Kate Kate, Braces are Her Fate

[missnomer]

KateinCo,

Great photos, I think when you look at those in about six months you will be surprised at the difference.

Good luck with the elastics. I also have Damon brackets and got elastics last adjustment. Can't say I like them but I have gotten used to them. I can normally eat with them in, probably because I'm too lazy to take them out, and sometimes with co-workers at lunch it is more obvious to remove them than just leave them in.

I saw that tip about the olive oil and am going to try it.

Looking forward to following your progress.

[KateinCO]

Hey there Ken and Miss Nomer ....

Thanks for the support! Elastics are more comfortable after a week or so of this routine. The olive oil worked a treat, so I highly recommend that little tip.

Yesterday, I had a bit of a setback from a confidence perspective. A guy at work asked me about my braces because he is also thinking about getting them. I started talking about my experience, and he said "Did your ortho also install your lisp?" Although, I think he was trying to be funny or something, I was so mortified. I think I mentioned previously that I had speech therapy as a child for my lisp. I thought I had overcome that problem (although my lisp comes back when I am really tired) ... but now it seems like the braces and the shifting of teeth have brought the problem back. I wonder if I need to talk to my ortho about going back for speech therapy, or if this problem will be resolved as my bite and teeth shift? Anyone else have these problems?

Can't believe it has been two months! I hope I only have 16 left to go...

Cheers,
Kate

[mottsrods]

Kate,

That guy is a jerk.........and I don't even know him, and don't want too! It was a rude, insincere comment and he should have thought before he spoke.

I have noticed that my lisp has gotten worse and worse since I got my braces. I tried to sing the other day and couldn't get through the song for jumbling the words and lisping so bad. And I just gave up. I'll just stick to instruments until they come off. I don't think my lisp can get any worse though. As I do it so much.

I hope you can work through this. There is a phrase you can try working on to help. It was one on here, maybe someone can add it on this post. But Keep the spirits up and just laugh, it cures most everything.

Mott

[KateinCO]

Hey Mott and Ken --

Thanks for the advice. I think maybe I need to practice a little from time to time as my teeth shift. The rainbow passage is a big help. I KNEW someone on this forum would know what to do to address the lisp.

You guys rule.

Cheers,
Kate

[raymondo]

My goodness, Kate, your teeth look perfect! You're well on the way to getting the results you're looking for. Best wishes for the remainder of your treatment.

[rhonda30]

Kate,

Sorry to hear about that insensitive remark that was made pertaining to a lisp. I remember it took me about two months to try and get my lips and tongue to work in conjunction with my braces. A couple of my students commented that I sounded funny at first. I would venture to say that your speech will improve over time.

I try to remember that we are all unique and none are without faults or imperfections. I think that those imperfections are what defines our compassion for others.

Smile with pride and speak with conviction.

[Miss Smiley]

I have never had a lisp until ortho treatment. I'm one of those people who likes to enunciate every word that comes out of my mouth, just so there aren't any misunderstandings and they can't say I mumbled and such. But after starting ortho, I noticed a lisp and so did the other half. He found it amusing, I found it annoying. I have tried to work on it and it still slips out every so often, do you think it's due to our teeth moving around? Could it make that much of a difference?

[KateinCO]

Hi Raymondo, Rhonda and Miss Smiley!

Thanks so much for your support! I have been trying to practice speaking in front of the mirror with the rainbow passage as well as with she sells seashells. I think it is helping me to form my trouble sounds better.

I think overall my speech has improved in the past two months (better than when I first got the braces on), but that lisp is indeed worse. And yes, I believe it is because of the shift in my teeth and bite. I have yet to bring it up with my ortho, but I won't be seeing her for another month when I go for my next adjustment. Of course, I might be seeing her sooner because I think I will run out of elastics before then.

I felt so embarrassed and self-conscious after that comment, but I knew you all would help me to maintain perspective. That is what I love about this message board ... you keep me focused on the goal, not the frustrating sidetracks.

Cheers everyone!
Kate

[iBorg]

Having been through speech therapy as a child, I too have been worried about a lisp. I find I do have one when my mouth is dry or I'm tired. When I first got a bite plate I worried how badly I'd sound. As to the comment made by the co-worker, I'm not sure what to say. He truly was insensitive. Almost anything you could say would give him the opportunity to act more the heel. I think you did the right thing by ignoring it.

I find singing loudly helps reduce my lisp. I rarely hear it. If I don't hear it, I doubt anyone else will.

Good luck and focus on the positive.

Mike

[KateinCO]

Hi Mike!

Thanks for the support! I have not logged in for awhile, but it is always great to see the kind words of my other metal mouth friends!!

I will have to try the singing, although I am not sure how that would go over when I am standing at a podium in a room full of people briefing the latest events! Although the idea is pretty amusing!

The practice in front of the mirror with the rainbow passage has helped me to be more confident and more aware of where I am putting my tongue. (There's a joke in there somewhere, but I am going to leave that one alone.) Things are getting better.

Unfortunately, my teeth just are not moving at all. The power chain they put in at my last adjustment seems to have done nothing at all. I foresee my treatment lasting well into 24 months at this point, something that really pains me in the extreme. I went on a first date the other day ... we had sushi. I had to remove my elastics and then try to eat that cumbersome food while not looking completely disgusting. It was a trial. Fortunately, my date had four years of braces in high school, so he was sympathetic. I may never hear from him again, but at least he was nice and made me feel at ease. I keep wondering how much my braces are impeding my social life, but I guess it is better not to consider that and just keep trucking forward.

