Melissa's Braces Journey (Desert Rose)

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#16 Post by **Desert Rose** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 10:45 am

yj207 - Thanks for the suggestions, I did indeed indulge in some ice cream last night which did make my mouth feel nice.

Mike- Thanks for the well wishes, I am trying hard to keep smiling, but sometimes I've been feeling a little self conscious at work today! I keep getting people who want me to open wide so they can get a look all in my face, and I'm like ahhhh that's my worst nightmare even before I had braces, get away!! lol We live in the North End of Fall River, close to the Assonet line. I grew up in a different part and hated it, but where I am now is like you are not actually in Fall River, so I absolutely love it haha. You are very close by to me, we looked up in Bridgewater too when we were house hunting, in the next few years we plan on going further North, hopefully a suburb outside of Boston or even Southern New Hampshire as I am an avid skier!

So update for today: I woke up this morning feeling like someone hit me in the face with a hammer, concentrating on my lower jaw!! OUCH! It was aching like crazy, some teeth feel like they are being pulled out of my jaw while others feel like they are being twisted, ugh. Also, one of my bottom front teeth got pulled up and is now longer than the other which is making my bite even more uncomfortable up there. Not sure what the plan is there, but I'm assuming there is some rationale lol. Once I started moving my mouth around more the achiness got better, not good, but better, maybe it was stiff from sleeping. Then I took some ibuprofen and got some good relief for a little while, but now that I've been eating some soft foods along with like watermelon and strawberries (cut small of course) they are getting sore again. Even the tops are beginning to complain

I think when I get out of work later I am going to try and get to a CVS and get some stronger pain reliever.. All in all though I am stil thrilled to be doing this whole thing, just looking forward to getting past this stage, until my 1'rst adjustment anyway! I will try to get those pics up tonite if possible.

#17 Post by **Desert Rose** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 12:55 pm

Hey so is it normal to have like discoloration to the teeth around brackets? From different reading on the site I am thinking this is from the glue painted on the teeth before the brackets are attached? Does this go away?? Not too happy about that because my teeth were looking alot whiter since retiring my manual brush for an electric a couple of weeks ago, and now the color is really dingy.. Any tricks to get this off faster, or will it just work its way out after brushing awhile with the braces? As long as it goes away relatively soon I'll be happy lol..

#18 Post by **paperbackhead** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:44 am

Hey Desert Rose! Don't worry about the discoloration it's definitely the glue from the braces. When they put mine on 2 of the bracket still had a red/blue color to them but went away the next day. I wanted to ask you if the hooks are digging into your cheeks as well? They hurt so much... they're making cuts and canker sores in my mouth. I'm putting wax but after a couple hours it just kind of dissolves. And when I eat, the wax comes off and I basically just swallowed the wax along with my food, hope this stuff is edible lol

#19 Post by **Desert Rose** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:38 pm

Paperbackhead- My pain has mostly been to the bones in my face, jaw, cheek bones, sinus cavity, headaches etc. I started taking Aleve instead of ibuprofen and that helped ALOT! I do have soreness in my teeth pretty bad when I chew and have to watch what I eat or else it gets really achey and the medicine doesn't seem to help for that. I have some big canker sores I can see and that are sore, but it hasn't fully cut through yet so I don't have the burning YET. I am trying to get them to toughen up asap so haven't been using wax yet, probably will regret that decision in a couple of days because they are progressively getting worse.. Have you been doing the rinses with salt water alot of people on here suggest for the cuts and cankers? I have not yet, but think I will start tonight. All in all the pain is worse than I was expecting, but compared to yesterday I feel much better today, because of the Aleve I take every 8 hours I suspect. Yesterday afternoon I was almost crying my whole face hurt so bad!! I hope you are right and it is the glue on my teeth!! I did notice a few spots that seemed to be flaking up a little today, so I hope a few more days of brushing so much will get it off! I hope you continue to feel better! I also saw on your page that you are very sick, I hope you have a speedy recovery, I'm sure that isn't helping any if you are coughing and stuff with the new braces!! Get lots of rest if you can!

#20 Post by **Desert Rose** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:47 pm

Well here are my pictures from Monday when I got my braces put on, I am very happy with the colors so far. However, my mouth no longer closes all the way right now from one of my bottom centrals rising up, it now crashes into my top central, OUCH, not fun when trying to chew. Hopefully something happens to offset this soon haha

Day 1 (Front)

Day 1 (Right)

Day 1 (Left)

#21 Post by **paperbackhead** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:16 am

Oh definitely I'm taking pills too! Advil does it for me. I'm also going to let my cheeks toughen up a bit but they cut so badly I just couldn't resist the wax. Yea I've been rinsing with salt water to help them go away, it's a good remedy! My teeth hurt a lot too, I mean I know it's gonna be like this for a week or so but didn't know it would hurt like this! lol, well, thanks! Hopefully tomorrow is a better day to both of us!

