Starfish's braces

[starfish88]

I just wanted to introduce myself to all of you since I have lurked on here for a while but now I'm in the process of getting braces I feel I can finally join in!

Pre-braces

This will be my sort-of 1st sort-of 2nd time in braces. When I was a teen I got a funny plastic retainer thing to wear from the NHS but it was a bit of a disaster. No one explained to me what it was for (I think it was to correct my overjet); in fact none of the orthodontists really involved me in my treatment as a teen and it was really painful. I know orthodontia is uncomfortable at times but this thing was so bad that it pressed into the roof of my mouth and kept rubbing eventually causing an infection so bad I passed out at school. I still have the indent in the roof of my mouth. No one would alter it to make it more comfortable, just kept telling me this was normal when it clearly wasn’t. Luckily it broke (with a little help) shortly after and no one bothered to replace it.

I’m also a recovering dental phobic. As a child the dentist would encourage brushing by scaring children with the old ‘if you don’t you’ll get painful treatment as a punishment’ routine and even once told me off because one of my adult teeth was impacted...as though I did it to annoy him. Eventually the baby tooth on top of the impacted tooth cracked, was removed and the adult tooth grew in on its own...just slanted. I have been very lucky/careful with my teeth and despite a 4 year avoidance of dentists and have had very little treatment except that cracked baby tooth removed. I’m now back on to a normal routine of check-ups and cleanings. My main reason not to get braces was that I assumed, from my sister’s experience about 10 years ago, that I would need teeth out and no way was that going to happen. But when I found out I needed my wisdom teeth out that all changed. I had originally booked in to have my wisdom teeth and the slanted pre-molar removed as they made brushing more difficult but I realised that if I was having those teeth out and under IV sedation too, then I may as well have out all the teeth I needed for braces and get it over with. So I rushed to book a consultation with an orthodontist.

My first meeting with the orthodontist was a bit of a disaster. His first preference was to do SARPE and BSSO surgery to correct my narrow upper palate and massive 11 or 12mm overjet and I sort of freaked out and fixated on the surgery despite the fact he said he could get a pretty good result from just braces, just not 100% textbook perfect. At my next appointment it was much better, I basically refused the surgery from the start, I’m just not brave enough, not to mention can’t afford it, as I’ve now moved to Australia so no NHS. I did decide to go ahead with the braces only option and I also found out I don’t need any teeth out, except the wisdom teeth, not even the slanted pre-molar as there is nothing physically wrong with it aside from the slant, which will get fixed. The orthodontist said he would fix my overjet as much as possible but it was better to go without extractions because of the shape of my face. I booked in to get Damon clear on the front top 6 teeth and regular metal on the rest on the 28th June. They are putting all the backets on, top and bottom, and wires in, in one appointment.

On the 13th June I got my wisdom teeth out. It was a really easy treatment despite one wisdom tooth being completely horizontal. It wasn’t painful and the swelling wasn’t big at all although it still hasn’t completely gone away and the stitches are a bit annoying at times. I’ve been recovering and eating just liquids and mashed potatoes and expect to do so until I get my braces on. I’m half nervous, half excited about it. I hope that I’m not in too much pain from the braces as I’m going on holiday with my mum and sister, who I haven’t seen for months, a week after I get my braces and want to eat lots of food! I haven’t eaten anything solid (and don’t expect to) between teeth out and braces on and have the week after I get braces to get over getting them put on too, but any longer on liquids only and I might go insane! I already have fleeting thoughts of putting a pizza in a blender just so I can have some, although drinking a pizza sounds absolutely disgusting. I have told my family I’m going to get braces but not when so it will be a surprise when we go on holiday. I wonder how long it will take them to notice.

I’ll put some pictures up at some point of pre-braces so I can track my progress. I may even put up my x-ray, which my boyfriend said makes me look like predator from the film, so we can all have a good laugh. (My boyfriend isn’t mean it was just a brilliant comment...he tried to back pedal after saying ‘I didn’t mean you...just your face...err... your skull’). I especially can’t wait to be posting a picture of my braces very soon!

I feel like I’ve written an essay so I’ll stop there. It feels good to introduce myself after a good month of lurking. I’ve been inspired by so many of your stories, especially those of you who have fixed or are in the process of fixing big overjets. Good luck to everyone on this journey.

[nikkibabie19]

Hi starfish welcome...

