Kahle's Story

[Kahle]

I am a 30 yr old office admin for a City government office, having braces for the first time. I know no other adult with braces and have become a great topic of conversation around my office.
Here's a little background info. I've always known that I should have braces, but having lived with the gaps and crookedness so long, I was well used it. I was urged to have braces because my dentist noticed that my jaw socket was flattened instead of rounded. He told me that it was caused by my bad bite and it would cause problems as I got older. It may also be causing my headaches and sinus problems now. I had no idea that your teeth could cause sinus problems!
Anyway, the first step was to have two extractions. Both were baby teeth hanging around. Sounds strange for someone to still have baby teeth in their 30's, but if you can see from the photo, I don't have all of my adult teeth. I am missing my lateral incisors and one first molar on the top and one lateral incisor on the bottom.
The next step was to have top braces put on. I've had them for 4 weeks now. I have to wait for the bottoms, as my front top teeth overlap the bottom too much right now. My front teeth have to be moved up.

The plan is to move my incisors back so that I can have false teeth placed into the gaps. I also need pretty much everything shifted around so it all lines up right.

[Maggie Brace]

Hi Kahle

Good to hear your story. I m 31 and again i know i will be the topic of conversation in work for a while.
I haven t told anyone really so i m a bit nervous about the reaction.

Getting braced on March 25 th and i m going to work from home for a few days so i can get used to speaking and eating again

How are you finding your braces now. Did you have much pain/discomfort. I m worried about not being able to eat as i ve a great appetite and two weeks of scrambled eggs & porridge dosent appeal to me

[Kahle]

Hi Maggie,
I've had a range of reactions from people, but most are supportive. A few stare and say nothing, but most relate stories about when they had braces as a child, or tell me about their children in braces. The comment I have heard the most is how young they make me look.

It's a good idea taking the time off after the first installation. I had mine done on a Thursday and took Friday off. The day of the install, you'll be tired and ache a bit afterwords but it's not to bad. I really started hurting on the day after. There is a constant, dull ache in my teeth but what really bothered me was the sores the bands and brackets made in my mouth. The metal bits are sharp! Your Ortho should give you some wax which will help. I recommend you also buy some baby teething gel. It's wonderful stuff and works immediately.

Finding things to eat was a challenge at first. Pretty much if I couldn't eat it with a spoon or a straw, I wasn't interested. After two days of eating mashed potatoes and pudding, I bought some of those meal replacement shakes. They held me over for another couple of days. I started chewing food again about the 5th day. Just be smarter than me and remember that you can't bite directly into anything.

[Kahle]

Today I went in for my first "tightening". They put on a thicker wire. I think he said it was a 16? Not absolutely sure. I decided on green ligatures this time in honor of St. Patricks Day in a couple of weeks. My husband has already informed me that it doesn't count as "wearing green". If I have to have them for 5 weeks, than it should count!


It felt really strange and painful when they pulled off the other wire. I guess that I am so used to the pressure of the wire, that it hurt more when it was removed. My front 2 teeth are very tender, as they are being moved up and shortened. I didn't realize how tender until the old ligatures were removed. Ouch!

I was allowed to floss and brush between the removal and installation of the new wire. It's amazing how much easier it is to floss without the wire in the way. It's probably the first time in my life I have truly enjoyed flossing.

[Kahle]

Here are the photos next to each other. The biggest change is how much my wire has straightened. Also, one of my front teeth is starting to tilt a bit, but I guess that is to be expected.

[Kahle]

Having a sinus infection and running a fever with a heat activated archwire is not at all fun.

