Week 4

Well, here it is a whole month later.  Comparing my two photos, I don't really see much of a difference from the before braces to the one month.  Can you?  I guess I had hoped that there would be much more shifting by now.  So many people have told me that your teeth shift so fast and will be in almost proper position within the first 8 weeks.  So I guess I will have to wait 4 more weeks before I see a big improvement.  My dentist told me that my teeth will move approximately 1mm per month.  It seems so minimal, but he said that 1 mm makes a huge difference.  If I sound disappointed, it's because I am.  But I must be patient because according to my dentist's initial prediction,  I still have 11 months to go.  I don't see him for another 20 days though, so I have to be patient and wait for that appointment as well.

I leave for my vacation tomorrow.  I have become accustomed to my new teeth jewelry and find I am not as self conscious.  Everyone who sees me with braces know it is because I wanted to improve my teeth and my appearance.  Besides, so many people have braces now.  I feel like I am part of the hip crowd.  Lol, not really. 

I am now eating a completely normal diet, but kind of wish I had the pain of before.  It prevented me from eating what I shouldn't.  I may have snuck in a few chips here and there.  My teeth still feel wiggley, but they are not at all sore anymore.

See you in a week everyone.

Week 3

Not alot has happened this week.  My teeth will hurt anytime on any day.  Sometimes I can eat almost anything and other times my teeth are so sore, I don't want anything in my mouth.  My children say they can see my teeth are moving forward, but I don't see anything at all.  Maybe it is because I see them every day? 

I can finally bite into things.  Tonight we had Subway and I didn't have to use a knife and fork.  I did however have trouble eating a grilled cheese yesterday and embarrassed myself using a knife and fork at the pickle barrel with a friend of mine.  I ordered alcohol and was hoping I would be asked for identification, but no such luck.  Wishful thinking, I guess.

Next week, I will post pictures.  I have been taking photo's every week, but because I don't see a change, I don't want to post anything.

Week 2

I must say this week has been much smoother.  I finally am eating solid foods again, although they have to be slightly softer.  I still cannot bite into food, and have to cut it up into smaller portions so I can get it passed my front teeth.  This must have looked funny when my kids and I were eating at Subway and I was using a knife and fork to eat my sub.  Hard cereals, or hard foods still hurt when I chew.  But the initial excruciating pain from before has gone away. I now just feel pressure around my teeth.  They are also slightly loose and I can wiggle them.  I don't do this much as I am afraid my teeth will fall out if I wiggle them too much. 

There are small gaps in the top corners of my teeth, right near my gum line.  They are noticeable.  I thought I had a food particle in between two teeth and over flossed only to discover this was a gap.  I don't notice any shifting yet.  But if there are gaps, there is movement.  The wires surrounding the brackets are also rubbing against a different part of my inner lip causing irritation, which also suggest some slight movement.

I have to smile wider now. My lips need to sit above my brackets when I smile because if my lip sits on my brackets, this also causes irritation.  The wider my smile is, the more my cheeks hurt.  I wonder if I can get through the rest of the year without smiling at all.  My upper lip sits on top of my arch wire.  I guess the wire is slightly protruding causing the resting spot for my lip. I still haven't become accustomed to wearing these darn things and hope that soon it wont bother me so much to keep them in my mouth.

So if I calculate my removal to 1 year, that is equal to 52 weeks.  If  I have been wearing the braces for 2 weeks, that means I only have 50 weeks left.  Seems like a lifetime away.

Week 1

So ends my first week with my braces.  What an experience.  Let me tell you that when people say your teeth will hurt for the first little while, they are not lying.  I was in pain.  I couldn't eat.  I couldn't talk.  I couldn't sleep.  I felt like someone was slowly trying to rip my teeth out of my mouth.  I could feel a popping sensation in the roots.  My teeth felt so loose, and I swear the only thing holding them in was my braces.  My body's natural reaction while sleeping was to try and remove the foreign material in my mouth.  Using Advil and Tylenol did not help.  My diet consisted of oatmeal, cream of wheat, soup and ice cream.  I have lost 5lbs this week.  And although I do not mind the weight loss, my stomach is in pain from hunger.

I saw that my arch wire had popped out of one of my brackets.  I went to my ortho to have it fixed.  Although he did try, he was unsuccessful as my tooth was just too sore.  He told me it would not make a big difference and that my tooth is too sensitive to correct the issue.  Trust me, after he attempted to push down on my tooth, I was grateful he wouldn't attempt it further.

