http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/ Adult Teeth Braces Forums Discussing Dental Braces, Invisalign, Ibraces, Teeth Whitening, TMJ, and More! en Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:58:28 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/ http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/year-after-braces-1634/ Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:54:01 GMT So I've been living braces free for a year now and it still catches me off-guard when I see myself in pictures! :thumb:

I'm thrilled with the end result and have one bit of advice for you would-be braces removers: keep that retainer on 24-7 during the first six months!

I was so excited to be sans-braces that at first I would cook for 1-2 hours then eat for a bit, then have dessert, then go watch a movie and have a soda or eat chips while watching. In short I was going a few hours without retaining and my problematic tooth took advantage!

Its nowhere near as it was pre-braces and you can't tell by looking but I can feel that its more recessed than the rest of the teeth.

In fact, its been a year and some days since the braces came off and I don't need to wear the retainer all day anymore but sometimes when I pop it in at night its extra tight next to that one tooth.

If I'm ever stuck on a desserted island without a retainer that tooth will be the first to move back to its old digs.

So yay braces :party: And remember kids: retainers are serious business - use them even when brushing a million times a day between using them sucks :P ]]> Anny http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/year-after-braces-1634/ http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/then-google-said-i-had-cancer-1006/ Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:23:49 GMT So the retained life kind of sucks. I produce a lot of saliva when wearing it so its kind of like chewing gum all day - I'm constantly hungry. We're not talking "hrm maybe I'll get a snack" hunger - I'm talking about stomache rumbles 2 hours after feeling stuffed!

Then I don't want to eat because it involves removing the retainer while I cook, then eat. After every meal I brush, sometimes floss and put the retainer back in. This is fine for full meals but when I'm debating grabbing a cookie from the cookie jar I'd rather go without than have to brush for 2 minutes for a 10 second snack ;)

The other mistake I made was drinking water with it in. I drink about a gallon of water a day because I exercise and just seem to be a thirsty person. On Retainer Night 2 I left it in while watching a movie and drinking water. Afterwards I went to bed. The next morning the gums right next to the teeth were white!

I figured it was a water under the retainer thing but asked Dr. Google as a precaution. He suggested cancer or an iron deficiency. Luckily I'm not a hyponchondriac ;)

Its been over a week and I'm still lisping too.

I'm so grateful that I didn't qualify for invisalign. I don't think I could have dealt with trays for a year and a half! The urge to pop out the retainer for longer than a meal or phone conversation is overwhelming!

Luckily I'm 31 and paid a lot of money for braces so I won't be unretaining and throwing that all away any time soon ;) ]]> Anny http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/then-google-said-i-had-cancer-1006/ http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/ack-my-teeth-naked-997/ Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:15:51 GMT My braces came off today and I don't like it! I know we waffled on wether they would come off for months but I wasn't prepared for it to happen today. My appointment was at 1:30 and took about half an hour.

I had the ceramic upper and lowers as well as that cursed power chain and metal bands at the back. A few of the ceramic brackets cracked when the ortho was removing them. It wasn't painful, just a different kind of pressure and disconcerting.

You never want to feel/hear *ANYTHING* crack inside your mouth ;)

The ortho then proceeded to scrape off the glue with that spinning power tool I cringe at. This part sucked for very obvious reasons. The great news is that despite 1 1/2 years of drinking soda, enjoying tea and even doritos there doesn't seem to be any staining!

Then I had a three hour window while they made the retainer. I was (of course) widely smiling while doing some nearby shopping and was complimented by two strangers on my smile!!!

My gums were kind of swollen and I had some minor bleeding when the braces came off. While I didn't feel an alleviation of pressure when the braces came off (probably because I was so tense from the subsequent cleaning) the retainer felt ridiculously tight when put on. My gums started bleeding again and by the time I got home the clear retainer was so full of blood it looked like part of a Halloween costume :(

I celebrated with honey bbq wings and a subsequently thorough, (comparatively) fast and enjoyable flossing! Then I brushed my teeth with the Sonicare and my teeth felt so SMALL! My brushead touches both sides of the teeth when brushing the tops!

