Jana's Journey

[JMSmith]

Hi everyone! I thought it was about time to post my story. I'm not sure why, but it seems like a good idea. I need to be able to talk to people about this because no one around me actually "gets" it. They are supportive and excited for me, but I don't dare complain or wine a little bit because "this is what I want". And it is, you bet. I'm so excited for FINALLY be doing this, but I'm scared of this process.

I am 34 years old and just had my braces placed last week on February 13. WHAT A WEEK! I've wanted straight teeth for as long as I can remember. I want to smile. I want to laugh at a joke without throwing my hand in front of my face. I want to pose for pictures instead of hide from them... you know, that old song and dance. My parents couldn't afford treatment as a teenager and as an adult, I couldn't afford it until now.

My treatment includes 2 years in braces and jaw surgery. I started with 4 extractions. I have severe crowding of my top teeth and the bottom front teeth are all angled back to make up my bite. I actually have an underbite (this was news to me) which is why I'll have the jaw surgery in about 18 months. Only 1 week in braces and already I can tell that the bottom teeth are straightening out a bit. They are scraping my top teeth a little and it's kind of like nails on a chalkboard to me. And lucky for me, this is only going to get worse. Until the jaw surgery, my bite is going to be off so I've just got to get used to not knowing what in the heck to do with my mouth. The part of this that stinks - eating. I can't seem to chew right and every day is a new adventure with that. I have a fear of choking... it's irrational really, but because I'm affraid of choking, I am a chewer. For the past 5 years or so, I am very focused on chewing my food well. And now I can't chew well. I've got to cut everything up into the tiniest little pieces. The upside - portion control isn't going to be a problem for the next 2 years. It takes me as long to eat 1/4 of what I would have eaten before all of this started. I guess that's good. Fruit smoothies and soup are getting real old already. Hahaha.

So here I am. FINALLY!! I've got to admit, this sucks (not that I expected it to be fun). My bite is all out of place and the inside of my mouth STILL resembles hamburger. I think in the past week I've gone through about 5 packs of dental wax... I'm thinking they should sell this in bigger containers. I'm going to post pictures because I want to share this journey and I want to really see the progress. I CANNOT believe that I'm going to do that because I DO NOT EVER under any circumstances take pictures of my mouth. Seriously, when I had to do the pictures at the ortho offices, I cried (maybe I cry to much?!?!) But knowing that this awful, ugly mouth is going to be gone in just 2 short years gives me courage enough to share. I hope that it will inspire others that may just be thinking about braces to do it. It's going to be worth it! It's going to be worth it!

Bye for now my orthodontic friends... I'll post pictures once I figure out how to do that... hahaha..

[veginess]

Hello Jana!

I totally relate to.... well pretty much everything you said! I can't complain anymore either. My husband is pretty much sick of hearing me complain and moan. Haha. This is what I wanted, but it does super suck. However, it doesn't suck more than my teeth and mouth already did before braces so I'm slowly getting over it.

I just got my braces on last Friday and I haven't had much of an issue with the bracket or wire scraping my mouth and the tooth pain is going away. I am positive you will feel better soon.

It's interesting that you have an irrational fear of choking. I have MANNNY irrational fears so I know how that goes. I fear my teeth falling out (which, let me tell you, my loose front teeth are making me feel super right now), closing my eyes in the shower, being in a car accident, having my knees touched... the list goes on! Did you have impressions taken during your records appointment? That goopy sesame almost made me gag so I wonder how that felt for you? I bet you're glad that's over! LOL!

I look forward to seeing your progress so post pics when you can! No one will see your face and there is nothing to be embarrassed about, trust me.

[maeby]

Hi Jana! I definitely identify as well. I was really surprised at how emotional this process is. I had no idea until I really got serious about it. I hope the roller coaster is leveling out for the time being.

To post pictures, I uploaded mine onto Photobucket's website and then used the Img button on here to paste the link in my post. Apart from some resizing, that's pretty much it! I was intimidated by the process at first, but it's easy enough.

[JMSmith]

It's been a couple of weeks since I've had an opportunity to get on here and I'm happy to report that things are getting easier. I am learning how to eat with the braces and am coping quite well with my inability to chew good. My mouth is not nearly as sore and raw as it was which is GOOD news. I do still have a spot that is a bit irritated, but it's not unbearable. One spot is much better than the entire mouth.

Here are some things that I've discovered over the past 20 days in braces

* Coffee really does stain. Damn it. I love coffee in the winter time. I drink like 3 - 5 cups a day and holy crap does it show on my "clear" top braces. I am really starting to wish that I had just saved the money and gone with all metal. Not that I'm smiling at anyone just yet, but it makes me cringe to see those yellow stains on the top brackets. I went out of town last weekend for my very first ski trip and did not drink any coffee while I was there. Those 3 days with no coffee and dozens of tooth brushings really made a difference. The yellow stains were practically gone. Is that going to curb my coffee drinking you ask... uh no. But Spring is around the corner and the coffee pot usually goes away then so at least I won't have to deal with it for much longer... well until next winter anyway. BUT if anyone is reading this that hasn't made the plunge into braces just yet and is a coffee drinker... beware!!

* My bathroom mirror is going to continuously be covered in toothpaste splatters for the next 2 years. I am by no means a neat freak, but I am pretty crazy about things looking dirty. At first, I was cleaning that mirror off, oh I don't know, 6 - 7 times a day because those splatters were making me nuts. Hello... why am I bothering with this? It's pointless and I'm wasting my time. I have let this go. I'll just clean the mirror when I clean the bathroom each week and leave it at that.

* I have never wanted to eat popcorn, bagels, or chew gum more in all of my life...

