Back to the beginning.....

In my most recent appointment I came out feeling like they had just put the brace on again. Ouch.

Up to now I have had straight arch wires on top and bottom, because my teeth are lovely and straight now, that part of the treatment has been completed (yey!), however we are still a couple of months off (hopefully) the thought of having the brace taken off.

I have developed a gap at the front between top and bottom, which means I cannot bite or nip anything, biting my nails or hang nails is very much a thing of the past!

The dentist told me that he wants to close the gap there, very happy about that, at last I will not have to remove the lettuce from my burger or cut my toast into small pieces.

He placed the new arch on, which I have put a picture on here to show you just how angled it is. Oh, it wasn't the niceset feeling ever, and it left my teeth aching like they did the first time it was attached. For a few days after I couldn't brush my teeth properly, I struggled to chew anything, it hurt to kiss and occasionally to talk. I resorted to painkillers till the initial pain settled.

I can see already that the gap has started to close, it is amazing just how it all works and how quick it is.

I am very much looking forward to my next appointment, not only because I have those horrid white elastic bands on and I want them changing to the transparent, but to see how much they still need to move.

All clean, for now anyway.

Here I am post checkup and I have sparkly white gnashers again, lovely. They still have the brace on, but I cannot believe how much of a great cleaning job the hygienest did.

Ever since the first fitting I have been paranoid about the staining, and I have had an obsession with trying to get my teeth clean myself, to very little success. But now I am refreshed and battling for my white teeth with renewed vigour.

I had my normal orthodontist appointment, he says I am very close to finishing now, although still non committal as to how long that will be. He didn't change the metal wire on the top teeth, but did change the one on the bottom, so now I have the same strength on them both. I did also ask him to put transparent bands on this time, which he did, so I am feeling a lot happier with the fact they are the most invisible they have been. And probably will be. I had my picture taken at the weekend, and for the first time in a long time I wasn't paranoid about my teeth being obvious.

He also made notes on what he is going to do next time, although he was talking about steel, and plastic and wire and numbers that I didn't understand, so I suppose it will be a nice surprise for me!

Following that I spent an hour with the hygienest prodding and poking me, it was painful, and it did leave me with a mouth full of blood occasionally, but the result is dramatic, I have put a picture on for you to see how nice and sparkly they are, but be warned you may need sunglasses!

She also gave me some advice on how to brush my teeth and some new brushes to try, it is a bit comical when it comes to bed time, I have to start half an hour earlier getting ready than before. So now, I have to brush for 6 minutes with my normal brush, then I have a narrow brush that I have to use to clean under the wires, instead of the interdental ones. Then a hard bristle brush to clean the ones at the back, then I have a small interdental brush to floss between my teeth, rinse with mouthwash and then finally I have some fluoride gel that I have to use to minimise any white rings on my teeth when the brackets are removed......phew!!! Luckily I only have to do the full clean at night, in the morning I only have to brush with the normal one, under the wires and mouth wash, so still an event. It's a good job I don't work full time, I would never have time for all of this teeth cleaning. Lets just hope that all the hard work keeps my love of curry, red wine, coffee and tea at bay.

Amazed but non committal!

I have had another check up with my orthodontist.  He continues to be amazed by my progress, however I am starting to feel a little disappointment by this, as he still can't tell me how long it will be till we have finished the treatment.

I mean having braces is ok, I have got used to it and how I look, with my sticky out mouth, but really I am ready to know when there is an end in sight, well anyone would be really.  So I have decided that I need to take a new tact with him, instead of asking when will the treatment finish, I think I will ask how far through we are, see if I can trick an answer out of him! I know that I have one more arch left on the top and 2 on the bottom that are stronger than what I have, but I don't know what happens from then on.

Now at the last visit I had, unfortunately I have had to have the white bands on again, I really don't like these, they show up massively on photos and the point of having a clear bracket is so it is less visible.   The last lot of bands I had were clear, and I tend to go for a curry the night before an appointment, well may as well stain it as much as I can when I know the bands are being changed eh?!  He took the bands off and they were luminous yellow, I couldn't believe how much colour they absorb, I was very nearly embarrassed.

