Melanie's Story
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:38 pm
I got my braces on January 11th. My treatment plan states the following:
Skeletally, the mandible is significantly retruded in relation to the maxilla and the cranial base.
Dentally, a Class I Malocclusion is present with the following characteristics: 5mm overjet, 5mm overbite, spacing in the upper and lower arches, 6mm diastema, 2mm curve of spee, and excessive flaring of the front teeth (bimaxillary protrusion). The profile exhibits a lip protrusion due to the bimaxillary protrusion.
Band and bond the upper and lower arches. Begin Class II force in about the third month of treatment. Total treatment time will be approximately 18 months.
********************
My orthodontist was highly recommended by my dentist. I am VERY excited to see the results, and will post updates after each adjustment.
The novelty of having braces wore off QUICKLY. Now, I was one of the lucky ones...the office staff and orthodontist are nice and very professional. BONUS...NO PAIN...YAY!!!!!!!! But, I DO NOT HANDLE HUNGER WELL...and soft food does not satisfy my foodie appetite. So, I spent the first week crying every time I saw someone enjoying my favorite foods while I was living on the grown-up version of baby food. One thing that was bothersome, was the bands around my molars. Some of the cement got onto the adjacent tooth and I couldn't get a string of floss between it. I already had a waterpik flosser, so I used that until I could get to the ortho to get the excess glue scraped off.
After about a week, I got brave about eating and ventured out on giant burritos, subs, and chips...yep, bad idea!!! I didn't damage my braces from what I can tell. But, it did make me feel more hopeless about enjoying food until these suckers are removed. The reason is, chewing was still quite awkward, and I was swallowing my food in chunks instead of really working on it. Sooooo, I didn't get the reward of all the flavors from the foods that I love. Instead, I got the sensation of food being stuck in the braces and between my teeth.
After around 2 weeks, I had a BREAKTHROUGH (insert sound effect of angels singing here)!! I ate Shephard's pie for the first time. OH MY LORD...that stuff is soooooo yummy and soooooo easy to eat with braces. All of the dramatic emotions that I was complaining about just fell out the window. Chewing regular food was still a little different. BUT, I got that fix that I needed to get me through.
People have mentioned that I lost a lot of weight. Not good, since I am a bridesmaid in 2 months and that EXPENSIVE DRESS is already paid for. My weight loss was caused by COMPLETELY changing my eating habits. I no longer eat junk food. I don't eat sweets. I don't drink sodas, sweet tea, or lemonade. Just in case you were wondering, I fall in the GRITS category (GIRL-RAISED-IN-THE-SOUTH, darlin') - Mis-sippi to be exact. My friend that is getting married said that she needs to try that. Lemme tell ya...the only reason that I have any willpower about my new diet is the fact that I refuse to spend 5 grand and risk having rotten teeth when these puppies come off.
My first adjustment was yesterday. About 2 weeks ago, people mentioned that they already see a difference. That made me really happy and eager to get orthodontist's opinion of my progress. He commented that my teeth look good...a few times. So, that was very encouraging. He put a heavier wire on the bottom and metal ligatures on my molars. I asked for pink ligatures on the bottom thinking that would make the metal brackets blend in better with my lips and gums. The inspiration for this came from Fantasia's video "I'm Doing Me" because I noticed that her brackets didn't seem very noticeable. He also put a power chain on my central and lateral incisors on the top so that he can begin closing my diastema. So far, so good. I haven't taken any pain killers and I feel fine, just a little pressure. He said that the power chain will begin closing the gap and I should see a difference in a few weeks. He originally planned to see me every 4 weeks but decided that 6 weeks will be appropriate for my next adjustment. I'm very excited to see some progress and I will keep posting to update my progress!!
I will post pics after each adjustment to document my progress...possibly doing a video, too. Hopefully, these posts will be helpful to anyone that is considering braces or at the beginning of their journey...LIKE ME!!
Skeletally, the mandible is significantly retruded in relation to the maxilla and the cranial base.