* My friends are all crazy. Everyone knows about my insecurities about my mouth. I have FORCED friends to delete photos from their camera because they took what I like to call an "action shot" and caught me in a position of showing my teeth. The fact that I don't, under any circumstances, show my teeth to anyone is not a new fact about me. Yet the first words out of everyone's mouth is "Let me see"... Uh... no, but thanks for asking.

20 days in and all is going well. Yay!!

I'll be able to post pictures one I have like 7 posts on this site, so I'm guessing by the time I have my first adjustment on March 26, I'll have some good ones to show progress, if any. Stay tuned!! Thank you maeby and veginess for your kind words! I am so glad that I found this forum!!

[JMSmith]

I just had my first tightening / new wires... whatever it's actually called when they change the wires out... since having the braces put on in February. This wasn't so bad. It was a bit more painful than when they put everything on, but that's only because my teeth are all so sensitive right now. It wasn't unbearable though. My ortho tech that actually puts on the wire is the sweetest lady on the planet and always helps me feel calm and relaxed.

Today, they actually left the bottom wire alone and just replaced the rubber bands on the brackets. I got a new top wire and springs. So far there have been very noticeable changes to the bottom teeth, but I cannot see any changes to the top. My lateral incisors on the top have not been connected to the wire as of yet. Heck, my left lateral incisor doesn't even have a bracket on it. They added the springs between the central incisors and my canines which are supposed to help push the space between them so that we can start working on those laterals. They feel pretty sure that within the next 2 months they'll be able to start working on pulling those laterals forward but I've got to make room for them first. I can't wait for this part to start!!! Those lateral incisors are the cause of all of my insecurities so I'm excited to get to the point where we're working on fixing those. The progress on the bottom is reassuring, but it's certainly not addressing the reason why I got braces. Patience isn't my strongest attribute, but I'm working on it. All in good time.

I still don't have the courage to post any pics... but I'm going to take some updated ones today (now that I've got fresh, un-coffee stained bands on my top clear brackets, LOL) and think about how to post this progress.

I hope that everyone is having a fantastic day!!

[Realizingadream]

Hi Jana!

I am so happy that you have your braces and they are working for you! I had my bottom teeth braced 27 January 2012 and, like you, noticed my teeth started crashing into each other and all sorts of strange things happening in my mouth.

There are pictures of me smiling and laughing! They are horrid! I had straight teeth until I was 30, then they shifted! One day they went "ping" and I heard and felt them shift! And have had to wait until now to get them braced. But anyway because they used to be straight, for some reason I never saw them how they really are, and they are very crooked! A little boy at church one day noticed my fangy ones and pointed and said "VAMPIRE TEETH". Boy did I want to cry. If I could remember what boy that was, I would show him my braces; he'd probably be a young teen now, and he'd probably be happy for me.

I don't have the tops braced yet! Woohee this is like having training wheels for braces. Hardly anyone notices my braces on the bottom teeth except close friends and OTHER adult braces wearers. And everyone has been so kind. I am looking forward to getting the tops braced because I figure the sooner on, the sooner off. I'm pretty sure I will completely stop smiling at that point, though. Odd that I still smile with my vampire teeth. Good thing I don't live in Forks where the vampires in the Twilight books live. Although I do live close to there. BRING ON THE NIGHT! Ha ha kidding.

I have an ortho visit in a few days. I don't think he's going to band the tops yet. I guess he's waiting for the bottoms to move around some, first. Or something. I presume he has a plan.

Well, that's all, hang in there, we're all cheering for you!

Real

[JMSmith]

Here is my first shot at adding photos... YIKES!! I CANNOT BELIEVE I AM DOING THIS!!

These are pics from my first day in braces (I cannot wait until this is over!!)




This is 15 days in, when I started noticing that there was some movement on these bottom teeth



TODAY - 45 (or so) days and my new wire and springs

[JMSmith]

Hi Real!! Thanks for the encouragement today!

[lau]

wow, Jana, that was quick! incredible, you must be proud. keep it up!!

[kellyb]

many thanks for sharing your story. i can so relate to it. i will definitely following your progress. your teeth are looking great so far. all the best with your journey

[LEtranger]

Thanks for sharing!

Can relate to so much of what you are writing/showing. Going to keep my eye on your progress.

[Christina602]

I completely understand. I am 32 years old and have had mine for 6 weeks today, just had my first tightening. And WOW!!!! I have been taking Ibuprofren all day. But have been able to tell a difference. They told me at my next visit I will get power chains, I'm nervous about that. Good Luck

[smilehope]

Wow what a good start on your pictures - you must be thrilled.

[maeby]

Your progress is looking fantastic! And I just love how you formatted your photos, it's so cute! I may try something like that, if you don't mind.

[JMSmith]

I just had my second tightening this morning. She told me when it was done, "Now you go get something to eat RIGHT NOW and then take some Advil. You won't be eating much after this for a few days". I did follow her advice, but didn't realize just how serious she was about this pain. Holy cow! It's only been 3 hours.

So today my ortho wasn't real happy about the springs that they put in on my last appointment. The right canine did move a little tiny bit, but not enough to make him happy with his grand plans. So... I've now got powerchains on both the top and bottom. On the top, the idea is to add more force to the canines to get them moving back toward the molars to make room for the lateral insicors. The bottom powerchains are to start closing the gap from my extractions. Oh yeah, and tighter springs between my front two teeth and the canines on the top, both sides. All in all, I feel like I've been hit in the face by a baseball bat... twice. I can't concentrate on anything at the moment. Wow. And I can actually tolerate quite a bit of pain before I let anyone around me know that I'm actually in any. Today, it is over my threshold. At least I know now after a little experience that the pain will only last for a short while and then I'll get to see the fruits of my labor, as it were. Or I'm hoping for all of that anyway.

Just needed to complain a bit because damn it, my face hurts. I think I need ice cream... and LOTS of it!