Getting my bottom braces next week

[Geostrophic]

Good morning (here)!

Hard for me to believe, but I've had my tops for 2 months as of today. I have an appointment to get spacers today to prep for banding and the bottom braces next Wednesday. I am not looking forward to it other than the fact that it's another milestone closer to being done. I've had a lot of anxiety and paranoia about every little thing that happens with my top set. Loose-feeling teeth, "numb" teeth, and pain are all inevitable signs that my teeth are falling out for various reasons - or that's what I eventually convince myself. I suspect because of my personality, this will be the case with the bottoms too. It's exhausting.

Anyways, any words of wisdom or different things to expect with the bottom set? I hear it hurts more. Is that true?

[djspeece]

I don't think there is any reason to believe that the bottoms will hurt more (although I have read that spacers are not much fun, but that is a different issue). Now that you have some experience with the uppers you may find less discomfort since the sensations will likely not be new, and therefore super-anxiety provoking. Just "normal" anxiety . If you don't have any contraindications, take ibuprofen according to label directions for pain relief. No need to suffer. Best of luck to you!

[Geostrophic]

Thanks, Dan!

The spacers themselves weren't awful on the top. Only problem there was the fact that the tech that put them in - unbeknownst to me - didn't put one in quite right. That meant that very little space was made for the bands before they went on one of the molars. VERY tight. Nearly all of my teeth on that side were instantly moved and felt numb/odd. Hopefully that works out better this time around.

Taking a little ibuprofen now in prep for my appointment in an hour.

[mattt]

Good luck, it will all be worth it in the end! :D
Please update us on your progress

[Geostrophic]

Good luck, it will all be worth it in the end!
Please update us on your progress

Thanks! Spacers haven't been too bad this time around. A little sore, but actually less than the tops were Bottoms come Wednesday.

[Loopyman76]

Hello, there!

Listen, I'm not gonna lie. My bottoms bothered me when I got them put on. I, too, got my bottom arch braced about 2 months after I got the tops. When I got the bottom braces on I was MISERABLE for about a WEEK. I wanted to yank them out of my mouth! I kept gnawing on my wallet to sooth the irritation. LOL! That was six months ago, and I can say I still have more issues with the bottom arch than the top - as far as soreness, inner lip irritation, etc. I know it could be different for everyone, and it could depend on your treatment, but the bottom braces were NOT fun. AT ALL. That was MY experience but maybe they won't bother you at all. Good luck to you as you continue your braces journey!

[Geostrophic]

Hello, there!

Listen, I'm not gonna lie. My bottoms bothered me when I got them put on. I, too, got my bottom arch braced about 2 months after I got the tops. When I got the bottom braces on I was MISERABLE for about a WEEK. I wanted to yank them out of my mouth! I kept gnawing on my wallet to sooth the irritation. LOL! That was six months ago, and I can say I still have more issues with the bottom arch than the top - as far as soreness, inner lip irritation, etc. I know it could be different for everyone, and it could depend on your treatment, but the bottom braces were NOT fun. AT ALL. That was MY experience but maybe they won't bother you at all. Good luck to you as you continue your braces journey!

Thanks for the reply! Funny it should be now, as I just sat down in front of my computer after my appointment to get the bottoms on!
No pain yet, but it's early, of course.

My immediate problem was my top teeth hitting the braces on my bottom teeth when I bite. Now I have huge molar build-ups on two of my top molars. Well...in truth, I had shorter ones already due to issues with nighttime "twitching" habits banging my bottom front teeth on my top front teeth. Ouch.
Anyways, the new buildups are much bigger, and don't even feel like they're hitting where they're supposed to on the bottom molars yet :-/ Perhaps that will come with time. I haven't tried to eat yet, so I'm not looking forward to that new adventure.