I'm Finally Braced!

[Indalee]

Oh… my… goodness! What in the world did I ask for? My mouth HUUUURTS soooooo baaaaaad! I went to the ortho yesterday (got maroon ligs) to get the bands put back on the MARA because they broke (as usual) when I was brushing Wednesday. I called the office and let them know that I needed to get in asap and they scheduled me an appointment. I’m thinking, hmmm, that never happened before. I normally call or just walk in when I need something between appointments. I should have known they had it out for me.

I put all the parts I could find from the MARA in a sandwich bag and gave it to the ortho. So he looked at my progress and for a moment he wanted to take the MARA out that day! The only downfall was if he took it out yesterday and my overbite started to come back, he would have to put it back in and I just couldn’t stand having it put in a second time. I’m fine with it right now and decided to do the rest of my time before my due date. I know it sounds crazy but I’m a do-it-right-the-first-time kinda gurl. So this is where things got interesting. He saw the gaps that have opened up that I’ve been worried about, he noticed that my lower teeth were very uneven on the biting surface (these are the same teeth I wondered if he’d reshape or make even once the braces where off) and he had a plan for me.

For the gaps he order powers chains for my lowers and a small power chain on my upper, right side that goes from my canine back. Then he decided to work on those jagged lowers by putting some binds in my wire so that they will push back down where they belong. Then he put some industrial strength rubberbands on my MARA to hold them tight! I knew I was going to be in some kind of pain in the morning but never this. I woke up with pain several times during the night. The power chains are already doing their job and those little binds in the wire are definitely pushing down on those teeth.

Now! My next appointment is in 2 weeks (9/6/07) and at that time he will advance my MARA one more time and I’m guessing I’ll get more power chains. His plan is to have me out of the MARA by the end of September and start me with rubber bands to fine tune my bite. Oh! And I got a copy of the pictures they took at my consultation last year and what a change! I don’t have access to a camera at the moment but I’m going to have a friend takes some pictures of my new progress and scan my before pics so you can see just how far I’ve come. Exciting!

Well I feel better after venting. Thanks for listening…well reading. I’ll be in touch.

[Indalee]

Thanks for the KK. You said it right. My mouth is definitely being challenged today. I'm taking Ib's on the regular for pain and lunch wasn't so bad. I noticed one of my gaps has closed up a lot since yesterday. These power chains work fast!

[cwatt1]

Hi Indalee,

I finally had a chance to read through your fascinating blog. I never knew about the MARA, but is certainly seems to have done wonders for you!

Sorry about the discomfort you're going through right now, but that's hopefully VERY temporary -- sounds like you had quite an adjustment at your last visit!

Take good care

[Indalee]

Hi cwatt1! Thanks for reading. I'm feeling a lot better now. My teeth don't hurt nearly as bad as they did a few days ago. I never heard of the MARA either until it became an option for me. It is working that's for sure. I'm just amazed that my time is just about up and I'll be finished by next month. I'll be sure to keep you all posted on any changes.

[Frank]

Hi Indalee,

I have just seen an orthodontist since I have some minor malocclusion ( well I thought it was minor!) and to my astonishment the orthodontist told me that I need to get upper and lower fixed braces (removables won't do the job) and since I have a Class II malocclusion I should also get a Mara or Herbst appliance put in. I am really paranoid now! I am 33 years old and very self-concious about wearing all these orthodontic appliances and how visible they would be. Therefore, as they are mostly invisible, I am thinking of getting lingual braces together with the Mara or Herbst. I have several questions:

(1) Is the Mara or Herbst more comfortable and less visible?
(2) As it seems to me that the Mara might be less visible, can it be seen at all when I talk?
(3) How uncomfortable is the Mara?
(4) How severe are the speech problems with the Mara and how long will it take until they go away?
(5) The Mara seems to have a lower lingual arch, is this very uncomfortable? Is there an upper lingual arch also?

I am quite concerned that I will barely be able to speak with both upper and lower linguals as well as the Mara or Herbst appliance in my mouth. I would be very grateful if anyone could help. Thanks a lot.

[Indalee]

Hi Frank,

To answer your questions regarding the Mara I would first like to say that just like anything new it will take some getting use to however it is not uncomfortable or painful at all. The pieces are smooth and you start to get us to it very quickly. You will however need to sleep with cotton pads between you cheeks and the Mara the first few nights just until your cheeks get use to the new hook up. My ortho office gave me some special cotton pads that don’t shred in your mouth. Warm salt water rinses helped tons to toughen up my cheeks on the first few days. I don’t have a Herbst so I don’t know about that but I can tell you all about the Mara. For starters:

1. The Mara is not visible unless you open you mouth and pull your cheeks back to show someone.
2. It’s very comfortable and after awhile you don’t even notice it. Promise!
3. It’s not painful as far as your teeth however your cheeks may be a little sore the first few days but salt water rinses do magic!
4. It does not hinder your speech in the least. There is a lower arch inside at the bottom which doesn’t get in the way of speaking at all. There is no upper arch so speaking is a breeze. I have seen a Mara with an expander up top but I’m not sure how they affect your speech.

