Day 3 of lingual braces (Win) - upper and lower

[winwired]

Hi everyone,

I'm 52, live in the UK, have finally taken the plunge after decades of hating my smile, and trying not to regret it already! Hoping for some encouragement to see me through the dark days, which is what they feel like at the moment!

I've had the "Win" appliance fitted (top and bottom); apparently this is the next generation of Incognito and developed by the same man, although I can't seem to find much information anywhere. I'm told it's slightly smaller than Incognito so has reduced tooth coverage and a lower profile so should be easier on the tongue and easier to clean.... all I can say at the moment is "ouch, not feeling the benefits yet" but as I'm only on day 3 I hope things improve!

3 issues at the moment, probably very familiar to most of you:

- terrible lisp (and I need to talk without one in my job)
- very sore tongue and gums (makes the lisp even worse)
- can't chew (have metal plates on the back molars) so am getting good at soup recipes

Good things:

- can't see them (which is why I chose them)
- teeth don't seem to hurt yet (I see this is fairly common for Incognito users)

Workarounds:

- soup, soup and more soup (not even trying to chew right now)
- Iglu gel for mouth ulcers has given some relief to the tongue
- Dental wax (run out of the orthodontist issued stuff already, and discovered that it's quite hard to find in a UK shop - but I've now succeeded)
- Benzydamine Hydrochloride spray (marketed as Difflam in the UK) has also helped today as it numbs the tongue area

I have to say that at the moment the bad outweighs the good by a long way, but I hope things settle by the time I go back to work on Monday.

I will try to keep people updated on my progress, as I've found it very useful to see how others are getting on.

Wish me luck...

[Lalaloo]

Good luck on your journey!

[Kitri]

I just got my braces (upper and lower) fitted today and I can rely to everything you are saying in your post, winwired !
So glad I found this forum and can read other people's experience with lingual braces. I am struggling at the moment, but since it seems to get better after a few more weeks, I'm trying to be patient !

I have a terrible lisp in the moment, it feels like I am speaking with mash in my mouth!

But I can't wait to see the changes happening

[winwired]

Just to say good luck Kitri... and do you know which type of linguals you have had fitted?

[Kitri]

I think they are incognito braces!

[winwired]

Well, I had my first adjustment on Tuesday and it's now 6.5 weeks since I had my linguals fitted. (I am looking forward to the time when I don't know EXACTLY how many days/weeks I have been suffering for!!)

The ortho engaged a few more of my teeth, as the first 6 weeks had made enough space to get at the more tricky ones (I didn't fully appreciate that not all of my teeth had even been hooked up to the wire yet). Another bracket came off with all the pulling and tugging, and took a while to re-fit, a few more photos were taken, and I had a proper look at the model cast that shows how my teeth will apparently look when it is all finished. (I didn't really take it in when I saw it on the day I was having the brackets fitted).

I still can't see any visible results/improvements but the fact that the ortho has been able to get the wires into all the teeth now is an encouraging sign I guess and means that something is moving.

Speech has relapsed again since the adjustment, and I'm still on smoothies and soups (no real food although I have tried lasagne and cottage pie a few times). I think I'm getting a bit better at chewing, but the pleasure of eating some real food is outweighed by the fact that it takes SO LONG that the meal is cold by the time I'm half way through it. Also the cleaning is far worse when pasta is stuck than with a pureed soup. I'm really loving my breakfast smoothies though, and will probably stick with them even once my brackets are off!!

[Kitri]

How often are your appointments, winwired?
That's great news that you now have wires into all the teeth. It means that they've moved and they will probably move even faster now.
What is the estimated duration of your treatment?

Keep us updated !

[cs2thecox]

Don't give up on the "real" food - it does get better, although I'm still WAY slower at eating than a lot of my friends, and I'm 9 months in... (I just tell them they're eating rudely fast! )

Also, a good old rinse out with water should dislodge most of the big bits.
Plus, buy a WaterPik. The bigger Boots stores stock them, and they're worth the (not that expensive for the fairly small model) price many times over - they just blast all the bits right out.

I now eat almost anything apart from really crusty bread, crisps (because the pointy bits get stuck and HURT!) and the obvious really crunchy or sticky stuff. It took me a while to be brave enough to try quite a lot of things, but it's much more doable than you think it's going to be.

[winwired]

I'm just back from my latest 6 weekly adjustment, so I've now had them for 12 weeks and 1 day (still counting!!)

The ortho was pleased with my progress and actually so was I. It's been a long 3 months, but looking at the original photos I can finally see the beginnings of an improvement in the overcrowding, top and bottom.