Dentally, a Class I Malocclusion is present with the following characteristics: 5mm overjet, 5mm overbite, spacing in the upper and lower arches, 6mm diastema, 2mm curve of spee, and excessive flaring of the front teeth (bimaxillary protrusion). The profile exhibits a lip protrusion due to the bimaxillary protrusion.
Band and bond the upper and lower arches. Begin Class II force in about the third month of treatment. Total treatment time will be approximately 18 months.
********************
My orthodontist was highly recommended by my dentist. I am VERY excited to see the results, and will post updates after each adjustment.
The novelty of having braces wore off QUICKLY. Now, I was one of the lucky ones...the office staff and orthodontist are nice and very professional. BONUS...NO PAIN...YAY!!!!!!!! But, I DO NOT HANDLE HUNGER WELL...and soft food does not satisfy my foodie appetite. So, I spent the first week crying every time I saw someone enjoying my favorite foods while I was living on the grown-up version of baby food. One thing that was bothersome, was the bands around my molars. Some of the cement got onto the adjacent tooth and I couldn't get a string of floss between it. I already had a waterpik flosser, so I used that until I could get to the ortho to get the excess glue scraped off.
After about a week, I got brave about eating and ventured out on giant burritos, subs, and chips...yep, bad idea!!! I didn't damage my braces from what I can tell. But, it did make me feel more hopeless about enjoying food until these suckers are removed. The reason is, chewing was still quite awkward, and I was swallowing my food in chunks instead of really working on it. Sooooo, I didn't get the reward of all the flavors from the foods that I love. Instead, I got the sensation of food being stuck in the braces and between my teeth.
After around 2 weeks, I had a BREAKTHROUGH (insert sound effect of angels singing here)!! I ate Shephard's pie for the first time. OH MY LORD...that stuff is soooooo yummy and soooooo easy to eat with braces. All of the dramatic emotions that I was complaining about just fell out the window. Chewing regular food was still a little different. BUT, I got that fix that I needed to get me through.
People have mentioned that I lost a lot of weight. Not good, since I am a bridesmaid in 2 months and that EXPENSIVE DRESS is already paid for. My weight loss was caused by COMPLETELY changing my eating habits. I no longer eat junk food. I don't eat sweets. I don't drink sodas, sweet tea, or lemonade. Just in case you were wondering, I fall in the GRITS category (GIRL-RAISED-IN-THE-SOUTH, darlin') - Mis-sippi to be exact. My friend that is getting married said that she needs to try that. Lemme tell ya...the only reason that I have any willpower about my new diet is the fact that I refuse to spend 5 grand and risk having rotten teeth when these puppies come off.
My first adjustment was yesterday. About 2 weeks ago, people mentioned that they already see a difference. That made me really happy and eager to get orthodontist's opinion of my progress. He commented that my teeth look good...a few times. So, that was very encouraging. He put a heavier wire on the bottom and metal ligatures on my molars. I asked for pink ligatures on the bottom thinking that would make the metal brackets blend in better with my lips and gums. The inspiration for this came from Fantasia's video "I'm Doing Me" because I noticed that her brackets didn't seem very noticeable. He also put a power chain on my central and lateral incisors on the top so that he can begin closing my diastema. So far, so good. I haven't taken any pain killers and I feel fine, just a little pressure. He said that the power chain will begin closing the gap and I should see a difference in a few weeks. He originally planned to see me every 4 weeks but decided that 6 weeks will be appropriate for my next adjustment. I'm very excited to see some progress and I will keep posting to update my progress!!
I will post pics after each adjustment to document my progress...possibly doing a video, too. Hopefully, these posts will be helpful to anyone that is considering braces or at the beginning of their journey...LIKE ME!!
I still enjoy a soda now and then, and I drink tea and hot chocolate constantly at work. Admittedly, My sinful foods that I enjoy right now are Doritos and tortilla chips and salsa. They're a pain to clean out of the brackets, but I still love them and enjoy 'em!
