Stacie from Iowa

I am a 28 year old female who is a hygienist. Up until recently I always thought my teeth were fine. When I was 18 years old my dentist told me at the time that I didn't have to have braces unless I wanted to. He said there were just some minor corrections to be made. At the time, I didn't think I wanted to go through with it. I watched my sister wear them for 4 years and was not too excited about getting them. After graduating from hygiene school I realized my teeth were not as straight as I thought. I guess you could say that by looking at teeth all day at work I became overly picky of my own teeth. I found myself staring at people's teeth more when talking to them outside of work. I have a class II occlusion which most people know a class I occlusion or bite is ideal. I also have had TMJ problems since I was 17 years old.

My front teeth are tipped inward a little and I have some crowding from canine to canine on the upper arch. The canines are slightly rotated which makes them look more prominent. I also have some rotated premolars. I guess you could say becoming a dental professional has made me want straighter teeth. The dentist I work for recommended an Orthodontist that he refers alot of our patients too. I went and had a consult and got very excited about getting them. It looks like I will be wearing braces for 1 1/2 to 2 years. I decided to go with ceramic on the top front six teeth and metal on all the rest.

About a month after my consultation I went back to have the spacers put in. I had 8 spacers put in and my teeth were sore for about 4 days after getting them. My top front teeth were probably the most sore because they felt really tight and pushed together. I had the spacers in for 1 week before going back in to have the top brackets and wire put on. I would recommend waiting about that long because by the time I went back in my teeth were not very sore at all and it made the bracket and wire process alot easier. If I had went back in while my teeth were still really sore I think it would have been very uncomfortable.

It has been 2 days now since I had the top brackets and wire put on. The orthodontist said it will be about 2 months before the bottom teeth will be ready for brackets because of my bite. My top front teeth cover most of my bottom front teeth when I bite together so they would probably pop off if he put them on now. In just 2 days I can already see a little difference. My front teeth are sore and I have had to eat soft foods. I have also had some soreness on my cheeks from the clasps that are on the front of the metal bands. They have been rubbing against my cheeks when talk, eat, or swallow. I have been using alot of wax and only take it out to eat or brush my teeth. Otherwise things are going fine. I just keep thinking about the end result and how nice and perfect my smile will be in the end.