Silly, I know.Anyways, I recently changed dentists and I wanted to speak to him about a nightguard since I grind my teeth quite a bit. He took one look and stated that the nightguard would help, but not solve my issue. That I really needed to see an orthodontist for my deep bite. I was shocked!! No other dentist picked up on that issue. I've had an overbite since I was a child, but it was never terrible and I think therefore ignored since my teeth weren't crowded or whatnot. He stated I'd run into several issues as I get older, including grinding my teeth down and having gum issues. Also, a deep bite only gets worse as time goes on if not fixed.
So, I went to a few orthodontist consultations and eventually chose the one that was referred to me by my dentist. She was great in answering all my questions, didn't rush me into anything and her staff was also terrific in having patience with me calling up and asking questions every few days. It turns out that braces will resolve the deep bite issue, as well as a misalignment on my right side and a bit of crowding (tiny bit) on my bottom teeth.
Before I even went to the consults, I had to get my top two wisdom teeth pulled. Thankfully, I was only born with top ones. Even the oral surgeon commented on how deep my bite was. I felt lame that none of the other dentists ever picked up on it.
.. so this is where I get a tad repeative... I got my top ceramic braces on this morning, along with the molds, x-rays and pictures. Once I get the pictures, I'll add them to the post. My teeth aren't as white as most I've seen here, so that's something I'll work on after the braces are off. I won't be getting my bottom metal brackets until my top teeth move out and up. There's no space right now when I close my mouth to have the brackets on my bottom teeth. I'm not really looking forward to the cement when that happens on the back molars. At least right now, my bite feels the same - in regards to eating. I have a somewhat gummy smile, but I don't mind it. Especially after I saw the surgery that would be involved to fix it.
The process of getting my braces wasn't terrible at all. It wasn't painful. The worst or hardest thing for me was biting down on the suction tool that kept my mouth dry. I felt like I was clinching my jaw.. after the wire was in, I felt a bit of pressure but no pain!! Happy about that.
They gave me plenty of goodies to take care of my teeth, including a new electric toothbrush. I'll have to try it out tonight. I'm a tad worried about flossing, but I'll see how that goes with the floss threader. I choose silver ligs, so I'll see how well they withstand staining. I'm drinking tea and drinks through a straw now. The real test will be the pasta, Dr. Pepper (from time to time), tea and possible curry. The only pain that I've had really are two brackets on either side rubbing my lips raw. Once I placed the wax on, life was good again. I did take tylonol, just in case. I'll probably continue to do so tonight and tomorrow. I'll play it by ear. I'm curious if the pressure I feel on my teeth will be like this all the time? Or just when they tighten or change out the archwire. I also learned that I need to stop running my tongue over the brackets, some of those things are sharp!!! So, the countdown of 24 months begins today!
I'll try and post pictures soon.
Probably will need work after the braces.
I do love them, just not realistic for me to use them all the time. Since I use Crest Glide, it's the same floss if I use the threader or not. I really hope one day I'll be able to do my back molars..those teeth are surrounded by metal and I can't quite reach up to the gums. Also, my floss keeps getting caught in those grooves (I think they're for elastics down the line)...