*Kristyn's jouney* a little nervous :)

[mkcunningham03]

My name is Kristyn I'm 23 years old and have very little enamel on my teeth so my DDS and I have decided that braces will be good so I will quit grinding my enamel off. I go in for my first appointment this upcoming Monday to get an exam for braces and set up all my appointments, I have several filling that need to be done first so it's going to be a month or two before I actually have braces but I'm a little nervous about getting them done so I figured I would go ahead and start posting for some good advice. I will probably be getting braces the end of September maybe middle of October. I will post Monday and let everyone know how things go and what my time line is.

Other than that I want to tell a little about myself. I'm a mom to 2 kids a girl who is 4 and boy who is 2. And I also deliver my local newspaper but other than that I do not have a job :javascript:emoticon':(') I have been married for 4 years and my husband and I have been together for 6. My husband has had braces before but he doesn't give me any comfort about being nervous about them LOL I'm afraid since my enamel is weak my braces will split my teeth LOL Any suggestions or comments? Thanks! I can't wait to meet everyone! javascript:emoticon(':D')

[mkcunningham03]

So, I should hopefully have my braces in 3 weeks, depending on how much I will need down and if I need spacers etc... I have a dentist appointment, my ortho is my dentist also. i will talk with him and see what we can do. But my appt is Tuesday. I'm really excited and I know braces can sometimes be painful but I'm excited to get them. The reason I have to get the bracesis because I grind my teeth so bad that I am needing my front teeth capped. But they don't want me to be able to grind my caps off so TADA! I have to get braces. which is cool because I have an overbite and one "snaggle" tooth that has always made me mad. lol. So wish me luck and I will update on Tuesday with "the plan"

[mkcunningham03]

So, went to the ortho today... he is ready to start my ortho process but is placing a lower jaw expader on for 4 MONTHS before I can get my braces put on. I don't know ANYONE with a lower jaw expander? Can anyone help me feel a little less nervous about this?!?!?! Thanks!

[mkcunningham03]

Feb 16, 2010 was officially my br[url]ace day! I was so nervous that I went to bed at midnight and woke up at 3:20 because I didn't want to sleep in and be late... And I was nervous.... As I sat there I wondered if this was the right option for me. I am a very indecisive person when it comes to my body in general. So this was a huge step because after all... I have to live with these things for the next 15-18 months.... BUt I decided it was best and I should go with it. So I DID! I was prous of myself for once and I am now in a lot pf pain. They put glue on the back of my right front tooth so I couldnt bite down onto my bracket.. I have an overbite pbviously. BUt it's not helping. Instead of my tooth hit the bracket on my lower tooth now that glue is.... So I might call later and see if I can't get them to change it or something so it will quit hitting my tooth. Other than that. Everything is going good. A little sore. I have been taking Advil to help with pain. It took me a long time. But I finally did it!

[cmone]

Congratulations Kristyn
I am so excited to be joining you and the rest of the full metal jacket wearers of the world! That's cool that your ortho is your dentist & I would be on the phone with them right away about that Mike Tyson tooth! Hope the next few days for you are as pain free as possible.

[Lynne]

Congratulations on starting your journey with braces, you won't regret it, you're a step closer to a wonderful smile.

Things do feel 'strange' the first few weeks and you do feel you'll never get used to it, it really does get much much easier

Hope things settle down for you quickly...

[mikesmile]

Hi Kristyn
I'd like to add my Congratulations to you on officially starting your journey! I'm recently braced myself, but kind of an old timer at this (2nd time now). Believe me you'll get used to them quick. The soreness should subside in a few days. But they do feel so weird in the beginning. I kept habitually running my tongue over them till it got sore. Now, after almost 4 weeks I'm starting to forget they're there......until I eat.

I agree with Ken...that maybe you can make a suggestion to your ortho about molar buildups. It seems that a lot of people who have overbites get them because of a similar problem that you're having.

Good Luck! ...and as you know there's plenty of company here.



P.S. How do your kids like them? My 2 year old daughter watched me getting my braces on!

[mkcunningham03]

My Daughter LOVES THEM! I got pink and purple on the bottom because those are my daughters fav colors. She keeps saying "when I get bigger I want your braces' lol she's 5, so she's got awhile lol. Sorry for my horrible grammar last post... WOW did I mess up a lot. It's just because it was late and I was in a hurry...

