Newly Braced

[alyssaroo27]

Thanks for sharing. I got molds taken for my lingual braces last week and I'm just waiting for them to come in. I'm gonna have four teeth extracted as well. I'm a little nervous with how everything is going to work out but I'm excited to use this innovative method as opposed to traditional braces, which I had almost six years ago.

Keep us updated, I'd love to see how everything works out

[braceyourselves]

Oh Annepanne! I feel your pain, quite literally!

I’ve been meaning to post an update but have been quite busy with work and school. The good news is your speech will improve and you’ll get to a point where you’ll forget about them. The bad news is food will continue to be a struggle. At least in my case. I’ve had my upper linguals on for a little over 3 months now. I’ve had lower ceramics for 3 weeks now.

Week 5 was the turning point for me as far as speech goes. That’s about the time that my lisp was reduced to less than 5%. Now my speech is only an issue when I’m very tired, for example if I get less than 5 hrs of sleep a night. Also, I still can’t say my own name with confidence. But overall, speech has become a non-issue for me. I have to do a presentation next week and I have no anxiety about my speech.

Eating is still a huge challenge for me. I don’t bite down into anything, everything has to be cut up into bite size pieces…burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, pizza, everything! Sometimes it’s even painful to bite into a banana. I have lost weight and to be quite honest, I’ve lost my enthusiasm for food. Kind of a big bummer cause I consider myself a foodie and used to cook a lot. It’s not a deal breaker though, I get by and live for the day when eating is normal again.

As for pain and discomfort…I have good days and bad days. Some days I hardly notice them. When I got my ceramic lowers, I completely forgot about the linguals. But once I got used to the lowers, the uppers took center stage again. My first 2 months I hardly ever used wax but for some reason, these days I’ve been relying more and more on wax.

Progress wise, I still have not had a wire change. However, my two teeth that were the most crooked are now perfectly in place.

Oh as far as invisibility goes…except for the 6-7 people I specifically told about my braces, no one else has noticed them. No one’s noticed the uppers or even the lowers which are non-lingual. This has by far been the very best part. Absolutely no one can tell I have braces.

Last comment…I am also terrified of being in a romantic situation with braces. I’m fearful I’ll meet someone I like and then not know how to handle the situation.

[annepanne]

Hey you. thank you so much for replying. this makes it easier to believe that I will forget about them. Right now I am very anxious and can't think about anything else. Just agreed with my psychiatrist to give it two more weeks before I decide anything!! I sent you a PM

[annepanne]

Hi. UPDATE!
I just want to say that after about 3-4 weeks (actually I think it took that long -4 weeks) I almost forgot about my upper braces. At least as far as speech. Yes, I actually had no problem with them. Until today though -today I got my lower braces on. I had hoped that it would be much easier than the upper once. But now I actually feel that it is the exact same all over again. the lisping and sore tongue and everything. I'm annoyed with my ortho, because we were supposed to put everything on at the same time. but because they took a bad impression, we had to do a new one, and wait 6 weeks for the lowers. Does anyone has any experience with how the lowers feel?? I'm hoping I will get used to them faster than the uppers. but now I feel that it's probably just going to be just the same.... ;(

[hai]

Hello, I am about to join you guys in this scary journey. Friday I get my linguals (upper and lower) fitted. It is going to cost a small fortune but it is one insecurity i cannot live with.

I am excited but mostly scared. I have read so much - thank you to everyone for posting, commenting and the good old internet for research

I had 2 wisdoms removed and got a double dry socket infection, which was the most painful experience of my life so I can almost imagine what this will be like (hopefully not as painful). It felt like both sides of my jaw were broken -even breathing was painful

Anyway.....

I wonder whether there are any tips you could give me for the first day of getting them fitted, first month....etc ANYTHING you think might help a newly braced newbie. I have NO idea where to get wax! i'll ask the ortho though - i do have a waterpik which i love using anyway as it really gets your mouth clean

Annepanne - i really feel for you. I have suffered with depression and other problems for years. It means a 'bad' situation appear horrific in our heads so daily struggles can seem unmanageable. You (and others) need to find things to look forward to - the future holds excitement and achievement (your teeth will be perfect, your face will probably change for the better too..well mine will i hope lol. and you will have proven to yourself that you can conquer the emotional/physical pain). I really dont think you should have them removed -which is easy for me to say now, but i think this journey will get better and easier for you and soon enough time will have elapsed that you will be counting down the days till they are off. In 5 years time this is something you will not regret - i am certain of that .

Right..enough of my rant!

Thanks for all the words of wisdom and encouragement...

