Alicia got braces! *open bite & crowding*

[Joye30]

I've been reading everyone's stories for a couple months and am ready to start my own I got my braces on 8/23/12 and just turned 31 this month.

I have known I needed braces since middle school and I didn't want them, I thought it would be so embarrassing. I guess my parents didn't push it and it never happened. So this spring I had a cleaning and my dentist asked if I'd ever considered braces, to help the function of my mouth, my open bite and crowding on both uppers and lowers. I went to 4 different consultations and I decided to go with this one because she spent so much time discussing it all with me and she took the most x-rays, pictures, it felt like she really wanted to examine from every angle so I would have a clear picture of what needed to be done. She tries to not do extractions if she can help it and she uses the Damon system. She did recommend jaw surgery but I really don't want to do that so she said we will get it as close to perfect as we can, which is fine with me.

I went last Thursday to get my braces on. I have clear on all of the top except the last back molar on each side and all metal on the bottom. I was pretty sure that I was going to die by choking on all the cotton stuffed in my mouth. I'm already in elastics (quail!) on both sides. They are making a box on each side...I should post a picture so someone could tell me what they're trying to accomplish with them. I was pretty sore for the first couple of days but only needed ibuprofen twice. My mouth feels so strange! Eating has been an experience and I'm brushing 5 times a day...is that too much? My teeth are still tender when I bite and I have had a few times that I feel like my teeth are going to fall out. Forgot to mention-I have a tongue thrust that caused my open bite. I had no idea! I have worked really hard on stopping myself and placing my tongue in the proper place. My ortho said she will decide at my next appt. if she is going to put the tongue tamers on the back of my teeth, she said she can tell I'm trying. My next appt is Oct. 18 so I'll be in this elastic configuration for 8 weeks.

I am excited to share my journey and excited to have a great smile and not be embarrassed to meet new people anymore...I will try to get pictures up soon.

[Chaotic Choppers]

Hi Alicia!!

Welcome to the world of braces!! Looking forward to seeing your progress!! In regards to brushing your teeth, 5 times a day might be a bit much... everyone seems to have different instructions but mine was to brush morning and night and after lunch if I feel like it. I think if you brush too much you can rub away the enamel and kill all of the good bacteria in your mouth. So what I do is brush morning and night and then chew sugar free gum (check with your ortho to make sure this is ok) after snacks and meals. If I have a particularly evil or messy lunch I brush afterwards too but usually I can get away with using an interdental brush to poke out stuck food and just rinse my mouth out with water. Hope that is of help!!

Anyway I hope you have a great week and are starting to see some movement happening!!!

Take care,
CC

[Joye30]

I keep forgetting to update. I had my 1st adjustment on Oct 18th. The main thing they did was put the tongue tamers on the back of my 2 bottom canines. They don't look like pictures I've seen of tongue tamers, mine are pointy wire things. I will try to take a picture if I remember. I also got put in fox elastics and a new configuration, I have an upside down V on each side. The left is bottom canine to top canine down to first bicuspid, and my right is bottom lateral incisor up to top lateral incisor down to canine. I even decided to be fun and get the colored elastics! The elastics are no joke, compared to the quails I had. I am on the phone all day and my coworkers are amused listening to me talk with elastics on each side and tongue tamers. The tongue tamers were AWFUL the first few days, I thought I'd never eat again and spitting after brushing was so hard. My tongue was bleeding when I ate...I thought that it's so crazy that I didn't know my tongue thrust was that bad. But it's amazing how much your mouth adjusts to the new things. I can eat normally again and have no problem with spitting now. I'm pretty sure I'm keeping the tamers on for the duration of my braces. My brackets are really close to my gums and I asked about it at this appt and the assistant told me that they are trying to pull my teeth out more.

My next appt is Nov 29th and they told me I'll be getting a new wire. I'll try to go take a picture, taking pictures of your own mouth is so awkward lol

[Joye30]

I forgot another part about my 1st appt. I had a coil going from left bottom canine to central incisor to make room for my lateral and they removed it and connected the wire to my lateral now. Yippee

Okay here are some pictures. Man, my before looks better than my braces picture. My teeth look jacked!

[ShopGirlBraced]

Hi Alicia! My story sounds so similar to yours - except I haven't taken the final step and had the braces put on yet. My appointment to get braced is next Monday, and I have a feeling I will probably end up with a tongue tamer .... did you have one placed on the back of your top teeth as well?

I look forward to reading the rest of your progess - goodluck, your teeth are going to be awesome

[Joye30]

Hi, shopgirl! How did your brace day go? I don't have tongue tamers on the top, only those lovely things on the bottom. Are you going to need them?

I had my 2nd adjustment on Nov 29th. My ortho was surprised by how much my bite changed since the last appt. On the right side, my teeth are almost hitting my lower brackets and on the left, the canine hadn't come down like she wanted it to. So I got new wires, the 18 niti *whatever that means*, and on my bottom wire, she actually placed the wire below the brackets right there where my bite is really open to pull my teeth up more. It made me really sensitive for a few days but all is well again. I still have Fox elastics and they are going from top first molars down to lower canines. I think she called that crossbite? I've been in elastics since day one and I am thrilled that I don't have them in front for a little while and I can actually open my mouth.

I did have something new going on before this last appt. The left upper canine where I had my elastic hooked on became sooo sensitive. When I would drink anything cold or use mouthwash, I felt such nerve sensitivity that it almost brought me to my knees. Also that tooth would ache when I didn't have the elastic on it. It was so weird. I started using sensitive toothpaste and it really helped a lot.

I'll upload a new picture soon

[Anna5]

Hello Alicia,

I just read through your post, thanks for sharing your journey with us!
Your case is very similar to mine. I also have an open bite and crowding (and a unilateral crossbite) and I have just started my braces journey. My ortho also recommend jaw surgery, but, like you, I refused, and now we try to fix or at least improve my bite with braces alone.
How are you doing now? I hope you have already seen some progress in the past few months. How long do you still have to be in braces?
I wish you very good luck on your braces journey! I am looking forward to hearing how your journey is going. Maybe you can post some recent pictures?

Greetings from Anna