Other than that the next time I go to see the orthodontist I am going to a clean too, I am looking forward to this, as although I am really trying to keep my teeth clean, I just can't seem to do it, drinking coffee, tea and red wine doesn't help I'm sure, but I'm brushing with whitening toothpaste, using whitening mouthwash.  I just wonder what they would look like if I wasn't doing that, or if it really is making any difference.

So here is a picture of my progress so far, I am impressed as it has only been 8 months, lets see how much longer this takes.......

Really broke one this time....

Doing my normal routine of brushing my teeth, which is generally taking about 10 minutes, I noticed that one of the front brackets looked funny.  On closer inspection it turns out I have broken it.

Panic!! As the brackets come from America I knew that I would have to get another one ordered for my orthodontist to fix next time he was here.  So emailed the regular dentist, and arranged to go in to have it checked.

Now when I say broken, I mean broken, I am missing a whole quarter of one of the front brackets. I have no idea how it happened, or when it happened, but it shows just how fragile these ceramic ones are.

It actually turns out that the brace will function perfectly well like this, I was told that as long as you have 50% of the bracket remaining, there is usually no issue.  This actually surprised me and made me wonder if that's the case why are they so big in the first place?!

On another positive note, he was amazed again on my progress and said that the orthodontist would be surprised too, I am, the bottom ones are now nearly straight.  After my next checkup when I have clean bands again, I will post a picture! I am really hopeful now that these will be off at Christmas.

Oh and a update from the pain after the last tightening, it lasted a few days, and now I am back to the occasional tooth hurting as it decided to move.

Pain.....

After my recent visit to the orthodontist, I realised that it is not as plain sailing as I first thought.

Although I am reacting well to the brace, the installation of the new stronger arches on top and bottom have caused me a lot of pain this time.  The main issue to me is that it is in the back teeth, so eating and chewing is now not pleasant.  I'm back on weetabix and soup.  Even brushing them hurts at the moment.  Which is annoying as I was allowed to have transparent bands again this time and I want to keep then as fresh looking as I can for a long as I can.

I'm sure it will pass quickly and I know that it hurts for a good reason, it is just when I have been quite used to minimal discomfort, this is a bit of a shock as I wasn't expecting a routine tightening to have this affect.

Oh well, I will just have to grit my teeth (or not!) and bare it, fingers crossed it doesn't last much longer.

At last another visit!

So for the first time since March I have had an orthodontist visit.  That is the first time I have been back since I had the bottom bracket put on.  I should have been every month, but as I have been travelling I have managed to miss my last two appointments.  My thought on this are that I will have to have prolonged treatment because of missing the tightening of the braces with new arches.

However, on seeing the orthodontist, it is clear that he doesn't think that this is the case.  He was shocked yet again on the progress that me teeth have made.  He says that the top progress is nearly there and the bottom have moved significantly since the installation.

I didn't realise this when I had the brace put on, but with the first two arches (the wire that attaches to the brackets on the teeth) you would expect to see little or no movement with the teeth, they are more to loosen up and get the teeth prepared to move.  However, the first two arches for me have nearly done the job! 

I asked how long it could take, he still can't tell me, but he did say that there are only 2 or 3 arch changes to go, so if I progress like this it is probable that he can do these each time I see him, wonderful news! 

I mean I don't mind having a brace, but I would like it to be off so I can return to normal eating and looking mike myself! 

Steady progress

All is quiet at the moment.  No visits to the orthodontist as I have been away when he is in Prague.  The 'naughty' bracket that fell off is secure still.  Not had any problems.  I'm fact I am annoyed, in my opinion, for the brace to be doing any good it should be hurting most of the time.  At the moment, the most I can hope for is the occasional tooth ache as it is getting dislodged again.

I suppose that I should be thankful, I have seen many horror stories where people have not been able to eat and are in constant pain and I am plodding along nicely.  I haven't been updating the blog as much as there has been nothing to report.  

