Let the Journey Begin....

[JeniK]

yes Kids041...doing good today. I am drinking more water than normal. My mouth dries out..and I feel the brackets more. So I have been drinking water...and keeping my mouth moist and it feels better. I do have one sore tooth....if I touch it my tongue. Discovered that while brushing my teeth...one of the numerous times today!

[kids041]

yes Kids041...doing good today. I am drinking more water than normal. My mouth dries out..and I feel the brackets more. So I have been drinking water...and keeping my mouth moist and it feels better. I do have one sore tooth....if I touch it my tongue. Discovered that while brushing my teeth...one of the numerous times today!

I have been drinking tons of water too. I am finding out that my lips seem to need lots of chapstick as well. My teeth only seem to hurt when I floss, and brush as well.

WE are doing awesome

[kids041]

Strange thing... I woke myself last night a couple of times moving my lips in my sleep. The roughness of the braces dragging over the insides of my lips is what did it. In the past I have done similar by grinding, or suddenly snapping my jaw shut, causing me to startle awake, worried that I had broken a tooth!! . I guess I am VERY thankful that all I can do now is scratch my lips.... NO more fear of broken teeth (since my teeth don't touch )
It is strange how our fears/worries can change so easily. I am sooooo glad I have chosen to get braces, and fix the problems that can lead to broken teeth!!!

[melodybrick]

Glad you decided to go ahead with treatment sooner rather than later. And thanks for sharing pictures - I've been told all the wires look crazy at first but it all starts moving into place bit by bit.

Just with my expander so far, I've woken up at night or early morning with a tense jaw. It was never the case before but I think it's probably just part of having so much new stuff going on. Especially when I was basically plucking one of my expander wires, eeeeeeeeeek that is a weird way to wake up. I've noticed it decrease as I've gotten more and more used to it so hopefully one day you'll just realize you're not getting the feeling of the roughness as much anymore - hopefully soon!

[JeniK]

Day 3 : Still ALMOST no pain. I did concede to using the wax. I was having a little rubbing of a bracket on the left upper..so before it got out of hand...I used the wax. Another thing I noticed today...Have read it on here in other posts...I caught myself clenching my teeth...twice today. OW! that hurt! Strange feeling that was!
Tomorrow I am returning to work. It should all be fine. Sort of looking forward to being braced in my normal routine of the day. Hope everyone is having a great day today!!23

[kids041]

well tonight my teeth must be migrating. They are hurting the most that they have hurt so far. I think something in the front has changed enough of a position that I keep crashing my top teeth into the bottom ones.... OUCH!

[JeniK]

Sorry kids041! Pain is not good. I have these 2 builds up....there is no way I can crash my teeth....so that might be a good thing! But these things are weird!! Anyways...back to work today. I was just telling my husband..no one noticed my braces..except the ones on my team. But it was an excellent day. I laughed...by 9AM I had brushed my teeth 3 times already!!

[kids041]

Sorry kids041! Pain is not good. I have these 2 builds up....there is no way I can crash my teeth....so that might be a good thing! But these things are weird!! Anyways...back to work today. I was just telling my husband..no one noticed my braces..except the ones on my team. But it was an excellent day. I laughed...by 9AM I had brushed my teeth 3 times already!!

I have molar bulidups too! That is what is so weird... My front lower teeth must be moving outward a bit. I can't really see any movement, but my bite seems a bit different causing my teeth to hit, when I am not trying to eat anything, just like If you take your bottom jaw and open/shut your mouth several times, the top hits the bottom. I guess I do that in my sleep, so it must be when my jaw is in a relaxed position. I don't know... but I do know that particular tooth is the one I feel LOTS of pressure on, and is soooo very sensitive if I also happen to hit it with a fork!!
I was not thinking that my teeth were that sore, right?... wrong! I thought, oh they don't really hurt, lets try some chips... hahahaha NO! I could not believe how much it hurt to chew simple chips... Or to bite a cheese stick! my goodness.... I will stick to my soft foods for a few more days for sure.
Other then the pressure I am feeling on the front teeth, the braces are not really bothering me much at all.. I am sooo thankful for that! I was worried I was going to be one of those who suffered terribly. Just general achy teeth, and I can so handle that!!

[JeniK]

Yay!! for us Kids041!! My front teeth....LOL chips ? not even a thought at this time! Cheese stick? you are So much braver than I am!!

Here are my thoughts on my front teeth. I went to my regular dentist before my ortho appt. The plan we set out for was...he was going to "build up" 2 of my teeth on the bottom that were worn from grinding (?) my teeth..I had no idea I did that..but he told me I did (?). And since my 2 front teeth are a tad bit longer than my other teeth...he told me he would shorten them a tiny bit and that would help with the finished smile. BUT...that did not happen. My top teeth feel totally different than when I walked into his office. I cannot put my finger on exactly what he did. I told the ortho about it..he said would look..and it looks like he added a bit of filler to the back of my teeth...to maybe strengthen them. Not sure I am too pleased with that. Not what the original plan was. So that is the reason why I cannot put my front teeth together very well. It doesn't hurt..but feels extremely weird. To go from my regular teeth..to this thickness....then add braces to that ? that is the only thing I am very unhappy with. I go back for my cleaning in a few weeks....IF I can deal with it until then...I will ask him at that time....why did he did not shorten them liked we talked about. I did not say anything at the time..he started and I just figured we were doing what we discussed. When he was done...I was a bit dumbstruck about it..but they were trying to hurry because I was already a few minutes late for the ortho appt.
So no pain from braces...but i cannot help those front teeth from bothering me.

