Tobilei's Train Tracks.

[Dee17]

Hi Tobilei,
Good to hear from you!
I'm really glad to know that your family is able and willing to help you guys out. Dental work of any kind is just so darned expensive. I did not see my regular dentist for several years because I didn't have a car and the bus literally did not go out to where his office is and it was too expensive to take a taxi. I'm sure that contributed to the abscess that I ended up getting at the end of the summer which ultimately resulted in the two extractions I ended up having to have which ultimately resulted in me having to get braces. So, in some ways I feel like I was penny-wise and dollar foolish, but it's all water under the bridge now.
The thing that is really starting to get to me, more than the molar buildups, is the way I've been clenching my teeth at night. I am waking up 2 or 3 times each night and I feel like I have lock jaw when I wake up and have to practically wrench my mouth open. I haven't had a good night's sleep in about three months. This is mostly because while I was waiting to get my braces on I was having so much anxiety it was waking me up 2 or 3 times a night and now this teeth clenching issue. I am going to see my orthodontist next Monday and I really hope he's going to be able to help me figure out how to deal with this or offer me a solution.
I'm glad your daughter does not have any problems with hers and yes, I think that kids are just more adaptable than we ancient teenagers!
I'mg glad to know you're still hanging in with your braces. I'm honestly starting to regret that I ever started down this road because of all the anxiety I've been having. All I can say is that I really, really REALLY hope it will all be worth it when all is said and done.
I'm pretty sure that when I go in next week that they will be putting brackets on my back molars too and I am really dreading it. I'm sorry to hear that you're having more gum problems. I hope it doesn't hurt. I have one sore spot on my upper left gum but the technician told me that it was probably because the tooth was moving. Now, I'm not so sure. I'll get them to check it when I go next week.
I'm glad to know that you're able to chew again. I know what you mean about not enjoying food very much. I also feel that way. Eating is just such a chore and always having to brush my teeth is really just such a pain in the behind. I've been feeling very sorry for myself all day today. Poor, pitiful me, huh?
I feel like I just want someone to baby me a little bit. It's times like this that I really miss my husband.

[Tobilei]

I'm glad they were too (this money was given to all the kids, just we're choosing to spend it on the kids dental work) and it really is. I spent a number of years putting things off too and ended up with an extraction when a back molar crumbled (didn't know at the time that I was already missing teeth that just never grew in! If I'd known I might have been more careful too!)

Sorry to read the jaw clenching is still bothering you so terribly I really hope your ortho can do something to help that. It sounds horrendous!

I think I spoke too soon about teenagers. She came home this afternoon with a really thick wire, powerchains AND elastics and she's sitting on the lounge quite miserable already!

I saw my ortho (same one as my daughter, he was nice enough to slot me in) while I was there and he snipped a wire at the back (I think that's what was snagging my cheek all along) and checked my gums. I need to brush a bit less harshly but he said some people's gums just react that way to the back brackets (I'm one of the lucky one's of course!). The dental assistant had the same brackets on her top teeth that I do and metals on the bottom and she said she loves her clears in comparison. Hers were not noticable at all and my daughter said mine are the same on me so I feel a whole lot better now I've seen my own ortho.

I'm sorry you're still feeling regret. I honestly have days like that too. Just want to lie on the floor and have a big tantrum or something. I suffer anxiety so I can empathize. Seeing my daughters teeth today without the wire on them for a minute made me know it will all be worth it. Her teeth look so wonderful! My ortho. told me there'd been a lot of movement in my teeth already so that was really encouraging.

Feel free to whinge to me whenever you want or need to! I don't know what I'd do without someone to whine at when things suck! ((Hugs)).

[Dee17]

