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Well, yesterday I finally got these babies on!! It's been quite a wait for me, that's for sure.
I've wanted braces for quite some time, probably wanted them back in highschool but my parents couldn't afford it and I wasn't the kind of child to harrass them about it. When they finally could afford it I was 19 and thought I was WAY too old for braces....oh boy, looking back on it now I realize how dumb I was! Anyway, fast forward 6 years or so and here I am. I went for my first consultation with the ortho I chose back in November of 2010. Turns out I had receding gums on 4 teeth which the ortho wanted fixed before braces went on. I had a consultation with a periodontist at the end of November and the surgery was set for January 13, 2011. I had my records done with the ortho on December 8 and the date for the braces to go on was set for March 7 since my gums would need at least 6 weeks to heal after the surgery. What a long wait it's been!! March 7 crept up fast and I was so nervous before going in. Mostly I worried what people will think when they see them for the first time, what would my boyfriend think? Would he ever want to touch me again?? I felt so at ease and comfortable once I got there. The staff at my ortho's office are so nice, the tech explained every little thing she was doing and the ortho took his time making sure everything was right where it needed to be. I'm now almost 24 hours in and I don't think this is going to be as bad as I had imagined. I got Damon brackets which means I don't have to worry about elastics and the pain associated with having them tightened and adjusted, and the top front 6 are clear so they're not as noticeable, especially from further away. The real challenge now is going to be figuring out how to eat/chew with these bad boys...I was mostly just swallowing my spaghetti whole last night! The back brackets are poking into my cheeks so that's not so fun, but I'm sure some Tylenol and some wax will make things feel much better! I've wanted this for what feels like forever so I'm so excited to finally have things rolling! I can't wait until I start to see some movement...I swear things are already shifting as my bite feels different than it did last night!!
Last edited by stepher7 on Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:57 am, edited 5 times in total.
I, too, got braced yesterday and like you i can't chew a thing! I am older than you, 50, and am very relieved to hear that you are having chewing problems too. It has to get better, right? I am going to a mardi gras dinner tonight and I just hope there is something on the table that I can swallow! Best of luck to you. I hope we both get the result we want!
Oh boy, I hope for your sake that there is something you can eat!! It's frustrating because I love food so I'm hoping as things start to move that my bite will feel more normal and I won't be worried about breaking a bracket off every time I chew something! Good luck and I look forward to following your progress since we share the same bracing date!
Luckily after a few days or maybe a full week your bite will work itself out. I had the worse time with my molar bands and I was so tempted to go back to the orthro and have those suckers taken off!!! That was my only complaint esp the part of the wire digging into my cheeks and my tongue being raw. But now it's like I dont even have them on! Eating isn't as different as before but I do have to limit what I eat. Dont want any extra visits!! The only time I notice any kind of discomfort is when my bite changes after adjustments. But you will be fine. Good luck!
Thanks for the replies! It's so helpful talking to other people who are going through the same thing. I put dental wax on the pokey bracket and boy did that help! I have a feeling I'm going to develop a new addiction to that stuff....
Congratulations on starting your journey! they look great and your teeth are beautiful
Don't worry soon you'll get used to the feeling and be able to eat food normally again. i remember when I got my braces I lost so much weight & pretty much never chewed anything, i kinda just shoved it down my throat lol it does get better, i promise!
Thanks tashay1985! The more I've looked at my teeth recently the more I've realized that I have pretty good ones to work with lol just need to be straight!! I'll definitely keep things updated with pictures and whatnot. The encouragement from others helps a lot!
Congratulations! Your brackets look great, especially the clear ones! I hate to break it to you, but having Damon brackets in no way lets you escape the fun/discomfort of adjustments. I have Damon self-ligating brackets on the bottom (like you), and even though I don't have to deal with ligatures for those, whenever they change the wire, it's always like Day 1 all over again. Of course, the pain goes away quicker than it used to. Your bite will also go through a wild journey as your teeth move and things adjust to the way they should be. I'm not accustomed to any of my teeth actually meeting while I eat (other than the back molars), so when I felt them touching the other day, I thought, "Wow! This is what it's like to have an almost-proper bite!"
