Hi all,
I am new to this forum. I just browsed around and found a lot of interesting informations, and some scaring ones... but that is probably just meaning I am becoming more aware of what is going to be.
I am putting incognito, starting from the lower in two days, and, useless to say, I am really nervous! My treatment is supposed to last about 2y.
I am 40 (I know it is late, but life is strange and I came to this decision only now) and I am Italian, so excuse me in advance if my expressions are not always correct, or sound weird.
Here are my main concerns today, and a few related questions:
1. I am mostly worried for the speech problems, due to my job that requires talking in public quite often. I see you always mention problems with the 's', don't you have problems with the "th"? And we have in Italian a lot of sounds like "sc", and "st" is that going to be hard?
2. I have gaps between teeth, I guess it will be visible a little bit, how much is it going to be visible?
3. I think I will have to wear those stuff not to make lower teeth touch the upper braces, will I have problems eating? any experience/suggestion?
4. For the initial sore, what should I keep home for Friday, have you taken anything?
Thanks for your answers!
Ciao.
f
starting in 2 days
Moderator: bbsadmin
Hi Fra!
Good for you for taking the plunge!! I am on day 8 so I totally understand your anxieties... I felt the same the few days before I pretty much still do really as its all very new.
In terms of your questions:
1. On day 8 I am still lisping, it is worse for 's' sounds, the few people I have spoken to since tell me that the rest of my speech sounds normal although I notice differences, but anything with an s is rather difficult at the moment, except 'sh' - that seems to be ok. From what I hear this does seem to go away although everyone is different so for some they will have hardly any problems adjusting and others take much longer. I am hoping mine will be gone soon as it is very frustrating now and I'm starting to feel like it never will!! But fingers crossed - if you read other posts it seems most people are overall quite happy a few weeks/month into treatment!! You might be one of the lucky ones! As for the 'th' - its a little lispy but not as bad as s in my experience anyway!
2. I have a couple of gaps - you reeeally dont notice it! On one of them you can spot it if u really look hard but I think you'd have to know it was there to notice! The wires sit really high up so you cant easily spot them.
3. Eating seems to vary from what I have read, the first day I ate salmon and mashed potato - make sure you have a variety of soft things in for the first few days - I've eaten a lot of fish, mash, pasta type things and yoghurt. The main problem I've had is biting, firstly because my teeth were so sore but then also because I'm scared of breaking them lol! If you eat soft things to begin with you can experiment in how much you chew, I had a few problems but have kind of adjusted how I chew and its not too bad now, although am still on soft things overall... I managed a lamb shank today which was lovely (slow cooked so very soft!) but dont think I'd be able to manage a steak just yet!!
4. In terms of soreness, it wasnt as bad as I imagined it might be but again it seems everyone is different. The teeth themselves were sore at first, kind of achey pain and a couple of teeth hurt much more than others - I dont know whether these had more pressure or what but it hurt when I tried to chew or bite anything for the first few days. I took a couple of paracetamol at times when it felt particularly bad but overall it wasnt too bad. They will give you wax to help if you get any tongue soreness from rubbing but I was very pleasantly suprised by that side of things - heard horror stories of shredded tongues but I was ok on that side of things!
Make sure you have plenty of toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss (crest glide is good because it doesnt shred - the first one I got was awful coz it was a kind of expanding one that is probably great if you dont have braces but kept getting stuck on them!!) Get some interdental brushes - I ordered a pack of mixed sizes from tepe so you can try out the sizes and find which is best. If your ortho doesnt give you one ask for a floss threader, or buy one, this will help you floss above the wires! And like everyone will tell you drink lots of water, it seems the drier your mouth is the harder it is to talk and the more the braces seem to rub your tongue!
Sorry I've written loads, and I hope it doesnt sound too negative, my ortho warned me to expect the first few days to be awful! It has got easier already tho, my main gripe now is the speech and not being able to eat certain things... but I'm hoping things will keep improving!! The time is obviously right for you, so the initial difficulties should be well worth it!
x
Good for you for taking the plunge!! I am on day 8 so I totally understand your anxieties... I felt the same the few days before I pretty much still do really as its all very new.
