Another braces story

[luchababe]

Only a couple of days until our first adjustment. I'm still not sure whether to mention my gum to him or not , I feel embarrassed... Hmm. I pressed on it lastnight and it started to bleed, luckily it's only that one that bleeds, no others. Someone (my ortho or dentist) must know what's upsetting it! I floss, brush, mouthwash, so I have no idea. It's like something is stuck just under the gum line, like a bit of plaque or something and my gum above that tooth is saying "hey, until this bit of dirt/plaque is removed I will continue to get angry, bleed and receed!" yo, I am a poet and I didn't know it lol.

Oh and your camera looks awesome! Look at that close up and how clear that picture is. I wish mine was as good

I'm getting anxious too! I say, don't get up out of the chair until he looks at that gum. If there's blood involved, , get it looked at! Maybe someone else waiting in the reception area could help too...

My camera is TOO good. I can zoom in WAAAY to close to all those imperfections! I doubt my dentist looks that closely at teeth.

[luchababe]

1 Month 23 Days - First Adjustment and New Wires



So I'm back from the orthodontists and don't feel too bad! My teeth feel a bit numb again but no aches yet. I got the same kind of soft round wire on my bottom teeth only one gage stronger. On the top I have a thicker square wire.

Everything is moving along normally. There was one new bit of interesting info. I'll see if I can explain it with using my hands! My teeth at the front tip forward more than they should on average. As my ortho explained when you have crowding, as you straighten the teeth they naturally tip forward. Mine already tip forward a bit so as they straighten they'll tip a bit more. He used a template over my xrays to show me the "normal" tipping angle and what my teeth are at. The wires in the braces will bring my teeth in, so they're more straight up and down, somewhat but not perfectly. He said if he had me when I first had braces 20 year ago he would have recommended removing teeth to make room for my front teeth to stand up straighter. We'll be waiting and watching to see how things turn out in the coming months but removing some teeth is now an option if I want perfection. I'll be back to where I was when I had my first set of braces off when all this is done. He wouldn't be perfectly happy with the result, but I would be, if I didn't remove teeth. With the retainer I'll have for sleeping, things won't tip any more forward or back when all is said and done. Plus removing teeth would add months and months to the time in braces to close the gaps. The most major concern with teeth tipped forward is bone loss at the front of the jaw because there's no room there for the bone to grow. But my case is mild compared to others. So that's some more food for thought! Surgery is at the very bottom of my list of things to do so I'll be doing everything but that to get my teeth right.

The Good

First appointment done. Check!
Those white spots that grew on my teeth are "calculus". The hygienist scraped off some but said just to wait until I'm at the dentist and they can do more. She didn't sound concerned at all and neither did the ortho so I guess I won't be either.

The Bad

The whole removing of teeth thing that's come up. More stuff for me to obsess about. I have months and months to wait and see how things go before I start freaking about that.
I really miss popcorn at the movies.

What I've learned
When I want to scratch my braces off with my fingernails, if I floss, brush and mouthwash rinse myself the feeling goes away.

[Ellebraced]

WOW your teeth are looking awesome.

Can't wait for my wonky upper tooth to move like yours. It seems so fast.

Elle

[drgnchsr36]

Great pictures, really good progress!!!

Thanks for the tip about the flossing, brushing, mouthwash..

[rhomboid]

I don't understand no popcorn, I have had it from early on with absolutly no problems other than the usual food in the teeth/braces syndrome.

[luchababe]

Ellebraced - I didn't think I'd ever be at this point. It seemed to impossible during that first week of braces. But I'm here and quite pleased!

drgnchsr36 - I think it's all phycological. There's just something about getting my mouth clean and minty that helps me.

rhomboid - With my luck, I'll have kernels stuck everywhere so I figure just avoid it. Plus there's all those calories I'm saving once or twice a month!

Because the hygienist did a quick scaling on a trouble spot yesterday and mentioned my dentist would do the rest, I got to thinking. So I called my dentist office just to see if I could pop in and have someone do a looky loo to see if I need another spot removed (scrape scrape done!) or if I could wait until my next appointment in April. Well, turns out with braces they like to see patients every 3 months instead of 6. I didn't know that. But call it a Christmas miracle, there was a cancellation tomorrow night so I got that spot. They just do a scaling and a polish (no charge for the polish). So it looks like I'll have my worrying spot taken care of pretty soon! As long as they don't point anything else troublesome out to me, I'll have a peaceful mind for the holiday.

[drgnchsr36]

That's great!! I was wondering if you were going to do a quick stop at the dentist. Every 3 months makes sense, since with braces it seems a bit more difficult to get every nook. I may call my dentist office about that.. but the only thing is my insurance only pays for 2 visits a year.

Do you have to pay extra for the visit?

