Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi friends,

I decided since I'm (FINALLY) braced, I would go ahead and post my story here. I've posted most of this info around the boards but I wanted to consolidate everything.

I guess I'll start at the beginning....

I didn't have dental insurance for a long time (I would say high school through college, I went to the dentist maybe twice). When I finally got my big girl job, I got dental insurance. A tough cleaning, and multiple fillings later, the dentist started to talk to me about cosmetic type stuff to get me a nice smile. I have a missing premolar that was taken out when I was 9 or 10, for reasons I don't really remember. The premolar on the other side is a baby tooth without anything underneath it. I also had a baby tooth on top with the adult tooth behind it. My dentist's original concern was the missing tooth and bone decay - went over dental implants and stuff about a year ago. In June when I went to my cleaning, he asked me if he could put together a comprehensive treatment plan for me. That was really the first mention of braces - I had briefly thought about braces in the past but nothing major. I thought it was too late for me - braces are for teenagers, right??

I went to the ortho my dentist recommended me to, I really liked their office and made plans to go ahead with that office. About a week before my extractions (wisdom and baby tooth) I got a call from their office saying the insurance came back as NO ADULT COVERAGE. Without the coverage, I wasn't going to be able to afford them. However, I decided to do some more research and get a couple more consults. Had my 2nd consult on Aug 21st with another office - their price was better and they were willing to work me regarding payment plans.

Ortho informed me my issues are: overcrowding on bottom, adult tooth hidden behind baby tooth, deep bite, overbite, and a cross bite on my molars.

August 22nd - Wisdom teeth extractions and baby tooth extraction. Wisdom teeth process wasn't too bad - a lot of swelling and bruising. I personally didn't have too much pain - I only took Ibuprofen and that was enough. They prescribed me pain killers but I didn't take any of them.

Sept 4th - Brace date. I was in the office for less than 2 hours - I did paperwork / financial stuff also. I was probably in the chair for less than an hour. I went to work straight after and had little problems with it. I wouldn't say it was hurting, but I could feel like tightness around my teeth and knew pain was coming.

2nd / 3rd day - Still tough to chew / eat. My molars don't really come together anymore - My front teeth hit my brackets before I can close my mouth all the way.

I made myself a little dental kit that includes flossers for braces, the little christmas tree brushes, wax, and a travel toothbrush. So far, at work, I havent felt the need to brush my teeth - a good swish with water seems to get anything dislodged. My night time ritual has become brushing, flossing, and then water piking.

If anyone has any questions or anything, let me know.

Sorry for the not so best quality photos - I had to take pictures of the printout they gave me. The color is all wonky.

Pictures from consult printout:





BRACED!!:

Very nice! I have pink ligatures on my braces too, I just got my bottom ones done yesterday. Good luck on your journey and remember to keep us posted!

I LOVE the pink ligs! Did your ortho say anything to you about needing molar buildups or bumpers? I have an overbite too, and went a little while without them but would wake up in the morning clenching down so hard I was scared I was going to chip a tooth. Plus, it can be a little uncomfortable when you are talking or eating and all of a sudden BAM bite down on bracket lol, especially when the teeth are feeling more sensitive than usual. Anyways, just a thought!

Were your wisdom teeth erupted or impacted? If they were impacted, do you have any noticeable holes where they were removed? I need someone to compare notes to!

EmBee wrote:I LOVE the pink ligs! Did your ortho say anything to you about needing molar buildups or bumpers? I have an overbite too, and went a little while without them but would wake up in the morning clenching down so hard I was scared I was going to chip a tooth. Plus, it can be a little uncomfortable when you are talking or eating and all of a sudden BAM bite down on bracket lol, especially when the teeth are feeling more sensitive than usual. Anyways, just a thought!

Were your wisdom teeth erupted or impacted? If they were impacted, do you have any noticeable holes where they were removed? I need someone to compare notes to!

Ortho hasn't said anything about bite turbos. I definitely am having harder time chewing in general. My molars don't really bite together before my front teeth hit brackets. So far I haven't hit them real hard or anything. Luckily I don't have an issue with teeth clenching at night, I actually have the opposition problem that ends with drool on my pillow =/

All four of my wisdom teeth were impacted. On the bottom I don't really notice a difference but on the top it definitely feels like there's a big gap where the teeth used to be.

My extraction sites are similar, now that the stitches are gone I can't even tell they did anything (except for the bicuspid extractions and my dry socket).

And I can attest to the drooling thing too Mostly since I've had my extractions, for a few nights there I was having to put a towel down on my pillow LOL

Love the pink! I went with purple and turquoise as my first colors and I think next time I am just going to do one color. It is a bit of a shock!

1 week update -

Most of the soreness/pain is gone. When I wake up in the morning, I feel a lot more pressure on my teeth but it seems to go away within 30 mins or so.
I still can't really bite into things with my front teeth so I pretty much have been eating everything with knife / fork. Chewing with my back teeth is fine - my bite is a little off but not too bad.

I have brackets on all my teeth - the very back molars have brackets but aren't attached to the wire yet. My 6 molars will need to be moved eventually but not with this first wire. I pretty much wear wax on the unattached brackets all the time - they are very pokey with no wire attached.

I brush twice a day - I've stuck with soup / yogurt / etc for lunch at work so I don't have to worry about brushing at work. I also floss and water pik. If anyone doesn't have a water pik - GET ONE!! Even after brushing and flossing, my water pik dislodges stuff in the braces every single time.

Hey Anedia! I finally found your story---you were one of the 4 early september braces people

Like you, my front teeth all hurt alot, back ones are fine...It's good though or else eating would be impossible!

About the water pik...you find it works super good eh? I've found that just violently swishing with a mouthful of water cleans nearly everything out after eating...usually there's maybe 1 back molar that has a tiny bit of food after that.

Congrats on getting started too!

The pink looks amazing !