In terms of your questions:
1. On day 8 I am still lisping, it is worse for 's' sounds, the few people I have spoken to since tell me that the rest of my speech sounds normal although I notice differences, but anything with an s is rather difficult at the moment, except 'sh' - that seems to be ok. From what I hear this does seem to go away although everyone is different so for some they will have hardly any problems adjusting and others take much longer. I am hoping mine will be gone soon as it is very frustrating now and I'm starting to feel like it never will!! But fingers crossed - if you read other posts it seems most people are overall quite happy a few weeks/month into treatment!! You might be one of the lucky ones! As for the 'th' - its a little lispy but not as bad as s in my experience anyway!
2. I have a couple of gaps - you reeeally dont notice it! On one of them you can spot it if u really look hard but I think you'd have to know it was there to notice! The wires sit really high up so you cant easily spot them.
3. Eating seems to vary from what I have read, the first day I ate salmon and mashed potato - make sure you have a variety of soft things in for the first few days - I've eaten a lot of fish, mash, pasta type things and yoghurt. The main problem I've had is biting, firstly because my teeth were so sore but then also because I'm scared of breaking them lol! If you eat soft things to begin with you can experiment in how much you chew, I had a few problems but have kind of adjusted how I chew and its not too bad now, although am still on soft things overall... I managed a lamb shank today which was lovely (slow cooked so very soft!) but dont think I'd be able to manage a steak just yet!!
4. In terms of soreness, it wasnt as bad as I imagined it might be but again it seems everyone is different. The teeth themselves were sore at first, kind of achey pain and a couple of teeth hurt much more than others - I dont know whether these had more pressure or what but it hurt when I tried to chew or bite anything for the first few days. I took a couple of paracetamol at times when it felt particularly bad but overall it wasnt too bad. They will give you wax to help if you get any tongue soreness from rubbing but I was very pleasantly suprised by that side of things - heard horror stories of shredded tongues but I was ok on that side of things!
Make sure you have plenty of toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss (crest glide is good because it doesnt shred - the first one I got was awful coz it was a kind of expanding one that is probably great if you dont have braces but kept getting stuck on them!!) Get some interdental brushes - I ordered a pack of mixed sizes from tepe so you can try out the sizes and find which is best. If your ortho doesnt give you one ask for a floss threader, or buy one, this will help you floss above the wires! And like everyone will tell you drink lots of water, it seems the drier your mouth is the harder it is to talk and the more the braces seem to rub your tongue!
Sorry I've written loads, and I hope it doesnt sound too negative, my ortho warned me to expect the first few days to be awful! It has got easier already tho, my main gripe now is the speech and not being able to eat certain things... but I'm hoping things will keep improving!! The time is obviously right for you, so the initial difficulties should be well worth it!
xMy lingual experience so far: http://lingual-love.blogspot.com/
... I lied, I'm on day 10! Got my days mixed up!
My lingual experience so far: http://lingual-love.blogspot.com/
-
triggerhart
- Posts: 29
- Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 10:11 am
Hi there!
I just wanted to wish you all the best for your brace fitting. I'm sure they'll be people with more experience to give you some advice but here's my tuppence worth....
In terms of comfort and soreness it was much better than I expected. Towards the end of the first week I had a horrible sore on my tongue but some anaesthetic gel eased the symptoms and it healed up really well. The only thing I notice now is that the tip of my tongue is more sensitive to hot food and drinks. I haven't got any gaps so I can't really give you any answer on that score.
Unfortunately my speech problems have been bad but I must stress that this seems to be very unusual. For me that's been the only downside. Other than that I would say my lingual brace is pretty perfect. The speech issue is a big one for me personally and so my lingual is coming off. However my Orthodontist has never encountered this before so please, please don't let it worry you unduly - I bet you'll be one of the happy majority where any speech issues are minor and quickly resolved.
Good luck and let us know how it goes
I just wanted to wish you all the best for your brace fitting. I'm sure they'll be people with more experience to give you some advice but here's my tuppence worth....
