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#1 Post by **White Fang** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 11:21 am

Hello all,

My top braces went on this morning! Top is lingual and the bottom ones, regular metal, will go on next month. It's supposed to be 18 months to 2 years. I'm 33.

I was advised to get them as a kid but there was no money for it, and then once again in my teens when I was about to head off to college, but at that point I refused. I still think I was right to not get them then, because it would have been a super stressful time to do it. But now my teeth are quite a bit more crooked and ground down and a real sore spot for my self image so I'm finally going for it. Also, I finally finished paying off my student loan so I felt like I could focus on the next big thing.

I was really, really nervous. The first ortho I had a consult with left me in tears. He advised extractions which I couldn't face. I like the ortho I have now even though the process is really flipping me out.

After a consult with ortho # 2 (the one I decided to go with,) I had a dream that my spine stopped working properly and that I needed to use a special chair which had a series of iron bars up the back, which shot one by one through each of my vertebrae and held me upright. When it came time to leave the chair I pushed a button and the bars retracted one by one until I slumped all the way forward and out of the chair. When I woke up I said Gosh I guess I have some anxiety about the braces.

The appointment today lasted 1 1/2 hours. First she sandblasted the back of my top teeth to completely clean them off before attaching the braces. I asked her if the sand was made of ground up teeth and she said looked completely horrified and said no. Mouth full of sand wasn't fun but that was pretty much the worst of it. They stuck a mouth speculum thing in to keep my mouth open, then applied glue to the back of my top teeth. My special "appliance" for the top was sitting in a plastic mold of my teeth which she inserted on my teeth, waited for glue to bond then pulled off. The back ones stuck on fine, but she had to re-do the front ones one at a time by hand. Then she went in with pliers to add the wire.

I now feel like Robocop or like I'm chewing a mouth full of paperclips but no real pain so far.

More to come, hope these 18 months go fast.

#2 Post by **White Fang** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 7:49 pm

I wasn't expecting that the lingual braces would have such large portions of metal wrapping around underneath onto the flat part of my teeth. When I bite down, it's like biting into a seat belt. I thought they would be bonded just onto the backside of my teeth... eating has not been very fun.

#3 Post by **White Fang** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 7:13 am

Good morning, first full day with braces! I think I clenched last night because my teeth are really hurting this morning... or maybe they are just starting to move! Hope so!

I want to make a stop-motion animation of this process and am therefore taking a photo from the same angle each day. I think once I'm able to see a change, it will be a big motivator. Right now I feel like the world'th hugetht dork.

#4 Post by **Melody85** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 7:17 am

Congratulations on taking the plunge! Keep us updated with your progress, we love to see how you go. The first few months are the hardest as you get used to them, but after that it gets much easier. you will love the end result - I find that taking pics of your progress and seeing the changes really helps to keep you feeling motivated and that it is worthwhile. you don't have to share your pics, even if you just keep them as a reference for yourself. Good luck, and if you have any questions then please share and we will give you advice and support.

#5 Post by **White Fang** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:51 am

Thanks for the support, Melody85! Reading other people's experiences on this board has been extremely helpful, not to mention interesting...

My 1-week anniversary is today. I don't feel the constant pressure on my teeth that I did at first, but I'm still having a lot of trouble eating. Biting down hurts. I can't use my front two teeth at all, and am mostly gumming everything in the back, on the right. I'm still eating all mushy food and cutting everything up really small. I'm worried about getting enough leafy greens, since those appear to be totally impossible (I've tried a few times now.) There was also what I'm calling The Asparagus Incident night before last, which shall never be repeated.

In other news, I think I wasted $50 on a waterpik. My ortho's assistant gave me the hard sell on one right after putting my top brace on, so we went and got one, but when I tried it last night it felt like drowning! I'm going to look around for other people's experiences... maybe there is a learning curve. I also seem to remember some horror stories out there about people accidentally slicing up their gums etc. Anyway, not sure I'll be using it again even though the threader floss is a total pain, and also it feels like it's pushing up my gums awfully far to get it through.

#6 Post by **Crazy4Snow** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:04 am

Oh I absolutely ADORE my Waterpik!!! It cleans so much stuff out of my braces that my Sonicare toothbrush didn't get. I do use it around the gumline but that's not imperative because I floss anyway.

I've never heard of people getting their gums tore up. I don't even know how that's possible. You can adjust the stream of water to where it comes out very softly, like a massage for your gums or it can come out quite briskly and flush away ALL hidden food particles. And it has many different attachments, even a tongue scraper, it can reach every little miscroscopic space.

Anyway...I love mine, it feels good and does an excellent job!