I can comfortably negotiate my way through a burger and ice cream lolly, and there has been no foods I have tackled that have got the better of me.  Occasionally have have issues with things getting stuck, but a tooth pick soon sees to that.   Even the yellowing and staining is under control, with the assistance of stay white mouth wash and sensodine whitening toothpaste.

All in all, it is steady and pretty mundane progress! 

Oops, broke one.

So I have had my first problem with the brace and brackets.  Not long after the lower brace had been fitted, I was brushing my teeth and noticed one of the backers had come away from the tooth, spinning in the wire.

Panic stricken, as I knew that the orthadontist had now left Prague, I rang and emailed my dentist surgery for help.  I was worried that the bracket would drop off, or I would eat it by accident!  As the brackets are ceramic, if I loose one then a replacement has to be ordered from America, which is obviously not a quick event.

Thankfully they told me to come in later that day, and the normal dentist was able to repair it.  He used a different method of fixing, which used ultra violet light to cure the cement, rather than just telling my not to eat for a few hours.  I was surprised, and also cautious at this fix, thinking that it would not last.

A few weeks in and the broken repaired backet is still holding strong, and no others have popped off.  I think I am lucky that this is the first problem in 3 months, and I am hoping that they are now all set solid and I don't have to have any more repairs before I have them removed in hopefully 9 months time.

Progress!

When I was visiting the orthodontist to have the lower track fitted, he asked me how I was getting on.  I told him I was surprised how much they had moved.  He gave me one of those 'really, I think your are imagining it' type of looks.

However, after assuming the position in the chair, opening my mouth, all I heard was, 'wow, I need to fetch my colleague!'

To his astonishment my teeth are nearly now in line across the top of the front.  He told me that normally there is no movement with the first wire as it is mainly there to get your mouth used to the brace.  But to have this sort of reaction to it means that I may not take as long as first expected to have everything in line. 

This made me feel good.  Knowing that the first month of pain, discomfort, inability to eat properly has not been in vain. 

I am hoping that the top teeth carry on this transformation and the bottom teeth follow suit as quickly.

Just to show off, here is the picture again from the first fitting and two months later.  It still shocks me!  I love it when you can see visible results.  I know it is a long way off perfect, but so far I am happy with what has happened.

The second track fitting...back on soup!

I have now had the lower track fitted to my teeth.  I am also now back on soup and eating with 2 teeth.

The fitting appointment followed the same process as the one for the top.  Wide mouth frog device, driest mouth in the history of the dessert, pushing and pulling to get the brackets fixed on my teeth.  Again I have the anchors that are glued on the teeth rather than those that are rings round the teeth.  I defiantly prefer these.  Generally this process of sticking and gluing was alright.

Then came a painful bit.  The orthodontist removed the wire from the top set.  Pulling on my sensitive teeth, he then fitted the new wire.  In one word, OUCH!! When it takes 2 fully grown men to manipulate the wire into place on the brackets, you know it is going to hurt.  When you can't have the transparent bands and have to have white, because the transparent bands aren't strong enough to hold the wire in, you know it isn't going to have a pleasant after affect! 

And it doesn't.

He fixed the lower wire in too, this is a thin one like the one that was on originally on the top.  As my teeth are so crooked he couldn't even use a band to secure it on one part.  So I now sport a wire wrapped round my tooth holding the brace in place!

Here I am, a couple of days on, the pain is nothing like when the top was fitted, I only took painkillers for 1 day this time.  However my main issue is the nerve irritation, it makes me want to scream, it sort of itches and it is a constant dull ache.  I know it will fade, but I think it is going to drive me crazy first!!!

Anyway, here is a lovely picture of my wide mouth frog impression, showing my new top wire and bands and my shiny unstained lower brace.

I think I'm getting used to these things

Today someone thought I was 26!  I believe that these braces are having an affect on peoples perception of my age.  I am 33, so to be asked if I am over 26 I was flabbergasted!  It is not the first time either, a young lad on holiday also asked how old I was, I don't know for what purpose, but I can convince myself it was because I look younger now.