In terms of comfort and soreness it was much better than I expected. Towards the end of the first week I had a horrible sore on my tongue but some anaesthetic gel eased the symptoms and it healed up really well. The only thing I notice now is that the tip of my tongue is more sensitive to hot food and drinks. I haven't got any gaps so I can't really give you any answer on that score.
Unfortunately my speech problems have been bad but I must stress that this seems to be very unusual. For me that's been the only downside. Other than that I would say my lingual brace is pretty perfect. The speech issue is a big one for me personally and so my lingual is coming off. However my Orthodontist has never encountered this before so please, please don't let it worry you unduly - I bet you'll be one of the happy majority where any speech issues are minor and quickly resolved.
Good luck and let us know how it goes
Thanks BecStar for your reply and for sharing your experience. It is somehow reassuring to have the idea of belonging to a community of people living the same kind of experience.
I am putting the lower on first, that, from what I get from the forum is usually "easier" and in my case it is probably less visible (my lower are in a good position, just the doc was absolutely firm is wanting the lowers also, he mentioned that the mouth is like a watch and you must have everything under control).
The answer about the gaps is also encouraging. I do realize that in these days I am sometimes thinking that I am smiling and how I am doing it and wondering how it will be when I will wear the braces...
For the food, in Italy with pasta and rice is not that difficult to have soft food, even if we eat pasta not as soft as you do abroad, it is still soft
my concerns are a bit related to the fact that I usually have lunch with colleagues and we eat in the canteen at the speed of ogres
From the one side, I do envy you for already being at day 10.
Being 40, yes, I am more selfconfident than ever, and this probably makes it easier.
F.
I am putting the lower on first, that, from what I get from the forum is usually "easier" and in my case it is probably less visible (my lower are in a good position, just the doc was absolutely firm is wanting the lowers also, he mentioned that the mouth is like a watch and you must have everything under control).
The answer about the gaps is also encouraging. I do realize that in these days I am sometimes thinking that I am smiling and how I am doing it and wondering how it will be when I will wear the braces...
For the food, in Italy with pasta and rice is not that difficult to have soft food, even if we eat pasta not as soft as you do abroad, it is still soft
my concerns are a bit related to the fact that I usually have lunch with colleagues and we eat in the canteen at the speed of ogres
From the one side, I do envy you for already being at day 10.
Being 40, yes, I am more selfconfident than ever, and this probably makes it easier.
F.
I've had ibraces on for 22 months. I got them on when I was 27 years old. Treatment was estimated 18-24 months and my doctor says they should be off in a couple of months.
Speaking was tough for the first few days but gets much easier so hang in there! I was given the "Rainbow Passage" to practice speaking and that helped. Now, at the end of my treatment, I have slight lisp if my mouth is dry so I recommend drinking lots of water and using chapstick.
It is difficult to see the wire between spaces unless someone is a few inches from your face.
As for eating, when you first get them on, you'll be sore but food like yogurt, ice cream, potatoes, and anything soft will get you by. Usually when you get the wires changed or tightened, your teeth will be sore so you may have to go to soft foods and smoothies for a couple of days each month. It's not too difficult and just remind yourself of the amazing results you'll have at the end.
For me, a glass or two of wine takes the pain away if they're sore! But Tylenol or Advil work too:)
Good luck!
Speaking was tough for the first few days but gets much easier so hang in there! I was given the "Rainbow Passage" to practice speaking and that helped. Now, at the end of my treatment, I have slight lisp if my mouth is dry so I recommend drinking lots of water and using chapstick.
It is difficult to see the wire between spaces unless someone is a few inches from your face.
As for eating, when you first get them on, you'll be sore but food like yogurt, ice cream, potatoes, and anything soft will get you by. Usually when you get the wires changed or tightened, your teeth will be sore so you may have to go to soft foods and smoothies for a couple of days each month. It's not too difficult and just remind yourself of the amazing results you'll have at the end.
For me, a glass or two of wine takes the pain away if they're sore! But Tylenol or Advil work too:)
Good luck!