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plugnickel69 wrote:After 18 months in braces, and only a week to go, only one person ever mentioned my braces. Ironically, two people asked me this week why I got braces. One is having TMJ and other problems of her own and is wearing a splint, the other was a high public official who I talk to fairly often and never noticed them before. Go figure.
I'm 23 1/2 months into my braces treatment and very few people have said anything. At all. Several of those who did were people who knew me and questioned why I'd spend money on braces when my teeth were fairly straight to begin with. They think I'm a hypochondriac because I have several medical conditions that aren't obvious to others, like a severe case of TMJD. When I would tell them I had the braces for TMJD treatment, they would go on and on about how they know someone who had TMJD and it wasn't really bad and went away. Why would I want to pay for braces? Am I looking for attention? They had no idea how severe the pain was that I'd been in for almost a year and how I'd lost a significant amount of hearing from my jaw being pushed back to my ear. Those things just weren't obvious to others and people don't want or care to hear about the 'supposed' pain. I finally decided the treatment was to help me and my health and I just don't care what others think.
I read a lot on these boards about people who are worried about how the braces appear to others. In reality, others just really don't care. They don't even notice when bright color elastics or power chains are added. Most of the time, people just aren't very observant. I will say that my uppers are 'clear' though, but I've had a heavy wire and powerchains on them for a lot of the last year so they were noticeable.
BTW, I have one month to go in my countdown. I'm looking forward to reading your story of getting them off.
Braces as Phase II treatment for TMJD.
Lower mandibular repositioning splint 26 months.
Lower braces on 10.75 months into Phase II treatment.
Duration in braces: 2 years, 2 weeks, 5 days
Removal of Braces: September 18, 2013 TMJD treatment now complete!
It never fails..every time I come on here...I learn something new!!
I wondered what temp suggested for the waterpik! Have been experimenting myself on temps.
My first wire is so thin...no one sees my braces at this time. I have clear on top...and not very visible.
Day 11...still no real pain. I have been getting "tightness" every so often in my mouth today...not always the same tooth. I am taking that as a good sign....at least I am hoping so.
I am so happy I have braces..So looking forward to my smile at the end!
Eating is getting easier..just have to make wise choices to make it that way.
Eating should get easier and easier, though I have to say I thought eating was the thing that bothered me the most throughout this experience as no matter what you do, food does get caught. It gets better as your teeth straighten out, but it's always in the back of your mind. I eat out a lot but have not found that a problem as I can go directly back to my office and brush. But at affairs and parties and events I cut way back on things like appetizers that are butlered around. I try to stay away from anything with spinach, and find even simple things like steamed shrimp can get caught in your brackets and you might not even realize it. (Ordered spanikopita (spinach pie) for lunch a couple of weeks ago and was embarrassed when I got back to my office and looked in the mirror. Spinach is not your friend.)
I always have a toothpick handy. (Bought way too many interproximal brushes at the beginning.) It may not be the best etiquette to use a toothpick at the table, but I try to use it discretely and figure it's better than having food caught everywhere.
I'm out of braces for a year-and-a-half now but was reviewing this post and thought I could be helpful. I made some minor changes and a few additions.
1. The worries about the reaction of others was totally unfounded. Nobody else cares.
2. Braces won't impact your social or professional life unless you let that happen.
3. Ceramic brackets are pretty inconspicuous.
4. I'm pretty much always aware of them.
5. I've been lucky to have suffered no pain at all, just a little chewing discomfort, and only rarely.
6. I used to bite my cheeks often before braces, probably an indication that I had some bite problems. The biting got worse at the beginning of my braces journey. Now I never bite my cheeks.
7. I like steel ligature ties better than rubber o-rings as there's no worry about staining even though staining has never been that much of a problem for me. Not a curry aficionado.
8. Powerchains are no big deal.
9. IPR is no big deal.
10. Eating gets much better after the first month or so, but food does get stuck, no doubt about it. It gets better as your teeth straighten out.
11. It's probably best not to eat spinach in public.
12. I eat fewer fresh vegetables and less fresh fruit.
13. Flossing is really a pain at first until you learn the tricks. The Flossfish is a fantastic tool.
14. It's fine to use whitening toothpaste and mouthwash.
15. The Waterpik is a very useful tool, but is not a substitute for flossing. Use warm water.
16. I'm glad I didn't settle for a partial fix.
17. My ortho is great. So are his assistants. The rest of the staff is super friendly and helpful. I made the right choice.
18. I look forward to my adjustments.
19. You're only as old as you feel.
20. You're never too old to get braces. I began in my mid-sixties.
21. Fixed retainers work and are unobtrusive.
22. I hope I've been a help to some others on this forum.
I have a fixed retainer behind my two upper front teeth and behind my six bottom lower teeth. The one on the top drives me CRAZY because if I don't have my retainer in I can feel it constantly. Ugh.
Dee, Sorry to hear the upper fixed bothers you. My upper one encompasses six teeth, and I am only aware of it when I am not involved in anything. It doesn't bother me at all, just gives my tongue something to play with. My lower involves eight teeth, and I can barely feel it at all.
To me, the only negative is flossing. It's a pain.
Oh, I hear you on the flossing hassle. I am still having to use floss threaders and thought I'd be able to give those up. Probably won't ever be able to give them up.
I was going to ask my orthodontist if he would remove the fixed upper retainer but I know he will say no because the space in my front teeth is starting to open up again. I have been VERY unhappy about that. I'm going back to see him tomorrow to see what he can do about it. As long as I don't have to go back into brackets again I will be reasonably happy. Wish me luck!
Went for six month checkup and cleaning today. My regular dentist was off but his associate who last saw me three years ago just before braces checked me over. When she saw my fixed retainers her first words were "Was Dr. D. your ortho? Those fixed retainers are his signature. No one else around here does them, and they do such a great job keeping everything in place. They're especially good for adults as they usually practice good hygiene, teenagers not so much."
Dee, I would imagine your gap will fight to re-appear. Keep the fixed retainer! Maybe your ortho has to bond more than two teeth to keep things in place.
You could be right about that, plugnickel. The fixed retainer on top is only behind the two front incisors. The one on the bottoms covers about 8 teeth. I thought it was kind of strange that he ordered it this way considering that my original problem was a ginormous gap between the two top incisors. I didn't ask him about it, though. I am going back tomorrow for another check and we shall see what he says.
Paige wrote:I eat a lot of fresh vegetables and salad, I really hope that doesn't have to change if I get braces. Post number 3, trying to make 7 posts!
Invest in a good blender/food processor! I still eat fruits and veggies with no issue
Kipepeo wrote:I also can relate to everything you posted. I can add a few of my own:
3. I don't ever want to do this again.
I just do it about once every 50 years so it's not that big a deal.
Actually, it used to take months to fit the bands around each tooth, solder the brackets on, and make space between each tooth. Today they can do all of that in a half hour.