So people percieve that young people have braces, therefore does have other benifits other than straightening teeth.

I am also happy to report that eating is now nearly normal, they are still uncomftable, but I can just about bite, I can crunch things, I even ate a hard boiled sweet, well sucked it.

As for the staining of the bands, I was concerned as these bands are to be on for 8 weeks instead of 4, but I am pleased to report that they are still looking reasonable, obviously they aren't perfectly clear still, but they are offensive either.

The sensodine whitening toothpaste is ok, I am still finding a bit of build up and brown marks in places, to combat this I am still trying to find a good mouthwash.  So far I have tried Plax and Colgate sensative with no success.  I have just bought Listerine stay white, so we will have to wait and see the results on this one.

However, I am now concerned, 2 months in and the top track is ok, settled in quite well and returning to normal.  In a couple of weeks I have the bottom track fittted.  I am quite aprehensive of the wide mouth frog devise, the pain for the few days after and living on soup again.  Knowing it will double my cleaning time and make my bottom lip stick out more. 

I am also struggling with dry flaky peeling lips all the time.  I don't know exactally what is causing this, but it has to be some side affect of the braces, as it has never happened before, but we can see if the lovely spring and summer sun has any improvement on this.

Back to food again

5 weeks on from the first fitting, I have nearly got my bite back.

I have successfully started to munch my way through bread buns, admittedly it is more of a grab and tear manoeuvre than an actual bite, but it is so much better.

There is still numbness in the front 4 teeth, which causes a bit of discomfort, but I am loving getting back to some sort of normality.

However this is going to be short lived.....I am due to have my bottom rail on in about 3 weeks time, so I will be back to square 1 and soup again for a few weeks.  I am just starting to get used to having the top brace on, I really don't want to go back to the beginning again.

I can see the benefit of having one done at once, and I am thankful that I have not been too unlucky with my recovery.  I really sympathise with anyone who has had both fitted at the same time, and I can quite understand why they spent longer to recover.

What is lovely to see is that I believe my teeth are starting to move, my boyfriend also thinks this, so it is not just my wishful thinking.  I am starting to see parts of my teeth that I have never seen before, which I a bit strange, and it is getting easier to clean round them as if there is more space to get the inter dental brush in.

However this has added to the discolouration situation.  I have started to use Sensodyne whitening repair and protect toothpaste, which has helped with the yellow, but it is by no where near perfect, there are still stains appearing, I am still holding out some hope that the orthodontist can do something when I see him next.

More Celebs to compare me to!

Whilst reading the Mail online, I flicked through the celeb bit, as you do, not because you really want to know, but it is always fun to see what everyone is doing.

I spotted Faith Hill at the Grammys, with some lovely close ups of her ceramic brace.  Now it did take me a while to remember who she was, but I eventually realised she is an American singer, the only song I can recall is 'This Kiss', just for those other people struggling to place her!

I was quite surprised to see her with braces, as I am with any famous person.  However it makes sense, when you make your money from singing, focus is on your mouth, and a perfect set of gnashers is quite pleasing on the eye.  I read on the Internet that she has had them on for about 8 months and she had to have them because she didn't wear her retainer when younger. 

I seem to remember my orthodontist saying that I would have to have a removable brace after this fixed one is taken off, although I'm not entirely sure what that will involve and how long that will be for.  So that is on my list of questions for my next visit.

Seeing her with braces has again made me realise that it is quite common, and in general people who want to improve their smile, do so, they don't get any backlash, they just get on with it.  I have begun to realise that the benefits will always outweigh any 'bad press' I receive.  It also hits a note with me that with all the expensive procedures people can get for straightening teeth, celebs still choose to have fixed braces, that has made me curious why.  The only reason I can come up with is that it is the most affective way of straightening teeth. 

Cleaning...an obsession?!

My problem began when I developed an infection round my wisdom tooth on the bottom, nothing at all to do with the brace, I get them periodically, however I am now down to just 2 teeth to eat with again....mmm soup!

