And so it begins.. aka Christin's story (pics! updated7/06)

[hooray4mediocrity]

For a short history, my name is Christin. I am 24 years old. Braces were always something that I wanted, but haven't been able to start until now. Now that I'm out of grad school and actually getting dental/health insurance, I decided there is no better time then now... (Plus, if I ever end up getting married, it would be nice to have straight teeth in the wedding pictures.. shallow? not really, i hope!) I'm actually quite excited for this whole process to begin- which may seem odd to some, but I think most people on this site could understand!

I just had 8 extractions yesterday - 4 wisdom and 4 1st bicusids.. (so my severely crowded teeth have somewhere to go!) and aside from some sweeling/aching, I'm doing a-OK. My appt to have my braces actually put on is in 5 days.. woohoo!! I'm thinking about putting up some pics to view the progression of my wonderfully crowded teeth over time.. which may take some guts, b/c let me tell you, they are not that pretty!

Problem list from my ortho:

Class 1 malocclusion
SEVERE anterior crowding (both top and bottom)
min overbite/mod over jet
and one darling bicuspid has lost its way... (crossbite)

On a brighter note, he did say I had excellent hygiene, so thats a good thing, right?

A question for the more experienced... do you have any advice about what to expect after the initial visit? Any tips of how to lesson discomfort/things you wish you had known before getting your braces put on? I would greatly appreciate any information you felt like giving!

[hannah164]

Welcome Christin to this awesome board!

Congratulations on deciding to start your orthodontic journey!

Wow 8 extractiosn at once! THat's a lot! I had 6 extractions and 2 canines exposed and bonded at once and it actually wasn't too bad!

Great to hear that your hygiene is excellent!

Keep us posted!

-Hannah




Top braces: 4/28/04
Bottom braces: 11/16/05
Next Adjustment is 2/1/06 where they will bond a bracket to my cuspid which was impacted!!!!

[hooray4mediocrity]

Alright... as discussed, I scanned my "before" pics (which always look so much lovelier when your lips are pulled back, etc... and I swear my teeth are NOT that yellow..).. but it never usually looks this bad to me! I guess years of learning how to smile/cover my teeth have led me to think that things weren't toooo bad.. haha. thank goodness for orthodontia tho, right? so here begins my journey:







(sorry, I'm workng on how to size things!)

I'm just hoping that, along with the way I have a slight overbite/jet, the braces won't hold my lips out too far... although this is one reason that I'm just getting the classic metal braces, rather than ceramics.. (plus, my ortho said he could move my teeth faster with metal than ceramic, and in the true american way, it sounded great to me!).. anyone else told this?

Hopefully this will be a reminder to wear my retainer two years from now!

[butterfly]

Hi Christin !

I don't think it is shallow to go for smiling wedding pictures. I married 1 year ago and there is not a single picture with a smile. I am seriously thinking about reshooting a few pics in 1 year or so. So please do it now and smile at your wedding day!!

And don't worry about how your teeth photos look like. I still remember my session.. what a nightmare. I look like dracula, I swear. But at the end it really doesn't matter where your teeth are located. Harmony of size and shape is all that matters! They will move wherever your doc tells them to. I think you have good teeth. I like the pointiness of the canines

[hooray4mediocrity]

Haha.. I do like my pointy canines, now that you mention it.. It'll be nice to see them when they are where their supposed to be!

And thank you for the information, it will be very useful, I'm sure!

On another note.. I hope I'm not jumping the gun and thinking the worst, but this morning (morning #2 after my extractions), I woke up with a THROBBING lower jaw. It feels a little better after brushing/rinsing/irrigating.. I just took more ibuprofen- next step codiene, which i cannot stand to take, but we'll see.. but.. could I be getting dry sockets?? Yesterday I hung out with friends and probably talked more than I should have, so my jaw hurt by the end of the night.. but geez... this is craziness!

Or, maybe things always hurt a little more in the morning?? haha.. At least this is what I'm banking on.

[sydsmom]

Congratulations on taking your first steps, hooray4mediocrity!

Great pics I remember my ortho pics looking much more yellowy than my teeth really do, too. Not sure what's up with that

Now, I never had 8 teeth extracted at once (only 2), but I would imagine you'll have some *serious* throbbing after a trauma like that! Just follow your dentist's instructions carefully (whether it's saltwater rinses, etc...) and you should be fine. Definitely call if you think the pain is extreme though. I found cold smoothies to be quite helpful for the pain. I also noticed that if I ran my finger along my jawbone, OUCH!

