Metal Mouth Message Board

I really appreciate all of you that have taken the time to document your journey with words and pics and feel I should return the favor!

I have hated my teeth since I was in 4th grade. My parents didn't have the money to get me braces back then and I have been waiting to get to that point in my life where I could take the plunge! Now at 25 my journey has begun! I am so excited! I have been braced for 11 days and not once have I wanted to turn back.

4/27/06~ Four first bicuspids extracted. All four removed during one office visit. That first day was a bit rough and I was very thankful for the prescription painkillers that I was given! After a few days I was eating normal and all was healing well!

5/9/06~ Spacers put in. Very little pain with those. I was very lucky!

5/11/06~Braced!! 3 of my 4 eye teeth are terribly out-of-line so I only have brackets on my eye teeth, second bicuspid (first bicuspids are gone) and first molar. My second molar and my front 4 teeth are naked! (my wisdom teeth were removed when I was eighteen) My appt. took just over an hour. I didn't have much time to soak in the fact that I was braced because I had to get on the road and take my beautiful girl (the dog in my avatar) to the dermatologist who is 2.5 hrs away! My dog's appt. went smoothly (she unfortunately has terrible allergies ) and we were off to go back home. Luckily my wonderful hubby was there for all of this so I didn't have deal with this alone!

5/22/06~It's been 11 days now and I feel very blessed...I have had little tooth pain/pressure. No canker sores (yet). The only pain I am having is from my bottom wire. Since it's not connected to any brackets it's kinda floating down there and ripping up my bottom lip. You know that wire on a cheese slicer? Well, that's what it's like and my lip is the block of cheese! A small piece of cotton has eased the pain along with the lip gaurds from dentakit.com. I have already noticed movement 'cuz floss glides between several teeth much easier than it did before. I can't wait to get the rest of my teeth bracketed! I'm so ready for this...I've been ready for this for a LONG time! Bring on the pain, the canker sores, whatever! I am so excited that I have finally been able to start my journey!!

Here are my before shots that were taken in the office...


Upper...

Lower...

These were just taken today, 11 days after my b-day...

Upper...

Lower...(note the wire digging into my lip!)

Your teeth are so white!!

It's good to read that you aren't suffering too much from your braces. That's always good

I can imagine how that wire across your front teeth can get annoying. I have a large space and the wire there is not as stiff...so I can just imagine how much it can move for you.

Do you know when the rest of your teeth will get brackets?

Youre teeth are really white. I can understand what you mean about your lip being a peice of cheese against a cheese grater. I think its uncomfortable now, and I have brackets on all my teeth. Well, good luck!

Thanks Flora2006 and smile4me for saying my teeth look white! I always think they are yellowish and I don't know why, I don't drink much coffee, very little soda and occassional iced tea. So they really shouldn't be very yellow.

Flora2006-I'm not sure when the rest of my teeth are getting brackets. It kinda sounds like my canines need to fill my extraction sites before anything else will get started.

KK-I've been rinsing with warm salt water after every meal to help dislodge some of the food stuck in my brackets. It's very soothing! Maybe that's why I haven't gotten any canker sores. Thanks for saying my dog is pretty! I sure think so! I'm not sure if you know much about doggy allergies, but they exhibit their symptoms through their skin instead of the sneezing that we would do. So she's got a very thin coat and has flaky, itchy skin. But enough about her, this place is for teeth talk! I frequent another website where I can talk about her!

6-13-06~ First Adjustment! Well considering I wasn't sure what was going to happen it was pretty uneventful. It was nice to be able to floss and brush without the wires and powerchain in the way! The hygenist pinched my lower lip with her little plier thingy and made me bleed! Not a big deal, but I do have a small red mark now. I'm sure it will go away soon. I did go with a blue powerchain this time and I'm liking this way better than the boring silver one!! Colors are fun!! I can't wait to try 'em all!

Here's my pic after one week (same as above)...


Now after one month....


