Day 8: Anna

So I have survived the first week!! To sum up-uncomfortable, irritated and sore!! After having so much discomfort with the ulcers, I applied wax to every bracket and end of wire I could and they're almost gone-phew!! So the wax is a saviour!!! However, when you want to eat, you need to take all the bits of wax off, eat (which is very sore when you have the braces rubbing your ulcers!!!!), brush and replace all the wax!! Now, when you only get a 30 minute break at work...it makes this pretty difficult!! But I'm pleased to report that after 4 days of wax on everything (which does make your lips stick out further and braces seem bigger!!), the ulcers are pretty much gone-and I just have general soreness in maybe 5 places, instead of 25!! cheeks are still swollen on the inside, but with less wax-its easier to get your lips together!! So today-i ate a sandwich!! What a relief after a week of soppy cereal and soup!! Today was a great day, no pain killers, still had to apply an extra bit of wax once I was out as some bits seem to rub when you talk, instead of just chew-so its more noticeable when you've been talking a few hours!!
I also received the dental kit and wax I ordered (from ortho.com)!! Now, I love a gadget and when i went to order more wax and found the handy dental kit-I found a comfort braces guard!! Its basically like 2 half pipes of clear silicone that you press over your braces, separating your poor cheeks from the brace!! Its meant for sport-but when my mouth was really raw the other day-I ordered one and have not been this comfortable since before the braces went on!! Its a complete barrier between cheek and brace!! and A LOT less fiddly than little bits of wax-especially at meal times!! However-this is something you can only wear at home as-you lisp A LOT, it fills with saliva (see yukky pic-sorry) and you have an even bigger pout!! But, i wore it at home yesterday, whipped it out to eat, brushed it and my teeth and stuck it back in in about 3 mins!! I also though I'd try sleeping in it as mouth definitely more swollen in the mornings!! Mouth felt the best yet this morning!! I WISH I'd had this earlier-this at home, plus the wax when out would have saved me lots of pain associated with ulcers and rubbage!
Dee's been a bit frustrated (waiting for her braces to arrive) and nervous (watching me pout, complain, wax on,/wax ff, try to eat, lisp and swell up)! So I hope when I see her this week she'll be less nervous and more excited as things are starting to settle for me!!
Oh and another colleague who had 6 month smile on her top teeth, went to get her wires changed at 4.5 months into treatment, and they told her she was done!! Her teeth are truly beautiful and whenever I'm down about my braces (hasn't really happened yet) I'll be looking at her teeth for motivation!!
I'm pretty sure my 'snaggle tooth' which is next to my front upper left tooth has started moving already!! Or maybe I'm just hoping, but I thought I'd take pics anyway!!
Anna x

On the left are day 1 pics, on the right, day 7. I think you can see the snaggle tooth next to my left front tooth has less of an angle on the wire-I think its moved down and in and my left front bottom tooth has straightened a little!Pretty sure the gap between my front teeth is less too-YAY! The bottom pic is the mouthgaurd!