My story so far is a very positive one, and I think it's good to show that perspective as well, as we seem to often get the negative stories in here. I want new braces-users to see that it can all go rather smooth as well.Well, now I sound like I'm already through it all, but in fact I'm not even close! I have my braces fitted only 3 weeks ago, but it seems like an eternity already
I'll start from the beginning. I am 27 years old, and as long as I can remember, I have simply hated my teeth. I'm in generel very happy with my looks, but my teeth have always been my weak spot. So much that I never smile with my teeth and I am even very aware of them when I talk with other people. Also, I have always hated having my picture taken. I have always regretted not having braces when I was a child, I found that to be the biggest mistake of my life! Other people say that my teeth are not that bad, but it doesn't change the way I see them. Then about one year ago I talked with my dentist about this, and he said that adults can have braces too! I didn't really consider this an option, as I didn't want to have visible braces in my age. He told me about lingual braces (incognito) and this suddenly seemed more attractive to me. In my country a regular dentist can't do orthodontic work, since it requires a supplement education of 3 years. I find that reassuring, since moving around someone's teeth should only be done by someone, who knows, what he's doing. So my dentist adviced me to go and see an orthodontist, and I visited 3 different orthodontists before finding the right one. So far I am very happy with my choice, as my ortho and his crew seem trustworthy and qualified.
3 weeks ago I had my braces fitted in both upper and lower part of my mouth. I have lingual braces (Incognito) on top and regular metal braces below. I never really considered linguals below, as it's too expensive and I don't think the teeth below are that visible. But I am soo happy with my braces on top being completely invisible!
I was so very nervous when I went to have my braces fitted, but it all went very smooth. It took 2 hours and my jaws became tired, but that was all. I had been told that it wouldn't hurt, so I wasn't surprised by that part, but I was nervous as to how I would look, when they were fitted. After all I would have to look like this for about 2 years.. The upper one is completely invisible, as it's on the inside. The lower one is visible when I talk and smile, but not very much, since the lip covers most of it. And to my surprise I have found that I really don't care what other people think, when they see, I have braces. Perhaps it's because I was so unhappy with my teeth that this does not seem very worse.
After having them fitted I expected all sorts of problems, as I have read too much on this board
But it seems like I have been very lucky: I had a slight lisp for 2 days, then it disappeared. I have had no irritation on neither tongue nor cheeks or lips, so I haven't used wax at all. I haven't had any pain at all, so no painkillers have been necessary, BUT my teeth have been very sore, and they still are today! Though every day they are a bit less sore. I also found it to be quite easy to get used to having metal in my mouth - probably because I didn't experience any real problems with them.So in total I would say that I only have had one real challenge: to eat! As my teeth have been so sore, I haven't been able to eat like before. The first week I only ate liquid food as it simply hurt too much to chew. The second week I could eat very soft food. But after about 2 weeks I would say, I was almost back to normal, allthough I still ate very carefully and I still couldn't eat hard raw vegetables etc. So after about 2 weeks I already felt used to my braces and so far very happy with my decision.
Then came the day yesterday, when I had to have teeth extracted
Next to the big change it would be to have braces fitted, my second biggest fear was the extraction. So I was very nervous yesterday, going to the ortho's office. Even though you always hear that it's not a big deal having premolars removed, I think the reason why we fear this so much, is that is seems unnatural to remove completely healthy teeth. I'm in generel not very sensitive to pain etc., so I think I can stand most treatments when necessary for my health. But this was something that I would do only to look better - not for health issues. In other words it was a horrible experience that I could have avoided. So going to the ortho's office I thought everything through an extra time. But I knew that there was no turning back. Especially not with my braces being such a positive experience so far. It would be stupid to back out now!So of course I went on with it, and had my 2 upper premolars removed. And it really wasn't horrible at all. I felt no pain at all, but I did feel the teeth being moved out from my jaw. It only took a few seconds per tooth though, so it's really nothing. My ortho said that it went so well and I was completely relieved. It does feel strange missing 2 teeth but at least it's not very visible for other people (probably mostly due to me never smiling with my teeth..
) At the same appointment, my ortho "filed/shaped" my incisors below to make a bit more room for them. Luckily, he didn't need to remove any teeth in the lower jaw.A last thing I want to talk about, is movement. Already after a few days (!!!) I could see my teeth had moved. Small gaps had appeared between the front teeth on top, which I found odd, since at that point I hadn't had the premolars removed, so where did the extra space come from?? Anyway the upper teeth haven't really moved since, but now that the premolars are gone, I will hopefully soon begin to see things happening up there. But I really hope, the gaps between my incisors will not increase...
In the lower part, something incredible has happened: My 4 insicors have already straigthened quite much!! I think it's partly due to the braces, partly due to the "filing" he did yesterday. Either way, I like it! The front still doesn't seem very straight though, because one of my canine is outside the line, and it's still not connected to the arch. Hopefully, he can connect it at my next appointment.
Today I'm back to eating liquid food (sigh!!
) due to the extraction. My ortho actually said that I could eat normally today, if I felt like it, but I'm afraid to get things stuck in the extraction-holes! How did you people deal with that? So so far I'm only having yoghurt, but I have been hungry since yesterday.....That was my story so far, I hope it will be useful for someone
Feel free to comment or to ask questions!
