after one month in braces I found it time to step back and share some of my experiences. Feel free to chip in with yours!
1.) Time goes by quite quickly, and I got used to braces fairly quickly. I knew that everybody keeps telling this, but it is true nevertheless. I don't think much about my braces any longer, I live my normal life. I was self conscious the first two days, later only in special moments. However, these moments of self consciousness still keep popping up from time to time.
2.) Nobody cares (other than you). There is no point in worrying about your appearance, literally nobody else does. You'll quickly realise that a couple of other points are much more relavant: the small impairment to your spech, the sour spots and little wounds that you get from time to time, the difficulty to bite, chew and eat, the cleaning. It's fairly easy to deal with all of that, but this is how the braces demand attention..
3.) Wax is a great help. Use it freely and in liberal amounts, and your wounds will heel much quicker.
4.) Brushing and cleaning your teeth takes longer than before. I bought an Oral B triumph, and it works great. I also learned quickly how to floss. Try the threaded floss from Crest, it is great.
5.) I also bought mouthwahses, but don't feel I need them. Brushing and flossing does it much more effectively. I used Crest Total Health because it is clear and experienced no staining.
5.) My teeth are kind of sensitive to pressure and chewing. This is a sign that the braces work and the teeth keep moving, but I didn't expect it to linger on for so long. It was worse initially, but it still hurts today when I chew. My first adjustment is due in <2 weeks and I'm curious how thinkgs will be after that.
6.) Eating is MUCH less fun than before. I learned how to eat 'normal' stuff, but it is just no fun. I don't find it worth the effort of cleaning, so I go soup very often. After 3 weeks, I had lost 4-5 kg. I'm a 6" male and weigh now 74 kg. On the brink to becoming underweight I started to eat more, but as said, it's less fun than before.
7.) I also learned how to eat forbidden stuff like Peanut M&M, but it's no fun. I'm unable to chew them in really small bits, I keep biting myself with the braces and I don't get the full taste and pleasure of eating. I go for mushy food instead... mashed potatoes, risotto, pasta etc. If pasta, I avoid spaghetti which I have to cut in small pieces. Rice and Couscous is worse than it looks, you have the pieces sticking everywhere in your mouth afterwards. Avocados are a nice addition to my menu.
8.) I also have a bite plate. I got used to it by now, too, but I hate it much more than my braces. Not sure if that helps, but if you don't have one, be happy and don't worry about your braces, they are harmless in comparison.
9.) Before you get braces, help yourself to a cleaning... but allow for some time to recover. After the cleaning, I had some dentine exposed and horribly sensitive teeth. Putting the braces on was VERY bad.
These are the key things that come to mind when reflecting. After all, if that are all the concerns, it's not really bad, is it? And another 11-17 mths, and the story will be over. Even if it's all not bad, I'll be nevertheless glad when it is over
DireWire
I told my husband today that I see so much movement in my teeth and my alignment is better and he said, "my boredom level has been breached." He believes I think about my teeth too much and that I have "extraction gap obessive-compulsive disorder". He claims I spend hours measuring my gap. Obviously an exaggeration.
