So excited to get braces!

[parsleysage]

I can't say the appointment was pleasant. I was surprised by how unpleasant it really was - I have spent a TON of time recently in the dentist's chair with all kinds of hands, drills, and other instruments in my mouth. I was expecting it to be easy-peasy.

First I had to do the impressions/molds. The bottom one wasn't too bad but I gagged pretty bad on the top one

As expected the lip/tongue retractor was the worst part. It bit into my mouth like when you have bitewing x-rays taken at the dentist. I kept feeling like there was a pool of saliva in the back of my throat and was finding it difficult to both breathe and swallow. I felt a little suffocated, especially because I was VERY reclined. I did best when I closed my eyes and focused on other things but then sometimes I would lose focus on holding my mouth open lol.

There is so much pressure in my mouth. It feels like my arches are on springs and they want to spring away from each other - I have to make a concerted effort to hold my mouth closed. The soreness/pain has started already, too. I took some ibuprofen and I'm getting a little hungry so I may treat myself to some soup from Panera.

I have all metal self-ligating brackets. They aren't Damons though; not sure of the brand. Contrary to what I thought might happen, all my brackets are direct-bonded. No bands and no spacers as of now. (Depends on if any of the brackets start popping off.) I have 11 teeth bonded on top (first molar to first molar with my missing tooth not bonded OBVIOUSLY hahaha) and all 14 teeth bonded on bottom (second molar to second molar). My adjustment is 8 weeks from now, Monday July 28.

I'm tired both from the early wakeup (I work night shifts usually) and the adrenaline letdown. I might cash out & take a nap.

Whew! What an experience.

[parsleysage]

DUDE. Eating is THE WORST. What did I do?!?!?!!!

[Featheryy1221]

DUDE. Eating is THE WORST. What did I do?!?!?!!!

Sorry, I just had the same thoughts when I started my treatment. Lol. You'll get used to it. It gets a lot easier to eat after a couple days. Don't even try chewing, eat like mashed potatoes, yogurt, smoothies or something similar. I'm sorry you're having a lot of pressure though. Yuck.
But CONGRATS on finally getting your braces on!
You'll be so happy you did this!

[Hash]

Congrats and well done . To be honest I didn't eat for a few days after, I swallowed everything! Mashed potatoes &veg, mashed bananas, porridge, yog, smoothies etc. after a while tuna, any type of fish really, rice spagetti/any pasta, all require very little "chewing", and I use my tongue a lot for breaking food down! It's become another set of teeth in my mouth! Even now I would bother with any foods that require to much hard chewing eg, steak, bread crusts, cerals flakes, it's not that I can't eat them but for me it's just not worth the hassle! I eat everything with a knife and fork as in my wraps, pie, burgers (don't bother with the bun). Anyway it seems it's very different for everyone and I have read on here some people eat everything as normal but for me certain things are just not worth the hassle and the pressure feeling on my teeth BUT you do adjust and find what works for you so don't despair just yet cause you are in early days Good luck and don't forget to use your wax if needed and painkillers if needed to

[parsleysage]

Feathery & Hash... thank you for your encouragement. I REALLY need it... the pain has set in and I am feeling pretty miserable. I'm taking ibuprofen but it's just taking the edge off.

Earlier today I ate the Panera soup and mac'n'cheese and as you saw in my previous post lol there was food everywhere. It was awful and very uncomfortable, like eating with dentures or something. Hash, I really might end up being like you and not eating much over the next few days. I don't know how people do it!

I had a smoothie for dinner which was better, but the straw kept hitting a few of my teeth and would zing them with pain. And it didn't fill me up, urk. So now I am considering mashed potatoes. I still feel like they will get everywhere, though.

I just need to keep in mind how much I wanted this and what the end result will be. And think positive! I can do it! I think.