Hope you are all well!
Cheers,
Kate

[rhonda30]

Hi Kate,

Don't despair, you may not think your teeth are moving but I am certain they are relenting to the constant pressure they are under. It is too early for you to worry whether it will take 18 or 24 months. Sometimes I feel like I have had mine for half my lifetime but yet the time has passed quickly, seems like just yesterday I was nervous about getting them put on.

I had a similar situation this weekend. I was in Sedona with a friend and my braces were still tender (HURT) from a recent adjustment and I had to remove an elastic prior to eating. I have a new elastic around my front teeth and it is both annoying and very obvious when it is in. In fact I have been removing it when I teach my classes. Perhaps that is why I haven't gotten totally used to it and it still bothers me.

Like a Colorado winter the braces will pass and you will better off for enduring the minor inconveniences.

Be well,
Rhonda

[KateinCO]

Hi Rhonda -

As always, thanks for the encouragement. I guess we all have our moments, which is why the support on this site is so important. Sorry you have a weird elastic configuration. I am sure I will get those too as my treatment progresses. It makes breaking bread with friends a touch embarrassing since you have to take those things out. I was not sure about proper etiquette when I was on my date ... I asked him if he minded if I took my elastics out so I could eat. I do not have to dig in my mouth to get them, they are close to the front, but in retrospect, I wonder if I should have excused myself and run to the bathroom to remove them when they brought our food to the table. Anybody know?

So today, I stopped by my ortho's office to get some more elastics since I was running low. I also asked if someone could take a quick look at my upper archwire because I was feeling an awful lot of poking, and wax was not sticking to the area. They plopped me in the chair and took a look - sure enough, I needed a clip, which was done very quickly. The doctor came over and took a quick look ... she said the elastics were doing the trick wonderfully and that my class three is going away. I told her that the one tooth just does not seem to want to rotate in spite of the power chain placed on there. She said "Well, that's the trouble with Damons." Not sure what that means, but she went on to tell me she is not worried since I still have a thinner wire in there ... if we still don't see resolution after the .18 and .25 wires go in, then she would be worried.

I am sure some of you are starting to see that I am ridiculously impatient. That is probably not the best trait for an adult wearing braces, eh?

Cheers from the Rocky Mountains, you all!
Kate

[flesh-was-sweet]

Hi Kate

I was just reading your comment on my story from December, how are you getting on now?

You must be almost 6 months in now!

Anni

[KateinCO]

Well, it has obviously been a few months since I have checked in with all my friends here ... sorry I missed your posting Anni ...

I guess I should explain (knowing full well that when one is explaining, one is losing) ... I simply got used to the braces, got comfortable and sort of forgot about all the angst which brought me here in the first place. Does that make sense? I suppose this is normal ... at some point we stop asking questions and feeling so overwhelmed, and just get on with it.

Since I last wrote, I have had a couple adjustments and a teeth cleaning. Very exciting stuff. My favorite thing so far has been IPR ... interproximal reduction. I am not sure what dimension I entered when the orthodontist slipped and sliced my gums, but it was not a good one. Now, when I go in, I pray desperately that my teeth will not have to be shaped in any way. Ugh.

Also filed in the cool department is the fact that I am STILL wearing the elastics I was given back in January. (Not the exact same rubberbands, of course, but the same configuration that makes me look especially freakish ... and can I say how much I love it when those little guys snap when they get tired? It feels SOOOOO good.) It seems that I will be wearing them for my whole treatment. The only good news is that I have passed the six month mark, so I only have about a year to go if all goes as planned. Is it wrong to plead with the tooth gods to make it sooner???

As I alluded earlier, I am much more comfortable. Sometimes I forget I have braces, even when I am running long distances. Of course, I know it makes me look extra hot when I excuse myself from dinner to dig spinach out of my brackets. I had despaired of having any dating experiences during my treatment when I first got these things on, but gentlemen have been surprisingly kind, especially if they have had braces themselves. One nice man had braces from 10 until 16, so he is very sympathetic and even complimentary about how I look. He even commented that I have a pretty smile even with the braces. Very sweet. I have been kissed with the braces on, and they do not seem to get in the way much. Except for those stupid elastics. Curse them.

My public speaking has gotten better, although my lisp is still quite pronounced when I am tired.

In non-braces news, I am getting promoted to Commander in the Navy Reserves this month, I bought a new house in Colorado where I live, I am signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon again this October, I took a vacation to Bora Bora last month and I ran my fastest time in a half marathon in May. Maybe my love life is even showing some promise. But I should not push my luck.



More to follow ... next adjustment is 7 July. Teeth still have a ways to go, particularly on the bottom arch. I should be moving up to a thicker archwire this time, so that will be loads of fun. Happy Bracing everyone!!

[iBorg]

Kate:
It is so good to see you check in. I had started to wonder.
Its great news that so much is going well in your life as well as your treatment being smooth. I agree with you that hopefully we all get somewhat bored with braces. They are just a part of our life (at this time) and while its good to communicate with others possibly experiencing the same thing, braces do not define us as individuals no more so than wearing contacts or glasses.

I'm sorry your elastics snapping are giving you a bit of a tingle. I've not noticed that. What's your configuration?

Anyway, Kate don't be a stranger, there's some of us here who miss Kate, Kate.

Mike