Cleobabe's Excellent Adventure...3rd adjustment with pics!!

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#1 Post by **Cleobabe** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 6:50 pm

Well it's just under 3 hours til I get my braces on!

My appointment is at 2.15pm.
I am so excited that the time has finally come and my teeth will soon be on an amazing journey to straight-ness!

I woke up early this morning feeling very anxious but I have calmed down a bit now and am looking forward to joining the brace-club!
Here's the first post I did if you want to see my before photos.
click here
I'll tell you all about my brace day when I return and I'll post pics as soon as I can. See you all soon in Brace Land!

#2 Post by **lionfish** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 8:57 pm

20 minutes to go, good luck!

#3 Post by **nerdgirl** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 11:52 pm

Welcome aboard! I just got mine a week and half ago! It all went really well.

Can't wait to hear how it went. Good Luck!

#4 Post by **Cleobabe** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 1:04 am

Thanks lionfish,nerdgirl and KK!
I'm all braced up and raring to go now

Ok, now to my exciting story.

I got into my orthodontist's office and had to wait about 10 or 15 minutes. One of the assistants asked me if i had chosen which brackets I wanted and I said yes I wanted the Damon ones but now I'm not too sure, so she showed me all the differnt types and how they look on the teeth (they have models) Seeing how cool everyone looks with their coloured ligs I decided to get the Victory braces so I could choose different colours as well. With the Damon ones you can't do that and from reading a few of the posts on this site it seems like the Damons aren't much better than 'normal' braces so why not get ones that I can colour co-ordinate right?

Anyway, I got called into the room and I sat in the chair then I waited another couple of minutes while my ortho (Dr. Smith) finished up with another patient in the other room. In he comes, asks me about how I'm feeling, how my tooth pulling went etc... He's really nice.
Then the chair lowers and I put on those special glasses

Don't I look cool. The assistant that I havn't seen on any of previous appointments gets to look in my mouth and admire my traffic jam of teeth (my ortho so kindly called them that)

Dr. Smith then puts in those lovely cheek spredders, which weren't so bad at first. Next he starts preparing my teeth. I'm not really sure exactly what he was doing but there was a yucky taste, drilling (or maybe polishing), some water, suction and a lot of saliva (mine that is). It wasn't a very pleasant experience. Then he starts putting on the brackets. This part is fine but it's just a bit annoying as I can feel all my saliva starting to build up and I can't swallow!

After he's finished pain stakingly putting on each and every bracket by hand and then adjusting them so they are perfect, while carefully scraping off the excess glue, they get cured by the blue light. Here is the part when those cheek spredders get really annoying as they are starting to dig into my gums

Next, it's on to the bottom teeth

So the same process is done all over again. Meanwhile my saliva is about to overflow my mouth and spill onto my front (or so it feels) but of course it doesnt.

After the bottom brackets have all been done and cured, Dr. Smith puts in the archwires and ligatures. I chose light purple and dark purple. I know you'll approve KK!
After it's all done, I got to rinse my mouth, except I kinda got lost finding the sink...lol. I had a look in the mirror and I wasn't totally appalled by what I saw ( I actually don't look too bad, just something different I've got to get used to)

After that my ortho tells me he'll be seeing me in 6 weeks for my first adjustment and tell me to expect quite a bit of movement between now and then and explains a bit about how my teeth will move.
Then, it's the assistants turn to tell me how to care for my braces ie. how to brush and floss, what to eat and what to avoid etc.
The she gave me my little goody bag... It has looney tunes on it and it says 'Smile under construction' It includes a toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss, wax, and some other goodies to help me survive.
So all in all it was a fantastic experience...hehe... I'm glad it's over though.

My teeth don't hurt too much, one of the brackets is starting to dig a bit into the very back of my mouth on the right side but I'm sure some wax and salt water rinses will deal with that. Well thanks for reading my little story...I hope I didnt bore you too much.

Now here's some pics!

Sorry they're blurry, I really need to get a decent digital camera as my camera phone just doesn't cut it.

Front View

Top Teeth

Bottom Teeth

#5 Post by **lionfish** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 1:33 am

You're on your way, cleobabe.

Great pics and love your ligs.

#6 Post by **Miss Smiley** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:56 am

The pics weren't too bad for a camera phone! Welcome and you will definitely see some movement by the time your 1st adjustment comes around. Hopefully, they won't give you much trouble this weekend.

#7 Post by **nerdgirl** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:00 pm

Those are good photos even with a camera phone. It took me forever to get decent pics with a regular camera!

That's good that you feel pretty comfortable already too. It took me over a week to really get used to mine (and they still kind of annoy me once and a while).

I hope you are lucky like me and don't have too much trouble with the brackets cutting your mouth - so far I've had zero!

I think keeping hydrated was a big factor...I've never drunk so much water in my life!

