Acklay's Experience with Braces

[Acklay]

It's been one month since my top teeth were braced, so I'm posting a couple of pictures. I'm going to try and remember to post updated photos on the first of each month.

[GillyWeed]

The black ligs look great, i've got to try them out soon too! Good luck with the impending adjustment

[Acklay]

Just ordered me a Waterpik WP-100. Should arrive by the 6/11. As much as I appreciate threader floss, I cannot wait to try out the Waterpik!

[Acklay]

I had my first adjustment yesterday morning. The adjustment itself wasn't too bad, they just took off the old ligatures and put on new ones. (I went with light blue) The lady said she used some sort of wire tied around some of the brackets to get the teeth moving more. She said I would feel more pressure this time around than I did after my first visit when the braces were installed. Unfortunately I didn't get my lowers installed yet, and they're not sure if I'll be able to on my next visit. I sure hope I can then, but I guess they know what is best.

Pain-wise my teeth are somewhat sore. Yesterday as the day went on my teeth got progressively more tender. It's not that they hurt constantly, but rather they feel slightly loose and when I put pressure on them I experience a some pain. It kept me from eating my sandwich from Subway for lunch yesterday - ended up giving it to a friend of mine and I went and found some chili.

This morning I didn't attempt to floss, and brushing was uncomfortable. I think the way I'm feeling in a few days I'll be fine, but for today I'm going to try and find softer foods.

I am worried about this morning though. I'm a lifeguard, and today I have to do an hour of CPR training to maintain my license. (have to do 1 hour per week) As there are hundreds of us on our crew we practice on each other. I have a feeling it's going to be painful to have the CPR mask pressed on my face!

[Acklay]

My Waterpik arrived! I tried it out and I think I flooded the bathroom.

My mouth definitely feels clean though! My gums also feel like they've had a good workout. I think it'll take me a bit of time to get used to using it as I was pretty slow. I had to refill it 4 times before I was done. The orthodontic tip on it is great for cleaning between the brackets - something my toothbrush could never do. So far I'm happy with my purchase.

[GillyWeed]

PICTURES...?

[Acklay]

Alright Gilly, here's the latest picture.

[GillyWeed]

Acklay, I looove them! They look really good. And I like that they put them in the figure 8 config. I think I'm gonna ask my ortho if he can put mine on like that, I hear it puts extra tension on the wire. How are you feeling, are you in pain? Tell me everything lol

[Acklay]

Oh, so that's why they're on there like that. I tried asking in the general discussion forum about it, but nobody responded. It makes sense though. I was told they also tied wires around my brackets to increase the amount of pressure on the tooth. It was somewhat uncomfortable during the adjustment, just because they were working with more pressure than the day I had the braces installed.

In all it's nowhere near as bad as I expected. My front teeth were somewhat sore for a couple of days, but only if I was trying to bite into something. I just ate softer foods for the first two days and by now I'm completely fine. I ate at Subway for lunch today and had no trouble biting into a huge sandwich.

The adjustment itself only took about 10 minutes. The majority of the time was waiting for the orthodontist to come in and look at the work her assistant did. She was happy with my progress overall and she said my teeth were extremely clean! I'm hoping the Waterpik I bought contributes to the cleanness part. After using it for a few days I must say I like it, and I can get my mouth done with one tank of water now instead of the three it previously took.

Only issue I had was on the day after the adjustment. A situation developed in the water park where I work and I had to blow my whistle. I reacted fast out of reflex and bit down hard on the whistle to blow. It was extremely unpleasant to say the least. I was in pain for several minutes after that. I've got to remember to take it easy on the whistle after adjustments.

[alexander]

Just reading the posts on here it sounds like Waterpiks get a unanimous thumbs up. Think I'll invest in one in advance!

Alex

[GillyWeed]

Hey Acklay, how are you?

I hope the CPR mask wasn't too painful. So, have you noticed any movement yet? And has there been more pain this time compared to when you were braced initially?
As for the waterpik, I kinda hate the thing. I've used it twice and everytime I end up soaked Have you found success with it? If so, please give me some helpful pointers haha!

Hope all is well

[Acklay]

I have noticed a bit of movement on a couple of teeth, but nothing too outstanding.

I did have a bit of pain a few days ago. Two of my teeth hurt when I put pressure on them, but the pain went away after a couple of days of it. I was a bit surprised that the pain came a couple of weeks after the adjustment. It was during these few days I really noticed things moving.

I can definitely tell my bite is opening up. Actually I really don't know how to bite together properly. I can make all of my molars touch, but then my front teeth stick out forward more than they used to. If I bite together where it feels natural, only a couple of my molars touch. I really hope this means they can get the bottom brackets on at my next adjustment. It'll be July 10.

Honestly I haven't used the Waterpik for the last few days. Just too much of a hassle. Honestly I've just been lazy and besides brushing I really haven't been going out of my way in cleaning. I really need to get back into my routine, but I'm lacking in motivation.

[Johnie Cocoa]

The blue ligs look cool! I look forward to seeing your progress!

[GillyWeed]

Cool, it's awesome that you are seeing changes. July 10th is kind of soon, how far apart are your adjustments usually? And I'm wondering how your light blue ligs have held up...any staining/fading? and what colour next?!

[Acklay]

My adjustments are 5 weeks apart.

The blue ligs have done alright so far. The only thing I eat or drink that would really stain them though is coffee. I do drink a lot of coffee, but no issues with staining so far.

As far as what color is next, I honestly don't know. I saw someone the other day with alternating light green/white and it actually looked really good. He had very white teeth however, I don't know if that combo would make my teeth look bad or not.