Originally I was keeping my mouth clean and tidy with a good brushing, then brushing in between the teeth and under the wire with a toothpaste covered inter dental brush, then a good rinse with an anti plaque mouthwash.  I was happy with the results.

Once the infection was out of control I resorted to Corsodyl mouth wash, aniseed tasting and only slightly better than the infection itself.  Mouth healing I was happy again.

That was until I saw myself in the mirror.  You know the time when the sun is directly on you and you realise that you actually have an awful completion and you can see every flaw multiplied by a million.  Well, I noticed that I have a set of horrid yellow teeth.  Below the brace is fine, but above have discoloured significantly.

I'm sure that I have blown this out of all proportions, but I am now on a mission to regain control over this yellow invasion.  I am now on the hunt for a sensitive, whitening, fluoride toothpaste.  In Prague, that is not the easiest thing to track down.  I may have to source it in the UK and bring a supply back.

One thing I have noticed is that when I drink tea, coffee or diet coke, they do look worse.  Short of carrying round mouthwash (I already have to carry a tooth pick and inter dental brush everywhere, good job I have a big purse!) I have taken to rinsing with water after each drink.  It does make me feel a bit daft, but I am just focusing on the long term benefits.

All I can say is that it is hugely important to take time brushing and cleaning, at least twice a day.  I have learnt my lesson now and am on an uphill struggle to rectify it. 

I don't have another appointment with my orthodontist till March, when I am hoping that he can clean them a bit when he changes the wire and elastics, but until then I am just going to have to keep my mouth shut.

Holidays

Here I am, post holiday and it was quite uneventful.

My teeth at still sensitive, I don't mean that hot and cold food hurts them, I mean that any pressure on them is sore.  Not so much that it stops me from doing anything and not so much that it means I have to take pain killers.  Just that I still cannot bite anything, which does get a bit frustrating, especially when sat in Burger King eating my chicken burger with a knife and fork!

I was slightly worried about going away so soon after the braces had been fitted, but I shouldn't have been at all.  The worst of the pain and discomfort is most defiantly behind me (until the lower brackets are fitted anyway).  I was concerned that when I fell over skiing it would cause problems, but no, not in the slightest.  I managed not to bang them and everything is still intact.

When I had the choice of elastics on the original fitting I chose transparent, later the dentist said white would have been better, but honestly in my opinion, I made the right choice.  So far, following  goulash, gluwine, red wine and blackcurrant jam, the brace is still looking OK.  Not perfectly white, but OK.  I have never had the whitest teeth anyway, so it seems to blend reasonably well.

I was bothered about having my photo taken, but looking at anything that was taken from over 3 foot (about a meter) away, you can't tell there is anything on my teeth.

I was also quite happy to meet a Turkish lady, possibly mid 40's who also had braces top and bottom.  I was very impressed that she has had hers 4 months and she was tucking into a burger very confidently.  This has given me fresh hope that one day I will be able to bit again!

Of course people noticed I had the brace, it isn't bang in your face, but it isn't invisible either.  One remark was that a lady thought it was cute I cut my toast into soldiers to go with my egg, until I pointed out that I only did it because I couldn't bite!  No one said anything bad about the braces, mainly people were just surprised that an adult had them, which surprised me.

Throughout the whole week the only thing that I couldn't do was eat the spun sugar decoration on top of one of the deserts, and realistically, this was probably a good thing considering the calories that I had already put away that evening!

It's the Little Things....

Quite strangely having the braces has opened my eyes to how much I rely on using my mouth for things.

It seems I have been going through life using my mouth as an extra hand.  Not sure if this is me being lazy or normal, here are a few examples.....

Mouth as hand issue 1: Putting my hair in a bobble. 

I use one hand to hold my hair, my hair tie is round my wrist, so I drag it onto my hand with my teeth.  Nope, that isn't going to happen now.  Rethink required.  Solution, do hair near a table!

Mouth as hand issue 2: Straightening my hair. 

Using two hands to section my hair, I would normally use my mouth to hold the grips till I needed them, no, not a chance.  Solution, clip to my clothes, pretend you are a hairdresser!