[tori*anne]

Finally, someone who knows what it's like to have retained baby teeth and no adult teeth in sight! I'm 34, missing three adult teeth, have one retained baby tooth, have tons of spaces and an irritating off center midline! Will you get implants where your adult teeth are supposed to be? I am not even sure what I'll do after braces...maybe some type of removable appliance to fill in the spaces... I wish my ortho could just push all my teeth together but then my bite and chewing capabilities would be way off I suppose...
Keep us posted on your journey...best of luck!
Tori

[Kinda Nervous]

I haven't had the nerve yet, to change to a brighter color
power change. I just have grey on the bottom and clear on
the top..... Your color's look great on you. I have teeth just
like yours on the bottom I have two that are spaced out a bit
the othro said they should come to gether, but now I wonder
about my mid line if they do, So much to think about with braces
my ortho says. just sit back and enjoy the ride. UGH, Let me see
now how do you do that...... I have had mine since Dec, and have
a year in a half a head of me.... What has your ortho said about
your spaces ,,,,, anything. Oh does he or she just go to work on you
and say nothing ... Just wondering. Thanks.......

[Kahle]

I've talked with my Ortho a bit about what is to happen, but don't have a complete step-by-step plan. I probably should have asked more questions, but was a bit overwhelmed with all the information he did tell me. Three years in braces! Right now, I am trusting that he knows what he is doing.

What I do know is we are moving my front incisors together and the canines back to open up the spaces even more. This will allow false teeth to be attached to the archwire. We spoke about moving the canines forward into the gaps, but I decided that it wouldn't look as good as the falsies in the front. I'm not sure what is going to happen with the gap between my first and second premolar.

All that has been said about my lower teeth is we need to straighten the midline. I don't know if this will take care of the lower gap or not.

After braces, I will have to make a decision about what to do with the gaps. If I want inplants, bridges or whatever else is used, but it seems so far away at this point!

[Kahle]

I choose pink this time around. I was So Tired of the green! I think if I had used the light green, instead of the dark I would have been happier. The main problem was they were the exact color of the gum I like to chew. I would get bits of gum stuck and couldn't see them. I realize that I could have changed gum, but that would be too easy.
So instead, I have bubblegum pink ligatures because I chew green gum. Makes sense in my world.
I now have a heavy-duty wire. I don't know the size, but it is a rectangle shape. I was also warned that it would be very painful, but it didn't seem to hurt as much going on as the previous wire.

[Kahle]

This new wire really hurts!! Didn't seem too bad going on, but this is the longest recovery yet. 4 days later, and it still hurts! I think it is because we are moving molars, or at least I am developing a space between a premolar and a molar. Still hearing "crackles" when I bite down. I also seem to lisp a lot more all of a sudden.

On the plus side, my two front teeth are now slightly shorter than my canines. I'd never noticed how pointy my canines were until a few days ago. I kind of have a vampire thing going.

[Mimi31]

I choose pink this time around. I was So Tired of the green! I think if I had used the light green, instead of the dark I would have been happier. The main problem was they were the exact color of the gum I like to chew. I would get bits of gum stuck and couldn't see them. I realize that I could have changed gum, but that would be too easy.
So instead, I have bubblegum pink ligatures because I chew green gum. Makes sense in my world.

You can chew gum?? How?

[Kahle]

My Ortho actually recommended that I chew gum, as long as it is the sugarfree kind. He says that it increases the blood flow and will help decrease the pain. I'm not sure if I have noticed it actually decreasing pain, but it did make my teeth itch the first time I chewed it.

I've discovered the best kind is the brands with a hard shell, usually comes in the foil blister packs. The kind that is in the sticks or is all soft tends to string. Let me tell you, when your gum strings with braces, it takes Forever to get the bits out.

It works well as a temporary replacement for wax, also.

[Kahle]

Today I have another rectangle wire with bends and something new. Springs. Their function is to push my front teeth together while moving my canines back. So far, I think their primary function is to cause as much pain as possible! This is the greatest amount of pain I have been in as of yet. (excluding the extractions) I hope it tapers off quickly!


There should be some big changes from this session to the next. Next month, bottom braces!

[Kahle]

The springs are very different feeling. They have a tendancy to catch the skin on the inside of my lips. It doesn't really hurt when it catches, but it has happened often enough that I now have a line of small blisters. Interestingly, it only happens on one side. The other side doesn't catch at all. I've hesitated to put on wax, as I don't think I would be able to get it out afterwords.