Hi Tobilei,
Thanks for your message and your sympathy. I was talking to my son last night and he told me that he thinks I've suffered from a lot of anxiety for a long time. It's funny, though, that I've never been particularly bothered by it until I started with all this stuff with my teeth. Had another terrible night. Only 7 more to go until I go back to see my orthodontist. If he's not going to be able to offer me any kind of solution, I think I really might have a talk with him about removing my braces. I just don't think I can go on like this for much longer mostly because I'm just exhausted. Of course, I could get him to take them off and discover that I am still having as much trouble with all the clenching anyway, so I'm not really sure what to do at this point. My son said I should just tough it out but I honestly don't know if I can do it!
I'm so sorry to hear that your daughter got all that new stuff installed in her mouth. Must be awful. I'm very sympathetic and i know you are, too. Poor girl. How long does she have to wear her braces? I'll bet she's counting down the days til they come off! As I understand it, those thick wires really hurt a lot. I think that's probably why I haven't had much pain from my braces because the wire I have right now is the thinnest they have.
I'm glad to know that you were able to get slotted in. I hope that wire snip will take care of your problem for you!
I really think I will need to carefully evaluate all this stuff so I can make a decision about whether or not I'm going to continue. I hate to get them taken off because I've already invested so much money but this problem is pretty much becoming unbearable. So, I'll see what he says. I know what you mean about wanting to have a big tantrum. I feel SO betrayed by my body, I can't even begin to describe it to anyone. Not that anyone would really care.
I am glad to hear that he's seeing a lot of movement already. That's great and must make you feel very good and that you've made the right decision.
Thanks for your offer to let me whine at you. I appreciate it but I'll try to keep it to a minimum. I don't want to wear out my welcome!
Hope you have a great day!

[Tobilei]

Dee, I'm sure your ortho will have *something* to help! I'd hate for you to remove them. I've definitely had times where I've given it serious thought, but in the end I sort of figure I've put all this money down, they're in there and I might as well finish it now. Being miserable for a year (if it stayed miserable every single day which I'm sure it won't!) is worth it for the pay off at the end. You've already gone so long! And like you said, you might get them taken off only to find that you're doing it anyway! Be sure to tell him the clenching is making you miserable enough to seriously consider having the braces removed. Is he/she nice?

My daughter is in hers for 18 months (estimated time). She's already had them on for 9 this month so she's half way there. She went off to school very sorry for herself this morning with a big list of soft foods for me to please buy for her She has to be back at school after dinner tonight for her awards presentation for 3 hours. Hopefully she's feeling okay for it!

I only have the thinnest wire too right now. I guess they get you used to it before they put anything more on. Every adjustment she has they put a slightly thicker wire on. This one was so thick though that he actually had to clip it on. Usually it just sits there and gets tied on.

The wire snip hasn't helped. I'm still extracting my cheek from the bracket all day. I think it's because it has a half loop and for some reason my cheek just really likes to sneak in there! It's not really hurting anymore though, just annoying.

And people do care! I think that anyone who's never had braces just doesn't really understand or knows what to say. You can whinge to me as much as you need to PM me here or on facebook if you like (bit more private then too).

x

[Dee17]

Hi Tobilei,
Yes, my orthodontist is very nice and I'm pretty sure he'll be very sympathetic and will be able to offer some sort of suggestion. One of the people on this forum suggested that he might give me a bite plate (whatever that is!). I really like him a lot. The main reason I hired him to do the job was because he took a lot of time to answer about 25 questions when I went in for my first consultation with him. So, I'm pretty sure he'll have some ideas for me. I just wish I could stop doing it and find it very frustrating that I can't seem to control it on my own. I'm doing it during the day, too but when I become aware that I'm doing it, I'm able to relax my jaw and stop it. Just can't do that at night when I'm asleep.
I hope your daughter managed okay today at school. Were you able to get all the food on her list? Poor thing. I feel bad for her. How old is she? I think you might have told me once but I've forgotten.
I'm sorry that the wire clip did not seem to do the job for you. I really hope that this problem will go away for you soon! Must be dreadful. Almost as bad (or worse??) than teeth clenching. I'm very sympathetic.
I know what you mean about having him take my braces off. I just don't know what else to do and I'm so, so tired. Every night when I go to bed I think, "Oh, tonight, surely I'll get a good night's sleep!" but it doesn't seem to happen. This is all despite the fact that I already take medication to help me sleep. I've been taking that since my husband first got sick about 8 years now. So, if he isn't able to offer me a solution, I'm going to have to seriously consider getting them removed. I just hope it doesn't come to that. I really want to get my teeth fixed. Oh, what we do for beauty, huh?

[Tobilei]

Sorry! I didn't realize earilier you had posted again. I must have still been accidentally logged in or something and it didn't come up?

My daughter managed but she's pretty miserable. She didn't eat much dinner tonight because they're hurting. She's eating a lot of puree's and mash and stuff that I ate when I got mine on. I did get all the food she was after. She's 13 1/2.

It's all good with the wire clip. Like I said, kind of annoying but not overly painful (it was at first but it must have gone numb or something by now ). Thank you for the sympathy though!

