Okay.. I've taken the plunge..

[ladyrastafari]

well.. today i went and had tooth number 5 extracted to make room for tooth number 3, the crowded tooth to be pulled forward and straightened up.. then there was a root tip at 13 to be extracted so the oral surgeon took care of that as well.. i have been biting this gauze for the past couple hours.. i want to take it out cos i am now starved... and since it's on both sides i wonder just how well i will be able to eat.. i hate this.. lol.. i really do..

thankfully that sholuld be the last extractions i have to take out ever in life.. so one for the road.. i'm going to have to make some mashed potatoes now lol.. but they have to cool completely before i can eat them..

[pinkorchid]

and welcome! I am a newbie too... I am so glad I found this forum!!

I'm taking the plunge and getting braced in exactly a week I am pretty sure the novelty will wear off soon after they are on... and have stocked my pantry/fridge full of 'soft foods'. Yoghurt, soup and custard for me... I might attempt mashed potatoes if I want to take the 'healthier' option!

Looking forward to reading about your journey!!

[klobird]

Welcome Lady and Pink!

I wish the novelty would wear off! But everyday is something different and I am always, every day looking to see if there are any changes!!

However, the novelty of the obsessive cleaning, cleaning, cleaning is wearing off. I mean I am still brushing after every meal, but I am not running to the bathroom right after I eat-- like my teeth are going to fall out due to sugar decay from the hamburger I just ate 5 minutes ago or something....

And the novelty of looking up terms for braces, and instructional videos, and youtube videos of everything related to braces is wearing off--well, probably because I've seen them all now...

Noodles, rice, cottage cheese, oatmeal, applesauce, soup, beans, pudding, jello, ice cream and popsicles, Ding Dongs, twinkies (almost everything fattening! )--oh ya, and fish. Noodles and rice can be a bear to get out of your braces though, so I eat them when I'm at home. I also have kept my food list for adjustments just in case!

So welcome, and may your braces obsession and novelty not last as long as mine!!

[44AndWired]

Hi all! I am still in the novelty stage of reading everything I can about braces. And as for cleaning!.............I am neurotic. I can't stand the feeling of food in my teeth. I really am going to have to make a list of what not to eat. I the water pik is my best friend. LOL I am still irritated by the feel of the braces on my lips. I hear that it should subside in about a week. I can't wait.

[ladyrastafari]

well yesterday was my first tightening.. and haha let me say.. i am feeling the pain now.. and a bit of it.. well a bit of back story.. that was my second ortho visit.. i had wires on the bottom, brackets without wires on the top put in on the 18th July.. on the 1st august i had teeth number 5 and 13 extracted so that the wires could be put on the top and everything put into place... well myappt was 5.30.. and i didnt get to my appt until 6 pm due to some flash flooding.. well itook some painkillers at 5.30... and they worked fine as i was able to eat when i got out of the dentist office quite normally.... but what i noticed is that i quickly developed canker sores on both sides of my mouth on the bottom front of my teeth.. in front each canine if that makes sense.. i found this QUITE annoying as i had JUST gotten rid of another one..and then about 11.. the pain started to throb in.. and i could feel myself getting cranky and irritable.. so i popped another pain killer .. tylenol with codeine.. should keep me for another four hours.. hopefully i will be asleep.. i didnt even realize i grind my teeth until i was falling to sleep yesterday lol.... i have pics..

to me nothing has really happened.. when i was tightening the wires yesterday .. omg i felt like my teeth were so loose .. very scary feeling.... they replaced a bracket that had been loose and was sliding around like a scrabble tile on the wooden thing lol..

and thanks for the welcome! lol.. yea the clean clean brush brush has worn off for me pretty quickly.. i can tbe bothered.. i notice that BREAD is the devil now.. a hotdog is hell on earth.. that bread sticks in every bracket lol.. under teh wire, over the wire.. and i LOVE bread so this is not cool to me lol.. but oh well .. i'll live..

[sibilla]

Oh my goodness!! how brilliant to find I'm not the only one obsessively reading up anything and everything on the internet to do with braces/bite planes/spacers/cleaning - you name it, I've read it!!!

I'm three weeks in with my top brace and have relaxed enough to enjoy a bit of chocolate and sit still for half an hour or so before rushing off to brush my teeth before they fall out! Hopefully, soon, my brain will find something else to obsess about and I can relax into the next two years!

Of course, I still have the joy of the bite plane and speaking like Sylvester to come (after the dreaded spacers!), but hey - one step at a time!

[ladyrastafari]

yes sibilla.. this lisp thing is driving me crazzzzzzy.. that is the part i cant stand lol.

[sibilla]

ladyrastafari - how long have your had plane in? I've been told to speak lots to get the tongue used to it all and to use passages used by speech therapists - think I'll give 'she sells seashells on the seashore' a miss though!!

[ladyrastafari]

okay well i'm back.. it's been aprox 2 months since i've had my braces.. and not bad if i say so myself.. i like the fact that tightening takes 10 mins or less.. lol.. no problems no issues.. My teeth have started to space, which bugs me out a little bit since i dont really like that.. but oh well.. my bottom teeth have started to straighten out already, even my dentist was suprised LOL.. so today he put a powerchain on one side of the upper, to bring the canine back to the jawline so that i could have space for the other one to come forward... i wouldnt have noticed if i didnt pay attention.. .. here's the pics.. and u can see from the first day to today

[ladyrastafari]

and here's the closed mouth..

[ladyrastafari]

note to self.. do not try to eat hot dogs on the day you tighten ur braces.. omg.. pain

[ladyrastafari]

hmm.. my ortho is amazed at the progress.. i have an appointment today but here's a progress chart of me from then to now.. my teeth have straightened out on the bottom pretty quickly

[ladyrastafari]

nothing much has changed from the last post.. teeth are straightening well.. had an appt on Thurs 5th jan... ortho says next time i come back in feb, we will start to pull that wayward tooth forward.. i'm excited but also dreading it.. as lord, that might be pain.. but my visits are very quick, in and out.. and shockingly there was no pain at all after the last one, no need to bring out the Alleve.. nice.. a little pressure adjusting the wire and powerchain near the wayward tooth but to be expected.. i cant wait for this to be OVER lol

[nessness]

Congrats on being braced!

That bottom arch is coming along very nicely, seeing these changes makes everything worth while. And I don't think there'll be much pain bringing that tooth forward.
I know what you mean about the bread...an absolute nightmare to clean afterwards, but I love the hot dogs...and the hamburgers! Can't live without em

After an adjustment I find my meals become pasta orientated...I tend to go for the carbonaras, the bolognese and the pasta bakes. Find them much easier to eat. Weetabix is a life saver too..I tend to use hot milk and mix it

[ladyrastafari]

well update... my top is straightening out nice as well as my bottom.. yesterday had a powerchain put on my front top four lol.. going to show now.. prety amazing.. will be at 2 years in july.. alleluia! lol.. i am ready to get these damn braces off lol