Mouth as hand issue 3: Finding the house key

One hand holds handbag and/or shopping, the other holds bunch of keys.  Pick the right one with my mouth and retake into hand to open door.  No, no keys in mouth.  Solution, put shopping down!

And there are so many other things that you just don't realise. 

• Washing and moisturising my face, touching the outside of my mouth is tender, so you can't rub hard. 
• Itching my nose, similar to above, you can't scratch properly as it is too sore.
• Drinking from a sports bottle, can't use my teeth to open and keep it steady whilst running any more.
• Licking your lips, hard to reach the top of your top lip without rubbing or putting pressure on the brace, I am going through lip balm at a rate of knots!
• Putting the lip balm on is uncomfortable, as is lip gloss and lipstick
• Kissing, full on snogging, not a problem, but those lovely little pecks, have to be exceedingly gentle little pecks.

I'm sure that this list is just scratching the surface, but for anyone who is under the impression that the brace just affects what and how you eat, don't be fooled, I believe this is going to affect general everyday life in hundreds of ways.

Starting to eat.....

So here are some interesting things from my virgin encounters of brace wearing...

Soup and yoghurt's, my best friend over the last few days.  Not for every meal, I was adventurous and had roast duck at a restaurant with my friend.  But it definitely helped my teeth settle down.

The first few days were reasonable painful.  Not so much that it stopped me doing anything, but I did resort to painkillers.  It is more or a pressure than pain, which is still there now, and to be honest I think that I will have to put up with that for the duration, but I will keep you posted!

On last weekend we decided to have a fry up (or grill up as we call it) for breakfast, now that was interesting to try and eat.  OK,  mushrooms and egg, simple enough, sausage, quite soft in the middle, cut into small pieces, yep fine.  Bacon, oh dear, bacon, I still don't know what hurt most, trying to eat it or giving it away to my other half because it was too hard to eat! 

The problem was for the first few days I couldn't grind food with my teeth, chomping, up and down to squidge it, absolutely fine, but grinding, not a hope.  I also have quite sensitive teeth, so I generally only use one side of my mouth, so I am currently down to 2 teeth, one top and one bottom, to chew with.  Now it has eased off a bit though it is getting easier.  I am still looking at foods and quivering at the thought, but it is all about cutting it to small pieces and taking your time.  About a quarter of a fork full is my current limit in one go, and eating slowly is good for you, right?

The added issue for me is that I am currently training for a half marathon in April.  Which means that even if I was struggling to eat, I would still have to train.  This is why I turned to yoghurts, high calorie, calcium and fruit, if I hadn't eaten enough because my teeth hurt, I just topped up with those.  I can understand people saying they lost loads of weight in the first few weeks, but there are plenty of energy rich foods and drinks on the market to ensure you still get a balanced diet.  I had a contingency that if I was in too much pain I would live on soup, mashed potatoes and fruit smoothies, but fortunately this hasn't been a massive issue for me.

All in all, in my opinion, it isn't so bad you can't eat, and it isn't like normal where you can do anything, but it is livable, and hasn't for one minute made me wonder if I did right having the braces fitted.

Well I am going out for pizza tonight for tea, wish me luck!!!!

The First fitting appointment

And here I am, post first fitting....

Actually it isn't too bad, not that I would want to have it done every week, but completely not as bad as I had wound myself up to think it would be.  However I am writing this over lunch, that is consisting of soup!

So, lets start from the beginning.  Arrived at the dentist too early, they weren't even open, so had to wander around in the snow and try not to get myself in a tissy about it.  As I had looked on You Tube and see what other people have had done, I was actually feeling OK with the procedure.

On meeting the dentist, he told us it would take about half an hour to complete, but he was only going to fit the top bracket/brace on this appointment.  I asked if I needed any teeth out, surprisingly he said no, he is going to work with what I have, so a little more relaxed now I took up my seat in the comfy chair.

After what can only be described as a device to make me look like a blowfish, a rubber 'O' that protects the lips and cheeks, was inserted into my mouth (and this was on reflection the most painful part) I was settled in to start.