I'm still in the original gentle flexible wire but was assured that in 6 weeks I would probably be ready to move onto a thicker stronger wire and a power chain behind one of my front teeth (I guess at that point I'll never speak again, given how bad my speech has been this far!). In 6 weeks I'll also have the rear bracket that came off after the first 2 weeks put back on (it isn't needed on the thin wires) and some of the horrible white cement/glue that is stopping me bite my brackets off will be shaved down.

That's it.... Off to celebrate with an extra ladle of puréed chicken soup tonight Actually I'm now managing moussaka on a regular basis (as long as I mash it and am near my Waterpik afterwards). Still struggling to shovel the calories in, I've lost 4 kilos since getting the linguals (and I actually needed to put on weight not lose it, so that has been a problem).

Bye for now folks.

[Askme]

Hey Winwired,

Sorry to hear you are still having a tough time. At least your teeth are beginning to move and you can see progress. It will be worth it in the end no doubt.

Have you got any photos to share of your progress so far?

Cheers

[winwired]

I'm now almost exactly 5 months in, so a quick update from me:

- things have started to happen and there is real progress to report (phew)
- I'm still on thin flexible wires, but should move to the stronger (square?) one in January
- I have a power chain on the top, I've had this for 3 weeks and for some reason it has made things much more comfortable on the top teeth (I think it must provide a bit of a cushion from the irritating brackets)
- I have lots of cement on my rear molars, to prevent my teeth knocking the brackets, and I still can't really bite or chew
- I am still largely on a soft food diet, I have pretty well given up trying to eat anything normal, so it's just soup and smoothies but I'm ok with that except that I have lost far too much weight (when I didn't need to) and just can't find a way of putting it back on
- speech is still terrible terrible terrible. Am thinking of becoming a recluse; work is almost impossible for me these days
- tongue is fine (especially since getting the power chain)
- no pain, there is almost never any pain apart from a bit the day after an adjustment

[IncognitoChris]

Hi Winwired,

I've been following your progress as I am going to be fitted for linguals (top and bottom) in 9 weeks time... at least I get to have one last Xmas without braces right

Sorry to hear you are still struggling with your speech, I am a little worried as I have to speak at meetings and deal with external companies a lot. Are the Win lingual braces custom made specifically for your teeth? have you tried applying wax to your brackets to smooth them out can help with speech? I read someone on the board was doing this.

What is stopping you from eating regular food, is it the build ups / turbo's stopping you being able to chew or are your teeth too sensitive ?

Sorry for the questions, I am half looking forward to starting my journey, half dreading it !! Keep posting updates, it helps people to make an informed decision whether to go ahead and for me it prepares me for what to expect.

[cs2thecox]

Chris - I had a massive business meeting the morning after getting my lingual braces on. Horrendous!
But yes, wax helps loads with the way you sound in the early weeks, and over time you just get round it anyway. I still think I sound a bit odd, but literally no-one else notices.

The food thing seems to be a really individual thing. I was happily eating curry and rice within 4 days of getting my braces on, and was on such normal food about another week later that I broke a bracket on a crispy chicken burger! (It was a bracket on a crown anyway, and they're not quite so secure...) Since then, some adjustments haven't hurt at all, and others have sent me back to yogurt and pasta for a couple of days, but really nothing abnormal.
Sometimes the scariest thing is trying food you don't think you'll be able to manage! But for me it turned out that I can eat basically anything apart from the really crunchy stuff, so it hasn't been an issue at all.

And weirdly, powerchains really do make things a little smoother. All that rubber totally takes the scratchy edges off the brackets, particularly if you have wire ligs like me!

I've been braced for 13 and a half months, and am getting them off on 21st January. Woo.

[IncognitoChris]

cs2thecox, thanks for the info. I think I'll take a few holiday days so I have time to adjust and get used to applying wax etc. I can only imagine how self conscious you felt at that meeting, but good for you for not trying to avoid it. I have to laugh at you breaking a bracket on a crispy chicken burger!

From the moment I signed the contract (and paid a huge wedge towards the bill) I think I have been choosing meals which I know I probably won't be able to eat after (get it out my system, so to speak). I've also been trying some new soft foods to see what I can switch to should I need to.

That's a few times now people have commented on power-chains actually making it more comfortable, so if my Ortho suggests them I will probably end up looking forward to them being fitted.

Can I ask, does it feel like you have had them on for almost 14 months? Strange question I know but some people say that you start to forget you have them ? Are you happy with the (close to) end results ? anything you would have done differently ?

Thanks.

[cs2thecox]

Thrilled with my results!
I opted not to have surgery, so there was a chance we weren't going to get my open bite all the way closed just with braces, but we've done it and my teeth look great.

I don't think I've ever forgotten I have braces, but I certainly have got used to them. And it doesn't feel like more than year since I had them put on, for sure.

And I honestly can't think of anything I'd do differently.