Here's to the next 913 days! *With Pics!*

[veginess]

So, I have braces. I have braces. I have braces. The concept hasn't sunk in yet. I have braces. OMG I have freaking braces! Yesterday, after years of hemming and hawing, I finally succumbed to the inevitable fact that ONE DAY, I will have braces and it may as well be today. I had clear ceramic uppers installed, although I don't know what brand, and was sent home with a goody bag of crazy brushes and mirrors and vanilla flavored wax alongside a healthy dose of discomfort and unease. It wasn't so bad. I have moments of uncontrollable panic (no lie!) but mostly it's fine. Not the greatest thing in the world, but fine. I guess.

Here's how the day went, for anyone curious. I know I was curious before it happened so maybe someone else will get some comfort from reading my experience, which mostly wasn't bad.

I arrived at my dentist/orthodontist office at 12:00pm and my husband was quickly shuffled away to have the 10(!) cavities in his beautiful, straight, white teeth filled. Let me tell you folks, looks can be deceiving! I have the ugliest, crowded teeth of anyone I know and I have only had 1 cavity in my whole life. My husband has perfectly beautiful teeth and he had 10 cavities.

Thankfully, my best friend works at my dentist/ortho office. Actually, she is the only reason I ever went to the dentist in the first place and the only reason I have braces now. We talked and joked while I waited, but all too soon my name was called and I was guided to a back room where they keep all the torture devices. Just kidding. I sat and jiggled my foot and performed deep breathing exercises and tried not to cry. My ortho came to the office and must have noticed the wide-eyed look of abject fear on my face because he asked me if I was ok. I said, "I'm fine, I'm just scared." He asked, "What are you afraid of?" Oh doc, let me count the reasons.

Here is my list of reasons to be afraid, in order:
-My teeth are going to fall out
(Doc said, do you know how much pressure we would have to put on your teeth to make them fall out? A lot.)

-I will look like Benjamin Button - a teenager with wrinkles, defying the laws of the time-space continuum.
(Doc said, you will look like you but with braces. Many adults get braces and it's no big deal)

-I will not be able to chew anything ever again, only drink and suckle like a baby. I like to eat. A LOT.
(Doc said, you will be able to eat almost anything you want after about a week)

-It will hurt and my mouth will be riddled with gaping, seeping sores.
(Doc said, that's what the vanilla wax is for, silly!)

-I will look unprofessional and won't be able to speak properly. I am an actress, so this is kind of a big deal.
(Doc said, that's why we have you in clear ceramic braces! It will be fine, no one can see them from a distance!)

Doc assuaged my fears. Good doc. So, then we got down to business. The assistant put this... spreader thing in my mouth. What is that spreader thing? It was this thing that spread my lips apart and away from my teeth to keep my saliva from getting on my teeth. Then she started spraying air on my teeth to dry them off, which kind of hurt because my teeth are sensitive to cold. After that, she began painting my teeth with this vile tasting stuff. She told me not to swallow because I might vomit. I believed her, too. I probably would have. The doc came in after that and started placing the brackets on my teeth. After each bracket was placed, which sort of took a while, the assistant took this handheld blue light and shone it over the bracket to set the glue. The bracket placing process took a while. My mouth got really tired of being open. And apparently, I salivate a lot so there was a lot of vacuuming of my mouth. The last step was placing the archwire. The assistant put the wire in my mouth and closed the "doors" on my brackets, which was a lot of pressure on my teeth, but not too uncomfortable.

Then she brought out a mirror and showed me their handiwork. Oh dear god. I IMMEDIATELY burst into tears. My husband came in and smiled and laughed with me and told me how cute I looked and I started feeling less terrible about it. Looking into the mirror again, I realized that they didn't look that bad. I mean, they look awful to me, but I could see how someone without intimate knowledge of the inside of my mouth would think they looked fine. I started feeling better.

Today is... well, it hurts more. Not as bad as the spacers though. Not as bad as I expected. I tried to floss last night and that was a big mistake. Holy crapola that hurt a lot. I don't think flossing is going to happen for the next few days. Overall, things are fine. Tolerable. I am excited to see the changes!

I don't have pictures for this post, but later today, I will post some I promise!

[veginess]

Pics, as promised! My teeth are so ugly and yellow and gross. But soon, they will be pretty and straight and, well, I can always get some tooth whitening once these effers are off, eh? Enjoy.

Regular smile:



All the teeth I can show:



A poor picture of the upper arch:



So, what do you think? Do the braces look ok?