He cleaned and dried my teeth and when he started to cement the brackets on he told me to breath through my nose.....at that point I remembered the lamb Pasanda and garlic nann I had the night before, and I wondered if that was his point.  So now I was a little self consious!  Back to the fitting...interestingly the anchor that I had seen others have fitted on the Internet wasn't used on me, instead the bracket on the back tooth is metal and the wire just fits in there, which I was happy about as that was the part of the fitting I was dreading the most.

This part of the procedure was not painful, more uncomfortable.  I felt great relief when the wide mouth frog device was removed, but after that it started to go downhill a bit.  Fixing the wire was a little uncomfortable, thinking about it now, that should have been pretty obvious.  But nearly an hour later, job finished, I now have a rail of what looks like fuse wire across my teeth.

They told me to clean them well with normal tooth brush and toothpaste, but also to clean under with those little interdental brushes, not to bite with my front teeth and to be prepared that they may stain, which I expected to hear from my own research.

I left the dentist, still full of adrenaline, went home, had a good look in the mirror.  There are little red, blue and green dots on the brackets, but these have started to come off now.  So after the 2 hours that they told me not to eat had passed, I had a lovely mushroom soup for lunch and then did what all people do when they are worried about things, went to the pub! After a few painkillers, several pints of Pilsen and sausage with mash for tea,  I was feeling OK!

The final few days pre braces

So here we are, countdown nearly complete.  Still very apprehensive about it all, but I am sure that I am doing the right thing.

I am worried as we go on holiday one week after the braces are fitted, fingers crossed that any pain will have subsided.

I have once again been looking on the Internet at other peoples stories.  This time my search took me to you tube, oh dear, not the nicest viewing, but still informative.  People had videoed having their braces fitted and posted it, was an eye opener for me, but also made me very scared.  I am one of those people that has to know what is going on though, if I'm having an injection I have to watch, type of thing.  So although it was not what I expected, and has made me even more nervous, it was still a good thing to do.

There was also a video diary of another girl, she was helpful with what you can and cannot eat.  Basic rule is if it crunches its a no, that means that my list of red wine and curry now has to include crisps, which isn't that much of a hardship really, now that Christmas is over and done with.  I am still to find out how true all of this is, I will report back!

Cleaning of the braces came up a lot, it never crossed my mind that they would need special cleaning, tools for getting floss over them, tools for going under the wires, special brushes and toothpaste, I will be hogging the bathroom for most of my day from the looks of things!

And again the pain, luckily one person just described it as a bruise, so it goes in a few days, but they were having problems with sores, which take longer to heal.  All I can say is at least I know the worst case scenario and am mentally prepared for what I hope is the worst.

And finally here is a picture of my wonky teeth, about to start the straightening process.....see you on the other side!

been surfing the net.....

Wisely or not I have been searching the net and googling braces, curiosity just got the better of me.

I found out some horror stories and some interesting things, unfortunately none good in my eyes.

Interestingly Tom Cruise had ceramic braces on, I never knew that.  I remember one of Steps having them for a while, but I have never seen any other celebrity, this bit of news did make me feel better!

On the down side I have read (although I don't know about how true it is) that the bands on the ceramic braces get discoloured easily, which means that my great love of red wine, curry and tomato based pasta sauces may now be in jeopardy.  I will have to have careful planning as to when I can eat them, and invest in several straws. 

Also the pain thing keeps cropping up, not only people saying that they were in so much pain after the first fitting that they couldn't eat for several weeks, (easy diet??!)  but also the braces will rub the inside of my mouth making it hard to talk and smile.

All of these things are points that I can share my experience on, as they may be the same, they may be different.  I am hoping that only the worst affected people have shared their stories and that there are thousands of other happy customers the world over, whose story may mirror mine, but as it doesn't make interesting reading, they haven't shared it.

I also found out that my 10 year old niece is also getting braces in January, during the conversation with her mum, I was asked if I wished I had been forced to have braces as a child, to which my answer was yes, which cements that I know I am doing the right thing for me.  Now I feel a little proud, I feel as I can be some sort of role model and support her if she has any issues.

