kellyb's story (belatedly)

[Domino]

Hey kellyb! Sorry I'm a bit lately replying.

Your pictures look great! I like that you've got ceramics on both uppers and lowers. The white wires are also really cool

I bet your teeth are going to look great by the end! Can't wait to see further progress together

[kellyb]

thanks Dom
i will try and put up some updated pics this weekend. my next adjustment is on 21st April so can't wait for that

[kellyb]

it's now 12 weeks since i have had my lowers and 2 weeks for the uppers. no major development at the moment.
3 weeks to go before my next adjustment. some new pics

[kellyb]

2 more.....

[kellyb]

so i have my 6 monthly cleaning booked with my dentist this evening. it will be the first once since getting braces and i am so looking forward to it as i can see one tooth that has a little bit of tartar on it. will let you all know how it goes

[BetsyBug]

good luck at the dentist getting your cleaning!!! its always nice to have a sparkling clean smile when you leave. My next appt isn't until august so i'm trying to keep my teeth as clean as possible.

[kellyb]

had my cleaning lastnight and it went well. it was rather quicker than i thought it would be though. took about 5 mins or so. mouth felt awesome after but too bad it was before i had dinner so i had to go and dirty up my freshly cleaned teeth.

the dentist thought everything looked fine. he keeps telling me how good an idea it is to have a waterpik. good thing i had bought one! one thing the dentist told me is that mouthwash will stain my braces and i shouldn't use is. i must say, i don't blv him and i will not be following his advice. has anyone else heard this before?? this is not the first piece of advice i have rcvd from my dentist which i doubt really.

[kellyb]

just one other thing, i have decided to pop into my ortho office later this evening to get my wires, ligs and powerchains changed as white wires are losing their coating and the ligs/powerchains are abit discoloured.

[jem]

Hi Kellyb,

Your bottoms are looking really good now.

Great that your ortho will swap wires for you. If my adjustment yesterday is anything to go by, placing a new wire requires a fair amount of work for the ortho so you are very lucky. My ortho has not offered wire changes between adjustments, but it is too far to travel anyway unless really necessary. For all that my last wire stripped pretty badly after 7 weeks, it was still not all that noticeable .

I use mouthwash every night and it has not stained my brace but I don't have any rubber ligs or powerchains. I think it may be those which are susceptible to staining rather than the actual brackets.

Jem

[kellyb]

thanks jem

yes, luckily my ortho says i can pop in at anytime to get wires etc changed free of charge. worst case scenario i could leave them until my next adjustment but since i can leave work early today, i thought i might as well get it done. also, the ortho is away from tomorrow onwards for about 10 days so i guess not a bad idea to get in there today if i can.

regarding the mouthwash, i have been using oral b anti plaque since getting braces and i dont think it is causing any staining. in fact, my ortho did give me this same mouthwash in my goodie bag. my ligs/powerchain do stain now and then but i think its more to do with some of the foods i eat.

i will raise these questions with my ortho at my next adjusment on 21st april.

[Domino]

he keeps telling me how good an idea it is to have a waterpik. good thing i had bought one! one thing the dentist told me is that mouthwash will stain my braces and i shouldn't use is. i must say, i don't blv him and i will not be following his advice. has anyone else heard this before?? this is not the first piece of advice i have rcvd from my dentist which i doubt really.

Those are two really weird bits of advice!

My dentist, ortho, hygienist, and dental nurse all say that Waterpiks (and any other 'air/water' flosser) are only good for cleaning junk out of the braces themselves, not for flossing teeth. They apparently cannot, despite advertised, clean between your teeth like tape floss can.

And this about mouthwash is crazy. Something like Corsodyl will stain, yes, but you're not meant to be using Corsodyl everyday anyway; that's best for gum issues, like after extractions. Every dentist should be recommending mouthwash as part of your day's process, even just once. Mine say to avoid Listerine and use just a typical fluoride based mouthwash, preferably a 'sensitive' version without alcohol and acids in (like Listerine typically has); I use Colgate Plax Sensitive, it tastes really nice They also advise using it at a time other than brushing, otherwise your teeth won't be able to absorb the fluoride as they already have from the toothpaste, so it's rather a waste as it's not really giving you any benefit. They also stress that mouthwash does not clean your teeth, so obviously isn't a brushing replacement (they actually apparently have to tell me this because people think otherwise! Some people, honestly...)

So, yes, definitely use mouthwash. If it's something like they recommended, and not like Corsodyl, then it won't stain your teeth or ligs – mine haven't and I use mouthwash everyday!

(You made this while I was writing )

regarding the mouthwash, i have been using oral b anti plaque since getting braces and i dont think it is causing any staining. in fact, my ortho did give me this same mouthwash in my goodie bag. my ligs/powerchain do stain now and then but i think its more to do with some of the foods i eat.

i will raise these questions with my ortho at my next adjusment on 21st april.

Sounds good! Anything from Oral-B is probably a good thing It has fluoride in, right?

[kellyb]

hi Dom

yes the oral b mouthwash does have flouride in it. prior braces, i use to use listerine mouthwash but i found some of them too harsh so since the ortho gave me a bottle of oral b when i first had the braces fitted, i started buying that one. i have never heard that advice about not using mouthwash straight after brushing etc. i think i will ask my ortho the question . my ortho assistant did suggest i use mouthwash at night after brushing. i did ask her if i can use it twice a day as that is what i have always been doing prior braces and she said that is fine. as long as i use it at least once a day. so i have continued using mouthwash morning and night after brushing. you can imagine i have gone through alot of bottles so far!

i will ask my ortho what his view is about waterpik as well at my next adjustment. i must admit, there are quite a few things my dentist say that i purposefully ignore. he has also told me in the past not to floss because it damages the gum. i told him then and there that i did not agree and i will continue to do it. maybe he is trying to make more work for himself, who knows. to cut a long story short, i have considered changing my dentist, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Domino]

he has also told me in the past not to floss because it damages the gum

How insane! I must mention that to my dentist next time and see what he thinks, lmao!

Yeah, I found it interesting to hear about using mouthwash at a different time of the day than brushing. (Also something else I heard interesting: floss BEFORE brushing! Apparently, because this cleans between the teeth, the fluoride then has a clean surface to get absorbed into!) I know there's nothing wrong with doing it straight after, but you lose the benefit of the fluoride, as your teeth has already absorbed all it can from your toothpaste, so you're just spitting fluoride down the drain.

I tend to brush my teeth at night, a few hours before I go to bed, and then use mouthwash just before I go to bed. That way you get the 12 hour (or however much your mouthwash does) protection as well all night

Still, I'll still use mouthwash just after brushing if I'm going straight out, as it's still nice for fresh breath Sometimes I use what Listerine Total Care I have left over just for that purpose.

[kellyb]

Yes Dom,i am beginning to think my dentist is insane too lol.

Re flossing,i always been doing it before brushing,just because it feels right this way.

[kellyb]

Just had new white wires,ligs and powerchains put in by my ortho.i only just realised today when he was speaking to the assistant that i hv .016 wire on top.all this time i thought i had started with .014 like the bottom.

I wonder if my teeth will get tender again with this wire and ligs change?