SK's 2 month pics 23/10 - 1st adjustment and lowers on!

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#46 Post by **iamtheotherme** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:45 am

I had to use chlorhexidrine (sp?) after my extraction too, and got the nasty staining on my lower front teeth. The hygienist scraped and polished the stains off the next time I went to the dentist for something else; it took about 3 minutes. Maybe you can ask to have that done at your next visit.

I get my braces on only two days before you. I hope August bracings bring us good luck.

#47 Post by **sksk11** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:48 pm

]ONLY 3 DAYS UNTIL B-DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm a bit excited?

I cannot believe the big day is almost here - 3 weeks ago I remember thinking "3 weeks is suuuuch a long time"! It has now started to dawn on me a bit that I will have these things in my mouth for 2 whole years - that's 2 Christmases, 2 birthdays (including my 30th!) etc etc. Also, I was at my boyfriend's sister's 30th party at the weekend, and I suddenly thought about the fact that after this Friday I will be meeting new people complete with braces. I'm sure after a couple of weeks I won't even give it a thought, but it suddenly seemed a bit daunting.

I phoned my ortho's assistant to confirm the appointment time and check there were no problems, and we are good to go - 11.30am this Friday (22nd)

I also asked what lig colours they stock, but she didn't give a lot away apart from to say they have "a vast array of colours". I'm hoping they have silver or something other than clear as I would really like to avoid staining.

So on the issue of staining, I wondered if all you 'seasoned' brace wearers could tell me if the following foods stain ligs?
Spaghetti Bolognaise (one of my bf's favourite meals)
Chilli / enchiladas / fajitas
Thai green curry (I know normal curries stain)
Sweet and sour sauce
Blackcurrant drinks e.g. Ribena
Tomato pasta sauces

I do eat healthy things aswell!

I only have to work tomorrow then I have the rest of the week off, so I think I will be unbearably excited by Thursday! I am going to have my highlights redone and a haircut on Thursday - thought I might aswell feel as good as possible about my appearance before I get my braces.

I'm now off to read the pre-braces advice - if any of you have any handy hints they would be appreciated. I will post pics of my hardware on Friday!

#48 Post by **ckrobyn** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:14 pm

sksk11 wrote:]ONLY 3 DAYS UNTIL B-DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So on the issue of staining, I wondered if all you 'seasoned' brace wearers could tell me if the following foods stain ligs?
Spaghetti Bolognaise (one of my bf's favourite meals)
Chilli / enchiladas / fajitas
Thai green curry (I know normal curries stain)
Sweet and sour sauce
Blackcurrant drinks e.g. Ribena
Tomato pasta sauces

I have clear braces top and bottom with ligs. I stay away from stuff like dark coloured fruit juices and juice mix crystals that are berry coloured.

Thai green curry does NOT stain

I know because I am addicted to the stuff! Thai red curry doesn't stain either!!!!

I have had sweet and sour sauce with no problems, and also spaghetti and pasta sauces. My trick is that if I eat foods that can potentially stain, I try and swish my mouth with water during the meal and brush my teeth as soon afterwards as possible.

Good luck with your braces! Post a pic when they are on!

#49 Post by **shan*rock** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:37 pm

Yay! I was feeling the same way you are about a month ago (my 1st adjustment is this week). I'm been so paranoid about staining, but haven't had much of a problem so far. I've been super careful though. Spaghetti hasn't given me any problems, but it makes me nervous so I brush immediately afterwards and swish water around like someone else mentioned. I've also had no problems with fajitas/burritos/etc. I've been leary of sweet and sour sauce, so I haven't tried that one yet.

My husband thinks I'm nuts with how much I obsess over staining and/or breaking my braces. Just in the last two days I've noticed a hint of staining on my powerchains and two of my front teeth, but I've been a little bit lax this week with eating things I usually avoid (even though I don't know if I need to) since I'm getting the ligs changed this week anyway.

Good luck, can't wait to hear how it goes.

#50 Post by **sksk11** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 3:31 pm

Tomorrow is the big day!!

I spent my last brace free day getting my hair done and shopping for my Niece's first birthday presents, then my BF and I went out to dinner for our 5 year anniversary (it's actually tomorrow, but didn't think it would be a good idea to eat out in public on my first night in braces!).

I also made sure that we had a curry last night! All I could think of was how much it would stain my ligs if I had my braces on - goodness knows what they put in the sauce to make it that colour!!!

I will be sure to post you some piccies tomorrow. I took the last ones of my crooked smile tonight, and some of my nice new hairdo

(My smile looks pretty good here as it's not a close up, but the close up pictures from my extractions reveal the demon teeth in all their glory!).

#51 Post by **real2** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 6:05 pm

Can't wait for those pix 2morrow

#52 Post by **iamtheotherme** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 6:42 pm

Yay SK! You made it! I'll be thinking of you tomorrow. You'll do great.

Fantastic hair cut by the way. Will go great with your new smile.

#53 Post by **browneyedgrl** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 5:21 am

Happy Birthday!!!

