People are freaking me out.

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#1 Post by **ashesgap** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 7:26 pm

I'm very excited to get braces. So excited, that i keep reading these posts. The problem is some people aren't enjoying their time in braces at all. And its freaking me out. One person is talking about sores in their mouth that are oozing? Ew. Another is crying all the time cause she hates the braces so much.
Some one tell me this isn't the norm. I've waited years to get braces to accomidate my husbands career. With all that waiting i'm excited to have a date to put them on, and i need someone to tell me its not as bad as these people are saying. I'm hoping the fact that i had to wait so long will make me more tolerant to the pain/inconvienance of the them.
What do you think?

#2 Post by **Vieve25** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 7:49 pm

Hey there! I do not yet have braces either but it looks as though you and I are in for the same upcoming treatment! I am 25 and my left adult canine is impacted. i am going in for my second consult March 2nd and then will have my scheduled Brace Day! I AM SO EXCITED - I have wanted braces off and on my whole life but it wasnt really as important back then as it is now. We should keep each other updated on progress!!!! And do not worry about getting braces - I think its all mind over matter really - its not going to be all peaches and cream, but I am more excited than not. I am going to have ceramic braces on the top and metal on the lowers. I am sooo pumped! ... I just hope this dang tooth comes down.....

#3 Post by **Flaka** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 7:54 pm

It is not so bad, believe me. You will go through various stages while in braces. The new look, the sores here and there from the brackets or wire, the pressure of elastics(if you get them), adjustments, etc, but just remember that they aren't permanet. Almost 2 years after and I seriously don't care anymore, they don't bother me, they are part of me and to be honest, they have not limited my life in any way. I think the best thing to do, is not to focus on them. I am not even close to being finished and I can honestly say it has not been painful. I guess it all depends on the person and their pain tolerance.

At then end, it will be worth it. Good luck with your journey

#4 Post by **Vieve25** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 7:59 pm

i oo am obsessing with this website and all these posts - my Husband actually laughs at me...... im constantly researching and looking up images of what my braces will look like and secretly praying that my teeth end up looking as good as most the peoples do on here!!!! My teeth actually look ok, its just the crooked smile on the left side from the baby tooth - so I fear i may look even worse with a gap once we get started here....hmmmph!!! oh well.... nothing ventured nothing gained!

#5 Post by **nomad629** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 8:28 pm

I started in Invisalign at 40 years old. Waited a long time to get things straight and have been very pleased with the results...never knew what a correct bite was supposed to feel like. My ortho and I made the decision to switch to wires top and bottom in July of 2008 because the Invisalign reached a "plateau" where there just was not enough torque to accomplish some of the major rotation I needed. Not going to lie, the first week is the worst as the inside of your lips & cheeks get used to the "new neighbors." After that I never experienced significant pain...a little soreness after adjustments and a poking wire now and then. Nothing a Motrin or little ball of dental wax could not solve. It is amazing and exciting to experience the changes in your teeth. Wear them confidently and practice good dental hygiene. Best of luck to you....the end result makes it all worthwhile!!

#6 Post by **ashesgap** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 8:54 pm

Hey Vieve- I am also constantly on this site. Not like things will change in five minutes, but i still check. lol. I'm actually genetically missing my upper laterals. So we'll be moving my adult canines into their place, and i'll get some type of replacement for the two i'm missing. My dentist has no idea why the baby canine didn't fall out, it barely had a root. Came out really easy for him, and i don't even have to worry about dry socket or anything, since there was no socket. hope it goes as easy for you.
I'm sure i'll be fine with the braces...i wish my ortho had an earlier time to brace me....i'm going to obsess about it till they're on.

#7 Post by **jeh** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:19 pm

The people who are "crying all the time" quite frankly have mental health issues going on. If you read their posts they usually aren't crying over pain, it is random emotional issues usually not grounded in much of anything. I do wish them the best but quite frankly they probably have scared some people away from braces without any good reason.

In any case, here's how getting braces goes. Your mileage may vary somewhat:

Week 1: Feeling of pressure on your front teeth that is uncomfortable when biting down on something, brackets dragging on your lips which may cause some pain, and a little bit of trouble speaking caused mostly by the fact that it is hard to move your lips over the brackets.
Week 2: Lips move easily over brackets, not much pain left on lips, still some pressure on front teeth.
Week 3: You feel like you've had braces forever and stop noticing them. On the second or third day of braces you may not believe that this point can ever be possible, but in reality it comes so quickly.

There will always be a little bit of a feeling of pressure on your front teeth, and this will be at its worst after each adjustment, but its not a big deal at all.

I feel that the people with sores in their mouth that are oozing are relying too much on dental wax and their lips never adjust. It may take somewhat longer for some people, but thankfully, the human body is very adaptable.

This is going to go down as one of those things that you thought would be tough but ended up being nothing.

#8 Post by **Christy** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:46 pm

Hi,
I hope to be able to keep up with your post because I also have a baby tooth that does not want to leave me! I just got my braces Wednesday and was horrified after reading post. It was not nearly as bad as I expected. Take Ibroprofen or something before you go and bring chapstick to use whenever the Ortho gives you a break.

Dont stress, everyone is different but it really is not that bad. I went on as normal after being braced just adjusted my meals to soft. I ate soups, oatmeal, baked potatoes, the warm felt very good and lots of ice cream. I continued to take ibroprofen on a regular basis for several days and continued watching my childs softball, soccer & basketball practices.

