Getting lowers in 3 weeks!! YIKES!!

[newsboysgrl777]

AAAAAND I'm nervous... I just got spacers on the bottom for my lower brackets and I HATE them just like I knew I would...LOL. I only had to wear bands for 2 days for my uppers because they decided to brace me the very next day and decided I didn't need to be banded. Well, this time I do - and I'm already miserable!!! :'( I'm also NOT looking forward to the adjustment period again once the brackets actually go on. I remembered not being able to eat stuff as easily because my teeth were so sensitive and stuff, and after 7 months, I'd totally forgotten about all of that...'til now. LOL

It also stinks because my lower teeth have been, like, my 'fail-safe' if you will. For anything I didn't know if I should bite into or if I couldn't or if it felt too sensitive or whatever, I could just use my bottom teeth, you know? Now? I don't have that option. PLUS, I'm dreading flossing. LOL. I am able to use my lovely flosser thingys that are on a 'wand' (for lack of a better word) and I just go in and out with ease. Of course, there are more teeth on the bottom, and once braced, it'll be just as complicated and as annoying as the tops. WAAH!!

I know I'm being a baby about this and that the time was going to come, but I'm still whining about it and not being very happy. LOL. PLUS, I'm a little nervous because although my ortho says I have enough room between my bite (top inner teeth, bottom outer teeth) for the brackets to fit (I have a serious overbite), I'm a little leery of it. She mentioned putting glue on the teeth to keep the bite separated if necessary, but I didn't know what she meant? Does she mean on some other teeth (like my molars) to prevent me from closing my bite all the way, or what? Hmm...just not sure.

Anywho...that's my update!! And, can I say again that I HATE these bands, and I've only had them on for...not even 12 hours!! LOL

[newsboysgrl777]

Oh and questions...

My ortho said they're banding me on the bottom because I'll be using rubber bands. Does this mean that since it's my lower jaw that really has the problem (and thus the lower teeth are the ones that are going to require movment) that this will 'ground' the teeth so that the movement will happen? Or will I also need to have bands put on the top once rubber bands get started?

How soon after getting my bottoms do you think she'll be using the rubber bands?

With the top teeth, the wire was a super thin one at first and gradually got thicker/stronger and it was also in a really funky arch and is now rather straight; will the same thing happen with the lowers? Or is this dependent on what needs to be done with your teeth? (For instance, the tops seemed to have been pulled down, whereas the bottoms probably won't need to be pulled up...does that make sense? If not, I refer you to the pictures below.

Does having the band affect your oral hygiene? Should I be concerned about this? It will be covering a major portion of the tooth, won't it? So I won't be able to brush in there...behind the metal. I'm nervous about this.

Also, I'm going to start a new thread on this but I wanted to post it here, too, in case someone looks in one place but not the other. IS getting a sonicare toothbrush worth it? I've had these for 7 months and I casually mentioned wanting to clean my wire when they changed my ligs and the assistant started talking about the sonicare toothbrush and how awesome it is. And I didn't know if she maybe misunderstood me thinking I was talking about plaque being on my wire, or it maybe she knows that there is plaque that is plaguing me (pardon the pun ) and that's why she's mentioning it? I use a 'regular' crest spinbrush pro...is this good enough, or is the sonicare really worth it? (esp at the higher price)??

Thanks!!

[Sunny]

Good luck with your lowers. I found my mouth felt 'full' for a few weeks after getting my lowers on, but one day I realised the feeling had gone ... so I'm sure you'll adjust!

I've never had bands, as my ortho doesn't use them. I've read heaps of comments about spacers being annoying. Good luck coping with them!

The molar bands are bonded to your teeth so that food can not come into contact with that area. The main oral hygiene issues, is making sure you floss below the bands.

I've been wearing elastics for over two years, in fact nearly three years, and haven't needed molar bands. Where I work, we don't use molar bands, yet most of our patients require elastics as part of their treatment, so I'm not sure what the connection between having the bands on your lower teeth and elastics is.

Your ortho is the only one who can answer your question about when you'll be getting elastics. I've read of people who get them at their first appointments, and other's who never have them at all, so it's definitely one of those questions that only your ortho can answer.

The flexible archwires are the 'work horses' of archwires and therefore are used first, to get the teeth moving and to achieve the alignment work. Then the heavier wires are brought in to do more specific movements. Again your ortho is the only person who'll know what's planned for your lowers, but I think it would be fair to guess you'll start with a flexible wire and move to thicker, less flexible ones.

Your pics show great progress ... congratulations!

[newsboysgrl777]

Hmm...that's interesting, Sunny, and makes me wonder. Of course, each ortho has their own technique that they find works best for him/her, so this is obviously an example of that. As to asking my ortho all of these questions, I guess I'm not all that concerned, mostly just wondering, but when I get my lowers put on, I'll ask any questions that really are on my mind.