Nothing real noticable, but I can really see movement on my left side, both canines are moving nicely. I can finally fit floss between them without a struggle!!
Next adjustment 7-11-06...hmm...what color should I choose next time!

While the movement is coming along slow at least it is moving. That has to be a positive sign.

Great to see some progress being made MuleNag!

7/11/06~Adjustment #2. I also had a cleaning. Pretty uneventful. Other than these adjustments are more painful than I would have guessed. When the hygenist starts pulling the new powerchains around the brackets it hurts! My canines are still the focus and it's gonna be a while before I get the rest of my brackets. I have seen some great progress and there are some days when my canines are barkin'! ( sorry couldn't help it! ) Luckily some Aleve stops the pain quickly. Here's my old pic and a new one from today. It's so hard to see the progress from the pics, but there has definitely been some movement!! I decided on pretty pink this time!

Great progress...I like the bright pink ligs!

Thanks for the comments! I'm excited to hear that you can see my progress. I guess it takes other braced people to notice...I try to show my hubby and other family members and they just don't see it!

08-15-06~

Went in for my 3rd adjustment this morning. I heard "Polish up those front teeth". I was so excited! That meant I was getting more brackets!!! I am still not fully bracketed, I just got the top front put on. But I'm still really excited!! I'm ready to see more progress. Things felt like they were slowing down a bit and now this will definitely start things going again! Had a new hygenist this morning and she was very nice. I hope I get her again! She didn't pinch my lip like the others have and she explained what she was doing instead of just yanking bands around and sending me on my way. She warned me that I will probably have some pain and to keep Tylenol handy and she also said soft foods will probably be on the menu again for a while. It's only been about an hour since my appt. and I am DEFINITELY feeling pressure. I took some Aleve before my appt. so the pain isn't bad, but all I have to say is those of you who got all your brackets on at once deserve a HUGE pat on the back! I feel very lucky that my brackets are going on in phases so only parts of my mouth are in pain instead of my whole mouth at once. Ok, I suppose I wrote enough now, I'll get on to the pics, I'm just so excited to have more brackets!!!

Here again is my beginning pic for comparison....


And now some pics from today, 3 months after getting braced....

Congrats on getting more brackets!
Your progess looks amazing and I am enjoying reading your story...
Regarding your precious pup, I have a West Highland White Terrier and she has really bad skin problems too. She's allergic to fleas and her hair falls out a lot. We have to wash her everyday with a special soap..... But they are precious aren't they? And when they have special needs, they are all the more appreciative of love..
!

hmmm I never really thought to ask for my pics from my appointments.... they will just give those to you?

I see a LOT of movement. WOW! You must be tickled pink!

I noticed movement mainly with my tongue... I can tell my teeth have moved and thought it wasn't very noticeable and then a couple days ago a coworker said "WOW! Your front teeth are so much straighter! That was fast!"
So it wasn't just my imagination. : )
For some reason the pics don't show up on my post... just the link. Is that because I'm still considered a newbie?

momofbrock~ They took pics before my treatment started but the pics I just posted I have taken here at home with a digital camera. I too can feel movement with my tongue. I can feel that my extraction gaps keep getting smaller!!

Blonda_Metalo4~ I'm sorry to hear about your Westie. My girl luckily isn't allergic to fleas, but she has many other environmental alllergies along with food allergies. I bathe her weekly with medicated shampoo and it does help control the itchies but she has very little coat compared to what a Newfoundland is supposed to have. You are right, they are precious!

Thanks rage31 & KK for your comments! I hope I see lots of movement too!!

08/21/06~
It's only been a week since I had the brackets put on my front teeth and HOLY COW!!! There has been incredible movement! My wire is beginning to straighten! Lookie, lookie...




I'm so excited!!! I'm going in tomorrow to get my wires clipped 'cuz obviously with all that movement I need it! I have had some pretty good pressure in those newly bracketed teeth. I wouldn't really say pain, but definite pressure. My diet has been restricted to the things I can cut in small pieces 'cuz biting with those front teeth is quite uncomfortable right now. I just can't believe all that movement in ONE WEEK!!!