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So after a very long five year wait on the NHS (very long story of forgetting to put me on the waiting list, lack of orthos etc... although I am very grateful to be getting treatment as an adult) i finally got my braces fitted 3 days ago at the age of 25. So far i've only got the top one and a quad helix and my bottoms one will probably be fitted at my next appointment. I'll eventually be having orthognatic surgery to advance my lower jaw which is the eventual aim. At the moment my upper front teeth protude about 11mm but other than very slight overcrowding in the lower front teeth I *think* my teeth are fairly straight... I apparently also have a slightly narrower upper jaw which is why I have the quad helix to better match my teeth to my lower jaw. Everyone on here seems very clued up on all the terminology - i'm sure maybe i'll get there but I just kind of go along to the appointments and then forget what they said
I had 4 teeth extracted in 2009 in preparation for all of this but then once again there was no ortho in my local PCT so have had to wait. I'm now seeing a temp ortho in a different PCT but I'm not sure what will happen when she leaves
I'm still having problems chewing any food (even cousous was hurting) so I hope that stops soon as I really want to be able to eat Christmas dinner in three days time The braces felt fine on the first day but the quad helix is really really starting to irritate me as my tongue rests against it all the time and i'm worried that they will think I've been playing with it or something.. I'm sure i'll get used to it eventually but it doesn't feel like it right now! Really interested to see how the braces work and how long I will have to wait before I can be referred back to the other PCT for surgery (my surgeon said around 9 months of braces but ortho said 1-2 years so will wait and see).
I'm trying to figure out whether the quad helix is fitted correctly. There are two metal prong bits and the one on the left hand side rests firmly against all my teeth. The one on the right hand side kind of hangs in the middle of my mouth at the front and doesn't rest against the last teeth. I noticed it as soon as I sneezed about 10 mins after i got it fitted but annoyingly I can't be sure what it was like before then so not sure whether sneezing dislodged it or whether it was always like that. I keep cutting my toungue on it as it's just a bit of loose metal and it's quite sharp.. I think i'm going to have to go back earlier than my next scheduled appointment anyway as I still can't chew on my left hand side without getting shooting pains through my jaw and speaking to my dental practice they said it sounds like a high bite so that ruined Christmas dinner for me will need them to remove some of the putty filling stuff they use to keep the brace in place apparently. Bad thing is that my ortho only works on mondays so no chance today because of bank holiday, can't phone tomorrow as the whole place is shut because of bank holiday and even when I phone on Wednesday, next monday is a bank holiday too so i'm looking at over 2 weeks before i can be seen and even then i'm doubting that they'll be able to fit me in I'm more worried about the quad helix thing in a way though as I can see that my teeth on one side are a lot straighter than the other from where it's being held by the wire.
The poking thing is not normal, and you shouldn't have to put up with it for 2 weeks. Do they have an "after hours" number you can call? I certainly think this qualifies--if for nothing else, to find out what you can do in the meantime. There is a lot of adjusting in the beginning, but then you begin to know what is acceptable and can wait, and what is not acceptable.
This problem, in my opinion, is really unacceptable!
[quote="klobird"]Hey midnight--Welcome to the world of the braced!
The poking thing is not normal, and you shouldn't have to put up with it for 2 weeks. Do they have an "after hours" number you can call? I certainly think this qualifies--if for nothing else, to find out what you can do in the meantime. There is a lot of adjusting in the beginning, but then you begin to know what is acceptable and can wait, and what is not acceptable.
This problem, in my opinion, is really unacceptable![/quote]
Thanks, that's helpful to know. There's no out of hours apart from emergencies and I don't think this is an emergency but will make sure I give them a ring first thing on Wednesday and see whether they can make me an appointment sooner rather than later.
Well I tired phoning the hospital this morning only to find out that they don't open again until tomorrow! I now have a mouth full of ulcers but that's not that unusual for me anyway but not making me feel any better about the braces. I'm starting to get used to them though and not so conscious when talking to people. I'm constantly paranoid about damaging/breaking them though so keep looking in the mirror all the time or touching them which is just going to make it worse so I need to stop! Looking in the mirror all the time has made me realise that my teeth are a lot less straight than i thought though especially on the bottom. After reading on here about other people's experiences i've started taking photos so that I can at least track my progress - i'll look forward to seeing results! Can't wait for the gap between my top front teeth to close as I think that will be easy to see happen on photos
Have to say that I wasn't quite prepared for not being able to eat a lot of food. I just thought it would be popcorn/crusty bread/raw veg/apples but didn't realise that for a while at least my teeth would be too sensitive to bite down on anything even slightly hard. Think i'm going to buy myself one of the soft food cookbooks as i'm getting bored of mashed potato!