Question for those that have had the spacers put in: do you get used to them? I know they're put in to move your teeth quickly, so I'm wondering if maybe I won't be suffering for the ENTIRE 3 weeks? Obviously everyone's teeth move at different rates, and also begin at different points (my teeth are VERY tight where the spacers were put in. Even floss get stuck there sometimes!! and we had a heck of a time getting one of them in. Two spacers snapped and one time I thought it was my TOOTH! LOL), but I'd like to hear your experiences.

Thanks!!

[Anny]

Hi, your pictures look great!

I had spacers put in last Monday - it was TERRIBLE! I bled all over the poor guy and the bottom right side was so tight I went home with only three spacers put in. Only one of the spacers went in with the regular tool - the other two were strung on floss to wedge them in place.

There was a lot of "pressurized pain" for 3-4 days but by Friday they weren't annoying me at all. I would get a vague rubbery taste after fiddling with them (couldn't help it) but they weren't a problem at all.

The spacers came out and the braces went on this morning. Removing the spacers was a piece of cake but apparently the bottom one didn't move the teeth enough to have bands attached to the back molars so I got metal braces on those instead.

The short answer is "Yes, the spacers pain subsides but it takes longer than the 'regular' pain from first getting braces"

[mikeg]

same here.. spacers were the horrid part of my treatment. those little suckers don't look like much

[mariahfromchicago]

Your teeth look great! You'll get used to the spacers. Good luck on getting the lowers!

[newsboysgrl777]

Thanks everyone. Good to know the pain and discomfort should subside...at least a little. I can't wait because I've really been wanting to rip these things out of my teeth and breathe a sigh of relief. LOL!!!

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

The choice for bands or bonded molar tubes (brackets) will serve the same function.

The advantage of bands is that they are more sturdy and less likely to come off during eating or other normal mouth movements. They are also less technique sensitive since the band cement generally has some moisture tolerance. At times, your orthodontist may require a cleat, or auxiliary on the lingual or palatal of the tooth. Most appliances such as expanders, headgears, lip bumpers, and fixed class 2 correctors will use bands.

The band must be fully adapted to the tooth, since over time, the cement may dissolve, leaving a food trap between your tooth and the band. This can result in large cavities requiring a root canal at the end of treatment. Also, it is generally seated so that part of the band is below the gumline, making it slightly more uncomfortable and difficult to clean. Of course, there is also some discomfort with the placement of "seps".

Bonded tubes do not require separators and do not have to be placed below the gumline. They are easier to keep clean and more comfortable during placement.

However, they are more difficult to position properly. Complete isolation of the front side of the tooth is required since any moisture will create the tendency for bond failure. Brackets tend to come off more easily at the back of the mouth due to moisture during placement and biting forces, so you may require more "emergency" visits to have them replaced.

There is still an application for both, but the general trend is towards more bonded tubes instead of bands.

[newsboysgrl777]

YIKES!! Now I'm nervous. So you're saying they shove these bands BELOW my gum line??? How much is that going to hurt?? I don't want that!! Also, I DO NOT want a root canal because of braces..it's like paying thousands of dollars to have my teeth damaged so that I'll have to spend more money!! :'( Now I'm really nervous and I'm going to have a talk with my ortho. I'm not cool with that much risk involved..I'd rather pay for broken brackets than have to deal with risk of cavities (which I've NEVER had and NEVER want) or worse!!

[Zoso]

Newsboygirl - I did not find having the bands seated painful as such. Uncomfortable maybe, but it was nothing horrendous at all. And I emerged at the end of treatment with the molars unscathed.

I'll mention one more reason (not relevant in your case of course) that bands might be preferred, and that is for orthognathic cases. It's by no means a rule, but certainly there are recommendations in at least some of the literature that bands reduce the risk of losing a tube during surgery - lower jaw surgeries in particular involve a lot of work right in back near those second molars.

[newsboysgrl777]

Okay, well I'm still nervous based on what markham said, but googling isn't helping me out very much. However, I came across this article on the site and I guess I'd like to know what the difference is between what this article talks about and what markham spoke of? Obviously I need to speak to my own ortho, but I can't do that until at least the morning and I'm freaking out now...LOL.

"The job of the spacers is to put spaces to make room for the anchors of the braces. These are braces that fit over the entire tooth and are not glued like the rest of the brackets. These anchors are then used to pull the other braces and be the backbone of the strengthening and closing of spaces" (Source: Braces Spacers Pains).

[Zoso]

Whether the tubes are bonded directly to the molars, or whether they are attached by means of molar bands, they do the same job. Molar bands most definitely are bonded into place.

Maybe I've misunderstood things, but I didn't think that the tubes "anchor" the archwire as such, since the wire can slide through the tube.