Have fun with them - you're going to have them for a while, so might as well, right?
drgnchsr36, I did indeed have gum grafting done (or as they call it, gingival augmentation). I had to have it done on all 4 canine teeth (I think their proper name is cuspids??). Anyway, I had all 4 done on the same day, under sedation thank goodness! It was a good 2 weeks at least until I could eat normal food again and I wasn't allowed to brush the graft sites for a month!! They look great though, so I know once everything is straight and my bite is good it will have been worth it to have a nice even gumline (not to mention I hopefully won't have anymore recession!).
catgyrl, thanks for the info about the Damon brackets! I guess I should have said that I assume it will be LESS painful lol but of course that's only from what I've read, so it's good to hear from someone who has them what I should be expecting when wires get changed. I'm still trying to get the hang of these things...my mouth is a bit more sore than it was the first 2 days, but I'm hoping my cheeks will toughen up to everything that's going on in there soon!
stepher7 wrote:drgnchsr36, I did indeed have gum grafting done (or as they call it, gingival augmentation). I had to have it done on all 4 canine teeth (I think their proper name is cuspids??). Anyway, I had all 4 done on the same day, under sedation thank goodness! It was a good 2 weeks at least until I could eat normal food again and I wasn't allowed to brush the graft sites for a month!! They look great though, so I know once everything is straight and my bite is good it will have been worth it to have a nice even gumline (not to mention I hopefully won't have anymore recession!).
catgyrl, thanks for the info about the Damon brackets! I guess I should have said that I assume it will be LESS painful lol but of course that's only from what I've read, so it's good to hear from someone who has them what I should be expecting when wires get changed. I'm still trying to get the hang of these things...my mouth is a bit more sore than it was the first 2 days, but I'm hoping my cheeks will toughen up to everything that's going on in there soon!
Thanks for sharing! I'm wondering if I may have to do that on my lower teeth, was just curious how it was. It sounds like you have had a good result with it.
Congrats on your braces....your teeth are so pretty. I def know the feeling of wanting braces when you were younger but the parentals not being able to afford it
But for me it was a great feeling once I finally got them on since i've ALWAYYYYS wanted them...
Thanks rwashington007! I do think they're going to be beauties when this is all over with! lol
I'm on day 5 now and doing well for the most part. I slept without wax on last night, yay! Still wearing it during the day since chewing and talking tend to rub more My only issues now are a coil on the bottom that's rubbing, but I stuck some wax on that too and it helped A LOT! I was back at work yesterday for the first time since getting them and only one person mentioned anything. Not sure if everyone else noticed and just didn't say anything or if they just couldn't tell. I still can't really chew anything, which really sucks. Luckily all romantic endeavours with my boyfriend haven't been hindered by these suckers I think I'll be pretty excited once Monday comes and I can officially say I'm 1 week in! lol
Well, yesterday was officially one week with these bad boys strapped to my teeth! Chewing is feeling much easier, although it feels really weird getting food stuck everywhere I've found for this reason, and for not wanting to brush my teeth 8 times a day, I haven't been snacking as much which is probably good! I took more pictures, but I don't really think there's much of a difference yet so I won't bother posting more for another week or 2 probably. There are definitely some tiny gaps forming between teeth that didn't have gaps before, which is exciting because that means things are on the move!! Not too much to update, I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks when (hopefully) some real changes will be visible!
My only issues now are a coil on the bottom that's rubbing, but I stuck some wax on that too and it helped A LOT! I was back at work yesterday for the first time since getting them and only one person mentioned anything. Not sure if everyone else noticed and just didn't say anything or if they just couldn't tell. I still can't really chew anything, which really sucks. Luckily all romantic endeavours with my boyfriend haven't been hindered by these suckers 
I think I'll be pretty excited once Monday comes and I can officially say I'm 1 week in! lol
I've found for this reason, and for not wanting to brush my teeth 8 times a day, I haven't been snacking as much which is probably good! I took more pictures, but I don't really think there's much of a difference yet so I won't bother posting more for another week or 2 probably. There are definitely some tiny gaps forming between teeth that didn't have gaps before, which is exciting because that means things are on the move!! Not too much to update, I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks when (hopefully) some real changes will be visible!