Grown up Brace Face

May - August 2011

2011-08-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

May
June
July
August

I have really slacked the past four months but there hasn't been anything new other than in July my "shy" tooth got bonded with a bracket and pulled forward. I have a new chain on my bottom teeth that continues to close the gaps and have to wear elastics but I think is mostly to align the bite rather than move anything so it's not painful. I really like that electric blue color.

April 2011

2011-04-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

April was pretty painful. I took some acetaminophen. My front teeth needed to be moved to the left so wiring was wrapped around them in a figure 8 -well more like ∞- and twisted around my left canine to pull them in that direction. The end on one of the wire slips down and is shredding the corner of my bottom lip, thank God for wax!

Weird springs were also put in on both sides of my front teeth. No idea what they are for but the floss gets stuck and frayed every time I go around it, it's extremely annoying.

The chain at my bottom teeth was removed and the gaps have been reduced, don't know if they'll stay like that.

I still have to wear the rubber bands, just in a different position. They are excellent for weight loss, snacking is such an inconvenience nowadays.

Red is the color for the month even though the photos have an odd coloring and the modules look orange.

March 2011

2011-03-09T07:03:00.000-08:00

Nothing really happened in February but March was really exciting, I got a new upper wire and this "knitting" thing in my lower teeth which finally the Dr. noticed had become separated. I also got little rubber bands that make me feel a little like Hannibal Lecter or like I'm on a really mean diet.

The next day the pain was horrible I could barely eat, I wasn't just unable to chew food but the pain actually took away my appetite...so that whole diet thing not that far off. A little yogurt was the only thing I felt like eating.

I also got one of the girls who asks for a color preference on the modules and doesn't just automatically put on the gray ones so I got some pretty blue for the month!

January Visit

2011-01-06T15:11:00.000-08:00

Boring visit on January. I had my upper wire changed and a plastic thing put over it. Horrible pain for two days and then back to normal. Snaggle tooth is a little bit lower but not much has changed.

December Visit

2010-12-06T17:42:00.000-08:00

I did not go to the orthodontist in November. In this visit I got the bungee cord things taken out and a new wire on my upper teeth, a smooth one (stronger, non-flexible) this time. I'm happy to get the extra things taken out because it's much easier to floss now. Those things got really nasty after two months.

I finally got a bracket on my snaggle tooth so hopefully I'll see dramatic change pretty soon and say goodbye to my "hillbilly" teeth. I'm in a little bit of pain like always when I get a new bracket plus the extra pressure from the new wire would probably turn painful tomorrow but I can handle since I know it usually goes away after a couple of days.

I got gray modules...AGAIN! Not by choice, the lady didn't let me choose, she never does. She is very efficient and probably the one with the most experience at the office...plus we share the same first name so I'll forgive her. I still hope I get someone else next time, hee!

On my October visit my orthodontist ordered some x-rays and a cleaning from my dentist. The x-rays say my roots are okay but I have an abscess in a tooth and will require a root canal...I'm already having nightmares about this, it's not the pain that scares me but the cost. I can't barely pay my orthodontist. Man I hope it stays asymptomatic as least until March when my monthly payments will be about half as much as I'm paying now.

October visit

2010-10-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the spit bubbles

October visit was the same as last two visits. New bungee cord things, new tiny metal coiled things and a new bottom wire.

Good news, I finally see some movement, like dramatic movement. My teeth are moving back and I can actually see spaces between them. The Dr. also said that next visit I'm getting a bracket bonded to my snaggle tooth so that bitch is going down soon.

My teeth still don't meet at the front when I bite and I have a gap in my bottom teeth now, an honest to God gap, ME? Yep! I'm sure everything will get all straightened out soon. Dark purple is the color of the month and I'm pleased with it.

I need to see my dentist for a checkup, to make sure my teeth are healthy and all this moving and pulling isn't going to lead to them falling out, yikes!

September Visit

2010-09-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

September visit was a little boring after all the excitement on my past visits. The bottom wire was changed, I used to have the soft, flexible one that has a kind of braided texture and now I have one that is a lot stronger and has a completely smooth texture.

Also the elastic, bungee cord things were replaced by new ones but don't seem any tighter, just new. The ligating modules were changed but the didn't ask me if I wanted a new color, they just put some new gray ones. I don't know if they just did it because they didn't change the top ones and wanted them to match but I hope I get a new color for October, the gray is boring.

August visit: Adjustment and other stuff.

2010-08-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

I just had my monthly visit. To the orthodontist, I mean. Not the other kind, that would be too much info. I had my wire adjusted, it was actually cut in a place. Plus I have this elastic cord wound round that's pushing my first bicuspid towards my first molar therefore closing the gap left by the second bicuspid I had removed a couple of months ago. I also have something else...I tried looking it up but I can't seem to find it, it's a metal thing that's there along with the elastic bungee cord thing. Very technical, I know.

