I'm 28 now, I'd been wanting to have my teeth straightened for a good long time but never got round to it for a few different reasons. As a teenager my parents couldn't afford it, and when I first started working I was hesitant to go ahead with the extractions, which my consults said I needed because I have small jaws (not to mention it's still rather expensive). A few months ago I finally decided it was time to just do it, so, made the appointments and everything. Even then, up until the extractions two days ago I was still having fleeting thoughts of not going through with it... it's kind of freaky thinking about taking out healthy teeth, as everyone says. All the same, now I think the thinking is much worse than the doing and I wish I had just done it earlier...
Those first two extractions were 2 days ago, and went really very easily, the best that I could have hoped for. My dentist's needle technique must either be really good, or my nerves not very sensitive, because I didn't even feel the needle go in on the lower jaw. On the upper jaw I just felt a couple of pinpricks, and that was it. My teeth gave up the ghost in about 10 seconds each, lots of pressure but absolutely no pain. I read somewhere that this is because the lidocaine deadens only the nerves the transmit pain, not the ones that transmit pressure (they're different, apparently). Getting braces is so educational!
Since then I've been fretting rather a lot about possibly getting dry socket. There's some whitish substance in the lower socket, but it doesn't look like bone; I've read from a few places that it might just be the dead stuff being sloughed off so I'm trying not to worry too much. On the first day I didn't even dare to drink water for fear that the liquid would dislodge the blood clot... but you really can't go without fluids without becoming rather miserable, so. Sigh. I wish there were somewhere with pix of what is considered a healthy healing socket... I'm still going in there with a mirror like every 2 minutes to see how it's going haha.
Anyhow, this to repeat all over again next week when the right first premolars are taken out. I just wish it were all over and done with!
I also had 8 spacers in, around each of the first molars. They were pretty ok at first, but are now getting more pesky and achey; it's really hard to chew. In between the extractions and the spacers, I'm eating a lot less now
Might be a good thing in the long run? Next week the molar bands go in, and week after that, the braces!I'm opting to go with just normal metal braces. Considered the self-ligating and the ceramic kinds, but my ortho said he didn't feel the self-ligating ones made much of a difference, and the ceramic ones generally took longer. So, time to think about what colour ligatures I want for my very first set now. I'm leaning towards dark blue. Prognosis is for 2-3 years, so I'm quite sure I'll go through many colours.
Ok, that's it for now! Another update after the second set of extractions
And prob some pix when I've figured out where to put them.
Blame it all on reading too much on the web! My dentist didn't even mention the possibility of it, actually. In any case, as the days pass I'm finding that things slip my mind! Like yesterday I found myself drinking iced tea through a straw (I just forgot). And this morning I sneezed without thinking about it. As it happens it was the only thing that could dislodge the food stuck in my lower socket (no amount of swishing would move it, and I didn't want to stick something in there to dislodge it).
If it gets worse and otc pain killers don't help, you might want to give your OS a call. Don't forget to keep your mouth clean and well hydrated. A dry mouth might make the extractions sites a little uncomfortable.
