Kirsten's in Braces! One Year Anniversary 7/16/08!!!

[married2abuckeye]

Hey everyone! Well, today was the day and early this morning, my 20 year wait for braces ended. 2 hours after everything was installed, I feel the pressure, but no real pain yet. I am finding it hard to talk, of course

Anyway, here's a little background on my story:

I'm 33 years old, and have a deep bite, and large overbite that were never fixed. Causing my overbite is a lot of spacing on my upper front teeth. I also have some crowding on lower front teeth. The past few months have been very busy (and expensive) for me while I had a lot of decay and old fillings fixed, along with 2 crowns. Now that all that work is out of the way, I can get on with fixing my crooked teeth.

Here's a few "before" pictures:





So...my problems should be pretty obvious

And here's a couple of pics from today (just a couple of hours since getting my braces on!):






With all this, I am very excited, and glad I finally made the decision. It's an expensive road to go down, but I am positive it will be worthwhile in the end. What I look forward to most is not being ashamed of my smile - being able to laugh or smile without wanting to cover my mouth. For now I'll have to deal with the metal mouth, but I don't mind that.

Thank you all for posting your experiences and opinions - it helped a lot with my nerves today, knowing a little of what to expect. I look forward to sharing my experience with you, and following yours as well.

Kirsten

[EDWARD]

Congrats on your new venture. I ve been in Braces for about 13 months and I can't complain. The pressure at adjustments can get to you but for all not bad at all.
The process wich i've been goiing through is metal braces on my upper and lower teeth, a few rubber bands on each side and finally the center ruberband finally removed. The last piece of hardwear is the Headgear
wich i must wear at lease 16 - 18 hrs a Day. Thats not fun


Good luck

[cwatt1]

Congratulations, Kirsten! Welcome to the "metal mouth" club Sounds like you're approaching this with a terrfic attitude and are well on your way to a terrific result!

You might not need the ibuprofen immediately, but take it if you get sore. When that happens, just remember that it will be just temporary. Mine is already starting to subside somewhat, and I got braces last Thursday.

Your pictures are great, and braces look really good, too!

[Miss Smiley]

WELCOME KIRSTEN! You'll be amazed at how quickly you will start to feel changes in your mouth.

[LilRedPitViper]

on getting started. The hardest part is behind you.

I know what it's like to feel like you need to cover your mouth when smiling and laughing. But you know what, I already have more confidence in the short time I've had my braces. I find myself hiding behind my hand less and less everyday.

Good luck with your continuing progress.

[Cinnamon]

Awesome, no more waiting! Good for you Kirsten!!

[Tin Indian]

Congratulations Kristen!!

[MommaDucky]

Good for you! Glad you're taking that leap - I know it's hard at first, but hang in there... you will be pleased and impressed in no time flat! Congrats!

[married2abuckeye]

OK, so this is day 4 in braces for me. So far, so good. It's pretty painful to bite down most of the time, but luckily I have only had to resort to wax a couple of times. Hope it stays that way!! Cleaning is becoming a habit now, and I'm dealing with my constant tummy rumbles due to lack of snacking. I'd say eating is the most annoying part. Yesterday I had to dissect some enchiladas, but it tasted very yummy

I do have one question, though - is it normal for your teeth to be pushed/pulled in/out of the gum, so they either appear shorter or longer? I have one top inscisor that seems to have grown!

I love how braces make you look even goofier than you felt prior to getting them.

[married2abuckeye]

OK, so I guess it's been a while since I updated this, but that's because there's not a whole lot going on. Except for one of my top inscisors being pulled down and now being longer than its neighbor, there hasn't been any movement that I can see. However, I definitely feel it! I have good days and bad days as far as the pain goes. All my molars are definitely shifting and every day the bite there seems different. I hadn't even needed much wax till this week, when I got my first ouchie in my mouth

I'm looking forward to my first adjustment next month, when I was told I'd be getting a powerchain! Maybe then I'll see some movement. My top teeth have a long way to go, so I'm looking forward to helping them along with their journey

Eating is still a bit of a challenge, although I am trying to eat a broader variety of foods. I end up swallowing a lot of things relatively unchewed. I had pizza tonight! With a knife and fork, of course.

