Braces tomorrow... ! : gorie's story

[gorie]

Hello , just found this site today, cool!

I am 24 years old and will be getting my braces on tomorrow... I'm pretty excited and really nervous at the same time. I can't help but think that first look in the mirror afterwards will be traumatizing!! Hopefully everything will go ok...

I thought I'd share my experience on this forum for anyone that is interested. I know for me, it helps a lot seeing and reading about the experience of others.

Most people at work know I am getting braces so hopefully there won't be any awkward reactions tomorrow other than my own ! Though I am more concerned about having a hard time talking and discomfort than what people will think of them.

Here's my story so far...

I decided a few months ago that I wanted braces. I have always been really self conscious about my teeth and decided to do something about it before I get any older and just get it over with.

So a couple months ago, I scheduled a dentist appointment to find out more about it, plus I haven't been to the dentist in a looong time. When I went for my checkup, I was told I needed a molar extracted due to decay, eeek! I had no idea! But he said the braces would be good for filling that gap since I wanted them anyway.

So now I have a gap in the back of my mouth on top. Having that tooth pulled was kind of scary but not too bad. Bled for a couple hours and healed up pretty fast. I still hate chewing on that side of my mouth because it just feels funny having no tooth. I really regret not taking better care of my teeth and regular checkups, though. Other than that my teeth were pretty healthy, but I am really nervous about trusting the health of my teeth after that.

I went in for my ortho consult a couple months later. The orthodontist said having that molar pulled will help a lot for aligning the teeth so that actually worked out well. They're gonna try to pull the other back molar forward to fill the gap, and see if the wisdom tooth will fall into place.

soon after went back for my molds. I had people warn me about how icky the molds were, so I was all prepared. The assistant did the bottom set first and I thought - hey this isn't bad at all ... then came the top set - ewww! it all drained down my throat. it was pretty gross, and I had the taste in my mouth the rest of the day (just tasted like i swallowed a lot of toothpaste). This is also when all the "before" pictures were taken.

Last week I went back to discuss treatment goals and get my spacers put in. I found out the ortho wants to pull a healthy bicuspid to help things along, though he made it sound like it can be done without it just won't be as easy and may take longer. At the time I was just wanting to trust the way he wanted to do this and said OK to pulling the bicuspid, as long as he gave me pretty teeth in the end i didn't care! As soon as I went home I regretted that without seeing just how necessary it really is, because at my original consult (with another ortho, same place) i asked and they said i wouldn't need any other extractions other than 3 wisdom teeth. (i will be getting those out once the braces are on.) So tomorrow i will talk more about trying without having to lose a healthy tooth. Either way, he was going to put the braces on first and have it pulled whenever I get my wisdom teeth out (asap) so I don't have to wait more for getting the braces.

The spacers snapped right in, with a little bit of pain as the assistant put them in place, but after, I was really surprised that they didn't hurt at all and were hardly noticable. Couple hours after being home however, owwwwww. The next day was even worse. I couldn't even chew noodles!!... any sort of pressure on my back teeth to bite was just too much. But just sitting around didn't bother me at all and hardly noticable. it was only when i tried to eat that made it hurt. A week later and it still hurts to eat even soft foods. Tomorrow they will be out, and braces will be in!

Anyway...! Now the fun stuff. Here's some "before" pictures, I just took these now and you can see what my spacers look like. You can also see that my front teeth protrude quite a bit. They will be pulling those back, and "shaving" them down as they tilt. I knew my teeth were bad, but until i saw the printouts from the molds and the x-ray of my skull I didn't realize how bad. My mom still thinks my teeth are beautiful as they are and I should be putting my money towards a car... but I think this is something I need to do. Also, my back teeth line up right on top of each other rather than in the grooves. and my top teeth are all off center.

These are all pictures I took the last couple days. Bye bye smile! In a way I am a little sad to know I will be losing this smile i've known for so long... but I am excited for my new one.












(i think i burned the roof of my mouth on something, or maybe it always looks like that, lol)

I will post pictures of me with the braces on tomorrow... hopefully it won't be too ugly!! wish me luck...

[bbsadmin]

Your problems don't look too bad. I think you're going to have a terrific outcome from braces!

Remember, in the first weeks eat soft foods, use lots of wax or dental silicone, take small bites, and be easy on yourself!

[Dodger(UK)]

Nice story. - Don't listen to your mum, this is definately something you need to do for yourself, sometimes it's good to be a little selfish lol You can always get your car some other time.

Your teeth look pretty good, obviously there is some minor crowding, and as you've desribed your top teeth dont' fit into the relevant grooves. I'll give it 3 months in braces, and you're teeth will look almost perfect. I hope! lol

[Tim]

Your problems don't look too bad. I think you're going to have a terrific outcome from braces!