#22 Post by **mikesmile** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 7:12 am

Hi Melissa

,

Your pictures look great....love the pink ligs too. Sorry you're so uncomfortable. It sounds like you have it bad! I can definitely vouch for the fact that Aleve works great on mouth/tooth pain. About a year ago, I had a terrible toothache (which resulted in a root canal) and someone suggested the aleve. It worked great for me. I also agree that the salt water rinses are very healing to the inside of your mouth. As far as the wax goes, I made sparing use of it my first time w/ braces. I had the same approach as you and just let the inside of my mouth toughen up - & it eventually did. My wife however, used wax frequently throughout her treatment. Hope you feel more comfortable soon...

#23 Post by **Desert Rose** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:51 am

PaperbackHead - Hope you are feeling better today both sick wise and in your mouth! Hope you are getting some relief. So nice to have someone going through the exact same thing.

Mike- Thanks for coming by! Aleve is a godsend, I'm not sure if I actually feel better today or if it is the constant 8 hour dose of Aleve I have been taking since Tuesday night, but things are starting to settle in alot more so far today! I haven't used wax once yet, I only will if things get actually raw, but so far they haven't thank goodness. I should say though that I had to use wax when I first started Invisalign, soooooo my cheeks might have a headstart lol..

Day 4- So I began salt water rinsing last night before bed because my cheeks were almost getting to the point where I didn't even want to talk because the rubbing was hurting a bit more with every word. The warm salt water felt so good and literally I woke up this morning with a lot less pain, they are much more comfortable today. So I did more salt water rinsing this morning as well! haha My bones aren't too bad, still taking the Aleve as I mentioned above. Also, while my teeth are still quite sore when chewing, it still feels better than yesterday. Still stcking to easy foods though, I tried brocolli last night with dinner (mac and cheese w/ a turkey hotdog no bun) and I could only eat the top tree like part, but no stalks except for a couple that were overcooked and softer. My dog loves veggies and therefore benefited from my lack of ability to finish them last night

All in all today "seems" to be looking up, we will see how I feel when it is later and I have been talking / chewing more.

#24 Post by **Desert Rose** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:53 am

PaperbackHead - Hope you are feeling better today both sick wise and in your mouth! Hope you are getting some relief. So nice to have someone going through the exact same thing.

Mike- Thanks for coming by! Aleve is a godsend, I'm not sure if I actually feel better today or if it is the constant 8 hour dose of Aleve I have been taking since Tuesday night, but things are starting to settle in alot more so far today! I haven't used wax once yet, I only will if things get actually raw, but so far they haven't thank goodness. I should say though that I had to use wax when I first started Invisalign, soooooo my cheeks might have a headstart lol..

Day 4- So I began salt water rinsing last night before bed because my cheeks were almost getting to the point where I didn't even want to talk because the rubbing was hurting a bit more with every word. The warm salt water felt so good and literally I woke up this morning with a lot less pain, they are much more comfortable today. So I did more salt water rinsing this morning as well! haha My bones aren't too bad, still taking the Aleve as I mentioned above. Also, while my teeth are still quite sore when chewing, it still feels better than yesterday. Still stcking to easy foods though, I tried brocolli last night with dinner (mac and cheese w/ a turkey hotdog no bun) and I could only eat the top tree like part, but no stalks except for a couple that were overcooked and softer. My dog loves veggies and therefore benefited from my lack of ability to finish them last night

All in all today "seems" to be looking up, we will see how I feel when it is later and I have been talking / chewing more.

#25 Post by **Desert Rose** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 9:00 am

sorry for the double post!

#26 Post by **Snowglobe32** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:18 am

Your braces look cute!
I had the same issue with the discoloration, I was horrified when I got home and noticed my teeth looked a bit on the yellow side. It didn't go away right away and occasionally, I can still see it, it seems. My co-worker told me not to worry, they will bugg and polish it out at the end. Plus, I think I deserve teeth whitening after this is all over.

I am a huge veggie person also, fresh, raw, steamed, you name it. I find that frozen veggies work the best now. Sad but true.

