A couple questions from a new Damon System user.

[rtclayton86]

I just got my braces on yesterday (top and bottom) with a bite turbo and elastics (my back two molars on each side, with the elastic going from the inside of the top teeth to the outside of the back teeth).

I'm having very little soreness like my ortho said I would, but the turbo and elastics are driving me CRAZY.

Is there any better alternative to the bite turbo? I can't even chew so my diet has consisted of soft foods places on my tongue so I can just swallow. I surely can't go months like this.

Also, are the any tricks to getting the elastics to work? It's a real pain trying to hook them on the buttons places on the back of my teeth and then bring them down to the front of the bottom teeth.

Thanks for any advice.

[Chuck1026]

Well, congrats on taking the big step!

Wow, your ortho isn't messing around huh? I started odd in September with the upper and lower Damons with bite turbos (molar buildup) to keep my upper teeth from contacting my lower brackets. Yes, the tenderness and the buildup makes it difficult (almost impossible) to chew, but believe me, you WILL be chewing again. I am very impatient, so what I did was take Advil an hour before dinner so I could deal with eating more "normal" foods. It is slow at first, but you will learn new tricks to eating, and also the buildup will begin to wear in and chewing will be far less difficult.

I eat just about anything now - just exersizing great care. Pizza crust is possible if beer soaked, LOL. Steak is ok when tender enough. Small pieces help. You get the idea!

No eleastics (yet) for me, so I cannot speak about them, but maybe you can tell me more about them as you learn 1st hand. I fear late February will be my introduction to at least power chains.

Keep your spirits up. The time will fly. I am already on my way to month 5 of 20 and it seems like just yesterday I had the clears glued in my mouth!

Chuck

[lightskinnnn38]

I agree with Chuck1026. I have molar buildup (bite blocks) as well and in the beginning it was damn near impossible to eat anything solid! I was forced to eat tons of soup and pastas. After a while, the molar buildup will wear down and you can eat almost anything (I still have problems with some foods). Surprisingly (after a year of molar buildup), one of them broke off! I'm still waiting on the other one to break off as well lol

[josie]

The first few days are tough, but it does get better very quickly. Hang in there.

[rtclayton86]

Thanks for the input. My bite turbo isn't a molar buildup, it's a piece of plastic (i'm assuming that's what it's made of) that is affixed to the back of one of my front teeth. It's annoying as anything to chew and I can't yet bite things direct on. If i'm eating a sandwich I have to cut it up and eat pieces at a time. I can live like that, I suppose. The ortho said 4-12 months for the bite turbo depending on how the treatment progresses. Here's hoping for the short end of that!

[lightskinnnn38]

Oh man, that just sounds awful!! Well here's hoping your teeth progress quickly so you can get those darn things off!

[Braced]

I had bite turbos behind my two front teeth for my crossbite therapy...it was hard to get used too. It was like having two walrus tusks and was hard to bite and speak without a lisp. I'm a sales rep, so I was really concerned about the appearance and the speech impediment, but honestly, no one knew unless I wanted to show them. Eating was a challenge, but you'll get used to it. I had traditional braces when I was a teenager, and these Damon braces are awesome and results happen quickly. I got mine on in October of 2010 and am in the last few months of treatment...couldn't be happier. Good luck.

[jen33]

Hi
there is a little hook you can use for your elastics, I lost count of how many I swallowed, threw around etc in my efforts to put the elastics on. You can get one from your orthodentic.