day 1 with lowers

[fra]

They are there! a mix of feelings...
let me tell you from beginning.

Took about two hours we put them on, it was not pleasant but not even worse than what it is usually when you go to a dentist.
When I was done, I was leaving the medical office, I met a friend (to tell the truth not really a friend but just a person I know) I hadn't seen for long.
Well, I looked around, no escape, no way I could find a pole to hidden behind or a faint beard as disguise, she was leaving the office in the exact same instant I was... I could not avoid her, so, ok, I told to myself, just it, I do have to face this. And I just started chatting, my mouth very strange, some words sounded funny, but I was chatting! We took a coffee, and we chatted about one hour, at the end I simply asked her if she noticed. And she said she didn't, not at all, well she might be only kind and polite but at least this means it was not that bad...

So, I was pretty happy, but now I am tired and speech is much worse, sounds like I am drunk and I am a bit discouraged. The difficult ones are the usual I read in this forum: "s" but also "ch" sometimes. But the worse is "z" that in Italian is not soft as in english, it is hard, think about "Grazie" and we have many of them in many words.
I am waiting for my husband to come home, I wanted to try not to tell him for a while (he didn't know that today was the day) to see if he realizes, but I am afraid it is impossible not to hear it now

Eating... Well, I am hungry I didn't have lunch at all, and for dinner I had soft things, but they kind of stuck everywhere in the braces, and it takes my ages to eat. But I already improved from the beginning so I hope I can manage to become faster.

Teeth are a bit sore, but if I do not touch them, not that much.

Another bad part is that braces are really huge (Incognito), the ortho said that my teeth are small and some problems might raise for the gum, since braces are just above gum, and gum might become sore and swollen
But it is difficult to see them, especially from in front of me.

So, I am happy to be at this point, I have some concerns, but considering everything I feel quite positive tonight.

Sorry for the long post...

[triggerhart]

How are you today?

I think it is great you were able to chat for an hour without your friend noticing! You will be much more aware of any differences than anyone else so don't be discouraged just because of how you sound to yourself.

Cleaning the brace gets much quicker with practice.

I bet you'll be absolutely fine in a few days time.

[fra]

I am doing pretty fine, thank you for asking.
My speech is more or less as it was on Friday, "z" and some "s" are still difficult, especially in the evening or just awake. I don't know if the other notice, it is probably true that we hear the differences much more than the others, from the outside. I have not asked my husband if he noticed, I will ask later.
The tongue is not sore, and the teeth that were sore on Friday (not too much however) are fine now.
I improved eating, but I was at home and chose what to eat. Say, a steak is not of me, not even with plenty of time, but I could eat more and better.
So far, I am pretty happy and I feel confident that I will survive to my first day at work tomorrow

Triggerhart, how are you doing? do you feel better?

[triggerhart]

I'm glad to hear it is all going well for you. If your husband hasn't already had to ask you to repeat yourself loads of times I would guess your speech is coming along nicely! I know what you mean about eating - I don't think I could manage anything too chewy but I'm certainly able to eat more foods than I could a few weeks ago.

I have found my new brace a total breeze. I have a very minor lisp which I guess no one else can hear and only one slightly sore spot on my inner cheek. I saw my best friend yesterday and after 3 or 4 minutes chatting I had to point out my ceramic brace to her! Although it is on the front it really isn't that obvious which is great. And of course the best thing of all is that I can speak clearly again. I spent yesterday morning standing in our local shopping centre handing out free 'powerdown' plugs and had to explain many times what they are and how they work. I kept thinking to myself there is no way I could have done that with my lingual brace. Those weeks of struggling with my lingual were tough and I am so pleased it is all behind me now.

Keep us posted with your progress.

All the best