[ceegee]

Just got my incognito braces (both upper and lower) yesterday. The toughest part was getting the wires on and having to hold my jaw open...took 3 hours total for the whole appointment...and when does the pain begin?!?! Not looking forward to that part of it, although I feel nothing so far, but I was told I should start to feel discomfort by this afternoon. I've eaten oatmeal, mashed potatoes, ice cream and yoghurt. Lisp is there, but those around me have said I sound "nearly" normal. I think if you don't fixate on the lisp, and just practise talking and reading, things will fall into place. I laugh at myself when the words come out funny, no point in stressing over it, it'll just make things worse.

Does everyone floss, or just use the WaterPik? I just can't see a WaterPik being able to do the job that flossing does. I've tried to floss a couple times using the threader, but haven't been particularly successful.

[hai]

Hello ceegee

I too got upper lower incognitos just yesterday. My tongue is scraping a lot and I'm struggling to get the wax in the right places to stop the scraping
I'll learn!! Speech was sooo lispy but me and my Boyfriend just laughed at me! I wonder how I'll do at work as I speak a lot with clients oh well. I figure all the initial difficulties can only improve!!

So with regards to flossing I think the water pik Good alongside the standard floss (with that thing they give you to thread through- which tbh I used by itself earlier rather than trying to get the floss through.. I got bored)

I would keep trying with the floss as apparently it gets easier- but i do think the waterpik is great

[annepanne]

Hi, I forgot to check in here anymore. As soon as I got used to the lower ones, I forgot about it again. So I am really glad I did keep them! And today I talked to a new surgeon, and I think my surgery will be already in June. So I feel I can see a light in the tunnel. I do have problems getting anough food though. I am so busy at school, and I forget to eat. It's difficult, and I have lost weight. Because sometimes I just don't eat because I don¨t want to go and brush my teeth after, ha ha!! I also feel it is sooo difficult to clean. I feel my teeth never gets clean. and sometimes I am really afraid that my breath is bad. But the lisping is totally gone! I never used wax!

[lisette]

And today I talked to a new surgeon, and I think my surgery will be already in June.

Are you not having surgery with Relle/Paz? It's hard to find docs willing to perform orthognathic surgery with linguals.

[annepanne]

I haven't decided yet. but I am considering dr Relle or Gunson. it's very difficult to decide, since they have proposed different treatment plans.

[uzi366]

congratulations!
i have lingual braces aiso...uncomportable for three weeks and then they grow on you.

[braceyourselves]

Hello Fellow Adult Brace Wearers!

Original poster here with a 7 month update…

Yes, I’ve officially survived 7 months with lingual braces. Since my last update, I’ve had two teeth pulled and 3 wire changes. As expected, oral surgery was awful. I was in pain for a full week. Not sure why, but it was worse than when I had my wisdom teeth extracted. The wire changes have also been challenging. After every wire change, my teeth hurt for days and I go back to a soft diet. So the cycle is one bad week and four good weeks til my next appointment. The good weeks are great because I can eat, I’m not in pain, and I don’t need wax. The bad weeks are terrible because I can’t eat! I’ve lost about 10-12 lbs in the last 7 months. I’ve gone down a full size which is annoying because my clothes don’t fit very well anymore.

Most recently, my ortho introduced elastics in my treatment. So far, I’m hating the elastics because they are so visible. The elastics are ruining the one good thing about linguals - the invisibility factor. I’m slightly depressed about the elastics, but I know I have no other choice but to deal with it.

On the positive side, I am seeing some aesthetic progress in my teeth. My upper arch has noticeably widened which is good. Also, the gaps from my extractions are closing pretty quickly. But I still have a long way to go. I try my best to be patient, but some days/weeks/months are harder than others. Having braces as an adult takes an emotional toll. I know in the end this endeavor will be 100% worth the pain and suffering, but in the meantime my spirits are kinda low...

[SunshineRay]

hugs OP! I dont have braces yet and the emotional part is what keeps me from going forward. I hate my teeth now though so why not hate them while they are getting fixed? At least thats what Im trying to convince myself.

[braceyourselves]

Hi Guys! OP here with a one year update!

So after my last update, my ortho took me off elastics and I had 3 glorious months where I had very little discomfort. In fact, I got to a point where I did not mind my braces at all. During those 3 months I had some minor adjustments but nothing to cause me any pain or discomfort. Then I had a wire change which set me back. After the wire change, I had about a week of lisping, tongue pain, and teeth tenderness. Then my ortho put me back on elastics. This time around, the elastics are not as visible but still pretty annoying. They make my teeth hurt and it’s a pain taking them in and out multiple times a day to eat and brush. And most recently, my ortho put in power chains. Power chains are the worst! They make me lisp and not just during the first week I had them. About 15-20% of my speech is lispy with the power chains, and they are really hard to keep clean 

I do have good news on the eating front. I can eat most things now. I did not think I would ever get to eating normal again with linguals, but it happened!

[braceyourselves]

Happiness is NOT wearing elastics!!