B

#54 Post by **sksk11** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 8:32 am

YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

They are on

So the story goes: Ortho has a little chit-chat about extractions and how they went, healing etc etc. Then explains what he's going to do (I "yep" and "uh-huh" along, despite already knowing what was going to happen after reading so much on here

).

Lip spreaders in - I'd remembered what lots of you said about applying adequate lip balm to stop your lips splitting, but it seems I might have gone a bit OTT as he smiled and asked me to wipe some off incase it stopped the glue from bonding with the tooth! Then the etchant - thankfully I never tasted this at all.

And then for the brackets. He reiterated that they were still loose until they had been cured with the light, so to try not to sneeze and move them! Then it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't checked he was putting the ceramics on the front 6 ... and I didn't want to ask incase I moved the brackets when I spoke. So I sat and waited, then he handed me the mirror.......................

..........all was good, I should never have doubted him

This was my first chance to see and feel the brackets - they looked a really good colour on my teeth, and thankfully as my front teeth are quite large, the brackets looked much smaller than I expected.

We discussed lig colours, and despite his suggestion I go for Lavender or fuscia to match my top (!), I went for silver to have a chance to get used to them before experimenting with colours, and to avoid staining.

Due to the large gaps left by my extractions, he put a figure of 8 wire between my canines and second premolars each side, to add strength to the archwire, and to encourage the canines to move back more quickly. I felt quite a lot of pressure from these alone. The archwire went on next, with double ligs on the right twisted canine. So voila, job done!

I was aware of the pressure immediately, but within 5 minutes I was used to it, and found talking and smiling with the brackets surprisingly easy. The only thing I've found annoying is that I have to make a concerted effort to put my top lip properly over the brackets if I have been smiling, or I end up with a comedy 'beaver' look with my lip tucked in on top of the brackets!

I am still pretty much painfree, but I am definitely noticing some strange sensations in the teeth. When I bite, my rear teeth feel very wierd, and my left central incisor feels like it's under quite a bit of pressure. I have had some soup and bread though, and brushed like a good girl with my new Colgate orthodontic brush

He recommended I take paracetemol for pain - I asked about ibuprofen, and he said that this would be a good thing to take as it's been shown to assist this first stage of movement. (I thought this was interesting as I read somebody on here saying that it can slow movement - maybe that's in the later stages?).

The assistant went through the cleaning instructions etc. I am to brush after every meal, use fluoride mouthwash at night only, and a mouthwash of my choice if I want to rinse in the morning. The ortho advised me not to use any whitening toothpastes from now on as it could lead to a noticeable difference in colour on the parts of the teeth covered by the brackets. The assistant said that she thought my teeth were lovely and white now, so it probably wouldn't matter (so hopefully the last couple of weeks brushing with the Janina paste worked!). The assistant also told me I should not chew gum, so it's back to the breath freshener spray for me.

I got a few freebies:
2 small boxes of silicone wax (she will send me more if I run out)
Bottle of Colgate Fluoride Mouthwash
Interdental brushes

I also bought myself some Oral-B superfloss with the stiff end, ortho brush heads for my electric toothbrush, and a colgate ortho brush for when I fancy using a manual brush. The assistant said it's not essential to have the ortho heads for the electric brush, but the standard heads tend to wear out more quickly on braces.

So there you have it, and now for the long-awaited pics:

Notice the bend on the archwire to get to the partially covered lateral incisor? I'll be watching that for movement

See the extra wires over the extraction gaps? Snap Elpi!

Also, the double lig.

My new smile, Day 1

Thanks for all your good wishes and advice leading up to today.

SK

#55 Post by **real2** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 3:24 pm

Absolutely awesome

I like how you were absolutely patient and involved in your writing! It's certainly a good pre-emptive read for myself, and anyone else starting braces really soon

Seriously, Congratz!

#56 Post by **elpi** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 2:51 pm

Just come back off hols! wowee SK they're on and yes rather similar to me. I hope eating hasn't become too painful, I really struggled in the first couple of weeks. Have you got a date set for the lower arch? Reading your banding post reminded me that I'm getting my wisdoms braced on the 3rd September, so I'll have to experience all that again!

#57 Post by **OzKelly** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 4:21 pm

Hi,

I have been reading your story so far, and ur braces look great. Congrats on taking the plunge. I have had mine on for 12 days so far, and just getting used to them. At first all you can think of is the lumps under ur gums, but as time passes you feel less of them, until you kinda forget they are there.

Looking forward to the rest of ur story....

Kelly

#58 Post by **sksk11** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:22 am

Thanks Real2, Elpi, Kelly and Ken! Real2 - I'm glad you've found my essays useful!

So, here I am, 3 days in, discovering the 'joys' of being newly braced!

Pain? ..........