[veginess]

Oh god those are absolutely enormous. How embarrassing. I don't even know how to re-size them. Whatever, you get a close up view my friends!

[lau]

Congratulations! And welcome to the brace face club

[klobird]

You are going to have a fantastic smile--and you will be amazed at how fast it will happen!! You have done the hard part--piece of cake (oh yummm,cake) from now on, except for a few, forgettable bumps along the way. Once you get it all down pat (flossing etc), it's so great to see the changes! For us too!! So keep the pics coming!!

Congratulations!!!

[veginess]

Today is day 2. It is a day to grieve.

*Warning, loads of self pity to follow!*

You know, I never disliked my smile. Sure, I have caveman teeth that twist in every which way like branches of a tree. Sure, they're not the whitest or the prettiest. But they're mine. And they've looked the same for 20 years and they've grown with me. I know how to smile with my teeth. I know which side is my best side with my teeth. I know how to clean them, how to eat with them, how to kiss with them. But now, at the cusp of my 30's, I have to learn all of these things over again.

I am like a child; my smile is a grimace of lips and metal. I stand in my bathroom, staring at the mirror. I pull my lips sideways, up and down, trying to recognize this new face. Kissing my husband feels like my first kiss. I have that awkward feeling of not knowing where to put my lips, my teeth and my tongue. My brackets scrape against my lips and his, painfully and awkwardly. He laughs and I feel embarrassed and want to avoid the next kiss. He tells me I look beautiful and I cry because I don't believe him.

2 1/2 years. 30 months. 913 days. I keep reminding myself that in 2 1/2 years, I will be 30 no matter what. But now, I will be 30 with straight teeth. That helps a little.

[lau]

they say it has the get worse, before it can get better. well this is it. the realization that time has to take course for change to come. The day before the braces and the day after are THE WORST!! we have all been thru it. hang in there. I promise it will get a lot better. and you will see change soon

[veginess]

Boy, you're not kidding. I had a mini-freak out yesterday and cried and cried. I'm a pretty big baby when it comes to change/my appearance/pain. But today, I'm over it. Honestly, it doesn't hurt anymore and it doesn't feel as weird anymore and I'm starting to think they look kind of ... nice? Not nice, but not bad either.

I'm excited to see the changes as they happen. Before about 3 months ago, having braces was never something I considered. I never daydreamed about having straight teeth because it was just so far out of the realm of possibility. But 3 months ago, my bff who works at my dentist office told me about this promo they were having until the new year. You pay any deposit amount you want to pay over $250 and they will match it up to $1000. Plus, $99/month until they braces were off. My friend and my husband really encouraged me to take advantage of the offer and my decision solidified when the periodontist told me that braces were the next step for me to have healthy teeth and gums.

I'm going to give you a little history now, because many of my feelings now have their roots in my dental history. In May of 2011, I woke up to find one of my wisdom teeth falling apart in my mouth. The only way you will know how much this absolutely terrified me is if you know that I have a phobia of teeth and specifically of my teeth falling out. A consuming phobia. I have dreams about it almost daily. When this happened, I knew I would have to see the dentist. I literally could not remember the last time I had been to the dentist but I knew it had to have been over 10 years and maybe even 15. Maybe it was because my parents were always afraid of seeing the dentist. Maybe it was because my mom had full mouth dentures at 28 and my dad had full mouth dentures at 40. Maybe it was because I was already hyper-aware of how bad my teeth looked and I figured they were a lost cause. But I honestly cannot express to you the abject fear I experienced when I knew I would have to see the dentist. I considered pulling the wisdom tooth myself. Haha. Thank GOD my best friend works at a dentist office because I honestly think it would have taken a long, long time for me to go. She listened to me sob and hyperventilate and assured me that Dr. Brown is the nicest guy in the whole world and no one would hurt me or, god forbid, pull all my teeth.

So I went. I sat in the stupid chair and opened my mouth and let Dr. Brown, who really is the nicest guy in the world, prod around in my mouth while I cried and cried. Even with valium. Two valium. It was mortifying. You know why it was mortifying? I'm going to tell you, even though telling you is equally mortifying. I had LARGE, calculus deposits literally covering almost every part of the back of all my teeth. Like, large. I had never (I don't think?) had a professional tooth cleaning and I had never flossed my teeth. I brushed day and night, every day, but it wasn't enough to keep the plaque from turning into calculus over the years and just about enveloping my teeth. I was sent to the hygienist for some scaling and root planing. Major scaling. I was numbed and gassed and it took hours. They hygienist told me that the calculus was so thick that it was supporting my teeth and that my teeth will be loose for a while. They were loose, boy were they loose. I had pockets up to 7 and 8 millimeters, but none were less deep than 5 millimeters. I had horrific breath. I was so embarrassed. So so so embarrassed. So that was in May and since then, I have gone every 3 months without fail for my cleanings. I floss every day and brush properly. My pockets are down to 3's and 2's. None are deeper than a 3. I am in "remission" or something. So that's good. Still, I have a lot of gum and bone loss. My periodontist said I have 50% bone loss in places.

