bracesat27

Ok so on 9/15/11 I went in for my braces appointment. When I first got there they took several pictures of my face, smile, teeth, etc, they made molds of my teeth which did not bother me like it did some people because I have had these done before when getting a night guard made, I knew what to expect. My advice is don't think about it and breath through your nose it only takes a minute each time. After this they went ahead and started to fit me for my molar bands, this was NOT fun for me at all! They push them on so hard my gums were extremely sore. They had a very hard time fitting them even after 2 weeks of spacers it was still a tight fit. They were only able to get 3 out of 8 bands on. When she started on the 4th one which was a crown on my bottom right, the band was too tight and when she pulled it off it took my crown with it. She went to get my ortho and he cemented it back on but now I will have to go back and get spacers again before the next band fitting. After this they went ahead and started placing the brackets on, followed by the wire and ligatures ( I choose clear right now). That was pretty much it, it went much easier than I thought it would. The first feeling of the braces on my teeth was very different and hard to get used to, they felt really big on my teeth. The first day I was afraid to eat anything but want to take advantage because I had been warned about the upcoming days.

The second and third day was the worst for me, I was really sore, my face felt swelled, and I defiantly did not want to eat either of these days. I took Advil about every 4-6 hours and put an ice pack around my face before trying to get some sleep. When I did eat the feeling of food stuck around my braces drove me crazy and I couldn't even eat a whole meal without trying to keep them clean. Which by the way I am a Vegetarian, I don't drink coffee....only drink clear liquids, so I didn't think I would have a problem staining ceramic braces, at least not as bad anyway. My dentist actually called me the first week I had my braces on to see how I was feeling and prepared me for upcoming days, this was unexpected but I thought it was very considerate.

After about the 5th day I started getting used to the braces like they have been there for a year. I still go crazy trying to eat because I hate the feeling of anything stuck in my teeth. I am brushing after every meal, flossing is difficult but I have managed, I use a waterpik also after I eat.

On 9/22 I went to see my regular dentist about my crown to make sure everything was ok because it was a bit sensitive and he did an x-ray, said it looked good just some cement was left around the gums that he cleaned up and put some desensitizer around the crown to ease any sensitivity I was having, he said I should be able to go back and get the spacers on in a couple weeks again, if it was still sensitive he thinks there may be some nerve damage and suggested a root canal. The next day after this visit a chunk of skin around my crown came off while brushing, ouch! I have been keeping it clean, hopefully it all heals well because I have an appointment for the spacers on 10/12 and the first adjustment on 10/20. If it starts to look any worse I guess I will be going back to the dentist before then.

For people deciding on getting braces and worried about all the bad things they hear about after you get braces on just remember everyone is different on how their body reacts to things. I have been lucky enough to not have any mouth sores at all, I do not need to use wax except over the end of the wire since the wire has moved it sticks out slightly on the last bracket, I put a little over that but even without it I can still stand it.

I do find it a little difficult to eat out because even though I bring stuff with me to clean my teeth I hate to be brushing my teeth in a bathroom full of people, so this has been awkward and I still am getting used to the idea of braces. I seem to keep my head down when talking to people because I feel embarrassed by them, maybe because of my age, I don't know Once someone asks "are you wearing braces" im like yes and then really want to cover them. Hopefully over time I will feel more confident about it.