Braces after 50 OMG!

[debinator]

So this is what my 26 days of progress looks like. The bottoms are still all crowded and gnarly- but as soon as the lowers go on I am confident that they will straighten up relatively quickly.

My original sentence was 16-18 months- although when I first consulted with ortho he thought maybe 12-14 months- we'll see!

[Dee17]

Well, I think you have very pretty teeth to begin with. I'm sure you'll be absolutely delighted with your end results!

[debinator]

Okay- so I am one week shy of my first adjustment and can't wait- I have so many questions for ortho! I am adjusting to having this hardware in my mouth and have even adjusted to the daily dental spa rituals. Teeth are not sore and I can eat most anything within reason (steak still gives me a little trouble as I get tired of chewing, unless of course it is a filet mignion)

So smooth sailing right? WRONG! And it has absolutely nothing to do with my teeth (at least not directly)

I strained my lower back! OUCH!
A combination of things have contributed to it such as: lifting an 80# bag of concrete to the garbage bin ( I did have helo with this, but it was still heavy and awkward), coughing my lungs out for a week straight with a sinus drip issue, having a student grab my chin and twist my head causing quite the neck crank (low level student with little self control, and I also moved in a weird way as to protect my mouth from having my braces embedded into my mouth guard) and the coupe de gras carrying in ALL the groceries into the house from the car in one trip! I guess I deserved it.

On the plus side the muscle relaxers and pain meds are doing wonders for any tooth soreness i might be experiencing LOL

Let's see if I can get back straightened out before next appointment

[oldfart]

I feel your pain. (as another Martial Art Instructor Here.)

My favorite is holding a board for board breaking, and the person hits the edge of the board, spinning it in your hands and not the middle completely jamming both wrists. Thats worse than them hitting your hand and not the board.

Especially if its a high break and the board is up near my face. Then i really get nervous. The good news I am 6'5 and dont have too many people kicking that height.

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[Dee17]

Hope your back feels better real soon. I don't think there's much worse than back pain. Ugh.

[debinator]

Thanks Dee

There has already been marked improvement with the first dose of muscle relaxer and pain meds- I actually managed to sleep for 3 hours straight!

Last night if I slept 30 minutes I was doing good- I think I am on the road to recovery.

[Dee17]

Good to know that. The last time I wrenched my back out, I thought, "Oh, my God, I'd rather have a baby ANY day!" Good luck with it and I wish you a speedy recovery. Glad you were able to get some sleep!

[Tobilei]

Teeth are looking great

Ugh you have my empathy with the back! It must be going around. I did something to mine about a week and a half ago, pushed myself to go to the gym Friday before last anyway and then spent the rest of the day and the following day unable to move (or hardly breathe the pain was so bad). Muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatories and a week off the gym and I'm mostly better. Feel better soon!

[debinator]

Thanks for the encouragement Tobilei. Good to know it only took you about a week to get better. I don't have time for a bad back.
I go back to work today- we'll see how it goes- I had a muscle spasm wake me out of a sound sleep @ 3am- took meds and knocked back out until alarm went off at 6 am.

I will say having back pain sure makes me forget about the braces. I haven't had any mouth pain since this all started - or should I say I haven't noticed any. LOL

[Tobilei]

Yes, it's amazing how you can suddenly forget about them.......I've forgotten only a few times (mostly when I had my sore back...also the other day when I burned my hand on some hot soup..........I've kicked a few toes, but they only made me forget about my teeth for about 15 minutes )

[debinator]

I think I'll take noticing the braces pressure and pain over having to hurt myself in various ways to forget about them

I can't wait until next wed when I go for 1st adjustment!

[Tobilei]

Haha, me too!

And good luck for your first adjustment! I was so excited for mine.

[PeaCat]

I'm about three and a half months in with my braces. A most agressive and heavy wire was installed about a week ago and it felt like my teeth were about to be yanked out of my mouth (I have a deep overbite and my teeth are being moved up and out). A couple of days later the extreme discomfort bordering on pain subsided and now is a tolerable background noise.

See my post "It's Getting Agressive" for my before photo and a work-in-progress shot. Lots of visible improvement!

The first couple of days after an adjustment or installation of a heavier wire will be uncomfortable. Just be prepared to eat lots of yogurt and soup.

[debinator]

Thanks for the advice PeaCat I am not a big fan of yogurt so kfc mashed potatoes and gravy will have to do that and mac n cheese. I usually eat a high protein, high fat, very low carb diet so this braces thing is killing me LOL.

[rhibee83]

Your teeth are looking awesome and I love the lig colour

I forgot we were 3 days apart in braces hehe, I have my first adjustment on the 14th May. I think it is going to hurt me as my teeth are still really tender

OUCH! i hope your back is ok! and your neck! gosh!

Good luck at your adjustment and I am sure everything will go fine