Can I do it?

[BracedSurgeryStudent]

WOW! Your teeth look amazing. I'm getting my braces off in 6 months and my teeth are pretty amazing.

[jem]

Hi Ebony,

Your teeth look fantastic. You are now reaping the rewards of persisting with your treatment, despite the anxiety it caused you. Well done ! I am really thrilled for you.

Jem

[starfish88]

Wow! your teeth look amazing! You must be so excited and proud to have got so far despite your anxieties (which I totally get!) So good to hear how well you are doing!

[EbonyQ]

Thank you guys! I could not have done it without you!


And guess what I did today!

It’s almost Christmas and I wanted to surprise Eric with something. Since he already has received than-you-cards I wanted to do something that he won’t expect at all.

I put on a small POWER CHAIN!!!
It's just on 3 teeth (to close a gap betweem those teeth) but it's a POWER CHAIN!!

I did it myself and it went fine. The urge to clip it and remove it did come later but I managed to stop it. It’s still there and I hope I can control the urge to remove till Friday so Eric can see it.

I won’t tell him anything before he sees it himself on Friday. I’m sure he will be very surprised!

Please don't mess this up anxiety!

[TMJJill]

Good for you EbonyQ!!!!

I got my first powerchain a couple months ago. The pressure took a bit of getting used to, but I realized the other day that I forget about it most of the time, even with flossing since I just slide the floss up underneath so easily. Hopefully you will get used to it as well. It really can do wonders for how quickly it works.

Let us know how Eric responds when he sees it.

[EbonyQ]

The power chain is still on and I'm still alive

The soreness from it is almost gone (despite that I did put it on a bit tight) and all that I can think of is: was this what I was afraid of?

Klobird, I know you want to say: I told you so...

[klobird]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

[TMJJill]

You didn't say what color powerchain you picked. Are you going to have fun with colors?

Let us know how it goes tomorrow.

[NICURN85]

Ebony your teeth look amazing!!!! I am so proud of you for putting that power chain on!! Keep up the good work!

[EbonyQ]

Today we repositioned a bracket on my front tooth which felt so strange, is this how it is to be debonded? It was not painful, no, Eric was very careful but.. yeah, I can’t explain it.
He put on a .018 wire on the upper jaw because of this repositioning. I don’t mind getting a lighter arch wire, it's the other way I don't like to go

Eric was very happy that I had tried the power chain and the good part is that we don’t need it at the moment. I’m power chain free again! Yes! But we now know that a power chain can be used if it’s really necessary but we won’t use it before that.

We changed the lowers to rectangular arch wire. I got some panic but it was only for a few mins. Eric kept asking me if I was OK

I have to ask Eric if we are going to debond my uppers next time or if he is doing this:

[starfish88]

You have the same wires as me just we're on opposite jaws! Yay - wire twins (almost)! Glad to see how well you're doing. You're ortho sounds like a real star! Sounds exciting to be talking of taking them off! Good luck!

[EbonyQ]

Switching to a rectangular wire on my lowers did not go as planned…

Since I go braces all the pain I have had has just been when I eat (soreness) and this was what I expected when I got my new arch wire. Eric kept telling me that the worst was when you started with braces, switching arch wires would not be as painful as that (yeah, right!).

There has been a constant pain and after not getting much sleep I had to text boss to ask him what he could recommend; painkillers for 24 hours and if the pain is not better then switch back to .018 round wire.

It will not be fun to switch arch wire with these teeth but if it removes the constant pain then I will do it. I will give it a few more hours and if it’s not better then I will travel to our clinic and switch it.

Had to send Eric an e-mail to let him know that I might switch back to .018 wire because of this constant pain (he is the one treating me and therefor needs to know what is being done with my braces). I did not expect any response because its weekend and I was just telling him about the pain and that I might switch arch wire but he responded after just a few mins.

Eric believed that the pain would calm down after a few hours but if not he agreed that going back to a .018 wire might be best. We had to do what I felt was needed, if this caused me to not be able to sleep then he recommended the .018 wire (I did not mention anything about sleep, he knows me too well ). He's the best

I know many of you have had a lot of pain and dealt with it, but my anxiety for these braces is towards pain. If I only get pain when I eat that is fine, I can then control this by choosing what and when I eat, but pain all the time makes me feel that I’m losing control. I feel like a baby!

Why so many ups and downs with this anxiety?

[Danaeliz]

[quote="klobird"]Hey Ebony!!

I'm so glad you finally posted here--it takes a while to get used to everything, and to start getting responses but you will!!
Everyone is very encouraging. Just keep posting your questions---ANY question and people will respond usually...

Just keep thinking of how far we've come, and you got thru all of that.....well, this is really, really much easier. I won't lie to you!! And which is worse--teeth you are ashamed of for the rest of your life? Or braces you are ashamed of (which, believe me, you don't need to be...) for 2yrs... Do you feel like it is really that bad where you are?? All that I have found is that kids don't care AT ALL--to them it's normal...and all of the adults don't care or are like--"Wow, I've been thinking about getting braces!". But that's here--and still, when I go to the ortho, there are at least as many adults (men and women) as kids there are kids. Seriously....

You have come this far....it will always, always bug you if you put it off....but, in the end, it's a decision that only you can make....and only you know what you can really handle...
I completely agree! I just got my Braces on November 26, 2012. It has been a different expierence but all in all it is the best choice I have ever made! I have always been embarrassed of my teeth and I am so looking forward to the future! My adult friends love my braces and are very supportive! They also have many options for adult such as the Damon system where you have the top 6 teeth clear brackets (Not near as noticiable.) I got Damon Q all metal since they are stronger and because of my coffee drinking, my ortho thought it would be best to stay away due to staining. I say anyone that wants a prettier smile should get braces! It is not always fun, but worth it!
I believe that YOU CAN DO THIS!![/quote]

[EbonyQ]

The pain is still there but better, however it's something I can deal with and therefor will keep this arch wire.

Wow, that was a crazy ride! Pain and anxiety never goes well when they go hand in hand.

[EbonyQ]

Starfish88: Thanks! Yes, my ortho is the best. He has been giving 100% through the whole treatment, it's just me who sometimes listens more to my anxiety than to him Don't think many orthos would have the time or interest to go this far to help me (most would have given me up by now, and I would not blame them). I was very lucky with this one, that's for sure!


Danaeliz: Thanks! I too got Damon Q How are your first days with braces? Good luck with your treatment!