Both the periodontist and orthodontist said I MUST have braces if I want to keep my teeth for the rest of my life, so that's why I am here. With braces. I didn't do this for a pretty smile, although that will certainly be a big bonus. I did this to keep my teeth. As my perio said, it's either this or dentures. So this it is! Ha!

[veginess]

I can pretty much eat whatever I want now! Wow! I thought it would take longer! They don't hurt at all anymore. I expected a lot more pain because the spacers hurt SO SO SO bad, but these hardly hurt at all.

Yesterday was my first day of work with braces and I was nervous. Whenever I talked, I tried not to move my lips very much. But no one said anything which then disappointed me! I am such a freak. So then I started smiling and talking big and still no one said anything! Maybe they were embarrassed to say anything? Anyway, today two of my coworkers asked me how it went and asked to see them. I smiled really big and she said, "wow! I can hardly tell they're there!" which was nice. I'm starting to not notice them either.

I was cast in a play a few days before my braces were put on and I told the director that the braces on my face might make me not right for the part. She didn't seem concerned. Then, the braces were put on and I was dead certain that I was not right for the part anymore. The character is a socialite, elegant, glamorous. I felt like none of the above. I'm starting to come around though. We'll see. I'll probably do it.

[veginess]

Oh em gee my two front teeth are loose. These teeth are on the move.

Last night, I flossed my uppers for the first time since braces. It was a son of a complain to maneuver that stupid floss threader but I managed and it was a relief. Food gets stuck to my braces all damn day so I know there's tons of food particles stuck between my teeth when I don't floss. It also hurt a bit to floss. Some teeth that used to be easy to floss between (as in, there were bigger gaps) are now much harder whereas some that used to be difficult are now easier. I don't know why but when I stuck the floss in between some teeth, it really hurt a lot! Like, lots of pressure and actual pain. But I forged through.

I know it's only been 5 days, but I swear my teeth have moved! My fang canine is coming down and in. My two front teeth are separating and there is a small gap there now. It's so cool to see! I am excited to see side by sides when I post new pics on Friday.

[veginess]

I almost forgot! Here's my one week pics! There's not much change and I doubt any of you would be able to tell the changes that did happen, but trust me, they're there!

Day 1:


Week 1:


Day 1:


Week 1:

[HeyBuckey!]

Congrats Veginess!!! I can see the 1 week difference! It's awesome! Don't cry, think about how funny it would be if you were in somebody's head while they were going through something strange...like an Orthodontic makeover. The funny chewing, the slobbering, the clenching, the "trying" not to smile. It's all absolutely hilarious and thankfully...temporary.

[Ellebraced]

Hi Veginess

You are HILARIOUS!!! I love that you cried, I wanted to cry but didn't but when my husband saw me for the first time I cried. I have cried a LOT the last 439 days but it DOES get easier and seeing the results is the best. I am now in the *they look good to me when are these things coming off stage*

You are going to love the results and love that you are saving your teeth. Good luck and I look forward to following your journey!

Are you getting braced on the bottom ??

Elle

[veginess]

Oh yes! I cried and cried for a whole day. I'm over it now though. I expected, actually, to feel more emotional. I am kind of a drama queen, emotionally speaking.

Elle, I am getting my bottoms braced for sure. I don't really know why they're waiting to put the bottom ones on, but the said they would put those on in 2-3 months. Which is fine. I guess. I just hope I don't have to go through the 5 stages of grief all over again!

My orthodontist is only in every other Friday and I foresee this being an issue. I had my first follow up on the 16th but I had to reschedule it because I couldn't get the day off work. So, instead of scheduling it for 2weeks later which would have made it a decent 6 week check up, they rescheduled it for 2 weeks before, making it a 2 week check up. What on earth could there be to check in 2 weeks? I mean, there's plenty for me to check, but I doubt my orthodontist is going to be very interested in the fraction of a millimeter of movement that I am so excited about Thankfully the visit will not be for nothing - I am finally getting my three month cleaning!

[stevo1985]

good luck! I see similarities with my teeth.