The retainer itself is fine - kind of shiny but will dull with age. I'm not used to snapping it in and out either but the worst part?

The worst part is the lisp *sigh*

I was fortunate enough to have unaffected braces speech but the retainer is having a field day with my overbite. I'm trying to figure out a way to speak without having my mouth well up with saliva after each sentence. Also, I had to call an automated service earlier and had to remove the retainer because the machine couldn't understand me :(

I remember how down I was after the bottom braces came on and I know I'll get accustomed to this too but right now I'm unhappy with it.

On the upside my teeth look great and I'm very happy with the end result but I still miss my braces. I had them for a while and was so proud of them that they became part of my identity, as weird as that sounds. Having a retainer is nowhere as cool as having braces, in my book ;) ]]> Anny http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/ack-my-teeth-naked-997/ http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/rotating-some-more-963/ Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:44:27 GMT As predicted the braces did not come off today. I've been sporting silver wires wrapped around my bottom braces for the past few months to keep them in place while the uppers finished aligning.

Well somewhere along the way I developped a teeny gap one tooth off from the center. Yep - right off center bottom row. Yes, I floss. No, I didn't realize that gap was there *rolls eyes*

So my lowers are newly braced with clear ligaments (I forgot how hard it was to see those when paired with ceramic braces) and my uppers got a power chain re-attached on the inside to rotate some more. I just had the chain come off two appointments ago so I was bummed to revisit that.

The bright news is I'm supposed to come back in two weeks from now to have the rotating chain replaced then the braces may come off at my normally scheduled visit a month from now. This is the first time I've had a band replacement mid-appointments so I'm taking it as a sign the end is nigh.

My lowers are all sore. Luckily it kicked in after the St. Patty's dinner we'd cooked. I have also redevelopped my "tongue'ing the inside power chain" hobby and my tongue tip is already sore :/

So not a bad visit and I'm glad my ortho holds himself to a higher standard than I do ;) ]]> Anny http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/rotating-some-more-963/ http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/off-ortho-i-go-962/ Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:42:17 GMT Well its been another month so that means its time to visit my favorite ortho (no offense to yours). My appointment is at 12:30 so I'm killing some time on-line before heading over.

They may come off today but I doubt it. They look and feel fine to me but my ortho is a lot pickier than me - I thought they were perfect a year ago LOL

Also I get fitted for a retainer and receive it a couple of hours later the same day I'm debraced. The office closes at 4:30 or 5 so I doubt I'd get a 12:30 appointment with an expected retainer, right? It would be great if they came off today because I'm having irish food (happy green day guys!) this afternoon and shredded meat is always a bracetastic pain.

Anyway, off I go :wave: ]]> Anny http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/off-ortho-i-go-962/ http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/really-teeth-what-youre-doing-now-936/ Sat, 20 Feb 2010 03:58:09 GMT So that power chain has been whipping my mouth into shape! I think the errant tooth is almost back to where it should be (according to my ortho, not... So that power chain has been whipping my mouth into shape! I think the errant tooth is almost back to where it should be (according to my ortho, not Mother Nature ;)) and its been moving all its power chainned buddies along. Last night I had to take a Motrin in the middle of the night because the pressure was so intense!

Of course now the bottom teeth are getting into the realignment action so I'm sure they'll be sore for a day or two. Its not as bad as the tops yesterday and I'm med free but just amazed by how quickly teeth move!

Its kind of neat to be reminded this close to the end of treatment what a miracle braces are. I guess miracle is too strong a word for something man-made that can be scientifically explained and replicated but when I look at my teeth all I can think some days is "Man, its a miracle!":lips: ]]> Anny http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/anny/really-teeth-what-youre-doing-now-936/