As far as your lips protruding more after braces, you'll feel like they are huge and that it's totally noticeable, but no one else will think so. That seems to be the case with most things in braces, though! My ortho also told me he could move my teeth faster with metal brackets -- I have a Class I malocclusion as well -- so I chose to go all metal and haven't regretted it once!

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!!

[hooray4mediocrity]

Thank you sydsmom!

I'll definitely try the smoothy idea! I've been trying to research some (vegetarian) soft food ideas.. I keep finding lots of dairy-type foods, which is ok, although I'd rather not live on that route! But I think my fav smoothy is organic vanilla yogurt, a banana, and choc soy milk! woohoo.. and I believe I'll have one right now! haha

I guess we are our worst critic tho, yes? I have rather thick lips as it is, but my guess is that I'll be the one really noticing any change! Also, since I am getting all metal braces, I'm wondering if I'll break into the 18-19 age range, as I definitely do NOT look like the "almost-25-year-old" that I am!

(It seems that lately I've resurrected the "almost-age" phrase from elementary school again.. I clinically supervise staff who are at times older than my parents, which can be understandably touchy! Although sometimes I think I learn just as much, if not more, from them.. but I don't know how it will go when I look like a high schooler again!)

On another note, I think in the last few days I've become "tooth obsessed"! haha.. I'm sure the newness of it all will dwindle over time! But I AM quite excited to get the braces put on.. hopefully I wont wonder what I've done to myself once they are there! haha

Have a good day to all!

[hooray4mediocrity]

I really should be working, but I'm working out of the home today, and I'm just not ready to quite get started on reports as of yet.. so instead, what do I do? But take the last pictures that anyone whall ever see of my lovely gaps before they are enclosed in metal!

(I think if I was not previously obsessed, I have crossed that line as of now, I'm afraid.. )

Therefore... just a couple other pics for you...

First, the last picture of my rehearsed smile.. (the "show as little of your teeth as possible" one!)



Not so bad really.. haha

Then, the "toothy smile" no one sees... unless I laugh quite heartily, and then more people probably see it than I think...



and finally.. the side views of my newly created gaps...



They seem rather large to me.. I realize that I do have A LOT of crowding, and that there is probably enough "tooth" to fill these gaps.. but then it also worries me with the "what if there is juuuuuust a little too much space left over"?? But, who am I kidding.. ? After my extractions, I feel like I have two horizontal "fans" of teeth, met perpendicularly by two side rows.. amazing. I'm sure the "fans" will fit in just nicely...

I also feel as if I might just be on the verge of discovering a dry socket.. 1 out of 8, I guess thats not bad... but I'm just hoping it heals well and catches up with the rest of them! It has 3 days to get it in gear!

I guessing that I'll have to have power chains.. Anyone else ave experience with these? How long does it normally take to close up the gaps? My ortho said I'd be surprised at how quickly the top will close, but the lowers would take longer to "unravel." What a nice way to put it, haha!

ok.. off to accomplish something! Hope you all are having a great day!

[belmikry]

although this is one reason that I'm just getting the classic metal braces, rather than ceramics.. (plus, my ortho said he could move my teeth faster with metal than ceramic, and in the true american way, it sounded great to me!).. anyone else told this?

yep I was! first day with braces today too, so I'm with you on the pre-braces teeth awareness! basically there are two types of braces: the regular metal ones with their twins [ceramics/plastics] which use elastics and the like, and then there are these "sliders" braces [which I assume you are getting, as I have myself] which are metal and do not use elastics, really they slide naturally with the teeth, cutting the time in half theorectically. I hope they are right, these things make you feel a tad self conscious, but i'm homping that goes away, especially with all of the help on this forum! that smoothie sounds great too!

[hooray4mediocrity]

Well.. so I've been a little lax lately.. but today marks my fourth day in braces... still tender, still waking up with an achy mouth, but I'm hoping this too shall pass, yes? I just keep dreaming of biting into a piece of pizza.. and being that today is the Super Bowl.. its rather disheartening. .haha. I just can't wait for these darling little buggers to get used to their new plight and stop whining.

The whole braces process itself was rather uneventful. Although my ortho's office is step up kind of like an assembly line, chairs all around in a semi-circle with the dr running to all.. but overall, the people are great! I managed to make it through the process without choling to death too badly, so I'm voting that the day went fairly well. However, I did find it amazing that I was reminded by 3 people (the last and longest reminder coming from the receptionist herself).. that adults do not "bounce back" as quickly as children.. and not to get discouraged, as the next 3-4 days would be a whole lot of heck. (in more words than that, of course...)