In other news, i ordered a Waterpik from Amazon today and can't wait for that to arrive! My boyfriend is shocked with the amount of dental stuff that i've bought in the last two weeks but I'm trying to do everything to keep my teeth very clean! Next appointment made for 6th February.
You weren't kidding about how similar our stories are! Your teeth look almost exactly like mine do. You have really nice teeth though, I can tell your smile will be great at the end of it!
revelvia wrote:You weren't kidding about how similar our stories are! Your teeth look almost exactly like mine do. You have really nice teeth though, I can tell your smile will be great at the end of it!
strange lol will be interesting to see how we get on and how long it finally takes to get the surgery! Still worried that I'll regret all of this and miss the way I look now though as they keep going on about how the profile will look different afterwards as the chin/lips/nose will line up differently after surgery. Then again I don't like my profile now so I hope it can't get any worse.
Well I got my waterpik today.... definitely makes my mouth feel clean in the sense that there's no food left but I still feel like i'm not cleaning my teeth well enough. Not sure what else I can do though. Will have to see how the waterpik goes. Also really paranoid that one of the brackets is going to come off or something's going to break and I think it's just because my orthodontist is so far away and only works one day a week so getting to see her will be really hard if something does happen. Also paranoid that somethings going to happen whilst i'm on holiday and will have to spend a week with a bit of metal hanging off my teeth. Ok so i know that it's unlikely to happen but I worry a lot
Eating is generally ok now but still sticking to soft food. A woman in my office who has braces was eating raw carrot sticks today and I can't imagine doing that!
Ok so it's been nearly a month and the only difference I can see is that the gap between my front teeth has closed slightly. As far as I can tell the quad helix hasn't done anything yet and i'm not sure what else on the top arch needs adjusting...
So I was meant to have my first appointment after getting braces yesterday but it got cancelled. Apparently my ortho is ill and they don't even know if she will be coming back - they are waiting to find out whether she will or whether they will have to try and find another locum. Considering how many years it took to get her in who knows how long I may be waiting! Could be weeks or months before I even see someone again - I don't seem to have any luck with orthos! Was meant to be getting my lower braces fitted to so now that will be delayed. I wish I'd trained as an ortho considering the severe shortage that there seems to be in England. Obviously I do hope that she gets better but it's frustrating that it's taken 7 years since my first appointment about this to even get the braces on and then to get delayed again at this stage when I thought it was all moving forward.
Still seriously paranoid about my teeth/decalcification but at least it doesn't seem to have gotten any worse if that's what it is.
Wow i'm amazed, i've got an appointment for 15th of this month! They've managed to schedule me in with the actual orthodontist at the hospital (i've been seeing a locum) as my ortho isn't going to be coming back any time soon, if ever
I've also been sent a copy of the letter that's been sent to my maxillofacial surgeon so at least i know there has been correspondence this time round!
I know you're not meant to really move during orthdontic treatment but i'm currently considering moving up to Scotland. I'm trying to find information about moving as I know the Scottish NHS and English NHS differ in lots of ways but can only find info on moving GP's... I'd be happy to stay with my current ortho and just travel but not sure if that's allowed? Emailed the DoH and the BOS so will wait and see if i get any answer...
It sound like you have similar teeth to me, except that I haven't had that quad helix thing. I'm surprised that you had to wait 5 years to even start treatment - where abouts in the UK are you? I thought my wait was bad, and it was only about 2 months from referral to first consult, then another 5 months til I was braced. I hope you get to keep this current ortho and the PCT has a bit more stability in staffing, as even small delays can add up eventually. Have you seen a surgeon yet?
will need them to remove some of the putty filling stuff they use to keep the brace in place apparently. Bad thing is that my ortho only works on mondays so no chance today because of bank holiday, can't phone tomorrow as the whole place is shut because of bank holiday and even when I phone on Wednesday, next monday is a bank holiday too so i'm looking at over 2 weeks before i can be seen and even then i'm doubting that they'll be able to fit me in 
