Kathy's TMJ and braces story

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#16 Post by **hurdnerd** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 5:39 pm

Hi and Welcome! I'm new to this site as well and it was jaw pain, not crooked teeth that brought me to the orthodontist also. Keep thinking about the future!! This is an amazing site and we can get through this together!

#17 Post by **Tin Indian** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 6:56 pm

Your story was a good read Kathy. Welcome aboard and keep in touch!

#18 Post by **BracedBelle** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:38 pm

Hi and Welcome! I'm new to this site as well and it was jaw pain, not crooked teeth that brought me to the orthodontist also. Keep thinking about the future!! This is an amazing site and we can get through this together!

Thanks for the comment

How is your jaw pain doing?

And I just wanted to say that I love San Fran - I vacationed there in Sept '06 for a week and I want to go back!

#19 Post by **BracedBelle** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 6:21 pm

Since you know you worry about future issues ... how about getting a journal and recording any of these worries in writing. Then when you can, go back to these worries and write pros and cons for them. If they're still bothering you ... then post the question on here!

This is a good idea and I've started doing it over the past couple of days

I hope you're finding the warm salt water rinses are soothing your mouth and aiding with it's healing! Remember do these once a day ... they're cheap, easy and fast ... and the benefits are enormous!

This has been helping already!!! I'm using 1/2 the wax each day compared to the last few months!!

#20 Post by **BracedBelle** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 7:41 am

Can someone please move this thread to the Braces Stories section? I will use it on an ongoing basis with appt updates, photos, etc.

I'm going to consolidate some extra information from other forums & threads in here as well.

Pasted from other posts:

Diagnosis:
1) Mandibular retrognathia with secondary Class II malocclusion. Crossbite. Rotated maxillary dental midline. Dental crowding.
2) Four impacted third molar teeth
3) Bilateral TMJ anterior displacement of the disc with intermittent reduction and moderately advanced degenerative changes. The left is worse than the right.
4) Myofacial pain dysfunction.

We decided to undergo orthodontics first to see how bite correction impacts everything else. My first ortho said I needed a SARPE and some extractions (other than wisdom teeth). Then he retired before I worked up the nerve to get started, and his replacement, a young guy from Europe said he wanted to go with Damon braces and no extractions.

Soon I'll have my wisdom teeth out. Then I'll be back and forth between ortho and oral surgeon to see what they think what we should do next.

Photos before the braces went on:

#21 Post by **BracedBelle** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:04 am

Okay, here are some pics taken today (8 months since the upper braces went on, 3 months since the bottoms went on).

I'm happy to have my top right canine pulled down (this happened within 2 months) and the crowding on the bottom resolved. I am not at all happy with the way my front teeth now fit together even worse than before... my teeth in the front look more crooked than before, I have a space between top and bottom front teeth, I talk with a slight lisp, and I feel really awkward and uncomfortable.

Any thoughts, observations, questions?

#22 Post by **belmikry** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 1:03 pm

Sorry for the late welcome- but Hello and welcome to the forums!

your teeth are looking much better- I had the same problem- even now my front teeth are overlapped and misaligned in comparison to before I started- I assure you this is because the teeth around them are moving- the roots are pushing each of them over- eventually once everything settles into their spots it will get better- promise!

and about braces and self-confidence- I still never feel 100% comfortable about my smile, even around my family- but put yourself in a regular person's shoes- if you were a client and you had an interview with someone in braces, would you think they are too young, or in my opinion anytime prior to me getting braces when i saw someone older with braces/in a profession with clients I thought- "awesome- this person takes care of themselves- has drive and although they couldn't afford braces earlier or their parents- they are taking the initiative to better themselves-
i wouldn't see this as a negative- definately something to remember them by for sure-

#23 Post by **BracedBelle** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 7:08 am

Hey everyone - thanks for the comments and encouragement.

I am extremely nervous, as I have an interview this week and can't seem to manage this lisp so that it doesn't drive me nuts. I've practised by talking with unsuspecting strangers, and each time a sound or word doesn't come out right, it makes me nervous and my face goes red! I'll be facing 3-4 people in a panel interview setting this week for a couple of hours! I honestly don't know how to deal with this right now...

And as for the next steps in my treatment, I met with my ortho on Saturday and he said in 7 weeks I'll be in elastics.

#24 Post by **BracedBelle** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:41 pm

I said this elsewhere too, but thanks for the rainbow passage... I'll be practising

#25 Post by **BracedBelle** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 4:22 pm

oooooh, I haven't updated this thread lately, but I have updated my interview thread a few times over the last couple of weeks. I'm so excited that my braces/teeth/lisp were not a barrier to having successful interviews. I don't have the offer in my hands yet, but I'm supposed to have it by Monday

My job interview thread

A couple of weeks ago I asked for some opinions on elastics and TMJ pain. After careful consideration I decided to go ahead with elastics, earlier than originally planned (due to my current lisp and the way my teeth are coming together)

I visited my ortho today, and since most of my Damon brackets don't have hooks, they added some twisted wires with which to hook elastics on. My ortho is really concerned about exacerbating my TMJ pain, so he said to start wearing elastics in the evenings for just a couple of hours, then gradually increase until I'm wearing them all evening & night.

So, I left his office this morning at 9am wearing elastics, triangles on each side, aiming to wear them for at least a couple of hours. By 11am I had moderate jaw pain and a headache. I would have liked to wear them longer, but I was "out and about" doing some house-hunting and errands, and I couldn't manage the headache, so I removed them.

Now I'm back home and have been wearing elastics for 2.5 hours. My jaw joints are really aching, and the teeth near my elastics are sore. The elastics pull my bottom jaw forward from it's "normal" (yet incorrect) resting place, which is exhausting.

I'll update over the next few days.

One quick question if anyone knows... what are "buttons"? My ortho mentioned I would need to get them on the inside of my teeth next time in order to move toward some other elastic formations for my cross-bite.

#26 Post by **BracedBelle** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 6:00 pm

Are the buttons as big as brackets? Would they interfere with my speech? It makes me nervous to think of something being attached to the back of my teeth - eek!

Thanks for the support

I wore elastics all night and woke up this morning feeling like my head was splitting in two. It took a few hours for my jaw to stop throbbing and some heavy-duty painkillers to get rid of the headache. I had to eat a smoothie breakfast and a soft lunch.

This afternoon I wore them 3 hours and it was easier than yesterday, so that's promising. But I can't wake up on a workday the way I woke up this morning, or I won't make it out the door on time! I'm not sure if I should wear them to bed tonight. My hubby suggested wearing them to bed but setting my alarm to wake up at 3am... if they hurt like hell I can take them off, take some Advil and go back to sleep. We'll see... I'll decide in a couple of hours and then head to bed.