It never occurred to me that I might need braces at the age of 36, but a little over a year ago I waged an attack on a meatball sub and lost. (A little piece of advice... never try to eat a sandwich bigger than your head. This is particularly true if you happen to suffer from TMJ issues.) One careless chomp left me with teeth that no longer touch in the back and rub together uncomfortably in the front.
Now, after a year of reprogramming with a bite plane, I'm finally ready for the next step. Braces. Until yesterday morning I was really pretty excited at the prospect. A pleasant consultation with my ortho revealed that I'd need a single tooth extracted so that we can shift things about and get my midline relatively straight. My treatment will last 18-24 months and I'll be be sporting ceramic on the upper front 6 and self-ligating metal for the remainder. Pain free living and the ability to chew properly? Bring it on! But that excitement was short lived.
Why? Spacers. Thanks to this wonderful information packed site, I was almost certain that I would need them. What could be so bad about having little rubbery bits shoved between a dozen or so teeth? Only I didn't get little rubbery bits. I now have fiddley/pokey/wirey bits that move around in awkward ways and jab me in the cheek when I least expect it. Ouch! (BTW, can anyone tell me why the heck I can't get my tongue to stop messing around with them? I think the wretched thing has developed a mind of its own.) The best part is that I get to keep these lovely little accessories in for a whole week! Woo. Hoo.
I'm now heading for the fridge to drown my sorrows in chocolate pudding. At any rate, thanks for taking the time to read this rant. And thanks yet again for offering such a supportive environment in which to vent.
Spacers and Brackets and Wires, Oh My!
Moderator: bbsadmin
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Orth-ohno!
- Posts: 21
- Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 4:36 pm
- Location: Washington
I'm on day 7 with seven more to go. It took about four days before I could eat solid food. Now I don't even think about them any more! 
Thanks for the welcome and I look forward to getting to know you and the other members of the board.
The spacers were removed today! Of course they were promptly replaced by molar bands, but these feel so much better that I don't notice them now. The brackets will take a little more time. Or perhaps just a little more than a little more.
I'm now fully bracketed and have my lower archwire in place. I will receive my upper wire late next week once I've had my first right premolar removed, provided I'm feeling up to it. So what do I get to do on Valentine's Day? You guessed it: HAVE TEETH PULLED. 'Cause tooth gaps are SEXY! As is blood laden spittle. And while I should have planned that a little better, if my husband brings me chocolate caramels, I'm filing for a divorce.
Today wasn't as dreadful as I'd imagined it would be. (Unsurprisingly, as I have a VERY vivid imagination.) I'm a little sore and from what I've read, I might be worse off in the morning, but at least I know what to expect. And I take it that biting the heck out of your cheek lining is also perfectly normal, but how about being unable to floss between the teeth adjacent to the bands?
More miserable whining to follow soon.
The spacers were removed today! Of course they were promptly replaced by molar bands, but these feel so much better that I don't notice them now. The brackets will take a little more time. Or perhaps just a little more than a little more.
I'm now fully bracketed and have my lower archwire in place. I will receive my upper wire late next week once I've had my first right premolar removed, provided I'm feeling up to it. So what do I get to do on Valentine's Day? You guessed it: HAVE TEETH PULLED. 'Cause tooth gaps are SEXY! As is blood laden spittle. And while I should have planned that a little better, if my husband brings me chocolate caramels, I'm filing for a divorce.
Today wasn't as dreadful as I'd imagined it would be. (Unsurprisingly, as I have a VERY vivid imagination.) I'm a little sore and from what I've read, I might be worse off in the morning, but at least I know what to expect. And I take it that biting the heck out of your cheek lining is also perfectly normal, but how about being unable to floss between the teeth adjacent to the bands?
More miserable whining to follow soon.
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Scalawaggirl
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2006 7:59 am
I feel your pain, literally. :)
I just got my braces last Thursday and had 8 metal spacers a week prior to that. Apparently, your tongue got the same "mess w/them constantly" message that mine did. They drove me nuts due to: 1) super sore teeth, 2) constant shifting/making sure they stayed in correctly, 3) rubbing the inside of my cheeks!So, now I have ceramic on top and metal on bottom but my first ortho assistant (great) had to do something else so I got a substitute (not great at all) who, while nice, was totally distracted the whole time. She was flitzing around w/the ceramics for a long time and the first assistant had my metals on in a few minutes, seriously, she was that quick/good. The other problem, which, of course, I didn't realize since I had no experience, was the assistant #2 just clipped the wires rather than bending them...so now they are poking me anytime I move my mouth. I just want to pop her upside the head for being so ditsy!
Anyway, I highly recommend the salt water rinse. It really, really helps. Next time, I'm asking for the original assistant by name!!!