Good Luck, let me know how it goes!

#9 Post by **glenncoyle** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:49 pm

its a piece of pie this braces thing!!!

for me the scariest part was going into surgery to start the jaw expanding process. to be honest, i worked myself up for nothing... yea i was a bit swollen for a couple of weeks, but it wasnt half as bad as i thought it would be.

Braces so far; havent needed wax, have had a couple of adjustments, and must admit the self litigating lowers are easier to handle the ceramic tops, however saying that, is there any issue, nope

do what you wanna do, most of the heartach is from the unknow, and i can tell you know, there will be no longer than a few seconds of discomfort in adjustments.

good luck with it all!!

#10 Post by **appygirl82** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:33 pm

I just got mine at the end of January. Like the others have said, the first week or two is just learning how to deal with them and eating. Really only the first week was the most annoying. Now after 3 weeks I don't really have any issues at all anymore. Eating has become a chore (picking stuff outta teeth constantly) but that just falls under the "really annoying" part! At this point my teeth dont really hurt, they are still sensitive to hot and cold but thats pretty much it!

I would suggest to not "baby" your teeth, they will be painful at first. You will not want to really chew anything. I had great sucess with eating as normal as I could...kinda tough thru the pain a bit, it will actually help your teeth to be less sore! Also the wax issue....I only used it for like the first week. Again I agree with others on this one...you kind of need to allow your mouth to adjust to it...trust me it will adjust quicker than you think. I would use salt water rinses at night, it helps TONS to heal those sores and soothe them!!!

I am 27 and wanted braces my whole life....I broke out my 2 front teeth when I was 5 and the dentist did a horrible job. I have never gotten them fixed (veneers). So still to this day, I have temp material for teeth up there, they are crooked and have always made me hate my smile. Soooooooooo since I get to spend a grip load of money now as an adult to have veneers put on, I decided to finally get my braces put on since ideally they want braces to be done before they do the veneers!! I was soooooooooo excited to finally get them,. Trust me the first week I honestly wanted to rip them out of my mouth and wondered what the heck I got myself into. But now its getting better.

#11 Post by **evilnel** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 11:01 pm

Some people tend to handle it worse than others or have a lower threshold for pain or annoyance. Personally, I have found the entire experience extremely underwhelming. I built it up to be a huge big deal in my head, and when it finally happened, nobody noticed, the pain was more like 'discomfort' than anything else, and the inconveniences were just that--inconveniences, not anything to get your panties in a twist over.

Here has been my experience:

Pain: On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being mild and 10 being extreme, I would put my pain in braces solidly at a 3. I've had days where it hurt to chew, so I took a pain killer and ate soft foods. It hurts after an adjustment, and sometimes at random about 1 month after an adjustment, but it's an ache, not sharp pain, and I liken it to a sore muscle that's been overtaxed.

Sores: Because of shifting wires, sometimes I get a sore spot, but wax always helps ease the discomfort, and if it's really bad you can go get the wire clipped. The "rub sores" from the brackets for me only lasted the first few days and were easily dispatched with wax and anbesol.

Inconvenience: It can be a pain in the butt to have to unwrap spinach from your wires, or dislodge the bread or meat that gets stuck, but this usually takes less than 5 minutes in the bathroom, and it's good hygiene to brush your teeth after eating anyway, so it's not a bad habit to get into. I avoid some foods I'd rather eat (like popcorn and nuts) but for the most part, it's not a problem.

In conclusion, I would say that there are some people who are either not as ept at handling discomfort, or as another poster pointed out, have some personal issues that make them more likely to have anxiety/panic over the process or any pain they experience. I've had my braces for 4.5 months and the changes have been extremely positive, and most of the time I don't even notice I'm wearing braces. I would definitely say, don't let negative nellies scare you off! It's so worth it!

#12 Post by **UGH!NOTAGAIN** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:07 am

its not so bad ..lol i just rather have them off then on...but i know that at the end the results are gonna be worth it..

....it will be sore at the beginning but now im back to eating the usual...thai...chinese..before i couldnt even chew rice... and i dont care if someone was to say something cause i know my teeth will be better than theirs lol and ive notcied so many more people have braces so its like a club lol

treatment will be a pain. but its not the worst thing in the world.

#13 Post by **Vieve25** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:46 am

So heres my question now - I 100% thought I wanted the ceramic uppers - I do drink coffee every day and a diet pepsi probably once a day - I want the ligs to look good on the top so am I correct to tell the Ortho I would like smoke colored Ligs?? I am getting metal on the bottom so I may do either smoke or baby blue haha!

#14 Post by **Vieve25** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:51 am

oh - and I think I heard the Ortho say that the type of ceramics they offer are Clarity.... I believe..... anyone have pics of ceramic uppers and metal lowers? (and can you tell my what color ligs you like with your ceramics?) thanks!

#15 Post by **ashesgap** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:00 am

I'm getting metal uppers and lowers because i don't want the ligs getting yucky. My ortho told me people always come in with them looking a little dingy. From what i've read on here people say the smoke and light blue don't stain too bad.
Thank you everyone for making me feel better. I've had two kids going as long as possible without meds, so i think i'm good in the pain department. And i'm going to be making my fav potato soup in the Crockpot the day i get them put on...that'll make it easier.