#8 Post by **Cleobabe** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:30 pm

Thanks for the compliments everyone! I guess the photos aren't too bad but seeing other people's photos on here that look so professional make mine look a bit amateur

It's been 2 days since I got my braces on and my teeth are protesting quite loudly. My top teeth aren't too bad and I can only feel an ache when I eat something or bite down. My bottom teeth on the other hand are aching quite a bit, not as much as yesterday though so I guess it's not too bad. I ate some weet-bix for breakfast this morning and I thought one of my brackets on my right back molar had broken off but it was just a piece of the weet-bix stuck between the wire. It really scared me as I keep on thinking that one of my brackets will fall off. I know it's not the end of the world if one does but I really don't want anything to go wrong. I made sure I brushed really well this morning too.

I've been putting the wax to good use and doing salt water rinses too even though it makes me gag. I really think it's helping

I've been taking a lot of Panadol and Ibuprofen as well as I hurt my back the other day. I really need to see a chiropractor I think. It's annoying cos my teeth ache, my back hurts, my stomach is feeling kinda icky and I'm getting over a cold so I've still got a cough and runny nose. I feel like I'm falling apart. Last night when it was taking me a while to get to sleep I was feeling negative and thinking 'Why did I do this to myself, I would rather just have crooked teeth that feel normal than have to put up with this for the next 2 years'. But of course that was just sleeplessness talking and I feel much better today and I'm keeping my head up trying to be totally positive.

I woke up this morning and I panicked cos I thought it was Sunday and I had to go to work tomorrow. Thank goodness it's only Saturday and I get another day to rest before I have to go back to the daily grind that is work. I'm kind of dreading it as I work at McDonalds and I have to talk a lot to the customers and sometimes I don't get to have a break and drink water as much as I'd like if it gets really busy. I'm going to have to bring my own lunch as well. Normally I just Maccas which I know is bad for me. I really want to get a new job but before I got braces I felt like no one else would hire me because of my crooked teeth. I know that's really silly but I was very self conscious and still am a bit. I always told myself I would get a new job once I got braces, so now that I have them I guess there's nothing stopping me. I have made a lot of friends at work and it will be sad leaving. I don't even know what kind of job I want. I wish i was one of those people that grew up knowing exactly what they wanted to do and didn't stop until they reached their goals.

LOL...What an essay that is.

Sorry for rambling but it's good to get some of my worries and fears off my chest.

I keep on looking in the mirror hoping I see a little movement but that's just a little too optimistic considering I havn't even been braced for 48 hours yet

I'll take some progress photos in about a week and hopefully I'll see a tiny bit of improvement, it doesn't have to be much, just enough to keep me going

Until my next update...Have a good weekend everyone!!

#9 Post by **nerdgirl** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:12 pm

I keep doing the same thing...constantly looking in the mirror to see if anything has changed!

And I too get a little gaggy with the salt water rinses (I kinda have an aversion to salt). I even have a hard time swimming in the ocean because I can't stand the taste.

My boyfriend thinks I'm a little weird because of it - but now I know I'm not the only one.

And don't worry about the job thing. Most people don't really know what they want to do, so don't get discouraged! You're still young! I've had cooked teeth my whole life and still managed to get every job I've applied for! Just be confident and you can achieve anything you set your mind to!!

#10 Post by **Mmmmuuaa** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:33 pm

Hey Cleobabe

Great pic's. When you first get braced it sure feels like there's movement after a few hours! It's really fun in the beginning because you see changes so fast. Good luck with your braces adventure.

#11 Post by **Cleobabe** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:57 pm

Hi everyone!

It's been a week since I got my braces on. I can't see any movement yet but I wasn't really expecting to. Just like Karen said I have noticed movement in other ways like certain teeth touching that never did before.

I'm also eating normal food! I'm still enjoy my soft foods though.
Work has been pretty good. A lot of people have commented on my braces and it's all been positive. Some people said "have you always had braces?" One of the girls I work with really likes my purple ligs, she is a purple fan too. I even feel more confident when I smile at the customers, even though my teeth aren't straight yet. One of my managers also had braces put on a few weeks ago and she's 27 so that makes me feel better cos I'm not the oldest one that has braces. Most of the people I owrk with that have braces are 14, 15, 16 year olds. Boy, do they make me feel old.

(I'm turning 20 this year) Good bye teenage years

Another good thing is that I've cut back on my wax usage. I don't need it when I sleep anymore. I only use it at work when the brackets start to irritate a bit. The brackets that are bonded to my molars are the ones that are really getting to me. They all have those little hook things that elastics attach to (I think I read somewhere they're called cleats?) and they are irrating my gums as they rub just on the gumline. It really doesn't feel good.

I don't know how to make it feel better though. Any suggestions anyone?

My teeth also don't feel sensitive anymore. It was pretty annoying cos my teeth would smart even when I had tap water. I can eat ice cream bars now...mmm yum. My two front teeth are still a little tender though so I can't bite down on anything too hard.