 

So d-day is approaching fast.  I keep eating crusty bread just because I can and am trying not to worry too much about it.  I have a 9am appointment, so it is over and done with early in the day.  Fingers crossed it is all going to be straight forward......eek! 

The shape of things

Well, as this is now my third post, it is obvious that I have decided to continue with my treatment and go ahead with the braces.

My next step was to see my regular dentist (he is Portuguese, just to confuse things) to have impressions and x-rays taken. 

I remember at school when I was 12 or 13, some of my friends had braces, they told me about their experiences of having moulds taken, the putty running down their throat, not being able to breath, so I had started to become a little anxious about the appointment.

However sitting in the dentist chair, it wasn't all that bad.  Things have changed in the last 20 years!  They rolled a playdoh type thing into a plastic tray, and pushed it onto my teeth for about 3 minutes.  It wasn't runny, it was room temperature, it was not the comfiest thing in the world, but it wasn't the horror story I was expecting.

So top and bottom teeth impressions done, next was 360 degree x-ray, always fun, they give you a coat to protect yourself, whilst they all leave the room!  And I was fascinated to see that there is no developing of x-rays, it was straight through digitally onto the computer, oh how times have changed!

Next was photos, not just close ups of the teeth, but head shots, side on, smile, relax, open, close, I felt like I was on a photo shoot. 

Finally was the bite impression.  Putty was squeezed onto my teeth, I had to bite down, not move for 3 minutes, then try to open my mouth, I thought all my fillings were going to be ripped out it was that strong, but all is well and I am still in one piece.

As I am getting a bit braver and relaxed with what I am doing now I have started to ask questions.

So the obvious one for me was, will it hurt.  Short answer is yes, which I expected.  However he did say he wouldn't expect it to affect me greatly.  He then went on to tell me that I will struggle to bite things, no apples, no crusty bread, and I will have to cut things up into small pieces to eat.  I think I am going to live on soup!

I questioned about how they put them on, and surprisingly he told me that it is most likely that they only put the top track on then the bottom one later, only half a train track to start with then.  Also he told me if I needed to have teeth removed, which is something the Italian one will decide, that will be done during the treatment too.

I have also told a couple of people I am getting braces, as ever my parents response is that I shouldn't bother as I am too old.  My partner is being very supportive and he is trying his hardest to put my fears at ease.  I have told a couple of friends, with a mixed response. 

I know that children are cruel to other children with braces, I am just hoping that adults are not like that, although I am happy now with my decision to have the braces, I am still not sure about other peoples reactions.  I may be completely over-reacting about what will or will not happen, but it is still there in the back of my mind.

Meeting the orthodontist

The First Appointment....

 

Every month the specialist orthodontist visits my regular dentist in Prague.  I made my consultation appointment to meet him and discuss my teeth, turns out he is Italian, perfect English, so I have no worries about communication.  I was ready to be prodded and poked, but all he did was make me smile, and then say yes I would benefit from braces!  It was that simple. 

 

I was shown 3 different types, firstly a see through tray that fit over the teeth, which would be removed for eating, this looked a good option, but unfortunately my teeth are too crooked.

 

The second option is the normal 'train track' brace, metal bits glue on the teeth with a metal wire, and the third option, not too dissimilar, is the ceramic bits glue on teeth with a metal wire.

 

Luckily I had to make no decisions there and then. 

 

I have been thinking about what to have and because I am still quite scared of the reaction that I am going to get from family and friends, I am going to go for the slightly less visible ceramic braces.

 

The only downside is that the treatment time has now increased from potentially 1 year to nearly 2, I know it should fly by, the last year defiantly has, but in the back of my mind it is still a very long time.

 

I am starting to feel a bit anxious, but I know that if I don't do it now I will regret it. 

 

Now I have to completely decide if this is for me, as the next appointment is where I have the moulds and x-rays done and they look if I have to have teeth out to make room.  The next appointment is where I feel as if I have actually committed 100% to this.