[Asdu]

Hi,
I've been following your journey and I have to say your enthusiasm about getting braces and dental health makes it exciting to hear about your progress. Congratulations on getting braced!
The soreness will go away in 1-2 weeks. You'll just have to push through it until then. Just remember it will totally be worth it in the end.

I've been braced since April 9th and I'm planning to write about my progress and story when I have some free time.

[Asdu]

Oh yeah, flossing was terrible the first week. It hurt so much that I just gave up and waterpik'd till it was less painful.

[Hash]

Listen it will get better and the sensitivity will ease, your teeth are adjusting to their new contraption so it does take time. I swallowed everything as i said. Spoon or fork everything to back of mouth, tongue chew it and swallow! good luck and try different painkillers if they not hitting the spit. Oh and i still dont floss i kniw thats terrible but never did so not starting now! I rince brush well, rebrush if i have to and sometimes mouthwash. Dentist and ortho say i am fine so far so dont get to hung up on it at first. Onwards and upwards my dear :

[KMC]

Wow - what a journey you have been on, I think you are very brave with all that you have been through so far.
I might have missed it, but did you hear back from your insurance regarding the surgery?
How are you getting on with your braces so far? Has the soreness settled down a bit now?

[parsleysage]

Thank you Asdu and Hash! I was really happy to read your encouraging words this morning I wish there were a hug icon, lol!

Wow - what a journey you have been on, I think you are very brave with all that you have been through so far.
I might have missed it, but did you hear back from your insurance regarding the surgery?
How are you getting on with your braces so far? Has the soreness settled down a bit now?

Thank you for your comment KMC! It feels like a yearlong journey when it's only been a few months. And I actually still haven't heard back. I don't know if that's a good or bad sign. I decided to take the plunge anyway.

Well, I slept really well last night - the pain didn't keep me awake. Sadly it started right back up as soon as I woke up. It doesn't seem to be worse than last night - about the same. Which is to say it is still VERY painful lol. I can't believe it will be a full week or two of this. Today is my last day off before work and I wonder if being at work will be better or worse. I'm going to be positive and say that it will be better since I will be distracted.

I don't even want to think about eating Maybe scrambled eggs this morning?

Flossing was pretty simple, actually. I used the floss picks (Plackers) for most places and in a few where the pick didn't fit or I couldn't get it between my teeth, I used a threader and regular floss. It wasn't painful. I do have huge spaces between my teeth, so that could account for the ease of flossing compared to most people's overcrowding. Brushing was painful, though. I did use my electric toothbrush and surprisingly, it was less painful than the manual brushing I tried out yesterday afternoon. Even so, when the brush would tap against neighbor teeth or sometimes if the bristles caught on a bracket I would get the sharp zings. Ouch.

And my Waterpik is my new best friend. I have a travel version that I'm thinking of taking to work. I know it will be ridiculous-looking and way more weird than just brushing in public, but it's been the only way I can get the chunks of crap out of my brackets in the back. Even the proxy brushes don't work as well.

So I don't have much to say that isn't endless complaining about the pain. I will go read through others' posts and try to be encouraging to them and otherwise I will try to stay off AW for awhile, lol. I'm so glad for the support we can give each other I've needed it up to this point and I have really needed it in the last 24 hours. Thank you so much!

[msw]

I've said it on the boards before, but I highly recommend whey protein shakes. 2 scoops of the chocolate powder gives you 350 calories and 60 (!!!) grams of protein. Needless to say, the shakes are very filling. You could increase the calories by adding a scoop of peanut butter. Frozen berries are also great add-ins. A protein shake with yogurt and soup is my go-to supper when my mouth is sore.

Hang in there, girl! It'll get better, I promise!

[nicolie825]

Congrats on getting started finally! We have the same brace date! I'm sorry to hear youre dealing with pain. For some reason, I've had zero pain so far, not sure if thats good or bad though! I'll be sure to keep an eye on your progress

[parsleysage]

msw, that is a great idea! I will have to check that out. I just bought popsicles and applesauce and yogurt. Definitely for me the biggest problem I have with the soft foods is that they aren't filling and I never get a sense of satiety, so protein shakes might help for sure.