[JeniK]

Here is my pictures. Not the best...but I felt I should share mine also.

[kids041]

Yay!! for us Kids041!! My front teeth....LOL chips ? not even a thought at this time! Cheese stick? you are So much braver than I am!!

Here are my thoughts on my front teeth. I went to my regular dentist before my ortho appt. The plan we set out for was...he was going to "build up" 2 of my teeth on the bottom that were worn from grinding (?) my teeth..I had no idea I did that..but he told me I did (?). And since my 2 front teeth are a tad bit longer than my other teeth...he told me he would shorten them a tiny bit and that would help with the finished smile. BUT...that did not happen. My top teeth feel totally different than when I walked into his office. I cannot put my finger on exactly what he did. I told the ortho about it..he said would look..and it looks like he added a bit of filler to the back of my teeth...to maybe strengthen them. Not sure I am too pleased with that. Not what the original plan was. So that is the reason why I cannot put my front teeth together very well. It doesn't hurt..but feels extremely weird. To go from my regular teeth..to this thickness....then add braces to that ? that is the only thing I am very unhappy with. I go back for my cleaning in a few weeks....IF I can deal with it until then...I will ask him at that time....why did he did not shorten them liked we talked about. I did not say anything at the time..he started and I just figured we were doing what we discussed. When he was done...I was a bit dumbstruck about it..but they were trying to hurry because I was already a few minutes late for the ortho appt.
So no pain from braces...but i cannot help those front teeth from bothering me.

I can see from your pics why you might want your front teeth shortened a bit. I can understand the "weird" feeling of your teeth. I went to the dentist last Friday, to get 2 fillings before the braces went on. They ended up replacing a metal filling with the white composite filling (yah!), and on the other tooth, they drilled a very tiny bit and put a sealant on it. The filling feels fine, but the tooth with the sealant on it is very strange. The surface is different then it was of course, so biting down on it feels strange. I was wondering about it, and was going to ask the ortho if I should be sanded down a bit more or what, but... They added the molar build ups on the molar above it on the top, so it is a moot point, since that is all I can feel now....

I did not even see the ortho the day I got my braces on. His assistant did everything, put on the braces, wires and ligs, and I was done. I think that is a bit strange, but they tell me that depending on what you have done, as to whether or not he checks on it. I know he does work on the patients, as my daughter also goes there, and he has worked on her. I just can't remember if he checked on her the day she got hers on or not either... ugh! I just figured he might take a peek into my mouth, but nope.
I will wait till my first adjustment, and if I don't see him then, I think I am going to ask about that. I am sure the assistants are fully qualified, but I am paying a ton of $$ and feel like I should at least SEE him working on me.

Thanks for sharing your pics! I was wondering how your teeth looked in your braces. Do you feel like the ceramic brackets are bigger then the metal ones on your bottom? I was wondering about that, and chose the metal for size and cost reasons.

[kids041]

I find it interesting how the pain migrates from one tooth to the next at random times.

[JeniK]

kids041...I called my dentist this morning...I am going in 10:30 Tuesday morning. Before anything happens..I want to talk to him..and make it clear this time what was suppose to happen last time. So I am looking forward to it.

I agree on the pain. Sometimes it is this tooth...and later it might a tooth on the other side! Nothing I get it real pain...just feels different..tight maybe.

So...if things happen the way I want Tuesday..new pictures for sure!!

Day of bracing...one of the ortho's assistants did 90% of my braces. He would ask me several time...how I was doing. He would come over and check her work. At the end there were 2 teeth she could not get the ligs on..he came over and did that himself. Even though he did not do everything himself...He was always close by if he was needed for any part of it. He was very busy at the time...but as I was listening to everything going on around me, He was friendly to everyone. No one was treated as a stranger there.

[kids041]

kids041...I called my dentist this morning...I am going in 10:30 Tuesday morning. Before anything happens..I want to talk to him..and make it clear this time what was suppose to happen last time. So I am looking forward to it.

I agree on the pain. Sometimes it is this tooth...and later it might a tooth on the other side! Nothing I get it real pain...just feels different..tight maybe.

So...if things happen the way I want Tuesday..new pictures for sure!!

Day of bracing...one of the ortho's assistants did 90% of my braces. He would ask me several time...how I was doing. He would come over and check her work. At the end there were 2 teeth she could not get the ligs on..he came over and did that himself. Even though he did not do everything himself...He was always close by if he was needed for any part of it. He was very busy at the time...but as I was listening to everything going on around me, He was friendly to everyone. No one was treated as a stranger there.

Good luck on the teeth!!
I am glad to hear that the assistant did most of your stuff too.. The ortho was there helping other patients while I was there, and I guess that is a testament to my assistants abilities that she did not need to be directly supervised.

[kids041]

I wonder if the pain that we feel from the teeth moving can cause semi cold type symptoms... I have had a headache almost every day (but that I hear can be normal), but a couple of times I have noticed I have a bit of a sore throat, and I am just feeling very run down and tired.
Any thoughts on this?