#27 Post by **Desert Rose** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 2:50 pm

Snowglobe,

Thanks for your feedback, glad to know I am not alone with the glue issue, I guess it is an incentive to brush ALOT in the hopes that it'll wear away quicker.

I also agree that you will deserve whitening when all of this is done, I plan on doing it for sure myself. I want to do laser whitening so it is one trip to the dentist and done, I hate the trays, they take too long and make my teeth super sensitive in the process.

I love my veggies!! I didn't think about how nice and crisp many are and how that would affect my teeth now though! I had the audacity to try a salad the night before last because I usually eat one with dinner most nights, yikes that was a mistake!! lol I got it all down, but I was so sore afterward, think I'll have to put that off awhile longer. I probably will be going frozen for now as well, I try to get the organic variety even then , but so much flavor is lost in the process no matter what unfortunately. I'll just have to over cook stuff for now so it is almost mush haha yuck what an appetizing thought!

#28 Post by **Snowglobe32** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 7:42 pm

I hit week 9 yesterday, I have been able to eat salads since about week 5. Well, I don't think I actually attempted to eat them until that time. I cut everything really small, it is a lot easier to eat. I love croutons and can't go without them so I put them in my chopper, which makes them a little bigger than sand, but hey, the cruch is still there and I don't feel like I am going without.

I also steam veggies in my steamer and I love the "Steamfresh" variety you can find in the frozen food section. I make roasted vegetables in the oven also. My favorite, garlic gloves, potatoes, carrots and onions...add some olive oil and seasonings and throw in the oven. This was a staple for me in the first few weeks. Plus, it is easy to reheat. I miss my raw carrots though. Cucumbers are easy, if you take the skin off.

#29 Post by **Desert Rose** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 10:11 am

Snowglobe- Yum the roasted veggies sound delicious, thanks for the tip! I have been going sans croutons on my salads, haha you sound like my husband though, he absolutely has to have them.

Update- Well it has been 8 days now I think, and life is definitely much better than last week!! My mouth has adjusted pretty well and I have almost no sore spots left in particular. Although like this morning I woke up with my bottom braces all pressed into underneath my bottom lip, so I proceeded to peel my lip away from them and there was a nice sore indent running all across, don't really get how that happened since I do not sleep face down haha, but it is gone now. I'll say I at times forget they are there, they are not so novel to the rest of my mouth now which is nice because they pretty much took over my life last week. I can eat most things now, some I have to cut small though, and I still find it awkward to bite into things in front, but not painful anymore. Now don't get me wrong, I am so relieved that I am not in pain anymore so much, but now I'm like well does this mean nothing else is happening and I don't have my first adjustment for weeks and weeks?? Or are things still moving now? Oh and I will never ever eat spinach in public while in braces. I ate it at home last night thank goodness, and wow I think more stayed coiled around my braces than I actually ate, ick lol. So yah pretty uneventful I guess, I can't believe that happened so fast!

#30 Post by **Desert Rose** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 5:28 am

Hey Ken,
Thanks for stopping by my page! You were right, my teeth have still been moving, although it's very subtle changes which can be annoying lol, I want to SEE it. It's so weird how nothing will hurt and then suddenly one tooth will hurt for a little while one day, I love when this happens because it reminds me they are still doing their job.

I hope everyone had a Merry christmas and a Happy New Year! I cannot believe I have had braces now for over 5 weeks! Time has flown by incredibly fast, and after the first week or so I have steadily become more and more confortable with them. By now I pretty much do not even notice them most of the time, it's only when I am trying to get food out of them while eating that I am reminded they are there. I have also managed to become quite good at sucking all the food out of them while eating even in public without anyone really noticing

I'm amazed at how much they have not taken over my life after they dominated every waking and sleeping thought for weeks before they were even in my mouth haha.

I am so looking forward to my first adjustment in about a week and a half. I know so much has changed, but it has been very bite related etc, so I cannot see alot of it. I can see some movement, like my midline is right on for now and some teeth have more room around them and line up better with eachother, but I feel even more with the bite for sure. I want to see the ortho's reaction on how fast or slow the progress has been. as I do not know if I have met the movement expected in this time frame or not, but I hope all has been going well in there! Also, I know I'll be getting elastics sometime, but no clue when, so I'm curious if that'll be mentioned as well.

I will post pics after after I am adjusted. Any color suggestions?? I have a wedding to go to next month so I may be boring and go with silver or something equally toned down for the dressy occassion and pictures, not sure yet, but any suggestions would be much appreciated !