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!

The first week: Anna

Well, all I can say is ouch!! This is the end of my 3 rd day in braces-the last 2 of which I have spent at work! So yesterday it still all felt very alien in my mouth-I was a bit self conscious going to work, but everyone was really nice and it helped that Dee was the first person I saw! About 5 people told me they wanted braces during the course of the day!!
 So...eating! Yesterday I ate weetabix, soup and yogurt as my teeth were quite tender and a bit numb! But during the afternoon the insides of my cheeks were feeling pretty raw and I'd forgotten to take the dental wax with me!! It comes in little strips which you break off and press over the offending sharp/pointing/irritating part off the brace, so that's its soft and round.  Luckily I was able to go home and grab it-what a relief! Have just ordered 2 more boxes of it! I was given a little box with 5 strips in-I've used 1 strip already, but its definitely a necessity. The reason I didn't initially put it on, was because I thought my cheeks would just have to toughen up! But by the afternoon, talking was very sore-so wax it was!! I put them on the metal brackets on the back teeth and on all but the front 4 teeth as the the tabs sticking out the bottom were causing most of the problems!! I managed to sort of eat lasagne, by basically sucking it!! And the wine and Codeine (probably not safe to consume together!!) helped too!!
This morning I woke, felt OK, then realised my mouth felt swollen! when I looked in the mirror-I think it looked like i had those dental rolls high up under my top lip-or collagen fillers gone a little wrong (think Leslie Ash)! Talk about pout!! So today has been a routine of pain killers (codeine little and often REALLY helps, plus diclofenac and paracetamol), removing dental wax (ouch) to eat, consuming weetabix/soup, brushing, flossing and then replacing the wax, followed by bonjela!! When I actually inspected the inside of my cheeks-I have 2 huge ulcers!! Luckily a colleague gave me Igloo-which is some kind of sticky barrier-great stuff!Will definitely be buying that tomorrow!!
So, to sum up today, ulcers and swelling inside my cheeks, causing a pout!! But less problems with my upper lip getting stuck up over the braces when I smile and then having to do some weird tongue sweep to free it!! I can also feel a little ulcer brewing on my tongue!!! But I felt much less self conscious about it today!! However, 6 months is sounding like a VERY long time at the moment and I honestly don't know how people go out and eat! Anything more solid than soup ends up everywhere-including weetabix!! Oh well, onwards!! Only 25 days until my next appointment for wire changing!! I really hope the first week is the worst and that the ulcers and swellings will be gone by the end of the week!! The tooth tenderness and numbness I can cope with-which is all that a change to a tighter wire should bring-I HOPE!!
Anna

Decisions, decisions!!! - Dee

Dee
Well here I am in my mid 30s about to embark on a quest to straighten my teeth! You would think that by my age I should have got used to living with what I was given but the truth is I have always hated my teeth. I hate smiling and I especially hate looking at photos of myself as all I can see is my crooked teeth. Like Anna people always say that they have never noticed but I know for a fact that they have. Maybe they have just got used to looking at me with crooked teeth!! Maybe I'm paranoid, who knows!!
Anyway, over the years I have thought many times about getting a brace but it is only recently that more options for adults have become available. About 18 months ago I visited a couple of dentists as I had heard about invisalign and thought it would be perfect for me as this brace is not really visible. However I was told by one dentist that my teeth were too severe for this treatment and that I should either consider full orthodontist treatment i.e. train tracks or veneers which I personally thought was a ploy to make me spend thousands and thousands of pounds!!!
I found a local cosmetic dentist that recommended either 6 month smiles or invisalign and I eventually decided upon 6 month smiles for similar reasons to Anna. Also the fact that they cost half the price and are more effective in less amount of time was a major factor in my decision making.
Now as I have already mentioned I may be a little paranoid but another factor I feel I need to mention at this stage is that I have a major phobia of the dentist which is why I have never persued this treatment before because to be honest I have been blatantly too scared. When I had two of my wisdom teeth removed under general anaesthetic 12 years ago I was so hysterical that I had to be sedated in order for the theatre staff to make me leave the ward!!! Anyhow I think you get the picture!!!

So anyway I have decided to take the plunge after a friend of mine had just completed treatment with invisalign and to be honest her teeth look amazing, it gave me the push I needed to muster all my strength and courage and just go for it. I am currently awaiting my lovely new braces to be sent from America so that they can be fitted and don't mind admitting that I am a little excited and also jealous of Anna that she has already started her journey. I haven't actually seen her new braces in the flesh yet so may still change my mind!!!
I had my impressions taken this week which was completely painless but did make me worry that the weird drippy putty stuff the dentist used was gonna drip down my throat and congeal blocking my airway. This obviously didn't happen and was just my neurosis shining through again  but it did feel kinda bizarre and took about an hour as my dentist took four impressions in total, two from the top and two from the bottom in order to check my bite. Unlike Anna I am only having braces fitted to my top teeth as I am happy with my bottom ones. I have very twisted teeth from overcrowding and a snaggle tooth to put Nanny McPhee to shame so am ever hopeful that all this aggravation (and piss taking at work) will be worth it in the end.
Dee x

Now you can see what I'm talking about!!!!

