Dental Journey!!

[bridget51992]

Hello! I'm not sure if anyone will read this, but it did sound like fun and a good way to track progress of my DENTAL JOURNEY.
My name is Bridget, and I got my braces at 7 AM this morning! Fabulously, I was woken up at 5:30 anyway by the tornado alarms outside my university, and had to sit in the first floor hallway of my dorm until we were cleared to go, so I didn't have much time to mentally prepare for the appointment or you know, bathe, but it all went very well and the weather cleared up for me!
I had braces when I was in middle school to straighten the teeth, but in the past year or so, I've developed an open bite, and my teeth meet more on one side than the other. Thus, all the pressure is on the back molars, so besides being afraid that I will one day run them down, I get headaches/ jaw pain rather often and sometimes grind my teeth at night. I will attach some before and after photos for your enjoyment.
I would like to post some photos but apparently I have to comment on more stories before I'm authorized to do that

[5kYL1n3]

Wow your story sounds pretty similar to mine! I already had braces in middle school AND have an open bite... albeit a very mild one. I've never had tornadoes outside my dorm though.

I've also been thinking of posting pictures but like you say you need to have a certain number of posts because you can do so..... so here's another one. Looking forward to yours!

[bridget51992]

Thanks! I think I'll try to do that now
My open bite is pretty mild too! I'm glad I can do something about it before it gets bigger :/ Haha but yeah the tornados have been crazy here today - been having to go back and forth from the first floor to stay safe for about the last three hours.

Oh boy!! The pictures work!



Aren't I pretty.




And this is the jar of applesauce I intend to work my way through this week!

[bridget51992]

Still getting used to the braces! They feel weird and I'm a bit nevous to see my boyfriend for the first time with them on today, but I'm trying really hard to be positive about their appearance.

Here is a photo I took 2 days after I got my spacers, on April 7:

You can see the open bite better there.
I think it's widened since then, because I stopped wearing my retainer once I got the spacers on, and I think that pushed my front teeth out more. I can't seem to get a good photo of that right now. It kind of worries me, but I guess it's best not to think about it, since it will be fixed soon anyway.

I'm getting four (premolars?) extracted on May 10! Then on the 19, my orthodontist will do the first tightening. I'm a little nervous! The tightening will be done on my birthday (woo) so I'm going to eat a lot of ice cream. A lot. Of ice cream.

[braced33]

Wow, you are so brave to get braces during college!

I wish that I would have, but I was way too self-conscious. You already have such a pretty smile! Just curious, how long are you supposed to be in braces for?

The jar of applesauce made me smile, I ate nothing but applesauce, soup, smoothies, and yogurt for a week after getting my braces on.

[bridget51992]

Thank you!! I'm not really brave, I just want to get it over with haha. It's still hard to not be self conscious though! XD
That applesauce jar is getting moved through quicker than I thought! I'm going to have to start pouring it into a bowl, rather than just eating from the jar.

My orthodontist originally said I would have them on for nine to twelve months, but I think now he's thinking it might be closer to two years. Sad

[braced33]

Hi! I think that you are extremely brave. I definitely would not have been able to go through this while in college. But, it is so smart for you to fix everything now - especially before you graduate and start looking for a job. I wish that I would have gone through this process a long time ago, it would have saved me from being so self-conscious while at trade shows and business meetings.

What a bummer that the process might take 2 years. I'm a little surprised, since your teeth are already so straight. But, I guess that it must take a while to change the bite. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that your time is closer to the initial estimate!

[bridget51992]

Thank you!! I'm trying to not be self-conscious at all and just smie at everybody; I feel a bit better because I know there is atleast one other girl at my college with braces, so I can't feel completely alone. :)
And thank you again for the finger-crossing - I hope so too :) The open bite seems to be the only real problem, besides that a couple of my teeth are turned outwards.

[stepher7]

You already have beautiful teeth, they're going to look so great when you're finished!! And I too, like braced33, wish I had been brave enough to get them in college!! Although I'm not really "old" now, it would have been better I think to get them on at 19 rather than 25! How did it go seeing your boyfriend?? I was SO worried about that too, but if he's the right guy then he'll just continue to see the beautiful you that he fell for to begin with!

[bridget51992]

Thank you so much Stepher! My boyfriend was so nice!! =D He definitely didn't seem bothered by them, which I was really grateful for because it was one of the main things I was worried about. I just managed to eat some potato chips, so I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now.

[braced33]

So glad to hear that your boyfriend isn't too bothered by the braces! And if he was that shallow, then it would just be his loss.

My boyfriend wasn't too happy when I first told him that I was considering braces, but is so supportive now and tells me that he doesn't even notice them. He is almost as excited for me to complete this process as I am!

[stepher7]

I'm glad to hear he was supportive! It definitely is terrifying to tell this person that you care about that you're about to make a fairly big change to your appearance. My boyfriend and I had only been dating for a few weeks when I told him. I was trying to put it off as long as possible lol but I figured it was better to tell him sooner because if I sprung it on him a few days before that wouldn't be very nice. He too was wonderfully supportive, and really if they're the right person then a couple of years in your relationship with braces isn't much out of a lifetime together. I was really worried that they would hinder romantic endeavours hahaha but no problems so far, so it should be smooth sailing the rest of the way!

[bridget51992]

Yay! I agree with both of you My boyfriend actually said they were sort of "cute," probably trying to make me feel better, so that was nice, haha!
I'm having way too much fun on this website! I got so excited when I got a ticker yesterday! It is awesome to be able to talk to other people going through the same things. My braces aren't really bothering me yet, besides needing to use a fair amount of wax every night (The stuff is becoming so precious to me. I've already gone through one stick, and I don't see my orthodontist again the 19!), but I also don't think I'll see any real movement until I get my premolars extracted and then my first tightening.

[bridget51992]

I took a photo of my open bite as it is today, and comparing that with my teeth on April 7:


I'm pretty sure the bite has definitely gotten worse, since I had to stop wearing my retainer. I can't wait until it's fixed!! kasassdfjhsurasjgraaah
I've only had these on for four days and I'm already impatient XD I should probably stop updating this journal so much, and thus stop dwelling on it. Oh yeah I have finals to study for!

[stepher7]

I've seen a lot of people post that things get worse before they get better. I have a few spots that are definitely doing that right now! It's hard to be patient because once they're on you just want everything to be fixed NOW! lol I found that I stopped obsessing so much after the first few weeks. It's kind of better that way too because I think you can see the changes more if you look every few days as opposed to 10 times a day, every day haha