plunge to straighten my teeth. I'm on day 6 and have stainless lowers and a removable brace on uppers to fix my deep bite. I'll be wearing the removable brace for 6 months and then swapping to ceramic uppers I think.

I'm lucky and didn't need any extractions, I can't imagine how tender that would be! As it was I've still have issues chewing as with the removable brace my molars don't touch. It's weird too because sometimes I feel like I'm clenching my teeth as no position feels natural...yet.

My ortho wanted me in full stainless as she said the treatment time would be less and the stainless brackets could handle tighter adjustments. I've agreed to do ceramic uppers for the majority of treatment and then switch to stainless for the last couple of months. I don't think I could handle full stainless right off the bat!

So far, so good. The first three days were the most painful and I needed painkillers. After day 4 I was fine. The biggest problem at the moment is learning how to talk without sounding like I have a lisp. My ortho said it would go away and I've been diligent about wearing the brace 24/7, apart from brushing. Seriously, if I didn't wear it my uppers would touch my lower braces and that causes no end of pain. It means that it's actually more comfortable to keep the removable brace in! Imagine that.

My first adjustment will be on 4 July, so 6 weeks after the initial fitting. I'm hoping to see some teensy results. Time then to take a pic so I can start to monitor the progress.

[Jay04]

Hi. I also had a removable brace for around 5 months on my upper teeth. (I have some pics on my braces story I think) I think I was kind of in the same situation as you as if I didn't wear it, my top teeth would clash against the braces on my bottom teeth which was annoying. You're lucky you avoided extractions. I remember I couldn't decide whether the pain of the extractions, or the spacers I got put in was worse as they were both at the same kinda time

I also had problems talking. It does get so much easier, it just takes a bit of getting used to. Eventually I started talking normally again and didn't even notice the removable brace as it just became normal wearing it. Good luck. Hope you get used to it soon.

[Twinks]

Hi, thanks for your message. In your original pictures, your top teeth look a lot like mine do! Your top removable brace looks a lot more uncomfortable than mine did, with those wires around your top teeth! Mine has two metal hooks on either side that fix to my molars.

I went to the dentist for a cleaning this week and he said that my top removable brace looks like a retainer! He said it doesn't have any springs in it, just what he thought was a bite plate, to stop my top teeth from hitting the bottom. I'm hoping that it's doing something, because when I get my top braces fit in 6 or so months, I don't want my top teeth gnashing the bottom I guess I'll ask in a couple weeks at my first adjustment.

I'm still having problems saying some words, and sometimes people are still having difficulty understanding me, but it's probably related to the fact that although I'm living in the UK I'm not British, so it's possible people can't understand the combination of my accent and the slight lisp! But on the whole, it's getting better... I think

[Twinks]

I haven't updated in awhile, and I tried uploading a photo, but it's somehow uploaded sideways (even though it looks normal on my computer!).

Anyhow, I had my first adjustment last month and I'm eagerly awaiting my 2nd adjustment in 10 days. I still have one stray bottom tooth to get braced. Amazingly my bottom teeth are making room (lucky not to have needed any extractions) for that spare tooth. The only problem now is that that stray tooth really stands out! I'm hopeful that the ortho can brace this tooth and things won't look so odd.

I'm managing alright with the top removable brace. It's a pain to brush and keep clean. My ortho said 6-9 months with the top brace so I'm optimistic that I'll get the top braces by Christmas.

We'll see... in the meantime, will try and get those photos uploaded. I love seeing everyone else's progress, so it would be nice to share mine!