The Fitting-day 1-Anna

So, today is the day I got my grown up braces! I was a bit nervous this morning-but I need not have been-this is what happened.
The orthodontist had a general look at my teeth to check they were still healthy and then explained about filing!! Errr......what?!!
This is where they take a tiny sliver of bendy metal-slide it down in between teeth that need moving-and file! I was reassured that it was painless, but not a nice noise-thank god the TV was on above me for a bit of distraction! Indeed it was painless-you can't actually feel it at all! It sounds like when you're on the beach and have sand between your teeth that crunches! Some of my teeth were really tight though and a few of the files snapped while he tried to get them in between the teeth! So he used-a drill type file-also painless! Then the file slid straight in. 

Next he painted my teeth with something and blasted it with air, which felt a bit weird-again not unpleasant. Then you get to rinse! The nurse puts the bonding/composite on the tooth side of the brackets, which were all in a small plate-and he put them on my teeth and held them there. The nurse moved over each tooth with a blue light until it beeped-then onto the next.  He went round all my teeth doing this.  Then he let me rinse again.  The plate's that hold all the brace brackets in are then removed. I think they're actually attached to it as some came away really easily and others needed more encouragement.  After they were all off, he put a bracket on my 'snaggle tooth'.  I think it may have come off with the plate by mistake-so he had to do that by hand.  Or maybe that one just came separately to begin with.  Then another rinse! 
After that, he attached the wires-which seemed a little fiddly.  But he said as my teeth get more and more in line-they will be easier to fit.  Apparently you start with quite a flexible wire so that you don't get too much pressure! That's that then.
 My lips were then totally dry and shrivelled from being stretched for ages whilst they put the braces on.  I would definitely recommend multiple Vaseline applications on the day of your appointment and just before you go in-the softer and more supple they are to begin with, the better I should think!
So, out to reception to pay and book my next appointment in 1 months time, which involves changing the wire to a less flexible one! My first real conversation, with the receptionist! The main thing I noticed is that my top lip keeps getting stuck up above the brace brackets!
Then I hot footed it out to the car to look in the mirror!! First impressions? The tooth brackets are the same colour as my teeth-the wire is much whiter-I'm sure that will change with time though! 2 things I wasn't prepared for. On each and every bracket-there is a coloured dot (You can see them in the photo's, the black ones are the easiest to spot)-I believe this is how they know where to put them. Top right are red, top left green, bottom left black and bottom right blue!Its a small dot-but definitely makes the braces more visible!! The second thing is that there are small tabs coming off the bottom (you can see these in the phot'os-but they're not on any of the front teeth), of the bottom brackets, and tops of the top ones, except for on the middle 4 teeth top and bottom.  Maybe its to help fit or remove them?

So how does it feel? My teeth feel fine-no pain-just feels like all my teeth are one instead of individual teeth.  As the afternoon has gone on (they've been in 6 hours now) I've become more aware of my teeth-but they don't hurt.  The dentist said they are likely to hurt when biting-so we shall see what tomorrow brings at work!!
The inside of my cheeks and lips felt a little irritated to begin with, then it began to rub a little-mainly where the tabs on the brackets are-and now they're a bit sore.  So I ave liberally applied bonjela, which is helping.  I tried a bit of wax on the ends of the wires and on the brackets at the ends of the wire which are metal and have a little hook on them-but it was pretty fiddly and I decided that I should only use it for really sore bits, otherwise my mouth will never get used to it!!
Food: So I came straight home and ate weetabix and a banana-which was fine, but even after I swallowed food-I still felt like I had a mouth full of food, above my teeth between the lip and gum.  Off I went to the mirror-and most of my meal was up there! Plus in the brackets, wrapped round the wires, wedged between my teeth.....you get the idea!! So cue lots of teeth brushing-problem solved! For lunch I went for tomato and vegetable pasta-same problem but on a much more colourful scale!
You cannot have a conversation in between mouth fulls!! Not so much of a problem at home. But eating out and at work is going to be an issue! So, I think well blended soup and yogurt's, without bits in, are going to be my staple work diet!!!  I'm pretty sure 'diet' is a good way to sum up the first day-and probably the first week! Eating bread is going to be an issue, as will crisps, chocolate....:(((
bonjela, a diclofenac and some distraction are what's next for me!!
Again I'll try to upload some pics and will post again if anything else happens-good or bad!!A travel toothbrush, toothpaste and a nifty little compact mirror with a light on will be travelling with me wherever I go from now on! Cue mantra "It'll be worth it in the end"
Anna

Anna

The beginning for Anna!

