A 25 yr old 'Braces' for braces (Story)

[Plokoon111]

Hello everyone, my name is Kyle and I'm 25 years old and I thought I would just dive in with my journey! My mouth is narrow with not much room, hence my teeth are crowded, with canine teeth sticking out like fangs. I was always a bit insecure with smiling, and for some reason my parents never really pushed me to get them, (I wish they would have) So a few years back I went to the dentist, (First time in many many years!) Learned I was brushing wrong, and completely changed my habits with better brushing, and other things. Had to get various fillings, wisdom removed. My one extraction surgery scared me as it that one needle was painful, and a few years passed and I went back and finished everything I needed to do. My main goal was to get braces, and that's what brings me to today! Got a few opinions around my area and after being surprised how much money braces cost, and how my insurance doesn't cover past 19 years old I finally jumped in.

The office was very nice, a good system, experienced staff and ortho. clean as well. They explained it will take 2 years for my treatment which seems like a long time, but worth it! They unfortunately told me I had to get 4 teeth next to my canines extracted out, which I was disappointed which meant going through that whole process again! So I agreed after thinking about it and came back and they put on spacers for my molars. (Holy cow!) Those hurt when they were pushing them in, my teeth are so tight that it took forever for a few. After that my teeth felt funky, but I was on my way. Ate mashed potatoes and the usual soft diet choices. Woke up in the morning and my teeth were in a lot of pain. I just rode it out, as I am not one to take pain killers. It lasted for 3 days, and finally went away. I gained new appreciation for my choppers in the back as biting with my front teeth took forever! The last day before my braces were put one spacer fell out, I figured it was no big deal.

Now the actual day of braces, it took almost 3 hours, the most painful part was putting the metal sleeves in, I didn't realize that the sleeves went into your gum! The one molar where the spacer came off, they told me that in one night the tooth was almost back to its original spot! The technician had to get a supervisor to get that sleeve in, and involved me using my top teeth to push it down. (I just can't wait to see how painful it is to remove these down the road haha!) Finally since I was going with metal braces, that part was very tedious but easy and sort of relaxing. They put the thinnest wire along to braces, but they are only having the wire around the 6 bottom and top teeth since I have to get teeth extracted. Question though: Will the teeth still move on the center teeth if the wire is only in the center?

Finally after a goodie bag, and some info on taking care of my teeth I was on my way. Some things I am starting to realize:
1:) My teeth feel like they are pressured, which is good! 2:) Flossing is an ordeal, moved to a water pick! 3:) A lot of foods I can't eat, I love almonds too! 4:) Speaking is hard, as I have a small mouth and people have trouble hearing me before, now its magnified. 5:) Hooks on the brackets scraping my cheeks, hurts! Wax has been useful. I have been avoiding really opening my mouth up wide because of that! 6:) Not looking forward to getting my teeth extracted, I hate that top needle! My appointment for that is in the 14th of October.

Another question, how does that brace wire work? Is it like a wire that is straight, that when you bend it, it tries to straighten itself out again? I find it fascinating how they get all of these things to work to give you that perfect smile.

But all and in all I am excited, I know its going to be frustrating at times, but that smile will be so worth it!

[Plokoon111]

A few days have passed and chewing has been less painful, teeth aren't as sensitive feeling anymore. My teeth are a bit loose which is to be expected. I also learned that eating salad is not a easy ordeal haha. But this has been a interesting experience so far. Hopefully it will get easier!

[damoz]

Nice work mate. The sensitivity and eating will get easier, only thing you're left with is a feeling of 'trapped' teeth.. not really painful at all.. just doesn't feel 'free'. After 1-2 weeks eating is usually back to normal, I found the more you tried to eat normally the easier and quicker it became. Also chewing gum worked well for easing pain on my molars especially.. I know you're not meant to but I have no trouble with it being trapped.. but the type of gum is probably important, I just use the little capsule types so the gum is very tough and not very stringy like the soft gums. The first 2 minutes of chewing on the molars is a bit sensitive but then all discomfort disappears and I find it really helps.. just swap side from molars to molars every few minutes.

Good luck!

[Plokoon111]

Thanks Damoz, some useful info you provided! Its getting easier!

Oh yeah here is what my teeth look like!

[Img]http://pixady.com/image/0buj/[/img]

<a href="http://pixady.com/image/0buj/"><img src="http://img.pixady.com/2017/09/964900_20 ... 60x259.jpg" alt="" /></a>

[Kshtij123]

Even I had canines coming out like fangs because of my small mouth. Had to get my premolars removed to make space to shift the canines. Unfortunately, extracting out my teeth made my mouth even smaller. My teeth are straight now, but my jaw has become even smaller because of those extractions. I would advise you against removing 4 teeth. Read up about the ill effects of extractive orthodontics on the internet, and discuss those with your orthodontist.