This I nodded and smiled my new tinny smile and ran out the door to eat some lunch. Which I chewed, and life was rather great. I didn't even think the new hard wear looked too badly. (Which is a funny fact too, as I've had friends tell me that I "look good with braces" with a sort of awe in their voices, like they were expecting me to look like ... I don't exactly know, but just really bad..)

However, then night came. and within 12 hours and 5 minutes of getting my braces on (while sitting and watching a movie, no biting of anything!)... one of my front brackets popped off. Its been sitting in a gob of wax ever since, because they cannot get me in to fix it until TUESDAY. Overall, this doesn't make me the happiest girl ever.. I keep thinking that this wayward tooth will be behind all of its friends now... but, not too much can change in this short of time, right?... hmmm...

O now have been surviving on soup, smoothies, slim fast (I think i'm going to switch to carnation), and the occasional milkshake. My boyfriend laughed at me because he made a corn chowder last night, and I ended up throwing it inot the food processor, as I couldn't crush the corn againt the roof as my mouth very efficiently..

Day #4, morning #3, I'm still waking up after 5-6 hours of sleep with my mouth feeling like my jaw is being crushed. argh! When does it stop! Although, I can touch my teeth together with slightly less pain, so.. maybe soon I'll have that piece of pizza.. (And its not like I normally even eat pizza that often, it just sounds wonderful!)

oh.. and question..any one else find it IMPOSSIBLE to floss just after getting their braces on? The assistant at the ortho's couldn't even fit floss between my teeth.. argh! and this hadn't been an issue before.. It freaks me out though, as I don't want to just forgo flossing.. .... anyone know a secret trick to this??

Finally.. my newly braced face... and so it begins!

[belmikry]

flossing for the first few days is painful... mine are just starting to feel better [day 6] I found using Arnica tablets 15 minutes before flossing helped significantly. Arnica extract is a natural relaxer for sore muscles, and was recommended by a friend- I got it at a vitamin store, they have little pills which dissolve under your tongue- it worked for me- soon I promise you'll feel better- I can even flosss under one tooth which was impossible to even get the floss through two days ago!

[nahky]

Looking at your before pics hooray4mediocrity, I can tell your end results is going to be spectacular!

You have really nicely shaped teeth, and they are white. Good gum-to-teeth ratio (I stole that line form stewie in family guy). Good lips! Congrats on starting your journey

[hooray4mediocrity]

Yes, belmikry! I agree! I got 3/4 of my teeth flossed last night.. which is a step up from none at all! haha.. they are just EXTREMELY tight.. argh. But all this will be worth it, right?? haha.. I think I will look into the Arnica tablets.. I haven't heard of those.. I would rather take something natural anyway. My nerdy obsession is reading up on natural remedies and nutritional healing.. and all these drugs from my extractions/pain meds/etc have me feeling pretty aweful!

And nahky, thank you for your kind words! I realize I complain now.. but in the end, I'm sure it will be worth it! Reminds me.. when the ortho was standing over me he commented something like, "What a great case! She is going to look completely different when we are done!"... which made me think.. a few things.. "oh, why are they talking about me as if I can't hear," and "Oh man, that comment means that my teeth are REALLY JACKED UP." haha.. we are our worst critic.. I'm working on taking that comment on face value.. I can't wait until the "before" pics seem like someone else's mouth!

[belmikry]

I agree! using drugs to kill the pain has never been an easy thing for me to do- I'll usually grit my teeth [pardon the pun] and bear it just so I don't take another extra strength tylenol ...

I can't wait to see some pictures with your braces- :whistles: you have great teeth- so white and shiny- mine are more like yellow tick-tacks

[hooray4mediocrity]

ugh- Belmikry, I agree! I hate hate hate swallowing pills! Although I must admit, I'm getting much better at it! haha..

Actually, I think I've finally settled into that waiting period that is so lovely.. I keep giving my teeth little pep talks (come you little guys! you can move it!).. but I'm not sure if it is really working! But, in the true American way, I have no patience.. and want to see results!

(and- belmikry- I know you have Damon braces.. but I think mine are simply the traditional metal.. ?? I don't believe he ever mentioned "damon," but he did say they could slide along the wire, vs the clear ceramic).. argh. who knows. I thin I was a little too excited and forgot to ask all my questions.. which weren't in my head at the time!

Otherwise, I think I can see a litttttle bit of movement.. and after dealing with random pains and such, SOME MOVEMENT should have happened!! haha.. How long did it take everyone else before you saw a real change?

and.. KK, I plan on that pizza very very soon! I can basically chew now.. woohhoooo!! oh the simple pleasures in life!