Newbie - got braces yesterday

[Nella]

Hey Guys, kinda new to this but you all seem pretty friendly
I'm 17 and i got my braces but they kinda hurt and its really hard to eat anything
I haven't got my teeth removed ( the ones from the back that you should so that teeth at the front can straighten out ) so I don't know if thats the reason why
and thats also why I didn't get any bands fitted in
I don't really know what they are but I know you have to put them in your teeth before getting braces and they kill!
My journey is of 2 years and I'm kinda dreading it cause my front two teeth are the crooked ones and they look worse with braces on them

[Sunny]

Hi and welcome Nella!

The first few days/week can be a bit challenging, but your mouth will quickly feel better. Make sure you keep well hydrated and use wax on any brackets that are irritating your mouth, as you don't want mouth sores. Also do your best to chew as much food as you can, as this is good for soreness and encourages blood flow.

When are you having teeth removed? Teeth aren't removed very often as space can be created for the straightening of most crooked teeth, by rounding the arches using modern archwires. Sometimes it is necessary and so good luck with this and make sure you follow the instructions of your dentist carefully, so the healing goes well.

I doubt your teeth will be aching, due to not having any teeth removed, it's more likely due to your mouth and body adjusting to beginning ortho treatment.

Bands? Are you sure your ortho is going to put spacers between your teeth, so you can have molar bands? Where I work, we use buccal molar brackets on the molars, so there's no need for spacers or molar bands. Many ortho's still do use bands and some don't put them on at the beginning of treatment, but I'm sure you'll be told if when, if this is what your ortho is planning to do. Most important ... don't worry about things that haven't happened yet ... it's a waste of your energy and it's better to get on with life and making the most of what's happening today!

Crooked teeth often do appear to look worse once the brackets are bonded, due to the archwire appearing to go up and down and looking a bit crazy. The best part about this is watching the archwire straighten as it works to move your teeth. Alignment is the first part of orthodontic treatment, which means that those with crooked teeth achieve the most movement at the beginning ... which is something to look forward to.

Good luck!

[Nella]

Aww thank you so much Sunny!

I have had a few people saying " why did you get braces, your teeth weren't that bad" but its just my front two incisors they shift slightly outwards so they look bad but they're healthy and white so its not AS embarassing. Yeah they do look worse with the braces on as the "train tracks" as you call it, aren't striaght like on my other teeth but a bit up and down and weird. But thank you so much for re-assuring me .. it's made me feel HEAPS better!

xx