Second and hopefully last braces experience

[Givemeariesen]

I got braces for the second time a little over a week ago - ceramics on top and metal on lower. I was told I would have them on for about 20 months. I had them for about three years in middle school. I am 37 years old. I have a canine that is above my gum line that the first set of braces didn't really correct and has always bothered me. After two kids, I think my teeth began shifting more rapidly and in the last five years or so my bottom teeth have shifted and gotten out of alignment. I started to worry about how much more crooked they would become in the next five years and made the decision to try again.

I got the metal bands on my molars three days ago. I was really looking forward to getting the spacers out, but now I'm not so sure. The inside of the bands have really been tearing at my tongue. Every time I eat I feel like a mini Edward Scissorhands is slicing away at the sides of my tongue. I also have a canker sore starting and am trying to keep wax on the bracket that rubs it. I am still barely eating anything beyond soup and mushy stuff, mostly due to the tongue pain. I wasn't sure if this was normal and whether I should just suffer through and let my tongue toughen up as my cheeks have with the braces, or see if the orthodontist can do something with the bands to make them more comfortable. When I run my finger along the inside of them, they seem pretty rough. I am really ready to move beyond soup.

Before braces for a few months I pulled with coconut oil. My orthodontist said it shouldn't be a problem to continue with braces and saw that some users on here incorporate it into their cleaning routine. I plan to continue with it. I also wanted to see what people recommended for an sls-free and sensitive teeth friendly toothpaste.

I was surprised that my next appointment is six weeks away. My archwire is not connected to my metal bands yet. I am assuming it will be next time? I am feeling looseness and a bit of shifting in my teeth already. It also seems like my bite is moving just a bit. Maybe it all would have been too much too soon. I just hope my mouth adjusts to these metal bands soon. I am glad to have a forum like this to commiserate and get opinions.

[Givemeariesen]

Just noticed yesterday that my lower tooth next to my canine has a small crack. The tooth next to it is further back and that tooth's bracket rubs the cracked one. Made appointment with my ortho tomorrow. It doesn't hurt but I'm afraid if they have to remove the bracket to fix it that the crack will worsen. Has this happened to anyone else? I can't specifically say the braces caused the crack, but it seems suspicious since the bracket on the tooth next to it is really rubbing the cracked tooth. As far as I can tell, the crack is only in the front of the tooth.

[Bracesat57]

Hi,

I had trouble with bands on my lower molars. After one weekend I could not take my tongue being ripped apart by the bottom of the bands. I figured this could not be normal and the thought of going thru this for 24 months was unbearable.

I made an appointment with my ortho and they examined it and took the bands off. They did not fit the teeth properly because of my crowns and the way the teeth were shaped. They reshaped one band very tiny and the other one has a bracket on it.

I would suggest going back to your ortho and let them look at them.

Good luck!

[Givemeariesen]

Well I feel like a dim bulb. My crack ended up being glue thankfully.

I no longer feel any pain from my brackets Bracesat57 but I'm glad you got yours adjusted so you're no longer uncomfortable. My first adjustment is next Thursday. Hopefully it won't be too bad. I have definitely noticed spaces opening up between a couple of teeth and it seems like areas that I have a dull ache in my mouth shift daily. I am still trying to get used to my bite shifting and my teeth feeling, for lack of a better term, spongy.

[Givemeariesen]

Thursday was my first adjustment. They took off my upper spring (yay!) but I got a heavier gauge spring across my bottom four teeth. Ugh. More pain for the inside of my bottom lip until it scars up. Wax doesn't really work. I can only anchor it down if I kind of attach it to the brackets behind the spring and then it pulls on the whole archwire and my teeth hurt. I don't want to mess the archwire up, so I'm dealing with it. The ortho also attached my bottom archwire to my metal brackets. My top still is not. My next appointment is in six weeks.

One thing that shocked me is how fast my teeth have been moving. My adjustment was at 9:30 am and by that night while flossing I could feel spaces between two of my bottom teeth that weren't there. I find that flossing is one of the best measures to indicate my progress. Hopefully I can lose this bottom spring soon!

[Givemeariesen]

Second adjustment today. I got my open coil spring off of my bottom teeth! However, along with good news is bad: my right front tooth's bracket came loose a few hours after my appointment. This tooth is a crown. Has anyone else had problems with crowned teeth and brackets? I can 't get back in for them to bond it back on for a week. At least it's not sliding all around driving me crazy. My bottom four teeth that were on the spring are hurting pretty badly right now. But happy to take the temporary pain over the constant annoyance of that spring!