My Braces Journey...

[melanie]

I am a 32 year old mother of 4 kids, 2 of which just got out of braces this past winter. I've decided it's my turn to get braces because as I have aged, and since getting my wisdom teeth removed 6 years ago, I have noticed more and more shifting/turning and crowding in my teeth. I also have TMJ and bite issues. For the past 1.5 months I've worn bite guards made for me by the ortho, and at my last appointment 2 weeks ago he glued bite pads onto my lower molars on both sides. So far it does seem like my jaw has ached less and I have had less headaches. At first the bite pads were miserable, I felt like I could not properly chew my food and it felt like rocks stuck in my teeth. But I did adjust to them, and now I hardly notice them.

I get my braces on Wednesday (5/22/13), and will be getting the Invu ceramics on both the upper and lower. At first I was sold on Invisalign but the more I researched it, as much as I didn't want to deal with having brackets and wires, I just knew it would be better in the long run for me. Not only did I not want to risk having a longer experience with Invisalign due to the possibly of needing multiple refinements, I also know my willpower is low and feared after awhile I would stop wearing the aligners as I was supposed to, and decided having the brackets stuck to my teeth would be better because then I have no choice but deal with it.

So- here I am. I have 2 more days of "freedom" before getting braced. I enjoyed some Mike & Ike chewy candies and some beef jerky last night, and tonight enjoyed some potato chips. I'm trying to get a few more of the "not allowed" foods in before my time runs out

I am really nervous but also excited for this journey.

Once my braces are on I will update with more pictures. I am torn between getting clear Ligs, baby blue, or light purple.

For now, here is my BEFORE picture: <br>
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[ThroughTheWire]

yay for braces!

I felt the same way, nervous but super excited. & Your teeth look pretty good already!

& I say baby blue. Only bc blue is my favorite color.

What's your estimated treatment time?

[melanie]

Thanks, they really aren't all that bad, but there are a few things I'd like to fix, and I notice the older I get the more noticeable the changes are becoming. I never had braces as a kid so I really don't know what to expect. 2 of my kids just went through braces and had no problems so that is the only thing I have to go off of.

My ortho is saying it will probably be a year.

My most noticeable issues are the crowding and crooked teeth on the bottom, and on the top I'd like a more flat line of teeth, I don't like how uneven they are in length. I also have an upper tooth that sticks out a bit and when I do photos from one side its kind of noticeable, probably more to me than anyone else, but still, I am becoming more and more aware of it.

My other big reason I made this decision is we are hoping it can help fix my bite and make my jaw hurt and ache less. If nothing else the relief of that would be amazing.

[melanie]

My braces go on tomorrow! I'm nervous and excited!

[Tobilei]

Hey I missed your first post. Congratulations!! Good luck for the big day tomorrow! Have you decided on a colour? I'm too much of a chicken to get colours, but I can say don't get clear. They stain VERY quickly and easily. If you want something that looks clear but doesn't stain (or hasn't for me) try smoke. It looks gray when it's on the tag thing but once it's stretched around your brackets it looks clear

Wow, 2 kids out of braces already! I have 3 kids (I'm 34) and have an almost 14 year old who's due to get hers off in a couple of months and twin 10 year olds who are due to get them as well (sigh, so much money!).

I had the choice to use invisalign too but like you decided I would be terrible at making myself keep them in and I'm glad I chose to get braces (99% of the time anyway ). Once I'd decided my ortho said he was glad because he felt I'd get a better result with braces and be happier in the end.

[SunshineRay]

Congrats on getting them on!

[NeilH]

Good luck, I hope everything goes well for you. Let us know how you got on!

[melanie]

I've had them on for about 6 hours. My teeth are REALLY starting to ache, and my very back bracket on the lower left fell off already ! Its not one of the clear ceramics its a small metal colored hook. I will have to go in tomorrow and get it put back on. I have pictures I will share once I'm at the computer tonight.

[rhibee83]

Welcome to the braces world!

Did you get a colour? I went baby pink just recently and I like it

Can't wait to see some pics

[melanie]

I went with "periwinkle" which is a light baby blue on. With the white wire and the ceramics and light blue ligs, from a few feet away they are pretty much invisible.

I'm not impressed with the white wire. Its only been on 10'ish hours and its already chipping and flaking.. and my next appointment is not for 6 weeks. I am going in tomorrow to get them to glue back on the bracket that fell off on my back molar, I'm hoping maybe they will just change the wire then and give me a regular one but I doubt they will.

The pain is much more severe than I expected. I knew I would be sore but this is flat out pain. It's worth it though... I can't wait for the end result.

Here are some pictures:

[SunshineRay]

Sorry your wire is already chipping but your braces look great!

[Tobilei]

I think they look great too The pain at first sucks, but it does pass. It was way worse than I ever dreamed it would be for me also but it did finally go away. Sorry the wire is chipping It's probably not noticable to anyone but you (just like a lot of things that go on in the mouth I've discovered since getting braced). Hope your teeth are feeling less sore soon.

[melanie]

The past few days were pretty miserable, but the first day was by far the worst. Today is day 4, and my teeth have moved on from being in PAIN to just being SORE. I can deal with this. Chewing and putting pressure on the teeth is still uncomfortable but as long as I'm not doing either, my teeth feel pretty much normal. I'm still sticking to a pretty soft diet so far.

I don't know if it is even possible, but I swear it looks like my teeth are already moving a bit.

[SunshineRay]

Awesome that you feel movement already!!

[melanie]

Tomorrow will be 1 week since getting braced. My teeth feel great, no pain at all anymore, and I haven't even needed any wax or anything the past few days.

Food wise I am eating a pretty normal diet, with the exception of still nothing really hard like chips or anything crunchy or sticky. I ate meat for the first time today (chicken) and did OK with it. I quickly learned that salad is quite difficult to eat with braces.

Hygiene has not been as hard as I had feared, but flossing is a pain. I made the mistake of trying to floss the 1st and 2nd day when my teeth were at their most painful. OUCH! But now it doesn't hurt to floss anymore. I have been flossing and using my water pik nightly, which I don't know if both are necessary but I like feeling like my mouth is super clean.

Sometimes I think I see a bit of change in my teeth already, and other times I'm pretty sure they are the same. Its just been 1 week so I'm not expecting any change or anything yet.