IceBlonde update - spacers again?!

[IceBlonde]

Hi all,

I have been MIA for a while, lots of stuff going on...So, I was finally supposed to have my quad helix installed last Friday (my ortho decided to wait a while, and then we waited until I got back from vacation...) It turns out that my crowded teeth pushed my molars back together so tightly that he couldn't get the metal bands on.

Sooo, he had to put the dreaded spacers back in Owwww! I was awakened the next morning at about 4:30 am with the worst headache! The pin from my jaw had shot down my neck and into my shoulder. This is worse than the first time they were in. I had to take my migraine meds...

I have been eating "geriatric" style all week, nothing to hard to chew. Fortunately, they are coming out Friday, and the quad helix will be going in. I am sure THAT is going to be F-U-N.

I just had to vent on how much I hate spacers!

I will report back when the expander goes in!

*IceBlonde

[ripchord]

Hey Ice, sorry to hear your spacers are giving you a hard time. Just know that spacers are definitely the worst part of braces (in my opinion, and many others'). Once it's over, you'll be well on your way to an awesome smile. Keep your head up

[IceBlonde]

Hi Ripchord,

Thanks for the kind words I definitely agree that the spacers have been the worst part of the treatment so far. We'll see what I have to say once the expander goes in, though


*IceBlonde

[Kjaere]

I have been in braces for a month and my next appointment in a few weeks I have to get more spacers too... I am just starting to get used to braces and now back to more spacers... bleh I'm not looking forward to that at all So, needless to say, I share your frustration... hang in there... this will all be worth it someday, right

[IceBlonde]

Hi Kjaere,

Before my upper brackets went on, they put in spacers between both upper and lower molars. This was kind of weird because my lower brackets weren't going on for some time, but they did put the molar bands on. My ortho knew that the expander wasn't going in for a while, so I wonder why I had to endure the upper spacer torture in the beginning (hmmm...)
They might have had to do it just to size the molar bands...my teeth are very crowded, I used to be able to cut through the floss when I flossed them.

In any case, they are coming out Friday, and I am very happy for that. I am a bit nervous about life with the expander. It seems not many people on this board have had experience with that (without surgery)

Good luck with your re-spacing!
*IceBlonde

[IceBlonde]

Hi,

Just came back from my lunchtime ortho appointment to have the quad helix installed (finally).
Didn't take long to cement in, and it doesn't seem to be as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Granted, it IS annoying...imagine having a couple of bent paperclips in the roof of your mouth all day. The biggest thing I am noticing is my tongue pressing up against it and rubbing. My speech hasn't been greatly altered because the wires do come that close to my front teeth (no lisping).
The side wires squeeze the tongue when I talk, but it doesn't cause a noticeable difference.

I came back to the office, and had tomato soup and an english muffin for lunch. Eating was a little strange, but not a huge deal. We'll see what Thanksgiving is going to be Doc said it would be in for 4-6 months depending on how fast things move.

Since I am at work right now, no pix yet, but I will snap some over the weekend for those who are morbidly curious

*IceBlonde

[kaydee]

I just wanted to ask all you guys that have had spacers a question. I have just had my spacers/seperators put in today, and they are these little blue elastic thingies. Are these the things that give everyone so much grief or is there a different type? So far no pain and I hardly even know they are there. Just wanted to know if they get worse than this, I have had them in for about 5 hours now. It only took about 3 minutes to put 6 in. I could even be totally off the mark here and spacers and seperators might be two different things. I dont know!!!

[junkee]

hi iceblonde... i'm having trouble finding info on people's experience with a quad-helix. An ortho recommended i get one but it doesn't seem to be to popular around here. Its great that your speech wasn't affected much... that is my biggest concern. An update on your progress with it would be greatly appreciated. Do these things actually work adults?

[IceBlonde]

Hi Junkee,

You know, I just logged on here today after a long absence (the message board was down for a while), and saw your post.

I currently have a quad helix, and am 35 yrs old. I had it put in the week before Thanksgiving (2008), and it's supposed to be in for about 6 months. I was also very much not into the surgery thing, and luckily, my ortho has had success using this appliance in adults for gentle expansion. It works very slowly, so here we are in January, and we can't see any real changes yet.
It took me about a week to get used to it...mine isn't really near my front teeth too much, so my speech was minimally impacted. I didn't lisp or "drool" at all, like some of the people on here have mentioned.
My tongue had sore spots for a while from the rubbing of the metal, but it went away eventually. Eating can be challenging, but not horrible, as food does tend to get wrapped around it (spinach is the WORST). I just brush after eating, and it's fine.
Anything else you would like to know, just ask!
Sorry for the late reply; I didn't realize the board was back up!

*IceBlonde

[junkee]

thanks for your reply. I'm surprised you haven't seen any movement yet. My ortho told me that he would be able to tell if its gonna work within the first month or two. I'm crossing my fingers... it would be awful to go through it for nothing. Well i have spacers in now and will be getting the expander on in a little over a week. I feel i can deal with any pain or eating problems but i'm just soo worried about my speech. I can't imagine being at work with a huge lisp. Hopefully i will be as lucky as you in that respect. good luck on seeing some movement soon!