Eating was weird at first because my side to side movement was restricted but like everything else it soon became effortless and now I have plenty of side to side movement and I eat whatever I want with no problem... I even chew gum…sshhh! Just make sure you brush after eating ASAP. You’ll want to brush anyway since the Mara has many parts that food gets stuck in.

I should add that I too was terrified of the Mara when it was suggested to me. The look of it alone was frightening and I wasn’t sure how they would fit that and braces in my mouth. But I’m so glad I got it and I wish I would have been able to do it sooner. It was a much better option then getting my jaw broke and reset. It’s made wonderful progress in my bite and my side-profile it outstanding! No more receding chin. One thing I don’t know is how it would work with lingual braces since there is an inside lower arch on the Mara but I’m sure your ortho can answer that.

If lingual braces won’t work with the Mara, you might want to think about regular braces or maybe clear braces so they’re not as visible. I’ll be 30 next month and I too was self conscious about have metal in my mouth but they aren’t bad at all. I actually like them now and I get lots of compliments from other adults who don’t have the nerve to take the leap. However, in the end it’s all about what you feel comfortable with doing since you’ll be the one living with them during treatment. By the way did your ortho say how long you had to wear the Mara or Herbst?

Feel free to ask me any questions you have about it. I’m open to them. I’ll even try to get some more pics up before they remove my Mara.

Have a good one!

[Indalee]

Yesterday was my 19th adjustment and as my orthodontist promised me, he advanced my Mara one more mm and added some additional power chains (light blue ligs) to my uppers (canine to last molars; both sides). It’s been so far so good today with dealing with the pain. I haven’t had to take much pain medicine but eating lunch is out of the questions. I’ll be drinking lunch today. Anyway, let me get to the good part. I’ll be Mara free in 3 weeks and 6 days, October 4th! And just in time for my honeymoon to the Caribbean islands. I’m so excited I could SCREAM!!! I’ll bid farewell without a tear. I must admit that I am a little worried about my overbite returning once it’s taken out. The Mara took some getting use to and eventually became apart of me and was about as comfortable as my own eyebrows. So the security of it being there, holding things together will be missed I’m sure. Now you know if I’m telling you it will be missed then it had to be comfortable…that’s for those of you who’ve been given the option of the Mara. It’s looks very scary but it’s really not bad…just gotta give it time.
Oh man I’m trying so hard not to do the “count downâ€

[Indalee]

I don’t know what I did or didn’t do but my Mara broke this past Saturday morning and it looks like I’ll be getting it removed this Thursday rather then Oct. 4th. The lower, right side broke (the stopper) so it’s not like it can be fixed. It must have been cracked when I went to bed Friday night because first thing Saturday morning I brushed my teeth and it felt right out into the sink. I panicked for a split second thinking it was a tooth….I know that’s silly. Then when I realized what it was I was flabbergasted. I just kept thinking (and I still am thinking….) how in the world did that heavy duty, very strong, whatever kind of metal that thing is, break in half and how grateful I am that it didn’t happen in my sleep and choke me! Since the bottom half is gone which basically ended the treatment on the right side I just took it upon myself to take the upper elbow out and give myself a little more freedom. My ortho office said that was fine. This really works out great because I’m due for power chains across my uppers the day the Mara is removed and by it being this week that gives me time to adjust to the change before my trip on the 7th.
In any case, I guess it all ends happily because I will officially be Mara-free this week and that’s all the matters! Drinks all around….on the house! Ce-la-brate good times COME ON!

[Indalee]

Thanks KK! I'm super excited now with there only being one more day left until show time.

I'll be sure to report back when I'm finished tomorrow. I'm anxious to see if I'll need to get any filings replaced.

PAAAR-TY!

[Indalee]

It is DONE! I went to the ortho yesterday and left there MARA- free. I have to say I was nervous about it. I knew there was a lot of cement holding that thing on and I didn’t know how they were going to pull it off without taking teeth out with it. I asked the assistant if it would hurt and she said “yesâ€

[Indalee]

Well Hello Everyone! I haven’t been on the web lately which means I have plenty to report. First of all, I have gone and come back from my honeymoon to the Caribbean and it was awesome! Unfortunately I didn’t get to see my ortho before I left so I had to keep the same grungy ligs on until I got back. The 7 days of relaxation did us all wonders. Anyway, enough about that. Here’s my updates, in the order they happend.

