Ow!!!

Message

#1 Post by **I want to smile!** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:09 am

Ok, having cheerfully told everyone I wasn't going to complain about my braces, and that I would save all my moaning for post-surgery, I now feel the need to vent and just say ow ow OW OW OW OW OW OW!

I just had my spacers taken out this morning and now I have rings of metal around four double teeth and the hugest amounts of metalwork poking out from the sides of them. (The girl in the next treatment area was having her brace off - how bad is it to feel jealous of a 15 year-old??)I just about managed a mushy banana for lunch having lost interest in all types of soup long ago and am having a serious sense of humour failure. And having thought my surgery would be early next year it turns out it'll be more like the end of the year. Humph!

So do these horrible rings feel like hell for long? Is it just a case of more paracetamol? And how on earth am I supposed to clean my teeth? Anyone been there, done that, survived with healthy teeth?!

#2 Post by **macgirl4ever** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:16 am

Take heart, everyone goes through the immediate phase of not liking their braces! It will get better (then worse) then better again. You will eat before you know it. For me, I couldn't eat and the. I woke up one day and sunk my teeth into actual food. Until then, I highly recommend a waterpik for cleaning and wish you the very best of luck. (I'm jealous of all the teenagers @ my orthos office!)

#3 Post by **I want to smile!** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:30 am

The braces themselves have never bothered me, but I think the big chunks of metal sticking out the side of the rings must be something to do with the surgery and they are what's hurting. Thanks for 'listening' to my rant though - I feel better already knowing I'm not the only one with brace-rage and a totally unreasonable envy of kids!!

#4 Post by **Vulcan** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:11 am

I have not and will not have any surgery and my metal bands have "cleats" on them as well. Most people I think have them on their bands. I think they are used for some types of elastics although I am not 100% sure.

#5 Post by **felicia** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 12:00 pm

My first week with braces, I practically starved and when I was doing my cleaning routine I had tears in my eyes because of the soreness. But a week went by and all the problems disappeared and I got better and faster at flossing, brushing etc.
Now, a year later, I can pick the food out of my teeth and brackets just with my tongue, I don't even need a mirror...ha ha...things get so much easier...
Just hang in there!

#6 Post by **I want to smile!** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 7:02 am

Thanks for your messages. I think I was lulled into thinking that I was going to be lucky enough not to suffer because the brace over the first five teeth on each corner of my mouth has been there for four months and not caused me any trouble at all. So to suddenly have my mouth torn to shreds by the bands was bit of a shock. Ah well. Like you say - it can only get better and I@m very grateful to whoever invented dental wax!

#7 Post by **farmboy** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 10:50 pm

It happens.

About two weeks into my treatment, I bit into something during dinner and it popped a bracket off of one of my cuspids. Embarassed, I picked up the phone and left message asking my orthodontist for an emergency appointment.

The next day I figured out I didn't have a broken bracket at all. My tooth was just so loose, it wobbled up and down just like a wayward bracket would!

Luckily, my ortho's receptionist was very gracious when I sheepishly called and admitted my rookie mistake.

Since then, I've noticed I'll have random teeth get sore, with the soreness hopscotching around my mouth for no apparent reason. At least we know our teeth are moving when this happens!

#8 Post by **felicia** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 7:13 am

The next day I figured out I didn't have a broken bracket at all. My tooth was just so loose, it wobbled up and down just like a wayward bracket would!

Wow! my teeth were never that wobbly...that would scare me.

#9 Post by **felicia** » Thu Aug 26, 2010 7:14 am

I was quoting FARMBOY.

Thu Aug 26, 2010 9:27 am

Yikes! A friend who had braces as a teenager already warned me that once the braces are off it'll feel like ALL my teeth are about to fall out. Can't wait for that day!!

Sat Aug 28, 2010 3:00 am

So here I am four days after the bands from hell were fitted, and still not back to 'normal'. I'm using vast amounts of wax, so the insides of my cheeks are not too bad, but I have a constant dull ache in my lower jaw and moderate headache. I'm ok first thing in the morning, but by mid-afternoon I'm reaching for the painkillers. It's also really uncomfortable talking for more than a few minutes at a time, which is a real nuisance when you've got small kids asking for stories. Any idea how long I can expect this phase to last?