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The Stupendous Braces Blog

Grits and Eggs and Day 1 in Braces

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by
AK710
, 02-23-2011 at 02:07 AM (951 Views)
So today was the day that I got my braces. First things first, everyone that said the spacers were the worst part were right. What they didn't tell you about were the molar bands. Now, everyone doesn't have to get molar bands and if you are one of those lucky ones, say an extra prayer tonight. They hurt, but it is temporary because the bands are smaller than the spacers, but if your teeth are sore from the spacers, it sucks. The good news is that once they find the size, they will glue them in and the glue makes it a lot easier to slide on. I just asked for the assistant to give me a minute or two so my mouth could adjust and then we would start on another quadrant. Once they were done (9 bands in total) everything else was easy. I did notice that when she slid the archwire in it was a lot of pressure, but once again, nothing I couldn't deal with. I was there a total of three hours but it was because they took me 30 minutes early so the time management was a bit more relaxed.

Oh, be prepared to feel like you have to pull your upper teeth down over your braces. It will eventually go away.

I really love my ortho and he doesn't push any kind of brackets on his patients. I actually had to ask what kind of brackets I would have (In-Ovation) and if I wanted to change to Damon I could free of charge. They actually don't even talk about types of brackets which makes me feel like he chooses which brackets are best for his patients.

I also got elastics too!! I have to wear them unless I'm eating or brushing my teeth, but that's ok. My bite was good, but it changed when the spacers were put in . Now my back molars don't even meet and if I didn't live in the south it would be a lot harder to find the grits and eggs that I've started to live on (thanks to Waffle House and Wal-Mart). What I wasn't expecting was how they felt when you took them out. I stop noticing the elastics the minute I take them out because my teeth start to ache.

So far one of my biggest fears were the brackets irritating my teeth. I haven't had to use wax yet, so I'm hoping it stays that way. I've included some pics, but I can definitely see how the spacers changed my teeth (my mom noticed it too). The crowding on the top became more pronounced, but the crowding on the bottom became better. My next appointment is 4 weeks from today so here's to hoping we see a lot of improvement!day b4 braces.jpgday b4 left.jpgday b4 right.jpg1st day in braces.jpg1st day bottom.jpg
Categories
Adjustments , Need Advice , Pictures , Introductions

Comments

  1. ngaabcd's Avatar
    You have slight crowding teeth like mine. Do you have any recommendation for extraction? Looks like you're having Damon? Any teeth contouring to make space? Thanks
  2. Sunny's Avatar
    These brackets are not damon branded, they're In-Ovation.
  3. AK710's Avatar
    Sunny is right I have In-Ovation and I don't have an opinion on self-ligating brackets because my teeth hurt one way or another. My ortho uses whatever and he never mentioned the different kinds of brackets, I had to ask. Sidenote: When I did ask his assistant asked me if I wanted Damon and they were going to give them to me at no extra charge so I don't know what is going on with orthos asking for more money for some brackets. I do prefer self-ligating only because it spares me from having to think of what colors I want to wear with my braces and I think that self-ligating look better overall, but in terms of self vs regular bracket there isn't any difference; they both do the same thing. Be wary of any ortho that pushes one brand of brackets over another.