Will it ever feel comfortable again?

[Gia]

Coming up on a year soon, and after a rocky start never thought I'd get this far. The panic and anxiety has gratefully been under control, and essentially nonexistent the past few months. But it's been replaced by my teeth always being uncomfortable. Pain hasn't been a big issue for me, other than the expected - the first week or a day or so after adjustments. But the past couple of months, it hurts all the time. Not severe pain, mostly nagging aching or variable discomfort - when I bite, chew, when my teeth touch, my bite is never comfortable, I'm clenching, and always have a headache. I worry even when they come off my bite will still be uncomfortable now. Will this go away? It's really wearing. My next adjustment is in a couple of weeks, but I don't even know what to ask at this point.

[assertives]

Time flies. Can't believe you'll be hitting the one year mark soon! Your bite will get more comfortable as time goes by. Mine was awkward for pretty much the entire duration of my treatment, I have keen senses, so I would absolutely feel it if one tooth/side feels a little higher or is knocking against another tooth that is slightly out of alignment. Now that I'm close to the end of my treatment, my bite is more or less settled, and generally comfortable to chew and I no longer clench at night.

[Gia]

That's great to hear!!!

[djspeece]

Congrats on getting the anxiety under control - bravo! The discomfort did seem to accumulate as time went by for me -- probably due to the multiple and simultaneous movements of my teeth, plus my increasing impatience with braces -- everything seemed to be annoying with them. One day my bite would be somewhat functional, the next I was ready just to eat pureed food (which I find disgusting, in general). I tried not to be whiney, but in a weird way was annoyed that others did not appreciate my suffering . Yes, I have issues. It does get better with time -- and sometimes distraction is the best approach - reading, having fun doing adult things, goofing off. Anything but dwelling on the braces. You'll get there - we all do sooner or later. Best of luck to you!

[Speck]

Hi, Gia, it's good to hear that the anxious, panicky stuff is over! I can relate to the constant sense of discomfort. Following the last ortho visit for me (seven days ago) my whole head hurt for the first 48 hours and teeth were unusually tender for around six days. Now it's just random pain and wonky bite. I'm with Dan: Engaging in fun activities, goofing off, etc, are good ways to distract from the discomfort associated with braces. Though, I did learn that when SCUBA diving, to avoid an awkward moment by pulling elastics prior to placing the regulator in the mouth.

Hopefully, things keep going well!

[Gia]

Thanks Dan. It's weird that the discomfort and tolerance seem to get harder. Had an adjustment yesterday and discussed bite. But he said it looks like almost perfect class 1, so I guess I'm just not used to a correct bite

On a positive note he says 6-8 more weeks with some additional tweaks, and then some other things he can do when they come off. I go for a recheck in 3 weeks, and if he's not happy with the progress he mentioned lingual buttons.

I'm trying not to get overly excited, but don't think he would have said anything if he wasn't sure, since he's been so helpful at managing my neuroses!