Im sorry to hear about your first experience. That sounds awful. If it was me, im pretty sure i'd be terrified of any dental procedures...

But im glad you overcame that fear and decided to take the plunge.

Looking forward to updates about your braces story...

Feel free to view mine as well....

Chao for now

[starfish88]

Hi Nikki,
I've had a look at your braces story and it looks great, such amazing progress so quickly. It also makes me a little sad I'm getting SL brackets when your ligs look so pretty, I love the blue and the purple you've been rocking! Thank you for the kind welcome!

[nikkibabie19]

Hi Nikki,
I've had a look at your braces story and it looks great, such amazing progress so quickly. It also makes me a little sad I'm getting SL brackets when your ligs look so pretty, I love the blue and the purple you've been rocking! Thank you for the kind welcome!

Your welcome...Everyone on here is really nice, and UNDERSTANDING...something i like a lot.
Oh you see movement already? lol Because i wasnt seeing ONE thing. Although the wire has moved (which means movement) I dont think it is noticeable (to me at least)....

But every other day a diff teeth is sore...So pain must mean movement right? lolz


Yea i like the ligs too...the purple one i was really happy with...Not so much the blue.
I am glad i got the metal ones...Because i love to accessorize...lolz..and match...
Personally i dont like the SL brackets...they are a bit on the large side...And my teeth already protrude alot i was worried about being able to close my mouth around them..

I was surprised tho, that the metal brackets itself were smaller than i had pictured so that was a plus for me.

[starfish88]

So brace day is tomorrow. I'm really excited about it now. I can still feel one of my disolvable stitches from my wisdom tooth extraction. This won't be a problem for them will it? I would hate to have to postpone now especially since the place I'm getting them on is an hour away on the train and then a 30 minute walk! (My ortho has several offices around the city but just happens to work in this one the day I'm off...so I can either go after work/take time off or go on the train on my day off)

I'm really excited to get my braces on though, I can't wait to start getting my teeth sorted. A few weeks ago, although I wasn't happy with my smile, I was resigned to my teeth as they are. Now I know I can get the smile I've always wanted I'm so excited to start seeing the changes. I've also started noticing more problems by comparing my teeth with some of the 'afters' on here and can't wait to be an 'after' too! I'm also looking forward to all my free stuff from my ortho even though I don't know what free stuff I'll be getting. And my waterpik is on its way too. I have no idea why I'm so excited about the prospect of all these new toys!

I'm also going to have a look on here about how to post pictures so I can get my befores up, hopefully later today.

[GillyWeed]

Super exciting that you're getting braced tomorrow It's going to be a complete breeze for you! i think with damons they put your braces on in sections so hopefully you won't be there for too long.

Can't wait to see what they look like (i'm sure they'll be great )

[NICURN85]

Hi Star!! Good luck on tomorrow!! I can not wait to here about your story about your braces being put on!!! I will be getting mine in two weeks. I am super excited like you!

[starfish88]

So I have my braces on!

The assistants who put the braces on were really nice, they did some impressions of my teeth which I find really scary but rationally it was fine. I don't know why though when they asked me what flavour of the putty stuff I wanted I wanted to say banana but for some reason I said grape! I still hate the feeling that they are going to pull my teeth out when they remove the impressions stuff but they said actually it was really rare even with very wobbly baby teeth! Then they did a polish on my teeth, the etch stuff then glue then braces. They had a funny thing to hold my tongue back and my lips away. I don't know why they don't use these for cleans at the hygenist because it was a lot more comfortable not having to think what to do with my tonge. Although impossible to talk with it in! The ortho came over, checked the brackets and then they cured the glue stuff with the light which looked like a very small lightsabre! So far so painless.

Putting the wire in was more painful. Being scared of all things dental I don't like anyone pusing on my teeth but they also said that SL brackets can be stiff the first time so it can be more painful shutting all the doors. they also had to put a little spring in where my tipped second premolar is because they couldnt put a bracket on it this time. The spring sort of hurt too. I guess it wasn't so bad but more of a fear that they would pull a tooth out at any minute with all the pushing. I didn't realise because I went to my orthos other office that this one was more of a public set up with several chairs in one room. Don't know if I like that. There was a little boy who was maybe 10 getting his braces on too and I made way more fuss and felt a bit silly! I've made sure I book the rest of my appointments in the other office so that its more private. The staff there were all really nice but they seemed a bit rushed today, my ortho mentioned something about locking his keys in his car so I can kind of understand!

