Braced at 52 with Innovation for overbite/overjet

[TheProfessor]

Hang in there! For me, the dry mouth (and super dry lips) issue gradually went away about a month after I got my braces. Just keep drinking lots of water and it should improve as your mouth gets used to all the extra stuff in your mouth

[pjade1]

Hmm, I tried to eat a hotdog yesterday and found out I can't bite into the hotdog with my front teeth. They still hurt too much so I had to cut my hotdog into chewable sizes and eat it with a fork. I can chew with my back molars but even that is still not easy since my molars don't touch all the way. I have to be creative to eat now. The dry mouth is still the same and I have sprays/chapstick all over the place and in my car so I can pick it up when I need to and use it. I did eat pizza yesterday but avoied the hard outside crust. That stuff is too chewy.

I am finally getting used to cleaning out my braces and being faster about it. I don't think my mouth has ever been any cleaner in my life. I don't like anything stuck in my braces or mouth. I threw out a toothbrush today because I kept losing bristles in my braces and had to pull them out with tweezers. My sonic toothbrush is fine but the manual one was just shedding bristles in my braces. I will try the portable one that my ortho gave me and hope that works better.

[newbite]

Ohhhh it sounds like such a pain!!!! Well, it will get better, right?? And of course the results will be worth it! I'll be suffering right along with you in less than a week, we've just got to keep in mind how awesome the end point will be!

[pjade1]

Misery loves company but yes, it will be worth it in the end. At first, I didn't like smiling with the braces on but I think now that I am used to them, I am smiling more. They aren't really that noticeable when you have the ceramic uppers.

[dantocanada]

I'm sorry to hear you are still having chewing problems. If I'm not mistaken, I got my braces on 4 days before you, and I haven't had any pain chewing since the first week. I guess we really are all different.

Funny you mention the cleaning braces part - I totally agree with you! I can't stand the feeling of food caught in there, and yes, I too am getting much better at it. Have you bought a Waterpik? I can' t emphasize enough the convenience and ease it brings to life with braces. I even bought a travel one for business trips. Makes a huge difference. Also, I'm using an Oral B electric toothbrush that my ortho gave me. Seems to work well.

[pjade1]

I didn't have any pain chewing until day 5. My front teeth are now what I call sensitive but they don't hurt right now. It is finally going away. I still can't chew well because of my bite and the bite bumpers but the dry mouth and chapped lips are finally getting better too. I don't carry my sonicare toothbrush with my when I am out but use it at home all the time. I do have a waterpik at home and also a portable one that stays at work or goes with me on the weekends when I am out. I am thinking of buying another one so I don't have to tote the one back and forth from work and make another cleaning kit to brush with. I just like having my teeth clean now or I don't want to talk. I am afraid I will have food stuck in there. Things are getting better and I bought some glide floss because I was shredding regular floss to pieces. I know my dentist didn't prefer the glide floss because she thinks it burnishs in the particles into your teeth but in some areas, I can't get regular floss there since it's so tight. I can shred it there and then those pieces get stuck and I have to pull them out.

Does anyone else feel like their braces are a shelf just for the food to sit on? I always seem to get food that wants to stay above my upper braces so I have to use my tongue to try and get it out. You can get quite a bit of food up there that should be going down your throat. It sounds gross, I know!

[TheProfessor]

My upper braces are definitely a shelf for food storage. Spaghetti and rice are the worst--sometimes the only remedy is using a finger to scrape it out. That's when I wish I was a kid with braces, table manners aren't as much of a priority when you are 12 as when you are 40

[pjade1]

My upper braces are definitely a shelf for food storage. Spaghetti and rice are the worst--sometimes the only remedy is using a finger to scrape it out. That's when I wish I was a kid with braces, table manners aren't as much of a priority when you are 12 as when you are 40

Funny, I stick my fingers in my mouth when no one is looking or I am by myself. I'd hate to get caught like that though. How embarrassing would that be at our age!

[newbite]

Do you have any pictures of your braces? I'm curious as to what the Innovation look like compared to the Damons.

I deal with the food getting stuck by swishing my mouth out constantly with water while I eat. Not something I could do in public, probably, but it works well enough so that there is usually hardly anything in there after I eat. I did get a piece of eggplant wrapped around a molar bracket and that was annoying. I had to use tweezers and it still didn't want to come out. Who knew that eggplant was stringy??

[pjade1]

Do you have any pictures of your braces? I'm curious as to what the Innovation look like compared to the Damons.

Yes, I do. I will try to get those posted when I get home today.

[pjade1]

bracesfrontafter1.jpg

I am finally getting around to posting my pictures from my day 1 of braces before and after. I am still having dry mouth but I have some good products for that.

[pjade1]

bracestopafter.jpg

More pictures of my braces on Day 1. My teeth are really too crooked but I have a deep overbite/overjet and a small cross bite on my right side.

[pjade1]

I was noticing after dinner last night that I lost one of those gray rubber bumpers on my bottom bracket so I called my ortho today and they will install another one tomorrow. They said I wouldn't need it if my bite was better but I still hit the bottom bracket with my upper tooth. I hope they don't charge me extra for this.

[pjade1]

The rubber bumper replacement was quick and easy. The asked if I wanted the other one changed out too so I got that one changed out too in case it was ready to come out. They did not charge me either. I can say I am now liking the othopicks I got. I didn't like them because they shredded all the time with tight teeth but now my teeth aren't as tight so they are working great now. Flossing time is way down now.

[newbite]

Your braces look so much like mine! That's so funny they make big deal about different name brands, when they don't seem any different.

How did your bumper come off, did it snap? Mine are a little loose, not sure if it's because my teeth moved a bit or because the bumpers stretch with age. I'm glad they didn't charge you for that, that would be really nickel and dimeing you if they did.

I've almost had my braces one month (!) and you're a few weeks ahead of me. I don't really see any difference in my teeth, not for sure, do you in yours? Maybe the next wire will make more obvious progress .

I hope you're doing well and that your dry mouth is better. Mine comes and goes, annoying that it's so persistent.