Hope you're getting some sleep tonight! x

[30withbraces]

Hey Tobilei

How did you go with the dentist regarding your gumline? I remember a few years ago a work colleague said that he used to brush with a hard toothbrush, thinking he was doing the right thing by really scrubbing his teeth. It caused his gums to bleed and swell as well as make them recede a bit and the dentist freaked out saying that once they do that, they never come back down. I think that if you're making yours bleed like that then you're definitely being to rough on them.
My molars too hate the brackets and I occasionally get a headache from them. If only there was another way to keep them secure.

Dee, I really hope you can overcome this clenching problem. I used to do it when I was younger and my teeth suffered as a result.

[Dee17]

Hi Tobilei and 30withbraces,
I managed to get some sleep last night. When I went in yesterday, he took the molar buildups down a bit. I could feel the difference in my mouth almost immediately and it felt very strange. Anyway, I have an appointment to see my family doctor on Friday morning so hopefully they will be able to give me something to calm my mouth down a bit. In the meantime, I just finished eating yet another bowl of mashed banana and yogurt for breakfast. I miss my cereal!
Tobilei, Glad to to know your daughter managed okay and that you were able to get all the food on her list. Seems like such a young age to have to go through all that suffering but i imagine that many of her friends are also probably wearing braces so she must feel like she's in good company.

[Tobilei]

Hey Tobilei

How did you go with the dentist regarding your gumline? I remember a few years ago a work colleague said that he used to brush with a hard toothbrush, thinking he was doing the right thing by really scrubbing his teeth. It caused his gums to bleed and swell as well as make them recede a bit and the dentist freaked out saying that once they do that, they never come back down. I think that if you're making yours bleed like that then you're definitely being to rough on them.
My molars too hate the brackets and I occasionally get a headache from them. If only there was another way to keep them secure.

Dee, I really hope you can overcome this clenching problem. I used to do it when I was younger and my teeth suffered as a result.

Hey I've actually done it before about 2 years ago and had the patch put on. He gave me a big lecture about using a medium toothbrush and I switched then to a super soft one that I found (I have about a billion of them in the cupboard because I'm scared they'll discontinue it! Even regular soft one's feel hard to me now). I've been really careful not to put too much pressure on for the last few days when I brush up there and they're doing much better, but you're right, once you make it recede it never covers the nerve again. Sensitive toothpaste helps a little. I was doing well until I got the braces, then I just got paranoid about getting cavities and started brushing too hard again (who knew you could do too good of a job when brushing?!)

[Tobilei]

Hi Tobilei and 30withbraces,
I managed to get some sleep last night. When I went in yesterday, he took the molar buildups down a bit. I could feel the difference in my mouth almost immediately and it felt very strange. Anyway, I have an appointment to see my family doctor on Friday morning so hopefully they will be able to give me something to calm my mouth down a bit. In the meantime, I just finished eating yet another bowl of mashed banana and yogurt for breakfast. I miss my cereal!
Tobilei, Glad to to know your daughter managed okay and that you were able to get all the food on her list. Seems like such a young age to have to go through all that suffering but i imagine that many of her friends are also probably wearing braces so she must feel like she's in good company.

Oh Dee, that's fantastic! I'm so glad it's at least made a bit of difference. If it makes you feel any better about the molar buildups you should eventually be able to eat normally. My youngest does. She said it feels funny (worse on some days than others) but it hasn't stopped her from eating anything for quite a while now.

Funny enough, I thought the same about loads of her friends having braces but they didn't. She had a plate when she was 10 for 2 years that she hated and then was the first one to get braces in her year. Even now she's finding some of her friends are only just getting them on and her treatment is half over. I think she's glad I got mine though because she suddenly has a whole lot more understanding from her Dad and I about how she's feeling after adjustments.

[Dee17]

Hi Tobilei,
Yes, I'm sure it's enormously helpful to your daughter that you are also wearing braces. If for no other reason than to have someone who understands and is sympathetic. That's funny about most of her friends just now starting to get their braces put on. It seems here that you see younger and younger children wearing braces all the time. Has always struck me as quite odd, though, to see a 10 year old wearing braces. But maybe they like to straighten the teeth while the jaw bone is still forming. Maybe that makes it easier or something.
I went out tonight to my weekly knitting group and there was a woman there who hasn't attended in quite a while. She seemed to be very intrigued by my braces. She must have asked me about 20 questions. Oh, God! I just HATE when that happens. So, there I was desperately trying to change the subject for what felt like just FOREVER!! She finally got the hint and allowed me to change the subject. We then talked about former President George W. Bush's daughter's announcement that she is expecting a baby in the spring. I just don't understand why some people seem to be SO curious about the whole thing. Anyway..... enough of that.
I am feeling a bit better today because I was able to get a reasonable amount of sleep last night. I'm going to see my family doctor on Friday to see about getting some muscle relaxers. I think that the simple removal of some of the molar buildups definitely made a difference, though. I'm a bit concerned about that, however, because he told me that one of the reasons he likes to put them in is because they speed up treatment time. I'm now worrying that this will make me have to have my braces for an even longer period of time than two years. So, I'm going to see how I do with the muscle relaxers. If I am able to stop the clenching with them, I'll bring it up to my orthodontist when I go back in January and maybe ask him if he'll put them back in for me to see how I do.

