Finally Taking The Plunge

[Mslaurielynn]

Hi - You guessed it, I'm new here. I am 48 and have finally decided to take the plunge. Had the spacers put in on 9/13/05 and the braces are going on tomorrow, the 19th. Also scheduled for oral surgery on the 30th to remove two baby canines, one lower front and two impacted canines in the roof of my mouth. Not really looking forward to any of it, especially the surgery. Any suggestions or advise would be nice. Planning on posted pics as well. Thanks for listening.

[JN_Woods]

Mslaurielynn,

Good luck tomorrow! The spacers are terrible--much worse than the braces themselves. Just take some Advil or Tylenol before you go to the ortho. Check out the "Our Braces Stories" in the forum index. Loop and Joplin have both dealt with impacted canines. I think one or both had their canines removed. What kind of braces are you getting? Just top or both top and bottom?

I look forward to following your progress.

Jen

[Mslaurielynn]

Well I just got home, after a two hour appointment. It's amazing how much your mouth can stretch. - LOL. Braces were put on top (ceramic) and the bottom (metal). All the brackets are in place. Right now I only have wire on the top front four teeth. Need to leave room for the surgeon to remove the teeth, ugh. I will be amazed and thrilled if my teeth end up looking nice. Cement was put on the back molar to prevent my top teeth from hitting the brackets on the bottom. Correcting the overbite will save my teeth from wearing down any further. Now I get to look forward to the extractions. The baby canines and lower front tooth don't have me too freaked out. But-----getting those impacted canines out of the roof on my mouth, that's a whole different story. Thanks for the words of encouragement.

[braceface1230]

Well, today is the 19th. How does it feel to have braces on?

[Mslaurielynn]

I've had the braces now for a whole day. Right now my mouth is sore, my lower lip, the insides of my cheeks and the back of my tongue. Eating anything at this point is a pain in the butt. Takes way too much effort. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have heard conflicting reports about using an electric toothbrush - Is it really better than just manually brushing? Until later.

[braceface1230]

I've been using my electric toothbrush since I've had my braces on and I've had no problems so far. My dental hygenist told me it'd be a good idea to have one, so I'm going on her word. And it's been no problem. I don't actually use it every time I brush, but I try to use it once a day.

As far as the having a hard time eating. It'll take a good week or so to get used to eating with braces on. I found that I was worried that every bite I took would knock a bracket off, but the more I ate and got used to it, the less I worried. And I also didn't use wax. I did and still do from time to time get a few sore spots inside my mouth, but I found it's better to just let it go... it heals quick.

Like anything I guess.... it just takes some getting used to. And personally for me; all this discomfort (which is minimal) is more than worth it. Because the end result is going to be worth smiling for. Good luck and look forward to following your progress!

[Mslaurielynn]

Well it's been a while since I checked in. I'm working on loading the pics that I have but it's taking me a bit to figure it out. I have had the braces on now for almost 3 months. I still hate eating as I can't stand to have food get stuck in my teeth/braces. It seems like the process can not go fast enough. Maybe I'm too impatient. I am going to work on the pics this afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed for me.