I went to my ortho appointment (10/15/07) and as he promised I had x-rays taken and power chains put on my uppers from #4 to #4. I couldn’t help thinking that the end was almost near due to me getting the x-rays done and all . So I get tossed in power chains (dark blue) and the assistant hands me 3 little baggies with elastics in them. I was told to wear them all the time except while I’m eating but after I finished put them back in and wear them during the night. Not only were the elastics to continue working on my bite but also strengthen my lower jaw which is weak since the MARA came out. After the MARA was taken out, my bite was fine through out the day however when I laid down in certain positions my lower jaw would fall that way . It wasn’t uncomfortable but I bought it to my orthos attention and he gave me elastics. I followed instructions as best as I could until my next appointment 4 weeks later. And yes, the weak jaw has gotten stronger and the elastics kept it from slipping during the night. Also, the gaps in my uppers closed up a lot but I still have a ways to go. So that’s basically it for the 4 weeks.

OKAY FUNNY STORY TIME: About 2 weeks ago I was brushing my teeth at work and there’s this really chatting lady that practically lives in the bathroom like the troll lives under the bridge. She talks to people during their most private moments and never seems to care if they are interested . She was telling me how good I am for brushing my teeth after every meal and how she should be doing the same and then I just heard blah blah blah blah after so long. She was asking me questions which obviously I couldn’t answer with toothpaste and a brush hanging out of my mouth but me being the person I am, tried to answer her and with one more stroke of the brush….. WHAT THE ….. the bristles got stuck in my braces. She’s still yapping and I’m tugging at this toothbrush that’s not moving! My eyes get huge like saucers and she’s still talking and asking me questions so I give her that I-should-donkey-kick-you- across-this-restroom look. THEN she asks, “Are you ok honey?â€

[Miss Smiley]

Indalee, I was trying so hard not to laugh out loud as I read of your toothbrush nightmare at work! See, I'm at work, and in our office we share our floor with 3 other companies so we have the same bathroom situation minus the bathroom troll. I'm glad your toothbrush came out without the help of the scissors, how horrible would that have been to one day tell your kids. Well, the worst thing I had stuck was baby back ribs...I just had to eat them off the bone. Rectangular wires, powerchains, and crunchy sweet bbq ribs just seems to go as one. I had a heck of a time getting it all out from between the powerchains and wire. I have clear powerchains for my sapphire brackets, tell me that black specks of bbq look good when I smile. I ended up undoing the front 6 loops to clean out the food because I couldn't go 2 weeks with meat bits hanging out in there.

[Indalee]

Hi Smiley! I'm glad you didn't laugh out loud at work...lol So you can relate to sharing restrooms with many co-workers I see. Be very glad that you don't have a restroom troll! I know everytime I see her come in pulling her backpack on wheels, shoulder bags and her jacket across her arm, that she's planning on staying awhile...LOL
I finally told her (the next day during her routine patrol) that everytime she talks to me while I'm brushing, I somehow get my toothbrush stuck in my braces and you know what she did? You got it.....SHE KEPT ON TALKING!!!! She talked from the time she got in the restroom, hung up her things, did her business , and to the sink to wash up!

It's a good thing you got all of the ribs and bits out of your braces...LOL We all know not to bite into things but sometimes you just wanna live on the edge. You have some really nice braces. I wanted the sapphire ones but I didn't think they would look nice on me.

I have also gotten my comforter thread and a wash cloth stuck in my braces... I had to get BOTH cut free! OH and last winter while drive in rush hour traffic, I pulled my glove off with my teeth to answer my cell phone and you guess it! I had to drive a mile to the next exit with a glove hanging from my teeth. I was too angry to see if anyone was laughing at me....LOL So I just ended my call and punched it to 80mph!

[Indalee]

Hello KK! Good job with not getting things caught in your braces. I have so many hilarious stories about my journey with these things that I might write a short story when I'm done!

To answer your question about the bathroom stalker, YES she's in there everyday, all day and talking always. I even told her, "Shhhh, not while I'm brushing."...LOL She just said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I understand you need time to....blah, blah, blah, blah...."

Thank you for your congratulations! Last night I didn't wear the elastics and I still wasn't completely comfortable. However, adjusting to things will take time and I've got nothing but.

See ya!

[Indalee]

Ok. Today is one of those day that I'm counting the minutes until de-brace day. *sigh*