It's been great reading everyone's progress. It really keeps me going, especially if i'm having 'one of those days'. I'm pretty tired at the moment. I started work at 5.30 this morning *yawns* I'm gonna have a good sleep tonight.

I'll post some more pics probably in a week or so just so everyone can see my progress (whether I have any or not)
Bye for now!

#12 Post by **nerdgirl** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:30 pm

Sounds like things are going pretty good so far. I hear you on the hooks. They were a little bit of a pain at first but it's gotten better now that I've gotten use to them. And don't worry about the age thing, it only matters if you let it and you are soooo young still! Can't wait to see your pictures! I'll bet you see some movement soon. I'm about 4 weeks in and can't believe the changes already. It's awesome!

#13 Post by **Cleobabe** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 12:35 am

Thanks KK and Nerdgirl!

Here is my 2 week update:

Unfortunately I can't see any progress, if anything my teeth look worse

I'm not too bothered though cos it's still early stages yet.
I think my top wire has moved a tiny bit because it was rubbing the inside of my cheek for a few days and I thought I was going to get a sore but luckily I didn't. Wax is my best friend. I don't really use it much except for when I go to sleep and at work so the nasty little pointy wire doesn't hurt me. I was going to see if my ortho could trim it but now it's stopped hurting I don't think there's much point.

I'm used to my braces now and they don't bother me very much at all. I like smiling at customers at work and don't mind them seeing my metal grin.

Everyone has been so supportive. Most of the people I work with have or have had braces at some stage and we were sharing stories the other day.

The only things that annoy me are eating and brushing. I'm eating all the normal food I ate before braces now except I don't eat as often or as much as I used to. Which can only be a good thing

I ate lollies for the first time since I got braced today and last night I had chocolate for the first time. It was so yum.

I've also been brushing and mouth washing religiously cos I want nice, shiny, cavity free teeth as well as straight ones. I bought a toothbrush and toothpaste yesterday that I can bring to work so I can brush after lunch. I was using the inter proximal brush things but they don't really work that well and brushing gives your whole mouth a nice clean feeling.

I got a letter from my orthodontist the other day. It had the pictures that they took of me before I got my braces on and the proposed treatment plan for my teeth. I have to get 4 teeth taken out, the upper first premolars and the lower second premolars. They'll be taken out when my upper right canine is moving into position. I'm really scared and a bit annoyed that 4 healthy teeth need to be removed.

I trust my ortho but I just wish it could be done some other way. My wisdom teeth are just below the gumline in x-rays so they'll probably come through in the next few years. What if I need them taken out too? That will be 8 adult teeth GONE!

Some exciting news is that I got a new digital camera yesterday!!

My lovely mum got it for me cos I asked her really nicely

I took some pictures last night and the detail was so amazing compared to what I get from my camera phone. It was kinda scary actually cos EVERY little detail shows up, which isn't always good.

Anyway, here's some photos. Not really much difference to 2 weeks ago but at least the pictures aren't fuzzy! YAY for modern technology

Front on

I really don't like that chip in my tooth. It's only gotten really noticable in the past 6 or so months. What can I do about it?

Top Arch

My teeth are so ugly from this view, I'm glad people can't see them like this in real life.

Bottom Arch

I think the front teeth have gotten more squishy, I can't floss between them at all, but then I never could before anyway.

Thanks for reading!!

#14 Post by **markybwoy** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 4:21 am

Good luck with all the months ahead. Spotting little changes will keep you motivated and they will happen, I promise!

BTW Your teeth are NOT ugly. They are just a bit crowded. Plenty of people have got crowded teeth, not many people have room for all 32 easily, it's totally normal... and you are fixing the crowding, they will look fab.

#15 Post by **nerdgirl** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:11 am

Hey there! I wouldn't worry too much about not seeing movement yet. I couldn't see any changes until recently (at the 4 week mark) so don't worry it WILL happen.

I would say the fact that you had rubbing in places and then didn't is a sure sign that some movement is maybe taking place!

Keep up the good work with keeping those teeth shiny! I know I have become obsessive when it comes to brushing my teeth - mostly 'cause I just can't stand the feeling of any kind of residue in my mouth or on my braces and they feel so much better when they're all clean!

(those scary pictures the ortho gave me of what happens if you don't keep them clean has helped too!

)

That sucks about the extractions - but don't worry about it too much. I had to have my wisdom teeth pulled too and it was a piece of cake (thanks to my great oral surgeon). Most people don't have enough room for those anyway. And I think it is very common for a lot of people to get their premolars pulled when they don't have enough room to correct the crowding issues with braces alone - so you're not alone!

Oh, and about that chiped front tooth - I have that problem too and was told that when treatment is all finished, they are a few options for fixing that; so I would definitely ask your ortho to go over that with you.

And Congrats on the new camera!

That was cool of your Mom.