Getting my Damon and Radiance braces on Monday!

[Jobo]

Hi guys.

I'm a newbie, 25 and am getting my braces on on Monday!!! I'm having damons on the bottom and Radiance on the top at a cost of £2,925. I'm getting it done at Manchester Orthodontic Centre in the UK which looks pretty reputable, and my orth has been qualified since 1982.

My orth said it should take 12-15 months to sort my teeth which are very crooked. When looking at people such as Sunny, it makes me wonder why she has had them on for 4 and a half years and why I wont?!?

I'm nervous and excited to get them as I'm sure most people are. My first real worry though is that I have a company conference to attend on the 5th February (4 days after). I'm going to be sitting with people from my company from other offices that I've not met before for a sit down meal. I'm worried that I will still be experienceing pain and that I will not be able to eat properly. I'm vege so luckily I wont have to deal with any kind of chewy meat, but I've just had 3 molars out too so that doesn't help the situation either! I'm worried I will be new to dealing with my brace and that I will look stupid not being able to eat properly at a formal event!!

[Sunny]

Hi and welcome Jobo!

Great you're soon to start treatment and hopefully you'll be like most of us and able to eat without difficulty very quickly. I was eating fine four hours after my brackets were put on. I'm also a veggie and my favourite food at this time of the year is salad ... and I eat it 5+ times a week and no issues. The best advice is to drink water while you're eating and to chew food at the sides and back of your mouth. This helps keep your front brackets clean and also helps keep your hydration up.

Time frames ... crooked teeth are the easiest and fastest to sort. Bite issues (I had a class III), impacted canine (my upper right), cross bites (I had two) ... are where things become harder. Also my impacted canine refused to move, which caused a treatment plan change and slowed my treatment considerably. I'm hoping it will be all over within the next few months though, as without surgery there is little chance any more improvements can be made. My jaw pain is mostly gone, my gaps are gone ... these things make me very happy!

Good luck with your treatment and remember to use wax generously. It's safe to swallow and needs to be left on the brackets that rub at all times, except when brushing, to ensure the area being rubbed toughens without sores being caused.

Keep a positive attitude about why you're doing this. I consider it a boring topic to discuss having braces ... so just make sure you appear confident with your decision and those around you, who might notice, will reflect that back to you!

[mikeg]

good luck to you. 12 to 15 months isnt' bad at all and as sunny said, crooked teeth with good bites are a rather quick fix.

[Jobo]

Thanks guys! I got my brace today and all seems to be going well so far!

I was a bit disapointed to find that I wasn't getting Damons on my lowers but just regular lig braces...I didn't know either that Radiance brackets have ligs too doh! Deffo no curry for me!!

I'm really suprised how good the clear brackets look (with a bit of lip gloss!) and I can't wait for my next appointment. I've been on the soup today but I wont know till I wake up tommorrow morning what the pain will be like. One of my extraction cavities is still giving me quite a lot of pain after nearly a week too.

My ortho never mentioned anything about my bite, so i'm hoping that is ok and this will be a quick and relatively painless procedure : )

[Denise]

Best of luck to you! Remember, we are here for you and have all gone through everything you're going to experience, so lean on us for support when you feel as if you're suffering alone haha. I hope you have a relatively pain-free experience with these. I haven't been so lucky, but I know the end result is going to be worth it. So... I suck it up and soldier on! Welcome to the board!

[Sunny]

Great your treatment has started Jobo and here's to it going well and being over quickly!

[Jobo]

Cheers guys. I'm certainly feeling some more pain today! I'm going to have to call my dentist I think as the extraction pain just isn't going away.

Out of interest, are elastics used only for correcting bites?

[Sunny]

Hope things are improving!

Elastics can be used to move teeth in the arch and do many other things. Most people have elastics at some time during their treatment, but not everyone does.

Good luck Jobo!