Yesterday I took my children to Canada's Wonderland.  I was worried that my teeth were going to be affected when I went on the rides, (my children made me go on every single roller coaster).  The only time I was uncomfortable was when I tried to close my mouth.  The pressure of my lips against my teeth and the force of the ride was too much to bear so I just left my mouth open.  I did catch a few bugs in my mouth, which was extremely gross, but what else could I do.  I couldn't eat anything at Wonderland except for ice cream.  I was hoping to have soup but there was none available.  So while my children ate jumbo hot dogs and fries, I sat and played with baby geese.  I did attempt to eat an ice cream cone, and did fine with the ice cream.  When I reached the cone, my teeth were so weak I couldn't bite into the cone.  The pressure was just too much.

So my first week is complete.  I am still on a very soft food diet.  There isn't any change in my teeth position, which is normal as the first week of braces is just loosening the tooth around the bone.  Someone told me the only time she could eat normally was about a week before any adjustment.  Then, as soon as her adjustment was done, she couldn't eat normally till a week before her next adjustment.  I have a feeling this may be me.  Sigh.

Taking the plunge

So here I am at 33 and I have decided to get braces.  It wasn't a hard decision to make.  I have been unhappy with my smile all my life and my family was unfortunately unable to get them for me when I was younger.

I made 3 consultation appointments.  The first one was to see if I was a candidate for veneers.  My dentist took molds and xrays of my mouth and later informed me that I was not a good candidate.  My teeth had too much of an overlap and even with slenderizing of my teeth, they would look too thin and out of proportion.  I was hoping on a quick fix, but have recently learned that when it comes to your teeth, you should keep your originals as long as you can.

The next appointment I had was with an orthodontist that my dentist referred me to.  After a brief appointment of the ortho measuring my teeth and taking notes, he informed me that  I would need corrective jaw surgery to correct my bite and begin straightening my teeth.  He informed me that the jaw surgery would affect my profile and also consisted of a downtime of at least 6 months for recovery.  Well, at my age with 3 kids and working, a 6 month downtime is almost impossible, and I told my ortho this as well.  His second recommendation was to have 4 teeth extracted (two on the top and two on the bottom) and wear braces on my upper and lower teeth for a period of 2-3 years.  I figured this was probably my only option.  I was upset that I had to lose 4 great teeth to improve my teeth, but I was willing to do this because I wanted my smile straight once and for all.  He gave me a quote of $6000 and sent me on my way with a records appointment in 2 months, (a record appointment is where they take molds, xrays, wax imprinting and profile pictures of your mouth).

I was stressing about having 4 teeth removed and anxious that it was going to take another 3-4 months before the braces were even in my mouth.  I wanted them on soon so I could get them off even sooner.  After discussing with my boyfriend about my concerns, he told me to go and get another opinion.  So I called around and found an orthodontist I felt comfortable with and made an appointment and saw the ortho a week later.   

I figured I already knew the outcome of what this ortho was going to say, but figured I would humor my boyfriend and go.  After all he is paying for my braces and he also is paying for my consult.   The ortho preformed a more thorough examination and then asked me what the previous ortho had said.  I told him about wanting veneers and then what I was told from the previous ortho.  He asked me how I currently felt about my bite.  I told him that I have had the same bite for so many years that this is the only bite I know.  He asked if I wanted braces on both my uppers and my lowers, and I told him, I would prefer just uppers because my lowers are not so bad and I can live with them.  He then informed me that if I was happy with my bite and ok with my bottom teeth, that he could preform a different procedure where he attaches brackets to my upper teeth only and cosmetically corrects the appearance of my teeth.  He also told me that my lower teeth could be corrected with some slight slenderizing and use of a retainer.   I must admit that when I heard this I was pleased.  I was so ready to have my teeth pulled and a full mouth of braces put on.

My next question I needed to know was how long would I have to wear them for.  He informed me that he could not guarantee 9 months but I could have my teeth corrected between 9 and 14 months.  I almost jumped out of his chair and hugged him.  I was surprised and impressed that I could have the smile I have only dreamed about in such a short time.  I sat in his consult room a short time later to get a breakdown of the costs and was pleasantly surprised when he came back with a price of $2150.  What a huge difference then what I had previously been quoted.  I made an appointment for a week later to have my records done, and headed home with a bounce in my step and a smile on my face.

Two weeks after my records appointment, I have my braces on.  My ortho has placed brackets on only my 6 front teeth for now.  When his assistant put them on and I closed my mouth for the first time, the brackets felt as if a million wires were poking the inside of my lip.  It was a slightly uncomfortable feeling.  Of course they have told me in a week I will not feel them at all.  They also told me that I will have some slight discomfort for a week or two and to stick to a soft diet.  I have made an appointment for 7 weeks from now.  My ortho told me that my teeth will almost be in position by then, so I am excited to see the changes in the next few weeks.

I am going away at the end of June for a week with my family  (somewhere tropical).  I am sure the appearance of my braces will make me feel uncomfortable, but I will get through it. I am only concerned about what I will be able to eat while away.