Remember, in the first weeks eat soft foods, use lots of wax or dental silicone, take small bites, and be easy on yourself!

That's such a careing reply.. all of the sudden I miss my mom... too bad she 120954713093750981 miles accrost the big blue wet thing . If I break a leg think she'll come to see me?

[gorie]

thanks guys!

i didn't get much sleep last night, i was too anxious/nervous. but i woke up on time and was on my way!

first one assistant removed my spacers and had me brush me teeth and floss. it was nice to have the spacers out, and as i was brushing my teeth i was reminding myself to enjoy brushing because it will be a long time before brushing will be that easy again!

then the orthodontist came to talk to me about pulling my bicuspid. because i was chickening out. he told me if we don't pull that tooth we can't get the results he wants, but it was up to me. i eventually gave in and told i'll have it pulled, he said i should be able to keep that upper wisdom tooth then (which is not grown in) so i felt a little better. but really it still doesn't make sense to me - why not just pull the wisdom tooth and keep the bicuspid? but i'll trust he knows what he is doing.
the arrow points to the tooth that i will be having extracted in a couple weeks. ill also be having my consultation for wisdom teeth then. unfortunately they can't pull them all at once because they want this tooth out asap.


after that quick discussion, another assistant took over to fit my bands. this wasn't as bad as i expected at all! she put them onto the tooth and told me to bite on some thingy to help push it into place - it was pretty simple. it only hurt a little on one tooth, i was a little concerned about the health of that tooth but they said it was just sensitive from the spacers. i asked for a mirror to see what it looked like. after i had that mirror i felt better, i held onto it through the whole procedure and took a peek whenever i was curious.

once they were fitted, the orthodontist came to have a look to make sure everything was ok. he had her change one of them to a different band, and then they were cemented in place. she just put what felt like gauze in my mouth around the tooth she was working on , it only took a couple minutes for each band.

then she put the weird thing in my mouth that holds back saliva to keep the teeth dry so they can place the brackets. at first, it was REALLY uncomfortable, the cup thing you put your tongue in was poking into the bottom of my mouth. i kept hoping it wasn't going to feel like that the whole procedure. i had to sit like this a few minutes before the dr came. when he sat down he noticed pools of saliva in the back of my cheeks , so it was placed wrong. he adjusted it - and then it was very comfortable. thank god!!

this is when the hard part came for me- about halfway through - i REALLY had to pee!!!!!! oh my god what bad luck!! i was panicking inside, because i couldn't talk to let them know i had to go even if i wanted to because of the thing in my mouth! and i knew even if i figured out how to let them know i needed to go to the bathroom, i couldn't just have them stop in the middle of everything and risk ruining what they had already done. the dr must have noticed i was getting anxious and said "not much longer, only 4 more to go." i just kept praying i could last that long and tried to put my mind elsewhere.

then the dr had me bite down to make sure my teeth didn't hit on any of the brackets. thats when he realized my upper molar was hitting the lower molar band. he had to shave the metal down a little with a drill, and it still hits on it and is a little annoying, he said that should be better once my teeth start to move and left it how it is. i just have to be careful.

after the brackets were on the assistant went to get some things and try to see when i could get in for my extraction. i couldn't stop looking at myself in the mirror, it was kind of cool! the wire wasn't in place yet, but i was excited about my new braces. perfect opportunity to find a bathroom, but i felt weird just getting up and wandering, and i didn't have to go to as bad anymore so i just held it in the rest of the appointment, lol.

she got back and placed the wires & asked what color i wanted for the ligatures. i went with silver so it wouldn't be too noticable. they didn't seem to have too many colors - i was thinking i'd try a light blue or light pink sometime in the future but i didn't see either of those colors on the ring she showed me.

then the assistant went over how to brush my teeth, floss, and how to put the wax on. she also told me it would start to hurt in a couple of hours. and i was on my way! the entire appoinement ended up taking 3 hours.

all the ride home i kept looking in the rear view mirror at my new brace face. i just thought to myself "this is kinda cool!" and felt like smiling at everyone, even if it does look a little dorky.

when i got home i went to smile at my boyfriend all like "Look at me!" - he didn't seem too impressed but was happy for me. he just sees me as the same person, i wanted him to stare into my mouth in amazement. lol. but i had to make sure he still liked me and he said of course and that i'm still cute. whew! then i took a picture to email my family. i really felt like showing it off

then i went to work and everyone wanted to see and seemed excited for me. i got a couple "thumbs up" and one lady told me they were beautiful! how nice. of course i had a playful "welcome back brace face" but i was expecting that one

it was a little hard to talk, but not too bad. i think i'm getting use to that already. when i move my lips some of the brackets poke into me, so i have to close my mouth carefully, that will take awhile for me to get use to.