Congrats on getting started finally! We have the same brace date! I'm sorry to hear youre dealing with pain. For some reason, I've had zero pain so far, not sure if thats good or bad though! I'll be sure to keep an eye on your progress

Ah, you are so lucky! There have been a few people on the board who said they never had any pain, either. I think it's uncommon but not super rare or anything. Thankfully, the pain is MUCH better today. It still hurt to brush this morning and I'm having a small amount of achy/throbbiness (new word ha) but nothing like the intense aching it was yesterday.

I am having to use wax now. At first I wasn't having any kind of rubbing or pain but it has definitely started up on the last brackets in the back on my top arch, as well as my lower front teeth. I am using the Mack's silicone earplugs and as long as I dry the area off with a q-tip I have had pretty good luck in getting it to stick for a long time.

Well last night I had a normal meal, at - if you can believe it - our favorite BBQ place! I remembered that their pork is chopped very fine and that I usually get corn pudding as a side, which is also very soft. So we went there and I had a blast. I usually get fries as my 2nd side but this time I got mac & cheese and it was very soft, no chewing required. I also had some of my boyfriend's mashed potatoes. Yummy. The only thing I had trouble with were the hushpuppies - initially I didn't plan to eat any, but they are so good (and they serve them with honey butter!) that I couldn't resist. I cut them up small and had a little discomfort with the chewing but nothing too bad. All in all a successful meal

The deliciousness:

rsz_2photo_3.jpg

[nicolie825]

Glad the pain is better! And yay for a normal meal, Ive yet to have one yet lol.

[parsleysage]

Day 3 update!

I tried out my first post-meal in-bathroom teeth cleaning session at work tonight. I am thankful that we have a private bathroom along with the normal multi-stall ones. (It's actually because the stall bathrooms are not up to handicap code so they have to have a separate one.... lol. We don't have any handicap folk in my building that I know of, plus it's after normal business hours so I don't feel TOO guilty for using it.)

Anyway I went in there and locked the door and set up my travel waterpik. That thing is LOUD!!! I can only imagine what people walking by must have thought lol it was vibrating the counter! Blasted my teefs and watched all the gross gunk fly out - the travel one said that the reservoir was only good for 60 seconds but I'm pretty sure I got more use than that.

Then I brushed, and omg, the travel-sized toothpaste my ortho gave me tastes really good! lol! The annoying thing is that the soap dispensers in my work sinks are automatic, so I had to make sure to lean on the opposite side while washing out my mouth, to avoid getting soap in my toothbrush or hair!

Then I added back my wax and that was that! It wasn't too bad. I really like the feeling of having clean teeth after every meal. Having braces may get me addicted to it and then I'll have to keep doing it after they're off!

A few other notes:

-I'm beginning to get a few "clicky" teeth. When I read about those on the boards I had no idea what people meant but now I do! At first I was paranoid that it was a wire or bracket popping off/out but now I'm used to it.
-I LOVE looking at everyone's progress pictures and seeing how quickly their teeth start moving, but I'm feeling a little sorry for myself that my teeth have spaces instead of overcrowding. (LOL!!!! Only on a braces forum, right?!) But, it will be much harder for me to see any progress because the spaces make it hard to see how the teeth relate to each other. e.g. If you have two overlapping teeth you can easily see when they shift to be side-by-side. I probably won't see progress until the ortho starts closing my spaces up which might not be for several months. Woe is me!!!
-The pain continues to be a low, dull ache and seems to be very much on the downswing. Eating is SO much easier now! I can do some light mashing/chewing without discomfort. Ibuprofen intake has been fairly low. Pain/irritation from the hooks and wires is on the upswing - I think I have six or seven teeth covered in wax right now, lol!

All things considered, I feel great and am really happy I chose to get my braces.