So today.. Absolutley none of my teeth hurt but the front top two... I am a BAD BAD BAD grinder at night. And they feel like they are going to rip out when I touch them. So I am thinking I did some grinding last night just because some of the others are sore... but not anything near what my front two are.

Today is my 24th birthday. And I probably won't be able to eat anything, Last night I had potato soup for dinner lol... So I see a big weight drop in my near future because every time I try to eat that darn glue thing on the front tooth hurts me.... I will def call my dentist today. I feel bad for bothering him but I just can't take the pain when it hits my lower bracket. Anyways thank you all for all the congrats. I love this site and hopefully I will get to know everyone! Incase I haven't said.. My ortho time is 15-18 months. So I'm thinking this is going to go by really fast thank god lol.

As for the grinding does anyone else have this problem? What did you do to solve the problem? Thanks everyone!

[opera^gal]

you might look into wearing a night guard when you sleep. I suggest SleepRite by Splintek. Has helped me stop grinding while going through braces.

[mkcunningham03]

Well 3 days down and I'm already pretty used to the braces. Sometimes they get to me, mostly when eating. But other than that they aren't bad. I can't wait to see some results. I know it's going to be painful but I'm regardless excited I will def ask my ortho about a splintek I think it would really help I just didn't know if you could get a mouth guard because your teeth are constantly moving ya know what I mean?

I still haven't called about getting that glue off my front tooth. I hate it. I'm def ready to get them on my molars instead.... Thank you everyone for the input. Anything you think I should know would be greatly appreciated. javascript:emoticon(':tingrin:')


I have been doing good on eating though. Even though losing some weight wouldn't hurt at allllll... I was hoping actually my teeth would hurt a little more so I wouldn't eat so much and I'd lose weight LOL! Well, I'm watching the Olympics so I better go! Everyone have a good night!

[mkcunningham03]

So, I haven't wrote in a few days so I figured I would let everyone know how I'm doing... I actually don't even notice my braces at all anymore unless Im eating. They aren't as bad as I thought they would be. I know when I go to get a tightening it's going to hurt like a complain but as of right now I'm very glad I got them. I think I'm going to start a "Braces Question of the Day" Just to get some responses and to see what other people are doing. So heres question 1...

*Question of the Day*
What made you decide to take the plunge to get braces... And now how do you feel about your decision to get braces?

Leave a comment!

[evilnel]

Question of the Day:

I decided to get them because I had a horrible deep overbite/spacing and was really self conscious. I don't know what really inspired me to take action right now of all times (I'm 23 and in grad school) but I guess I thought, why wait any longer? Besides, I'd feel more pathetic asking my parents for money as a 30-something than a 23 year old student, and since I have no job prospects (I'm going from psych into ministry, lol) it'll be a while before I can afford them myself. Thanks, dad! <3

[mkcunningham03]

I just turned 24 and decided to get them. I'm not in college but have a 5 year old daughter and an almost 3 year old son. I figured I might as well take the time now while I have the money (you know before my kids need cars, and braces of their own... and college money and yadda yadda)

I am glad I took the plunge and the good thing about where I go is I put $2,500 down and pay $280 a month for 7 months. Which is easier than trying to find $4500 all at once. I didn't think I needed braces I had an over bite but my teeth werent badly crooked. BUt I grind my teeth SOOOO bad that I was losing all my enamel. SO I need to get caps on my top front 6 teeth. But since I grind so bad they wanted me to straighten my teeth out so I couldn't grind my caps? Which is understandable. If I am going to spend $7,000 on 6 caps I want them to last as long as possible. So thats my story

[mkcunningham03]

Well it's been awhile since I have wrote. My teeth aren't too bad pain wise. But I BROKE A BRACKET already!!! Well I didn't break it but it came off. It is the very back one on my top right side. I don't have to have those metal sleeves on my teeth just the brackets. But yeah I was SOOO mad. On top of that it was just an overall bad day, I picked my husband up from the airport because he went to Texas to see a friend of his. And I got lost in Indianapolis and was late for work! GAH! Don't you hate those days! Anyways, I just thought I would update even though I don't have anything exciting! Talk to you all later!

[cosmo]

I live in TEXAS!! woot!!