Braces Update - The Adjusting Week of Agony With Molar Bands, Thicker Wire & Power Chains

Tuesday, May 27, 2014 -

Eating - Today I am finally able to chew without being in total agony!!  All the way up until Sunday my molars were so sore that I couldn't even chew really soft bread without being in pain.  I mainly ate, soup, ice cream, mashed potatoes & very soft mac n cheese.  The first few days even my front teeth were sore to touch.  But today I was able to eat normal without being in total discomfort.  I am also able to touch my bottom and top teeth together without getting a jolt of pain. 

Inside Cheeks - The first few days, the back of the inside of my cheeks were getting torn up by the molar bands and brackets, so I had to keep putting wax on the far back brackets, which helped a lot!  It is still a little sore on my left side cheek, but now I try not to put wax on it as long as I can, so my cheeks can toughen up and get used to it. 

Tongue - I am obsessed with feeling my teeth with my tongue, but I now get my tongue snagged between my wire and power chains when I do....ouchh!  Of course I still do it without thinking.  But, I like doing it to see if I feel a difference in gaps or straightening in my teeth.  But yea -ouch-, it does not feel good when the tongue gets cut up from doing so...maybe I will learn not too.... ;)

Flossing - Flossing my teeth has been quite a challenge.  My mouth is small and trying to get the threader with the floss in between the wire and power chains in my far back molars drives me crazy.  Once I do get it through and ready to floss it somehow snags on the brackets or stuck and I have to pull it back out and start all over again.  I'm sure the more I do it, the more I will get used to it or come up with a technique....just haven't mastered it quite yet.  But, I do have to say I LOVE my water pick. Not sure how I would survive getting all the junk out that gets stuck in the braces without it.  Brushing and flossing alone just does not do the trick!

Gaps - I haven't seen much of a difference in my extraction gaps.  I'm sure this is going to be a long process to close them.  I will wait until my 3 months on 6/18/14 to post a before and after pic so we can see if there really has been any movement towards closing them at that time.

1st Adjustment Con't. - Power Chains, Bands & Thicker Wire!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014 - Today was my continuation of my1st adjustment appointment.   As you read before, at my original 1st adjustment appointment they realized I needed bands so I had to get spacers put in and come back in 2 weeks.  So today was the day to get my full 1st adjustment made.  The assistant took off my elastics and wire, which like last time was a little pressure but not painful.  She also took out my spacers which didn't bother me at all either.  She then started to put the bands around my molars that needed them.  The first one went in fine but the one around my crown wasn't fitting properly so she had to try 2 other bands until she found the right one that fit.  The band on my opposite side molar went on easy as well.  The orthodontist came in to take out the bands, cement them and place them back in.  It wasn't too bad, just a little pressure when they pushed on them and I had to bite down to secure the bands around my molars.  The assistant then put a blue light on each band to seal the bands to the cement.  Once she was done she let me rinse my mouth...the cement taste wasn't too pleasant.  She then started to put on the thicker wire.  This part is always a lot of pressure but this time my front teeth actually hurt as she was tightening and putting the wire on.  She then put on the elastics and power chains on which were a lot of pressure as well and somewhat uncomfortable.  I chose a dark pink for the elastics and power chains.  Once she was done I made my appointment to come back in 6 weeks. My next appointment is set for July 1, 2014.  When I got to the car and looked in the mirror I couldn't believe I already have a gap straight down between my 2 front teeth.  WOW!!!  That's probably where all the discomfort was coming from, it's already pulling them!  Makes it even more worth it seeing that it's already working.  My husband couldn't believe it either!  I am posting photos below.  The before pics are ones I took right before my appointment and the after ones are of course showing what I just got done today.  You can see the difference in the photos already of the gap that has been made.  :)

2nd Month Update With Braces

Monday, April 19, 2014

It's now been 2 months since I got braces.  I am getting a lot more used to eating and my brushing/flossing routine than before, although after tomorrow it is going to change some.  During these 1st 2 months Ive only had the wire going across the front six teeth due to getting extractions and spacers.  So brushing and flossing my teeth have only been a challenge on those teeth.  After tomorrow I will not only have the brackets and a thicker wire going across all my top teeth, I will also have bands put in and power chains to close the extraction areas.  I am sure this is going to be painful and make it more difficult to eat and brush/floss my teeth than before.  But I am sure I will get used to it and I have to keep remembering it will all be worth it in the end.  I am posting my 2 month photos below.  Sorry for the not so pretty teeth pics, but they are a work in progress.  I can really see that my one front tooth that was turned almost sideways has straightened out quite a bit. You can also see a small space between my front two teeth.   I cant wait until my "snaggle" tooth finally gets a wire on it and can start coming down into place.  Not sure when that will take place though.  My appointment is tomorrow at 2:00pm.  I will post pics showing the difference before my appointment to after.  This way I can show you exactly what they did differently.

Front View - 2 Months

Left Side View - 2 Months

Right Side View - 2 Months

Progress photos Day 1 to 2 Months

Spacers Update

Sunday, May 11, 2014 -  First, Happy Mothers Day to all you moms reading my blog.:)  It's been almost a week since I got the spacers put in.  My teeth aren't that sore anymore and I am able to chew better now with them in.  I was worried at first the throbbing would last for awhile especially since I was running a 5K today.  But luckily they feel fine and I completed my Mothers Day 5K with my son this morning without any issues. My front tooth is actually more sore than my molars with the spacers.  I think it is starting to move again which is great!  I will update again on the 18th when it will be 2 months since I got braces.

1st Adjustment

Tuesday, May 6, 2014 - Today was my 1st adjustment appointment. The assistant took off my elastics and wire which was a lot of pressure but not painful, just uncomfortable.  The orthodontist looked over my teeth. I let the orthodontist know that my bracket popped off my crown the very next day after my braces were put on.  She took a look and decided I needed to get spacers put in for bands.    The assistant put the rubber spacers between both sides of my crown molar and also on the other side of my mouth between the last 2 molars. Holy moly ouchhhh!!  My teeth next to my crown molar were so tight she had to use floss to help her get the spacers in between and boy was that painful! The orthodontist said that my teeth were very clean and for me to keep up the great work.  She said that I will need to take Motrin and rinse with salt water to help with the discomfort.  I was also told to make sure to not take the spacers out, but if they fell out a couple days before my next appointment that it's ok.  They made an appointment for me in 2 weeks on Tuesday, May 20th to get the spacers taken out and the bands put on.  She said at that time they will put on a thicker wire and put on power chains to start closing the gaps.  They put the wire back on the same front teeth I previously had them on and I picked out dark hot pink elastics.  It's been about 5 hours since my appointment and my teeth are throbbing from the spacers.  After doing my usual brushing routine I rinsed my mouth out with salt water and took some ibuprofen.  Hoping it wont bother me too much when I go to sleep.  Please excuse the not so attractive picture below, but I wanted to actually show you what was done today.  Pictures seem to help me get a better understanding when I am looking through others blogs regarding braces. ;)