One month!! YAY!!: Anna

So, I've survived my first month in braces!! Through ulcers, numb teeth, tender teeth and feeling like I've been teething at times!! But here I am, having resisted the urge to rip them off!! My main complaint is that I AM HUNGRY!!! No time for a quick bite or snack because it means taking all the wax blobs off (although usually there are only 1 or 2 now), brushing, picking bits of food out and re-waxing. So you can only really eat quick things in public or at work-thus a lot of soup and cereal has been consumed at work and when out to dinner!! And endless drinking, I seem to be thirsty ALL the time! I've had 2 further brackets come off this week, a bit annoying, but they can be re stuck! Next week I'm off on holiday, so we'll see how I hold up there! Especially as I had my first wire change today!! Not sure how I'll be able to eat having only had my wire changed 3 days before, but we'll see!! So he took the elastics off, then the wires, a bottom bracket also popped off with the wire, so the 3 escaped brackets had to be re stuck again first. Then filing-eek! It was all going fine until my twisted bottom tooth!! He couldn't get the file between it (again), so had to kind of drill it (again)!! It was fine to begin with, but was suddenly VERY sensitive-not nice-but he had to carry on and get it done, as that tooth hasn't really moved. Although it must have moved a bit because it was filed manually and with the electric thing the day they were put on. Certainly not looking forward to that again next time (think I'll be using sensodyne A LOT the week I go back!!) Luckily the next wire change isn't for 2 months-phew! I have got the hygienist next month though.
So to sum this month up, significantly straighter teeth and a smaller waist line!!! I think you can see that again my top teeth are moving beautifully, but the bottom ones don't seem to have moved much! It's strange because the ortho said my bottom teeth will be done in about 4 months and my top ones in 5-6.  I'd love to get the tops off first, but I'm guessing the bottoms will move all of a sudden and over take the tops, especially after all that filing :(
Again, day 1 pics on the left, day 28 on the right.

Above you can see that pesky twisted tooth that needs so much filing! Hopefully it will really move now!!!! 

Day 21: Anna

3 weeks in!! Not much to tell!! I got my bracket glued back on 3 days ago. strangely, the day I woke up-the bracket next to it had pinged off too! Good job I was going in that day!! It seemed easy for the ortho to put back on-more cleaning stuff, more ceramic (bigger blob this time he said!!) and more glue-job done, it only took a few minutes!! He said brackets are more likely to come off in the first month due to the pressure of the wire! Glad that's done! Until today, when I woke up, I realised one of the upper left brackets next to the back metal one, had come lose and is now hanging by its wire!! Unfortunately there are no appointments that I can attend around work, until next Friday-when I have my wire change anyway! So guess it will have to hang there till then-which is a bit annoying, but there's not a lot I can do about it!!
Anna

Day 14: Anna

Well, I'm pleased that day 14 seems to have arrived pretty quickly, as does the loss of 5lbs!! Seems the puree diet is good for your waistline-as is the stress of a Grandma related emergency!!
So, here I am on day 14, no ulcers at all and I'm only putting wax on 2 area's which I just seem to be quite aware of today-so I'm protecting them before they get sore and become ulcers! Also, the last bracket on my upper, back, right tooth (the 4 back brackets are metal)-where the wire pokes out, will always have wax on as it skewers my cheek, because the wire seems longer than on the other 3 back brackets . Must make sure its as short as the others when I return in......2 weeks for a wire change!!!
As I understand it from some younger colleagues, who are only a few years out of their teenage braces, some people get used to the braces really quickly and don't need wax after the first week, and others will need to put wax on different brackets, depending on whats digging in, for the whole of their treatment! I accept I am probably one of the latter! But I can cope with that!! I'm not even needing the mouth gaurd at home now-only put it in if something feels uncomfortable-to avoid sore bits and ulcers because it's definitely easier than wax, but can still not be used in public :( ! But I'm still wearing the mouthgaurd at night-The first time I didn't think I needed it-I did!! Woke in the morning with quite a few sore places-probably because you squash your cheeks onto your braces when you lay on your face!!!
So food wise, I'm eating everything at home! OK so not chewing gum, or toffee etc, but pretty much everything else! It's still not pretty as it gets stuck in between my braces, but at home or close friends houses-I'm happy to dash to the loo and brush it away! I still would only eat something I can break up and put in my mouth, suck, swallow (sandwiches/pasta etc)or liquid food (soup or, er, soup) whilst out! It's definitely the chewing which distributes the food round the brackets and wires and in between the brackets! But crusty bread and soup at home is fine!!UNTIL my first attempt at pizza and garlic bread! I was quite happily munching on my thin crust domino pizza-the bases are quite crispy....and I felt a little click, ignored it, finished the meal and went off to brush my teeth and noticed one of the brackets was coming away from my tooth at the bottom-bugger!!!It's the lowere right side next to the metal bracket. And its not one that I fiddled with the elastic on!! So, I guess I should have eaten it with a knife and fork and shouldn't be crunching crispy pizza!! Oh well, lesson learnt.  So I called the dentist today and he's on a course today-bugger again!! So I'm waiting for a call back from the receptionist to find out when I can go in and get it re-stuck!! Of course today is friday, so if he doesn't go back to the office today-guess I'll have to wait till monday or tuesday-typical!!

Now, my second biggest disaster has become my favourite discovery!! I know that these braces cannot stain-so the ortho said and the blogs say-THEY DO!! However, after lots of reading-there are apparently tiny little elastics that encircle each bracket to keep the wire in its grove, in the bracket! It's the elastics that stain, NOT the bracket-phew! So, I had a lovely curry, went off to brush and floss and thought ARGHHHHHH-3 of my front brackets are very orange!! Brushed a bit more-faded to yellow!! And I cannot change them from that colour-which is pretty grim!! So, I know that when I go back in 2 weeks-they'll be changed-however, I though-maybe.....................I could take them off and clean them?!!! So I can see where the elastic sits on the wire and then encircles the bracket (now they're stained). So I pulled away at the side of the elastic with my finger nail, hooked a floss picker under it and gently managed to ping it off!! Yay!! Scrubbed it, bleached and oxy actioned it!! Still yellow!! Booooooooooooooooooo!! Then I though-hmmmmmmmm-maybe I could  swap it with another band?? (after rinsing it A LOT) So I pinged the 5th right one off (the one next to the last bracket which is metal) and had a go at putting it on my front tooth! I hooked it round the bottom-kept it in place with my finger nail and used the floss picker to hook it back up over the bracket! Job done!! Beautiful invisible bracket again-yay!! So then I swapped some more! Now obviously I shouldn't really be fiddling with these and technically I can only do this once more as there are only 6 brackets you can't really see when I smile/talk!
However, ........................I googled the elastics and found someone in the US selling 500 for £5.00 with £2.00 postage on eBay (Oh my god!! They actually do Hello Kitty shaped elastics AND glow in the dark ones!!!) seems pretty reasonable to me and means I don't have to panic about how much tomato related soup and pasta I've been consuming at work/in public-or how much curry I consume! Can just change the elastic-YAY!!!
So, the progress of the teeth!!On the Left are 26th June-the day they went on! On the right are day 14! That snaggle tooth is definitely on the move-woo hooooo!! I'm also pretty sure my centre bottom teeth are closer to NOT being overlapped now-yay and the tooth which is causing the most angulation on the bottom-has definitely moved as there's less of an angle!!
Anna x

 

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!