Once the braces were on my teeth felt really sore. I got a goody bag with an electric toothbrush, some wax, some superfloss and some christmas tree brushes as well as all the advice and 'no eats list'. The only thing I'll miss is tacos and I'll be glad to have something to remind me to stop biting my nails. My mouth felt really sore for about an hour and a half on my way home but its easing up now. I'm really confused because all my info says it shouldn't hurt at the start but should be hurting now! I ate some mac and cheese for lunch but didn't chew properly, mostly just swallowed it as I don't want to push myself yet. I don't want the pain to get worse again so I'm going to take some pain pills, luckily I still have some left over from my wisdom teeth (which hurt less than getting braces - maybe due to the sedation!).

I felt a bit sad when I left the orthos office. I guess it was a bit of...oh my gosh what have I done. Can someone please reassure me that the painful part is just the first few days and it will get better? I'm already dreading adjustments and getting them off. I'm going to stop whining now and start thinking about the nice teeth I'll have in about 18 months time (hopefully ready for Christmas 2013)!

[starfish88]

So as promised these are the pictures of my before teeth. Sorry they are so big I have no idea how to resize or do anything like that as I am useless at technology and this has taken me ages of reading the 'how to' section. If a mod wants to resize them they are more than welcome to. At some point I'll also add a picture of my newly braced teeth.

[jem]

Congratulations on getting your braces on. I think quite a few of us here have had poor outcomes over the years from NHS removable braces ( mine while the Beatles were still young).

The change in orthodontic technology and practice has been amazing and it is great that you can get your overjet sorted out without having extractions.

I have had Damon clear brackets for about 6 months and have found them very comfortable and unobtrusive to look at.

Good luck with your treatment

Jem

[Cyborg]

So exciting! I can't wait to post mine. I just got braces on Monday! look forward to hearing more!

[Bionicbigmouth]

Congrats on your brace day!

Your teeth are so white...I'm mega jealous! I'll be keeping an eye on your progress...as you have a similar size overjet to me (my teeth are way more crooked...and less white bloomin' coffee!) and the same sentence time too...BRACE BUDDIES! Lol!

Hopefully the pain will subside in a few days...from what I've heard it does at least!

[starfish88]

Thanks guys its really great to have support. I really needed it too because for the first day the pain was pretty bad (I'm a wimp) now it only hurts when I chew, I thought I would be fine with soup until I banged a tooth on the spoon! Luckily not hard but enough to cause pain. I went into work today and it was pretty good. I work with little children and a few of them noticed and commented but were really interested mostly. One girl said 'whats all that brown stuff on your teeth' and I had a freak out until I remembered she's always getting brown and grey mixed up! None of the other staff noticed until I told them which made me feel a little better. Felt a bit bad because I think I've probably been crabbier than usual, I'm hungry and its sore. Oddly I have no scratches or ulcers in my mouth, no pain from rubbing and haven't had to use wax at all (yet) all the pain comes from tooth movement. Oh well the more pain the sooner they move to the right place I guess. I tried to floss last night but it hurt too much. The ortho assistants said if I end up skipping the first few days the world wont end but to keep trying which I will do. I just have to keep reminding myself that it will all be worht it in the end and this pain will go away soon.

[starfish88]

No wonder this has been hurting so much. That lateral thats on the left in the pictures (on the right in real life) has moved half way to where its meant to be. The wire is a lot starighter on that side. Wow...makes the pain worth while when I see stuff like that. Plus the pain hasn't been so bad today, still not chewing but managed some rice and tofu in a spicy sauce and was able to mush it up with my tongue. And I havn't needed any painkillers either today thank goodness.

[starfish88]

The pain gets worse towards the end of the day and so I'm always more grumpy and negative about my braces...here comes the whine of the day (which I'm trying to control with wine of the day)...It hurts so much to floss I've decided to give up for now. Both my boyfriend and sister didn't floss at all in braces and had no cavities so I figure I'm safe for a week or so! (In England at least kids with braces don't seem to have the big FLOSS lecture). I was in tears of pain and frustration trying to floss earlier. My teeth are still more painful than after my wisdom teeth were removed but I don't get to loll around and watch crap TV for a week. Also alcohol is a better painkiller than panadene forte!

...I would really appreciate some reasurance right now