 So, when you decide you want braces in your 30's-you search the entire Internet to see how invisible braces can be! How much they cost! And then, to see just how many adults have also taken the plunge! You realise there are A LOT of people who are unhappy with their teeth too!! However, what you can't find, is a blog, by a brace wearer, who doesn't seem to be advertising a certain orthodontist or practice!So, here we are!!
2 work colleagues who, via facebook, have just realised they're taking the plunge at the same time-but can't really find any one else's story-especially in the UK! OK, so maybe no one will find this and read it?!! Maybe they will! Maybe it's just a place we can moan about brace related stuff!! But, we thought we'd document our stories and pictures anyway!! We're nothing to do with the dental world and are both having treatment at different practices!
We're both female and in our 30's and will record our progress individually
Anna:
I wore the removable braces as a teen and I wasn't given retainers. Since my early 20's my teeth have been on the move-the longer I've left it, the worse they've gotten. Now in my early 30's I have a 'snaggle' tooth, a few wonky and twisted teeth, some crowding and some gaps which shouldn't be there!
The people I've told about the braces have all said they don't see anything wrong with my teeth-but I do and I think they're just being kind! So, I made an appointment with a local orthodontist to enquire about Invisalign. I didn't feel he was the right orthodontist for me so, I went out of town a bit and found a great one (I hope).  This orthodontist asked me to consider 3 types before I made a decision. For me: these were the pro's and con's he laid out for each:
Invisalign:
Pro's: Invisible. Can be removed for special occasions
Con's: no eating with them in, no drinking coloured or fizzy drinks with them in. Decay reported by wearers as teeth covered by device most of the time and saliva can't bathe teeth as it should. Would take 18 months to complete. Not always effective moving twisted teeth. Expensive
Inman Alligner: 
Pro's: Almost invisible.  Can be removed for special occasions. Can move twisted teeth.
Con's:no eating with them in, no drinking coloured or fizzy drinks with them in. Affects speech. Would take 12-18 months to complete
6 month smile.
Pro's: White fixtures.  Would only take 4 months for bottom teeth. 5-6 for the top Doesn't effect speech..Can move twisted teeth. Cheapest option.
Con's: Visible. Can't take them out-ever. white wires/clear brackets can be stained by food (curry etc).

So, I discounted Invisalign immediately as I didn't want to harm my teeth.  So I was left with the 2 that would be visible.  1 took longer, affects speech, was less visible and could be removed! The other visible, quick and couldn't be removed but doesn't affect speech. I decided that if they're a bit visible-I may as well have obvious ones so people didn't ask what was in my mouth!! I also decided that, for me, being able to remove them, may be a bad thing!! I can guarantee I'd take them out for a night out, going out for dinner, special occasions, when I didn't feel well......etc etc....any excuse!! I also asked the orthodontist which ones he thought would be best for my teeth and he said 6 month smile would give me the best result!

So 6 month smile it is!!
 I had to pay for the initial appointment, but once I sign on the line-it will be deducted from the total-which is £3, 500 including all appointments and tooth whitening at the end!
Once you've decided on the type, you need to see the hygienist (on top of the amount above) to get your gums in the best, possible health, if they're not already! I only see the hygienist once per year at my normal dentist-apparently it should be every 3-6 months!! So I had 2 visits to the hygienist for de-scaling with brushing and flossing lessons thrown in!! Why had no one ever shown me those little flossing gadgets before!! Crest Glide!! Takes about 2 minutes to do all the teeth, instead of the 10 it used to take me when I, sporadically, used the traditional stuff!
After that, back to see the orthodontist to have the impressions taken!! I have to say, I wasn't really looking forward to that part-I remember trying not to gag whilst they squeezed a plate full of putty in my mouth as a teenager, and held it there for all eternity!! But it was fine!! A small plate, with menthol flavoured putty-in for less than 30 seconds-job done!! And off I went! For 6 month smile, the impressions are sent off to America where they make your brackets and take up to 3 weeks to return.  Mine were back in less than that, and so D day is the day after tomorrow on Friday, where I'm booked for an hours appointment! As I understand it, my teeth will be covered with glue, then a plate (like the ones which took the impressions) with the brackets attached,will be placed over my teeth and heated! Then they 'snap' the plate off, leaving the brackets on my teeth!Joy!!

I have tried taking pictures of my teeth-but it's pretty difficult-but the black and white ones came out OK without the flash-so that's what I'll post-when I can figure out how to! Wish me luck!!
Anna