Almost 10 months (and a nightmare before christmas...)

[Buffy]

After lots of lurking, and reading, and everything else, I'm finally getting braced.

I'm having 4 teeth extracted, and the first two are going tomorrow afternoon. I'll probably have another extraction next week.

My next ortho appointment is on the 6th of February, and as far as I know, the braces will be going on then.

So I figured I'd post my pics here, and try to keep a log like others have done, and maybe I'll be able to see the improvement as time goes on.

Vital Stats:
18-24 months treatment time estimated.
Ceramic brackets on top (not sure what kind yet, I'm hoping self-ligating).
Self Ligating Metal brackets on the bottom (I remember him mentioning In-Ovation, probably for these.

Post treatment night-time retainer wear for uppers (not sure what kind, but he said like a gum shield, so probably essix).
Post treatment permanently bonded lingual wire on my lowers.




Lower Jaw


Upper Jaw (Difficult to take this photo)


Side Profile



I'm getting my upper and lower fifths pulled, so by this time tomorrow, my mouth will be two teeth lighter.

I'll update with pictures when I actually get the braces on, so til then, I'll just keep browsing, and stockpiling the B-day advice.

Buffy

[EmbraceJCT]

Good luck with your extractions tomorrow Buffy! It's great that you're getting started on your journey. Stock up on ice and some soft foods and congratulate yourself for taking this big step!

[joney]

Hi Buffy

Your teeth remind me of mine a bit, you have the same type of thing going on with the openbite etc, but your teeth look better than mine did when I started.

Hope you're recovering well from the extractions, I found them much worse than the whole brace experience.

I'm 14 months down the line now and I can't believe how much my teeth have changed. I'm sure you'll be as delighted with your changes as I have been. Good luck on 6th February.

[Buffy]

Extraction no. 1 has happened. I've been in a fair amount of pain since then. The lower tooth came out ok, but the upper one was very difficult. The dentist had to struggle to get it out, so my mouth is all bruised inside, and my lips have erupted in mouth ulcers, which is making it quite difficult to eat and drink.

The pain was so bad last night that I was worried I might have had a dry socket, but it might have just been exacerbated by tiredness, so I'll leave it a day and see if I heal up and stop feeling so much pain.

I think that this isn't even the worst part though. The worst part is, now that I know what a dual-extraction is like, and the pain of afterwards, I have to go back in a week or two and do the whole thing all over again. I'm guessing that that will be one of the hardest journey's I'll have to make.

I just keep repeating a mantra to myself - It'll all be worth it in a year or two.

It'll all be worth it as soon as I see my teeth begin to fall into line and the shape of my mouth and face improve. And it'll definitely be worth it to not have dental pain as a result or crowding anymore.

So my braces story (or rather, my prelude) continues...

[Buffy]

Hi all,

Just another quick update. Turns out I developed a small infection in my lower extraction site, which is why I had such extreme pain. Once the dentist cleaned it out and packed it with a kind of biodegradable dressing thing, I felt amazing - almost no pain for the whole day. As a result, the first two extraction sites are healing a bit behind schedule and rather slowly, but I'm keeping up with light salt water rinses and taking vitamin E and zinc to promote the healing.

I had the other two teeth out this afternoon (right upper and lower 5th's), and it went much better. Because the dentist knew what to expect this time with my big awkward teeth, she gave me extra anaesthetic to make sure I was super numb. She used a different kind of forceps/pliers, and also spent longer loosening each tooth before moving on to pulling. So a much nicer extraction this time. I'm still in a little pain, but 100 times better than last time.

I'm getting braced on wednesday, and I'm really looking forward to watching these gaps disappear and my teeth straighten.

The only really cruddy thing is that, since the first set of extraction sites hasn't quite healed yet, I can't even chew properly on that side while the new extractions heal. So I guess it's readybrek, complan, and soup for the next week or two

(I'm looking forward to bday now, and even more so, I'm looking forward to eating solid food again!).

Updates soon, I'll try to take a brace pic when I've got them on.

[joney]

Sorry to hear about the infection Buffy, that sounds awful. Better luck this time around. I found extraction the most difficult thing, the brace was easy peasy after that. And, yes, it will be worth it. Baby yourself over the next few days.

Regards
Joney

[KateinCO]

Hi Buffy!

Wow, kind of a rough start with the infection, but it sounds like you are getting better! With brace day right around the corner, I hope you are getting some good nutrition and getting back to chewing a bit. Remember that chewing helps move your treatment along, so keep trying to chew once your extraction sites are feeling better! Looking forward to seeing how things look once you get the braces placed!

Good luck!!
Kate

[Teabing]

Hey Buffy, I feel your pain about the extractions although I only had 2 uppers out. But that was hard enough, I had a week between each extraction and then 5 days before braces and now I've more or less forgotton what it's like to eat properly! Good luck with your B-Day

[Buffy]

Thanks for all the good wishes.