..... Do bears poo in the woods? Is the pope Catholic? ....um, yes, I have pain, but not necessarily where I expected to have it. I am only braced from my first molars on each side, so my wisdom teeth and second molars are free, which thankfully gives me somewhere to chew more comfortably. The ortho warned me that my tightest and probably most uncomfortable spot would be the overlap between my right central incisor and lateral incisor - yes, I feel pressure here, but very little pain. The worst spot is actually my first molar on the left side, where the braces stop. This has been sore since day 1, I could wobble it a little on day 2, and it is the tooth that makes me jump out of my skin if I happen to bang my teeth together as I'm talking, and it is so so painful to try to chew here

Otherwise there is just a feeling of great pressure on the teeth, which I actually find quite reassuring, like a sign that they are doing their job. The front teeth feel quite 'numb' when I press them, and it hurts too much bite into anything, it's also difficult to take food off a fork with these teeth. My blessing is that I can use my bottom (unbraced) teeth to do this

The other good news is that I am yet to develop any serious ulcers - the brackets are really comfortable under my lips. I am drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated though. The only slightly sore spot I have got is right at the side of the inside of my bottom lip, as it scrapes on the bracket on my bicuspid as I smile (damn those low molars

).

Movement?.......

...... Well I know something's definitely happening, as within 24 hours, I developped a small open bite - I could no longer make my front teeth meet!!!! You may remember from my original photos and story, I could only make one tiny spot meet at my left central incisor - well there is now a good 1mm gap here. It might be partly due to the fact that I can't bite my teeth hard together to try to make them meet (because it hurts

), but I think my molars must have moved, especially as this is where I have been having most of my pain.

Eating?......

...... Has been ok - I bought soup, yoghurts etc in prep for the big day, but I am pleased to report that I have been able to eat a fairly normal diet, just very, very, very, carefully! I'm cutting things up small, and putting them to the very back teeth to chew. However, I am also making an effort to chew with the braced teeth, even the painful ones, as I know it improves blood flow and can promote both movement and healing. We had the BBQ for my Niece's birthday, and I had sausage, burger, mince kebab, and pasta salad etc, without too much of a struggle

Staining?.....

....... All good so far - the silver ligs seem to have been a good choice. But I have been sensible about what I eat, swished with water, and cleaned after meals

People's reactions?.....

...... Have been incredibly positive

I am lucky that my top lip sits quite low over the brackets, so you only really see them when I smile. Most people haven't even noticed until I smiled at them (even the people who knew I was getting braces!!). Everyone has said that they look good, much better than they expected them to. My BF has given me the new nickname 'Braces', but said that they look "cute" which I though was lovely.

So that's it really, I'll post a 1 week picture this Friday and see if anything has obviously moved.

Cheery-bye for now

#59 Post by **sksk11** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 4:31 pm

1 week down, and here's the latest.....

The pain in my left first molar is gone thank goodness, and I have still managed to avoid any ulcers up to now. I now just have the 'pressure' sensation on my teeth, and have noticed my front left teeth feeling a bit sensitive.

Eating is still a little tricky, partly due to my obsession with trying to prevent staining, and also due to my teeth still being a bit sore when I chew. I have compared my appearance to a cow chewing on some grass, as I try to manipulate the food round my mouth to the less sore spots! I had lasagne for lunch at work today, then suddenly realised that it had a lovely red tomato sauce in it ..... stain potential!!!!

Needless to say, I was swishing with water all the way through, and thankfully my ligs are unharmed. Phew!

I am getting used to the new oral hygiene routine, though I am surprised that I still seem to be getting some brown / yellow staining round the edge of the glue. I brush after every meal, and use my interdental brush to clean beside the brackets and under the wire. The only thing I can put it down to is drinking tea, though I am swishing with water every 2 or 3 mouthfuls of tea to try to prevent the staining. Any ideas on how I could prevent this staining - can it be cleaned by my dentist / ortho?

Now, down to the interesting bit.... movement

It feels like things have moved, and my new pictures seem to show some early changes, Why don't you see for yourself.......

Original smile before extractions

Brace day

1 week: I think my right lateral incisor (left of pic) has come out of hiding a bit more, and notice the straightening of the wire. I also think my right central has been moved up so that the bottom now lies level with the left one, and it isn't overlapping the left central as much, so that tooth looks wider.

Original left side before extractions

Brace day

1 week: Notice the furthest central incisor (on the left of the pic) has been pulled back slightly

Original right side before extractions

Brace Day

1 Week: Sorry the angle is different from above, but I think you can see that the canine is being pulled back into line

Original upper arch before extractions

Brace Day

1 week: Note the slight straightening out of the wire on my right lateral incisor (left of the pic) compared to brace day - that tooth is definitely fighting it's way out! I also think the canine isn't overlapping it as much. It's difficult to see, but I also think my left bicuspid and molar (on the right of the photo) have been pulled into a better alignment - these were the very painful teeth, so I bloody well hope so!

I can see a visible difference between my pre-extractions upper arch photo and the one from today at one week - I think my teeth must have moved quite a bit following the extractions once the crowding was relieved, but these braces are miracle workers in my opinion, and I can't wait to see what the next week brings!

I love my braces!

#60 Post by **viciousgiraffe** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 5:01 pm

wow, amazing progress; you must be excited to see so much movement so soon. keep taking those great pictures; it will be cool to see how quickly your teeth move and you reach a flawless smile.