I felt a little pressure when they first put them in but in a couple of hours it was full blown pain but not as bad as when I got my bands. I don't think I even need acetaminophen. Also the orthodontist's assistant told me not to use ibuprofen or anything containing aspirin because it causes the teeth to move slower. Has anyone ever heard that?

I think this is the beginning of the crowded upper teeth getting straightened because soon there will be room for them to do so.

I chose gray for my modules because my last three colors were so bright (purple, turquoise and pink) I wanted to try something different. I like them but it's a bit boring. You can barely tell I have any because they blend in so well with the metallic color of the bracket and wire. I recommend them for people (read: adults) who feel childish with bright colors in their teeth.

Look, I have real braces now...Ouch!

2010-07-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

On July 2010 I had molds made for a nance appliance and separators. The mold stuff wasn't so bad except my mouth felt so full I felt like I was choking but it was over pretty fast. The separators...those are evil, tiny little rubber bands, they look very innocent but they hurt so much and when you eat they just keep digging into your gums...hate them. Luckily I only had them for a week at the time first week so they could put the metal bands to do the mold then again later in the month for another week before they put the nance in.

The nance is okay, it's made specially for my mouth so it doesn't feel umcomfortable but whenever I eat something creamy I like to rub it against the roof of my mouth and now I can't :-(
The purpose of the nance is to keep my first molars where they are because I had my second bicuspids removed to make space to get the crowding at the front straightened out.

The buccal tubes hurt so much when you eat at first because they dig into my gums and I thought separators were bad also they rub against the inside of my lips and cheek but wax is my friend and after a couple of days my skin is tough enough to handle it.

I took acetaminophen tablets for the first two days because the pain was to uncomfortable.

Foods: You won't be able to eat properly, it hurts too much. For the two days I recommend nothing solid, stick to pudding, yogurt, creamy soups, mashed potaoes etc,. After that you can try pasta, soft breads, muffins, fish and other soft, tender meats. On day 5 I was completely back to normal but I still won't bite anything, I cut up food into small pieces because I don't want anything to break or come loose.

Another side-effect has been cold sores. They happen sometimes when there has been "trauma" around the mouth. I got one three weeks after my wisdom teeth were removed and now a week after I got my full braces I'm getting another one. I've used several things to treat cold sores but the thing that has worked the best by far is hand sanitizer, it dries it up so fast.

Braces 101

2010-07-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

On May 2010 I got my upper teeth braces. The process was annoying but not painful, I hate that thing that keeps your mouth open but other than that it was fine. The next day was a little painful because of the pressure against my teeth, I couldn't bite anything. I had to cut up my food into tiny pieces and chew with my back teeth. Plus the dental assistant instructed me to cut up any hard foods even after my teeth stopped hurting because it could damage or loosen the brackets.

My teeth were back to normal within the week but cleaning around them was such a chore. Flossing takes forever and feels like sewing with all the threading below the wire of every tooth. It took a few days to get it right. I recommend Oral-B's Super Floss or Johnson & Johnson Reach Dentotape, basically a sturdy floss. I also use small brushes I found at CVS pharmacy that are excellent for cleaning in between brackets and removing bits of food, they are really small and have little caps with helps keep them clean so you carry them around for when you eat out.

My Orthodontist prescribed a anti-sentivity toothpaste called Prevident 5000 by Colgate. That I apply twice a week per his instructions. He also gave me a travel size tube of Colgate Anti-Sensitivity Enamel Protection toothpaste which is what I'm using now. He actually gave me a little kit with a regular toothbrush, little case of wax (my new best friend) and a traveling toothbrush.

Hello World I'm a grown ass woman and I just got Braces!

2010-07-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I'm 24 years old and I just got braces. I've decided to do a blog about it to document the process and also if anyone out there is seeing this and has braces or is thinking about getting them it might help them or let them know what to expect.

I've always had bad teeth and some of that is my fault because I haven't really taken care of them mostly because they looked terrible because of crowding in my upper teeth so I just never really bothered but now I have so many cavities and I'm terrified of losing my teeth so I've decided to take care of them and straighten them out.

On February 2010 I went to an Orthodontist recommended by my family dentist who did a panoramic x-ray and found I had impacted wisdom teeth in my left side. He sent me to a maxillofacial surgeon, I was really worried about the procedure but it was not bad at all.

I was given a sedative (Xanax) about 30 minutes before the procedure because I told him I was anxious during my first evaluation then they put a baby IV on me then he used the local anesthetic most dentists use lidocaine, I think. Then he made a small incision in my gums, removed a small portion of the bone, drilled in to the tooth to break it into a couple of pieces to remove it, stitched me up and that was it. The drugs were so strong I barely remember the procedure and experienced NO pain...at least until I got home and the anesthetic and happy drugs wore off, luckily the Doctor prescribed me pain meds and antibiotics (along with the Xanax and IV meds used during the procedure) a week before. My face swelled up, I look like I had a golf ball inside my left cheek for a week. I couldn't really eat because it was so painful to open my mouth, that lasted 2 weeks but after that things got better very quickly and by the third week I was back to normal.