How long did it take you to speak "normally" again ?

[Kitri]

Hi everyone,

I got my lingual braces fitted 2 days ago, and have been feeling really depressed about my speech, which sounds completely awful... Not only do I have a lisp, I also cannot articulate properly because the braces are taking so much space.

So, I was wondering, how long did it take you to adjust to the more "confined" space inside your mouth, and start speaking normally again? How did you feel about your speech at first?

I am struggling with food, pain and discomfort, but this is nothing in comparison to how I feel when I speak.

I know there are loads of topics dealing this the speech problem - but I haven't found one that answered these questions in particular. If there's one, please feel free to send me the link

Thank you!

[cs2thecox]

1. Get some wax on there. Really. Silicone-based wax. (I use OrthoSil because my ortho gives it out, but a lot of people in the US seem to buy cheap silicone ear plugs and use those!) Your speech will be better already.

2. Honestly, you'll stop spitting over everyone in a couple of days, other people will have stopped noticing in a week or two, and you will have made your peace with the little lisp you'll be left with in about a month.

3. I hated it too. I had to speak in a big business meeting the DAY after I had my braces put on and I hated hated hated it. I stayed paranoid for a while too, and still am sometimes (I can hear the slight lisp even if other people claim they can't) but it stopped bothering me after the first couple of weeks.

4. Speak more slowly than normal - it helps a lot. And practice practice practice. There's this thing called the "Rainbow passage" that some people use for speech practice, but I just talked out loud to myself a lot at home and that seemed to do the trick...

You'll get there, I promise. And it really won't take long (although it will probably feel like it to you - it did for me). Just keep thinking of the end game!

[winwired]

Hi Kitri,

I feel for you 100%!! I think roundabout now (day 3) is definitely the absolute worst day for you, I certainly felt like marching into my ortho and demanding that everything was taken out again at this stage. I also remember reading every single post on this forum (and honestly searched what seemed like the entire internet!!) for hints on when, how, whether my speech would ever improve.

I have a tiny mouth and if I had thought this through properly I would have realised that putting brackets inside the teeth would make things even tighter. When someone on here said that they felt like they had marbles and barbed wire inside their mouth this resonated so much with me.

And I was (and remain) in complete AWE of cs2thecox who managed to do a business meeting abroad the day after being fitted! I took a whole week off work, and then spent the next week working from home and claiming I had lost my voice, as my speech was so so terrible.

However.... there is hope. In my case, (and I think I'm at the extreme end of having had a very bad experience so far) I got to the stage after 4 weeks (so about a week ago) where most other people did not notice my lisp. It became a bit of a debate actually, because I remain very conscious, and I can hear every single lisp and poor bit of articulation and swear blind that I sound ridiculous, but others say that they really can't hear it any more and say it's all in my head. Having now taped myself (I am THAT obsessive about my problem!!) I actually tend to agree.... when I am convinced I am lisping, it doesn't actually come across on the recorder. Also when I announce my name when joining conference calls I wince (my name has 2 's' in it!) yet when my name is replayed and announced, I can't hear the 2 lisps. So there is a lot going on in my head!! (Regarding this matter anyway )

The other thing that happens is that because the pain gets better (my tongue was really bad for the first 10 days but is mostly fine now) everything starts to feel more relaxed, and the articulation does get a lot better. But I am 5 weeks in, and I am still not speaking normally, in fact I am beginning to suspect that I never will do, but it's certainly a lot more bearable now and most of the issues are in my head rather than people observing abnormalities!!

All the advice from cs2thecox is spot on, the only other thing I would add is that the practice thing is a delicate balance between practicing and not overdoing the speech because I do find things get worse when I am tired and have talked too much.

Do let us know how you are getting on, it's good to see another person on here!!

[Kitri]

Thank you so much to both of you for your advice and kind words. This truly made me feel better!

Indeed all I wanted to do today and yesterday was taking those braces off ! All I could think of was ripping them off my teeth.

Like you winwired, I have a tiny mouth and didn't realise how much space the brackets would take. I completely agree that it feels like marbles and barbed wire. Funny how in 2014 some treatments still feel very barbaric! I dream of cushy silicon braces that wouldn't take any space nor hurt the tongue and gums!

I am really hoping the speech will get better. cs2thecox I am so impressed that you managed to attend a business meeting the day after getting your braces fitted. I am working from home at the moment and dreading the day I will be coming back into the office (probably later this week!)
Today I spoke with a few members of my family and they said they couldn't detect a big difference in my speech. My dad mentioned that "I have always spoken like I have mash in my mouth anyway". I suppose that's reassuring??
Clearly I have to stop focusing on what it sounds like in my head, and more on what it sounds in real life!

But oh god... that noise of saliva that I make every so often is driving me crazy!!

[winwired]

How is it going now for you Kitri, are you getting any happier with your speech?