[luchababe]

That's great!! I was wondering if you were going to do a quick stop at the dentist. Every 3 months makes sense, since with braces it seems a bit more difficult to get every nook. I may call my dentist office about that.. but the only thing is my insurance only pays for 2 visits a year.

Do you have to pay extra for the visit?

I only get 2 visits a year too. But the woman on the phone said they don't charge for the polish. It's just a scaling and polish. So I guess it's just more money out of my pocket for the sake of my health. I just hope they don't have to take my wires out to clean. I just had the works done 4 weeks before my braces went on so I hope things aren't too bad in there. I can arrange new wires/cleanings better next time but I just didn't want to wait right now.

[drgnchsr36]

I only get 2 visits a year too. But the woman on the phone said they don't charge for the polish. It's just a scaling and polish. So I guess it's just more money out of my pocket for the sake of my health. I just hope they don't have to take my wires out to clean. I just had the works done 4 weeks before my braces went on so I hope things aren't too bad in there. I can arrange new wires/cleanings better next time but I just didn't want to wait right now.

Ahh, yeah. Hopefully you don't have to worry about the wires this time. I assume dentists and hygienists are used to patients having braces and know how to work around them.

I totally agree, even if it costs a bit extra.. it's worth it for the health of your teeth.

[BraceFace2o1o]

Hey luchababe,

Great pictures and you've had some great progress so far!

I just had the works done 4 weeks before my braces went on so I hope things aren't too bad in there. I can arrange new wires/cleanings better next time but I just didn't want to wait right now.

I had a good scale and polish a week (or was it 2 weeks? I can't remember exactly) before my braces were fitted, just to make sure everything was as clean as possible. I had my clean done at my Orthos office and paid £45 for it. My Dentist is an NHS Dentist so I would pay them £16 for a 'clean' and I feel that it's just a very simple clean, not very thorough. I will ask the Orthos receptionist soon if I can have another clean done there again at the 3 or 4 month mark, hopefully they will say it's ok. As my teeth are moving I am starting to see things I obviously wouldn't have seen before and I also feel brushing with all this wire/metal in my mouth is annoying and I am sure missing areas (not intentionally).

[luchababe]

Well! What a night last night! I witnessed another Christmas miracle. But first I went for a scaling at my dentist's office. She did everything with my wires in, thank goodness. She used a pick first then switched to a sonic thingamajigger that sounded like it could cut glass. She went around all my brackets and got rid of that trouble spot on the inside I was so worried about. She said everything looked pretty good, but the most plaque build up has happened/will happen around the bottom teeth because they're the crookedist (hey, new word!). It was a little uncomfortable but nothing I couldn't handle. A few minutes of discomfort is worth the lasting peace of mind afterwards. She did ask how much coffee and tea I drink. I said 2-3 cups a week max. She went Hm, you have some staining on the lingual side of your teeth, that it must be something in my diet. I wonder how long that's been there? It's the first anyone's mentioned it. But she followed up by saying since it's the inside it's not noticeable and pretty hard to whiten if you wanted to.

I almost cried when I got home because I was so relieved to have that done!

And now for the miracle: As I was flossing I thought I'd try between two teeth which I've never gotten the floss between. I try every few days. And last night the floss slipped right in! I don't know if my teeth moved enough or if I had plaque removed in there but I can floss those teeth now!

I decided to get a new toothbrush today. I had some Shopper's points I could spend so I got a Colgate Sonic brush. One of these: http://www.colgate.ca/app/Colgate360/CA ... SonicPower It's seems to be half way between a manual and a full electric. I was afraid my old electric brush was doing more damage than good so I switched to a manual. Now after last night I think I need to brush softer, for longer. I was hoping to find a battery powered one that had the small round head. My bathroom is super small with one outlet near the one light above the sink, which is the only surface area in the room (damn 1950's building designers!) so plugging a recharger in creates a wired, tangled mess. It feels super soft so fingers crossed it's a keeper!

Edit 1 hour later
I just discovered something I forgot I didn't like about my old electric toothbrush. The horrible sensation of hitting a loosened tooth while the brush is vibrating!!! But the new brush is pretty good. I think I'll use it!

[GRILLZ]

Don't use handcream before sticking a finger in your mouth to remove food or to check something in there. Blech.

that sounds like much wisdom......will try to remember that!

[luchababe]

2 Months!



Crazyiness. I can't believe I just got my new wires a little over a week ago. There's already been more movement since then! I never thought I'd spend my 36th birthday in braces, but I did. So there.

I can see how people defend the colour of their teeth on here. That first day photo was a sunny day, sunlight streaming in the bathroom window, I was wearing a pink shirt and white hoodie which made my teeth and gums look awesome! I must wear the same thing for each photo shoot from now on...

[petal]

I always look forward to your posts! Your teeth look so amazing....makes me smile to see your pics. I am really happy for you!

[drgnchsr36]

Lookin' good!!