after a couple hours at work, my teeth really started to hurt and i just wanted the day to be over so i could go home. i ended up leaving a little early.

when i got home i took a nap. it's still a little sore. i tried to eat spagetti for supper - bad idea!! i had no idea the noodles would be so hard to chew. not even just from soreness of my teeth - but i was having a hard time chewing them down , i kept gagging on strings of spagetti! so i just cut it all up real small before i ate it. my teeth were sensitive , but it wasn't as bad as trying to bite with the spacers.

i also tried some of the wax , that helps a lot to keep the metal from poking the insides of my mouth. but it looks so funny i could never wear that at work, so hopefully i will get use to it quickly.

anyway - here is my metal mouth !


as a reminder: ALWAYS make sure you empty your bladder BEFORE getting braces on

[Kristine]

Great story so far!!

Note to self: only one cuppa cawfee before getting the braces on!

[joplin]

Congratulations and thanks for sharing the experience! That's a very informative and encouraging story!
Your braces look good and I love your positive attitude about them - that will take you through it all just fine

[Dodger(UK)]

Yes a very good indepth analysis you've presented there, it is good that modern technology has reduced brackets down to a fraction of the size they used to be, and also the fact that you don't have to get every tooth banded!! Like they did in Huon's day. viewtopic.php?t=375. Thanks for keeping us informed of your story.

[gorie]

DodgerUK- oh i know! this lady i work with told me when she was younger that is how she had to wear braces, a band on every tooth. she was very impressed with how mine look and how far they have come along since she had them. i can't even imagine!!



well, to add an update ... today the insides of my mouth feel really raw!! it hurts a lot to talk, my braces keep getting stuck on my mouth and scraping. i didn't want to use the wax at work cuz it looks funny, but as soon as i got home i gobbed it on.

the left side of my tongue is also very sore, from hitting against the metal on the lower molar bands. i'm not sure what these metal things sticking out on the inside are for, they're not on my upper bands.

i also noticed one of my wires in back is starting to poke out into my cheek. i put some wax on it and it covers it fine. and one of my ligatures is only attached to 3 corners and popping off one. the office is closed until monday, i'll have to wait to call. shouldn't be too big of a deal though.

i see a couple weird spots on my gums now, like a whiteish speck. i can't figure out why since my braces wouldn't be rubbing against my gums, and they're healthy as far as i know. maybe it is bone

anyway, i will run out of wax soon at this rate! if they have me come in to fix those problems i'll ask for more, otherwise i hope i can find some in a store. it really helps a lot.

[Leslie]

Thanks for sharing your experience- I enjoyed reading all about it. Hopefully your teeth aren't too sore today ! Your braces look good!

[Dodger(UK)]

It's amazing how alien all the metal seems at first and you notice every nook and cranny poking in all different spots, but eventually your mouth does adapt too all the new hardware and it becomes part of the fixtures and fittings.

[johnt89]

yah wax is really good. ALthough wehn i got them i decided not to use the wax so i'd get use to it faster....o well good luck!!!!

[gorie]

those 'white specks' on my gums i mentioned were gone in a day or 2, not sure what was the cause of them exactly. the skin just kinda rubbed off and looks fine now.

today is day 6 in braces. the inside of my mouth is still pretty sore & raw. i feel like it will never get use to the braces... i really don't mind the feel of the braces in my mouth, if only my MOUTH didn't mind... it would be great.

my teeth are too sensitive to bite even soft foods yet. i made chili last night n that was easy to eat though i just mostly used my tongue instead of teeth.

my tongue however is probably the most sore right now. it's those stupid cleats (or whatever) on the inside of my molar band that is really irritating my tongue... especially when i eat. it keeps scraping. i really hope i'll get use to that .

i also seem to have little bump sores in my cheek where the molar band brackets are poking me, that doesnt help either. i wish my mouth would heal up !!

[gorie]

day 13 in braces...

i'm actually very comfortable wearing my braces now. i hardly notice they're in my mouth.

still can't chew though. i had mac & cheese last night and was able to chew it (barely), but still sore. best i have been yet, though. so hopefully it will get better.

i think i notice a slight change in my teeth already. i don't think my midline is really corrected though it looks better, but i think it is because my bite is different. i don't notice the molar band so much when i bite down like i did at first , either. i don't know if that is good or bad.. lol

not too interesting, but its something!

[Dodger(UK)]

Your midline does indeed look better!