[Kitri]

It's been two weeks now, and I have to say things are getting much better.

Pain and soreness have now completely disappeared - I still use the odd bit of wax, especially at the back of my teeth where the lower brackets are, but my mouth has adjusted to the braces. I am not using any wax at all today (but still carry some in my bag, just in case!)
I am actually very surprised at how quickly my mouth has adjusted. Not saying that I am 100% confortable, but I am definitely NOT thinking about the braces 24/7 like I did 10 days ago.

Speech is getting much better too. I still don't speak normally - and I don't think my speech will go back to normal -, but most people have said they cannot hear the lisp or don't notice the difference when I speak. I don't know if that's just something they say to make me feel better, but overall, no one looks shocked when I first speak to them.
I think that going back to work after a few days, when my speech was still awful, helped massively. It helped me get over it, because I had to talk to people, and realised that actually... no one noticed or cared ! So I just got on with my meetings and with my work.

I have actually stopped telling people about my braces! I am sick of people asking "but why are you wearing braces?" !

The main issue that remains is food. I am still eating soft foods, soups and liquids, although this hasn't prevented me from eating crap (hello chocolate almond milk, chocolate yogurt, soft cakes and french madeleines And ice cream of course)
So, still on a restricted diet...

Overall, things are not too bad, and definitely much better than 10 days ago!

Sorry for the long update!

[cs2thecox]

Glad to hear things have improved for you!

And do give "real" food a go - you might be surprised by what you can actually manage.
At least no-one sees the bits that get stuck in your braces when you have linguals

[Kitri]

Hello everyone! Here's a little update

It's been exactly 10 weeks since I got my lingual braces fitted (upper and lower arches, for the reminder). I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. It's a busy time of year and I haven't been thinking about my braces too much.

I'm now pretty settled in my "new life with braces". I had my first adjustment mid-September and my ortho was very pleased.
The appointment lasted 45 minutes. He didn't change the lower wire, but had a look at the upper one and asked how much pain I experienced when I got the braces on. I said it was painful for the first 10 days and then all fine, so he offered to replace the upper wire with a thicker/more powerful one, but mentioned it would be painful for about 2 weeks. Because I'm a nutter (and also don't want to spend more than 2 years on this treatment) I accepted... and actually, have experienced little pain so far. A few sensitive teeth here and there, but nothing that required painkillers or prevented me from eating. My teeth have moved quite a bit now, so I'm really pleased

My next appointment is early November - not really looking forward to it as I loathe it when my ortho changes the upper wire (actually wires... it's a combination of different thicknesses), I have to lie down on the chair, tilt my head backwards at almost 45° so he can access the front teeth and basically am on the verge of fainting each time! Also expecting some "new stuff" like elastics or power chains.

Regarding food, I can eat almost everything now, except very crunchy or hard food. And it's not because I can't eat them; it's because I don't want to damage the brackets. Only thing I can't eat are sandwiches - basically anything that requires biting into.

Speech got much better too. I can speak normally now, except when I'm tired or grumpy! I call those my "bad speech days".
I'm not really lisping anymore, except early in the morning. My French accent has definitely made a come back (I'm a Frenchie living in the UK). Very little people could tell I was French before, but now it's more difficult to fool people! But I guess I made things more difficult for myself by living in a foreign country, speaking a foreign language everyday AND getting lingual braces. A nutter, I told you!

[robbievega]

thanks for the update kitri, good to hear you've settled in. getting upper and lower linguals myself the beginning of december and its good to read things sort of return to normal after a couple of weeks. keep us updated

[maria14]

It became a bit of a debate actually, because I remain very conscious, and I can hear every single lisp and poor bit of articulation and swear blind that I sound ridiculous, but others say that they really can't hear it any more and say it's all in my head. Having now taped myself (I am THAT obsessive about my problem!!) I actually tend to agree.... when I am convinced I am lisping, it doesn't actually come across on the recorder. Clearly I have to stop focusing on what it sounds like in my head, and more on what it sounds in real life...!

[maria14]

It became a bit of a debate actually, because I remain very conscious, and I can hear every single lisp and poor bit of articulation and swear blind that I sound ridiculous, but others say that they really can't hear it any more and say it's all in my head. Having now taped myself (I am THAT obsessive about my problem!!) I actually tend to agree.... when I am convinced I am lisping, it doesn't actually come across on the recorder. Clearly I have to stop focusing on what it sounds like in my head, and more on what it sounds in real life...!






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[fleetfeet9]

I've had my incognito braces on for 2 weeks and my lisp is nearly gone. It was terrible for the first few days. I practiced reading and talking and singing all the time but as my tongue got used to the new hardware in my mouth, the lisp slowly went away. It's not 100% gone but for the most part no one ever notices that I have braces in my mouth!