I think the most challenging thing for me so far is talking. My job requires a moderate amount of telephone conversations, and also meeting with people. I've found I need to speak slower to give my lips time to negotiate over the braces. Due to my overjet, my lips have a hard time closing, which is fine, except I found myself picking spider webs out of my braces yesterday! I had been wandering through the woods for work (I'm a biologist) and I guess walked thru a few webs. Luckily there were no spiders in my teeth!

Anyway, just thought I'd check in. Thanks for reading!!

[cwatt1]

I think the most challenging thing for me so far is talking. My job requires a moderate amount of telephone conversations, and also meeting with people. I've found I need to speak slower to give my lips time to negotiate over the braces. Due to my overjet, my lips have a hard time closing, which is fine, except I found myself picking spider webs out of my braces yesterday!

That's been the hardest for me too -- getting my lips used to the metal! My cheeks and gums are seemingly pretty well acclimated at this point.

My suggestion: Make sure you drink plenty of water and rinse with warm salt water 2-3 times a day, even if you THINK you might be developing raw lips or mouth sores. After doing so, be sure and rinse your lips with clear water, pat dry (thanks for that suggestion, Linda21!), and then apply your lip balm.

Biology is a fascinating field. I enjoyed it immensely during my college years! As a boy I was fascinated with the animal world, particularly insects. Ever hear of the "Junior Entomological Society"? I was a member! Probably doesn't even exist these days

Sounds like you're doing great! Continued success!

[AmybettyB]

Good luck Kirsten,

Sounds like you are getting on very well, I'm sure you will see some progress soon!

Eek about the spiders I can't even deal with them being in the bath never mind the possibility of being in my teeth! You are very brave!

Amy

[Laurie]

Oh it gives me the heebie jeebies when I walk though a spider web! I can't imagine having one stuck to my braces!

[married2abuckeye]

OK so I had my first adjustment just over 2 hours ago. And well, all I can say is "owww!"

They replaced my lower archwire, banded my one crown (they had to make space at my b-day by placing a giant spring between the adjacent teeth), tied in one of my bottom inscisors that wasn't included before (shaved a few of my inscisors to make room too), and put a powerchain on my top front teeth. The powerchain also includes one of my canines in an attempt to make room for a rotating tooth behind it. My ortho said my teeth were coming along just great, and that I was doing a good job of keeping them clean too! I kind of had this fear they would yell at me for not cleaning them enough, but I guess I'm doing well.

It's great to be moving along with some progress, but I was enjoying the fact that my teeth really didn't hurt any more prior to my adjustment. I even got to the point where I could bite into things with my front teeth like a normal person! Although, I don't think my husband liked it so much - we were out shopping this weekend and stopped to have a hotdog. Very proud of the fact that I could bite into the hotdog instead of cutting it with a knife and fork, I jokingly said "look at me, I'm eating a hotdog!" and then realized I had a good portion of it in my front teeth. Oh well, it comes with the territory.

Anyway, that's my little update. The appointment went smoothly and everyone is still extremely nice. I am going to enjoy my perfect excuse for drinking milkshakes guilt-free over the next few days

[married2abuckeye]

OK, 2nd adjustment out of the way. No real news to tell. I still have my original archwire on top, but I got a new, longer powerchain to help rotate one of my premolars. They replaced my lower archwire with a slightly thicker wire, and bent it a tiny bit to help pull one of my inscisors out. So far so good, the Ortho was pleased with my progress and I'm still doing a good job of keeping them clean So far the only pain is in my top front teeth and it's not bad for now. I decided to post an updated pic for comparison at the 3.5 month mark:

Before:


B-day:


Today:


The main progress has been the straightening out of my lower arch. The powerchain is doing its best to smush my top inscisors together and create interesting gaps in front of my canines. I also enjoy the fact that one of my top #1's has grown noticeably longer than its friend. I don't mind, tho, cause it's all progress!

Thanks for reading!