#7 Post by **White Fang** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:14 pm

Hi Crazy4Snow,

Good to know you love your Pik so much! I tried mine again last night, and it went a little better -- not a lot, but a little.

"Oral Irrigators" like the Waterpik were huge when they first came out, everyone had to have them, and then a host of counter-news stories came out about them, but I never went digging to see the truth of the matter until now. Here's an interesting article:

EDIT: Apparently I'm not authorized to post links, but it's at :
oralirrigation dot com slash oral_irrigation_report dot php

The problems I'd heard about involved hurting your gums either over time, by massaging too vigorously or else slicing them with the stream by shooting up or down (not a 90-degree angle.) The other issue was bacteria growing in the water reservoir and entering your mouth.

After a bit of reading I feel it's probably fine... I'll keep at it. I may well get used to the feeling once I learn to control it a little better. It was really pretty alarming for someone like me who hates water.

Also, since my braces are lingual on the top, I don't think you're supposed to use it behind the teeth? Maybe?

#8 Post by **White Fang** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 2:53 pm

Having anxiety today about what my results will be like. I have a deep overbite -- you can't see my lower teeth when I smile, at all. My teeth are generally very small, according to the two orthodontists I've seen.

My lower jaw is missing a tooth. It just never grew in, either in my baby teeth or my adult teeth. My dentist at the time said that was fine, because there was no room for it. There's no space, there's just one less tooth than usual.

My upper teeth are crowded and the upper and lower front teeth are grinding each other down because of the overbite.

My ortho offered me a choice of treatment. One with oral surgery+braces, and one just braces. She said I was a borderline case, so I could go either way. The surgery option would lengthen my lower jaw and change my profile and fix my bite that way. I always thought I had a beaky nose, but I guess it's my jaw that doesn't protrude out enough.

She didn't necessarily recommend the surgery route, she said both ways were fine and it was up to me, so I chose just braces. But now I don't understand how the overbite gets fixed without making the lower teeth lean in, or the upper teeth stick out, or both. Either of those possibilities is really worrisome!

#9 Post by **White Fang** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 2:55 pm

Finally, I can post a picture!

I usually never smile this wide.

#10 Post by **White Fang** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 3:04 pm

Lower arch

#11 Post by **White Fang** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:22 pm

My first adjustment and lower braces are scheduled for June 27.

My lateral incisors (I think) started hurting today. I really hope this means they are starting to move! I dreamed last night that my front tooth broke into bits and crumbled apart.

#12 Post by **Crazy4Snow** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 9:26 pm

Well, my Waterpik has a stream adjustment...1-10 and I usually have it set on 5, anything lower and it's too soft and anything higher is too freakin hard! Honestly I don't know how anyone could handle 10! I equate it to the power washer at the car wash! LOL

I clean my reservoir once a day with Mr. Clean and I soak all of the attachments in warm soapy water and then a quick swish with rubbing alcohol once a week so I think I keep it pretty clean. I wouldn't be concerned with bacteria unless you never clean it.

I don't pik behind the teeth, just the front around the gumline and the around the brackets.

I've got it down to a science now, I don't even spray the mirror anymore

#13 Post by **Green~Tara** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 10:34 am

You have nice teeth, you will look even better at the end of the road! Interesting about your anxiety nightmare - I had one the night before my bracing as well. Good luck to you!

#14 Post by **White Fang** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 12:43 pm

Hi guys,

Crazy4snow, my waterpik just has high/low and I have been using low. I just don't like the sensation of it but am trying to get used to it.

Green~Tara, thank you! Anxiety dreams about my teeth are really common for me. It always takes a little while when I wake up to realize it was just a dream.

You can see in the first picture that my front left tooth got broken when I was a teenager. They gave me a root canal, hollowed out both halves and filled it up with some synthetic material then glued it back together. I was told it would only last a few years and then I'd need to get a crown -- but it's been another 15 years and still going strong, although the seam is looking a little worse for the wear. After the braces, I might get that crown. Really looking forward to a smile I can be proud of.

#15 Post by **White Fang** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:20 pm

Well, I was supposed to get my lower teeth braced today, but my orthodontist's office called me on Friday afternoon to reschedule. Annoying -- if I'd called to reschedule less than one business day before the appointment, they would have charged me for a missed appointment! Now I have to wait another two weeks for the lowers.

I am obsessively inspecting my upper teeth daily and they certainly aren't getting any straighter... if anything they seem to be moving in the WRONG direction. It's hard not to get depressed about no progress. I must be clenching at night, because I wake up in the morning super achey in the jaw. Also, I have one bracket in the back that seems to be bending more and more outward -- i.e. right into my tongue. Ow!

My sweet husband has been looking through our cookbooks and trying out various new mushy recipes on me. What a guy.

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