I'm not able to chew food at the moment, not because the extraction sites are sore, but because they're still open, and I can't get anything stuck down there, or I'll get another infection.

The left lower is almost closed though, so hopefully I'll be able to eat properly on that side in the next day or two. Of course, by then I'll have my braces, and I'll be right back to mushy food again...

I've been keeping myself nourished and fed anyway, and haven't felt hungry or unwell at any point. Usually have liga or readybrek for breakfast (made with full fat milk) and lately I've been adding a sachet of FibreSure (which is a fibre supplement available here which gives you about 25% of your daily fibre requirement without altering taste or texture of the food it's in). If I start to feel a bit peckish during the day, I fix myself some complan (which I believe is similar to something called Ensure, that you guys have in the US?).

We have these great fresh soups here from a company called avonmore. They come in cartons similar to milk cartons and are really wholesome and chunky, but mushy enough that I can swallow them down. They're really filling, so they make a very good lunch.

Then for dinner, I've just been seeing whatever there is that I can mush down - managed some overcooked small pasta the other day, because I could mush them against the roof of my mouth.

Probably the best thing I've got myself is also the most embarrassing - I went and got myself a teething ring. It's a solid one, because obviously my teeth would burst a gel filled one. It's made of plastic with lots of nice rubber bits to bite on. So I've been chewing on that periodically to remind my teeth what they're for, since they now haven't been used in about 3-4 days.

I'm feeling good about chewing a bit on the left though because, as I said, that hole is nearly completely closed up now.

B-day tomorrow, and I'm getting pretty nervous. My best friend is going to drive there with me so that, if I need him, he can drive me back home afterwards.

I'll update when I've got the braces on.

Buffy

[hannahwebbo]

Hi Buffy,

sorry to hear that you got a bit of an infection, and the extractions didnt go as smoothly as planned. At least they are over now. I was quite lucky with my extractions. I had my two upper premolars out at the same time, and other than a bit of prolonged bleeding i was fine. I will be going back sometime in the near future to get my two lower premolars out. Just need my braces to move my upper teeth out of the way first.

Good luck with your brace day tomorrow. Let us know how it goes.

Hannah x

[Kara]

Good luck to you!!! Sounds like you've had a tough time. I hope things get better for you soon!

good luck on your bday. Cant wait to see pictures and follow your story!

Kara

[Buffy]

Ouch.

I didn't expect it to hurt like this, which probably sounds a bit silly, but there ya go.

Clear brackets on top, metal on bottom. I was expecting self ligating, but there are little ligs on all of them, so I guess there was a change in plan.

I didn't get a choice of lig colours, so I've got clear on the top and grey on the bottom. I'll maybe talk to the ortho next time and see if I have any options to do with colours. I'm not quite brave enough yet, but I'm sure I'll get there.

Mostly I'm just feeling on-off pain in my front four teeth, both top and bottom.

I haven't got molar bands (which, judging by a lot of the posts on here, I should be eternally grateful for). I'm missing my wisdom teeth (top and bottom) on the left side. So my brackets extend to the second molars on the top on both sides (meaning my right wisdom teeth are unbraced). And my bottom brackets extend to the first molar on the bottom.

There are extra wires that extend from my first molar to my first premolar to pull all my teeth back into place while they're being straightened.

The archwire isn't totally in place in some of my lower teeth as they're twisted, so I'm hoping they'll rotate soon enough and can be incorporated properly into the archwire.

Some pictures:

(Please excuse the wax, I'm very uncomfortable without it at the moment).

[Miss Smiley]

Welcome and I feel your pain! I didn't expect all the initial pain either, thought maybe a little soreness but didn't think I'd be trying to eat mush the first week. Nice job on the wax! Looks very comfy!

[Buffy]

Thanks.

I'm a lot more comfy today with the wax. I know I must seem like a total wus with wax on every bracket, but I'm quite prone to mouth ulcers (aka canker sores if you're not from here), so I just couldn't deal with the pain of them alongside the pain of my teeth trying to move. I'm sure my mouth will toughen up pretty soon anyway.

I've just ordered myself a dentakit and some orthosil wax from the dentakit site though, and I'm gonna make sure I carry that in my laptop bag (which mostly comes everywhere with me), and then I'll always have a supply of wax for any random uncomfortable bits.

It may make my mouth fatter, but for the relief it's given me today, it's totally worth it.

Now to begin the most fruitless obsessive hobby ever - continually checking my current tin grin with my pre-brace pics to find even the first millimetre of movement that'll tell me it's all worthwhile

[Buffy]

Braving it without wax for some pictures (and also to try to toughen my mouth a little).

Full on tin grin:


My usual kinda smile:


Maybe they don't look so bad after all - I suppose I only really think I have a scaryrobot mouth because I keep looking at them up close.