I'm getting braces soon. dance2trance's journey

Message

#1 Post by **dance2trance** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 6:51 am

Hi everyone.
I'm new here so ill start off with an intro. I'm male, 22 yo. After many years not caring, i decided my teeth looked bad enough for me to get braces to get them straightened.

I'm go to the gym to lift weights 4 times a week and am a lil concerned about how braces will affect my eating, since it was planned by a nutritionist and tailored for my muscle building/fat loss regimen. I'm also a lil concerned about how the ladies will think about my braces, since im not seeing anybody at the moment and since im getting metal ones, but I figure that any girl who I meet and says yes if I asked her out would be a girl who looks past the metal on my teeth and would definately be worth chasing. The shallower girls wouldn't be worth chasing. So in a way these braces ill be getting kinda act as screening process hehe. I would get invisalign if i could afford it. I'm sure we all would have. So they're my main concerns as far as getting braces is concerned.

The treatment plan is to get 4 teeth removed. Im a physio so my anatomy knowledge is very good, but I have no idea what the different teeth are called and im not sure whether members here are in the dental industry or mostly dental patients, so i'll just say that starting from the centre line (midsagittal), I need to get the 4th teeth out on the top and bottom and on both sides (left and right, superior and inferior).

I'll be getting 2 teeth out tomorrow, then the other 2 next week. Then i'll have my braces fitted about 10 days after that. Somewhere down the line ill also have to get my all wisdom teeth out since they have grown completely sideways and have contributed to the crowding and crookedness of my teeth. I'm a little nervous about the pain factor tomorrow when i go in to get my first 2 teeth out. I hope i'm good to play for my basketball game tomorrow also, although im not sure what to expect post-extraction...all i know is that there will be bleeding for a period (a couple hrs? a few hrs?)

My main question for the time being is: Typically, how long before the gaps close? (referring to the gaps left by the extractions)

Here is what my teeth look like right now (before braces, before extraction)...EDIT: sorry should have brushed my teeth before I took the pic!

There is a yellow thing on the floor of my oral cavity (captioned: "Lower"), it is gone now. Not really sure what that was.

I'm gonna go to bed now, i'm seeing the dentist @ 9am so I may not read any replies before then, but wish me luck

#2 Post by **sksk11** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 1:46 pm

Hi Dance2trance,

A fellow physio! Welcome. I felt quite in the dark about the names of the various teeth when I joined this site, but there are some really useful discussions, and you will quickly learn the names.

We share extraction plans - I am also due to have my bilateral upper and lower premolars (4th teeth) removed, though I have to wait 4 weeks on from that before I can have my braces on ... 4 weeks!! How can I wait that long?!

Good luck with your journey, looking forward to seeing pics of your changing toothy-pegs

SK

#3 Post by **dance2trance** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 5:32 pm

cheers sksk...you look gorgeous in your avatar...I couldnt find your thread, i followed your sig but you stopped updating that particular thread.

Wow 4 weeks thats a fairly long wait in comparison. My ortho said I could get them fitted a week after the extractions.

Had first 2 extractions today. The only real painful part was the injection of the anesthetic. Only about 20-40 secs worth of pain. I'm sitting here right now biting on gauze, not sure how long before the bleeding stops. I hope soon because I wanna play basketball later, might just shoot hoops lazily rather than play an actual scrimmage.

Dentist said i can go about my daily life as normal after today apart from taking pain killers/antibiotics. I still have one side of my mouth from which i can chew normally but only until next week when i get the other side done.

Nothing new here to read for most members i guess, most have probably been through this before. But this is new to me.

Thats it for now.
d2t

#4 Post by **angel84** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 6:14 pm

Hi! Welcome to AW! I can't really give you any advice about the extractions as I've only had my wisdoms out. Boy they where terrible! But I just wanted to stop by and say hi and welcome, though. Good luck with your braces journey!!

#5 Post by **Miranbrady20** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 7:33 pm

Yes hello and welcome! keep us posted!! <3

#6 Post by **sksk11** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 3:10 pm

Hi D2T,

I created a new thread in the Braces Stories forum as I thought it was better now that I am approaching my brace day (it also seems to get more visits per day than the Bracket Club).

I have added the link to my signature, though I haven't added a lot to the thread yet (most of the story so far is in the original link).

Tell me about it, 4 weeks, so frustrating! Only bonus is that my teeth slope down after my canines, so hopefully people won't notice the gaps when I smile!

SK

#7 Post by **dance2trance** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:58 pm

sksk ive checked out your new thread, 22/8 is forever away

and you're extractions aren't even for another month

...ill be following your progress

Its the day after i had the first extractions done. I wasn't allowed to brush my teeth last night so i did for the first time this morning. Eating has also been a pain in the ass. I can't stick to my fat loss/muscle building diet, all ive been having so far is sugar/carb loaded yogurt and porridge. Last night was Saturday night and I didn't go out simply cuz I felt a bit weird hittin the town and potentially getting random photos taken of me, catching the gaps left by the extractions. Not a sexy look.

Today is leg day of my gym schedule and is the most vigorous day since i do deadlifts and squats. I'm leaning towards not going. I'm definately not feeling 100% right now. I don't know if its the trauma from the extractions, the meds that I have to take (pain killers + penicillin) or perhaps an infection which has invaded via the area of extraction.

Next week i'll have the contralateral teeth extracted and go through this whole process again.

d2t

#8 Post by **dance2trance** » Fri Jul 04, 2008 9:40 pm

Update.

Got a couple teeth taken out on the other side. Now its just a wait of about 10 days before i get the braces fitted. Am starting to get a lil anxious to see how they'll look cuz they're metal ones

#9 Post by **dance2trance** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:44 am

I got braced today. For 20-24 months my teeth will be behind bars. Almost literally.

Eating is so tough. I can't enjoy anything I eat and im reduced to yogurt and soup. I had to fight my way through a chicken sandwich and thats after I took off the crust. Cant bite without slight pain and there is definately a sensation of tightness.

I plan on taking pictures of my teeth everyday during this journey and making a timelapse video of it. Might post on youtube.

day 1 jul14

#10 Post by **sksk11** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:12 pm

WAHEY!! They're on!!

Sorry to hear you are suffering, and having to endure the much discussed 'liquid/soft' diet, but I'm sure in 2 weeks you will wonder what all the fuss was about! I can't wait to see your progress pics, the next 6 months are going to bring about some pretty amazing changes!

I'm off for my first extractions in the morning

Wish me luck, and keep us posted with any new changes.

SK

#11 Post by **angel84** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:25 pm

HAPPY BRACEDAY!!!! Eating will get better I promise. I'm able to eat almost everything now. Though picking it out of my braces afterwards is not my idea of fun.

About the video- that is a really cool idea! It'll be neat to watch your teeth change.

#12 Post by **dance2trance** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:50 am

Thanks ladies!
Yep can't wait to be able to expand on my current diet. The pain when i bite is slowly getting better i think.

I'll post progress pictures every couple months or so.

Angel, Glad to hear that after a couple weeks that you're able to eat everything!

#13 Post by **AngelRuse** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:55 am

Hey, welcome aboard! I was all set to come and tell you it'd be no sweat to get them on and here you are, they already are.

Lookin' good.

I know what you mean about enjoying the food...or rather the lack of enjoyment. It'll fade with time...I found things didn't hurt so much after a week. Might feel goofy once your teeth start loosening.

But it'll all be good soon.