[Tobilei]

I haven't seen many 10 year olds in braces here. They tend to leave it until all the adult teeth have come in (wisdom teeth not included).

Sorry you had someone going on and on and on about your braces. So annoying when people don't get the message that you're trying to change the topic!

I'm sure grinding the molar buildups down just a little bit won't make a huge difference to treatment time. Funny because I thought they were there solely to stop people from biting down on their bottom brackets (not that I claim to know much of anything about orthodontics). Perhaps having them on for an extra couple of weeks only is worth it to get sleep though and be less miserable!

I had a terrible sleep last night. For some reason I kept biting my teeth together really hard (they were actually making a snapping sound so I must have had my mouth open) and onto my cheek so the pain and noise would wake me up. I've not done that before. Hopefully it was a one off! You wouldn't think having something so small on your teeth could change so many things!

[Dee17]

Hi Tobilei,
Well, maybe I'm mistaken... maybe they're older, more like 13 or so. It's just that some of them look SO young to me. They really look like 10 years olds. Mind you, it's been a long time since I've had a 10 year old in the house so maybe I've forgotten what they actually look like!
Wow!what you were doing last night sounds very strange. Did it hurt? I can't imagine doing something like that but, hey, I'm still early into all this stuff! I hope this is not going to become a trend for you.
When Dr. Smith told me he was going to be putting the molar buildups he said it was to keep me from "biting off my braces" but also to speed up the treatment time. I think you're probably right that not having them in for a few weeks probably won't make a while lot of difference. I don't know if he'll be willing to put them back in once I get this clenching problem under control. I'm sure all those little things cost him money so he may not be willing.
I think that sometimes people just think they have the right to voice their opinion about whatever strikes their fancy. I have always thought that kind of behaviour was just incredibly rude and I've never engaged in it. I guess I'm always just so taken aback by people who do and people who seem to be completely clueless and don't pick up on it when someone is trying to change the subject. It's so weird. But I guess there are just people like that in the world.
I hope you have a good sleep tonight (although I imagine that right about now it's morning in Australia.... ) I had a pretty good sleep last night but I'm just exhausted tonight. I just got home from my writer's workshop, a regular monthly occurrence, and it's about 11:45 p.m. and I'm ready to fall asleep at my computer. Take care!

[Tobilei]

Just popping in with a quick update. It's been a month now and I'm seeing some movement which is exciting! The gap between my bottom front teeth has closed quite a bit. Some of my other gaps are also getting smaller (although sadly not the one I hate the most at the top front but I know it will happen!)

Pic before and after:



My teeth don't really *hurt* anymore, but I do find that random teeth hurt for a few days, then others do. Last week all 4 at the bottom were sore for about 4 days. It was after that I noticed the gap had closed a bit.

I'm still getting ulcers at times, maybe when a bracket moves slighty and finds a new position to rub my cheek? and I find my cheeks/lips are sore when I first wake up in the morning. Chewing is still a bit of a chore. I've lost count of how many times I've bitten my cheek or lip because my brackets stick out and I've forgotten to chew carefully.

I've also noticed that my bite changes sometimes. At the moment I can make the 2 front teeth on my right meet but the left has a small gap between the top and bottom and doesn't seem to match up as well as it once did (I know this will also get better, but it feels odd to have your bite changing!).

[Tobilei]

Hi Dee! Sorry it's been so long. Things have been crazy with Christmas and the end of school (kids getting awards at awards nights etc).

Thankfully that biting thing I was doing passed! I think I have a habit of clenching my teeth a bit (nothing as severe as you were experiencing though!) now and sometimes it's hard to switch off and get to sleep because of it.

I doubt he'll build back up the buildups because they'd probably cause you trouble again and he didn't remove them so I'm sure they're still helping. How is the jaw clenching going now? I've followed your blog but I haven't been near my google reader in weeks

I hope you're getting some sleep now and things are going well!