Braces second time around at 33 - first day!

[k0hl]

Hi everyone. I've found reading all of your stories really helpful, so thought I'd put up my own, seeing as I've just had my braces on today.

I'm 33 and in the UK. I had a few extractions and braces as a teen (for overcrowded teeth), and remember wearing my retainers for as long as I was advised to ... but it can't have been enough, as although they'r not terrible now, they've adjusted back a bit over the years, and are crowded again.

Sooo ... I've got generally crowded teeth, mild overjet and a deep bite. I'm having a 'lite' treatment that focuses on the front teeth rather than adjusting the whole bite (it's not a branded treatment, just an option through my orthodontist). It should straighten everything out and help sort out my deep bite (to allow me to have a bonded retainer - my bottom teeth would clash against it as they are). I've got an off midline at the bottom but am not concerned about that, so it's going to be left as-is.

Having them fitted today was OK - I had x rays, moulds taken, then my brace fitted to the top arch only (the bottom will be fitted once the top has opened up a bit). Nothing was too uncomfortable - I necked an ibuprofen beforehand, so am waiting for the bad aching to kick in! I had a big ole' pizza last night in case I can't manage one any time soon. I LOVE my food, so staying away from certain things will probably be a right pain (I have clear elastics at the mo too, so will have to steer clear of staining foods).

I got given a nice goody bag from my ortho with mouthwash, paste, brushes etc ... wish I hadn't bothered buying them all myself earlier this week! I'm back in work tomorrow, so will probably feel a bit self-conscious, just hope I don't get too sore and uncomfortable.


Some piccies ... had to take a snap of the printout I was given for the 'before' picture. You can see my bottom lip sits a bit wonkily at the moment, I'm wondering if straightening my bottom teeth should sort that out (or maybe I've just got wonky lips!).

[cdmoses6]

How exciting! Congrats on getting started! Sounds like you won't have too rough a road ahead of you since you are just straightening out the top. But, I'm sure it will still be a pain! I too love food and am going to miss all of the things I cannot eat while braced. (Mine go on March 6th!) I am thinking of having a pre-braces party where I get together with all my friends and eats tons of junk food that will be off limits while in braces. Chips and queso, steak or burgers, caramel apples, taffy, popcorn, you name it!

[k0hl]

So it's 2 months on, and I'm getting on alright .. having braces actually hasn't been as much of a pain as I thought it might be.

The first few days were quite tough, with soreness and very tender teeth. I stocked up on loads of soft treat foods to get me through it. Eating out for the first time got me down a bit - I love food in general, and realised I was quite restricted by what I could manage to chew :/

But actually after those first few days, it got a lot easier, and I can now munch through most things without too much trouble. It's just a bit awkward eating in public when I'm not sure how much stuff I have stuck in there! I was a bit tender again for a couple of days after my first tightening, but that eased up fairly quickly

... it was mainly the wire at each end poking into my cheeks that gave me most discomfort, though since having a new wire on, I think it was cut a bit closer, so hasn't bothered me as much. Phew!

I'm really pleased with my teeth's progress so far. I got a bit disheartened trying to see the progress day by day and not thinking there was much movement, but comparing my first pics to now I can definitely see the changes and am excited to get to the end result.

At the next appointment I'll get my bottom arch braced up too, so that'll make things a bit tougher again, but let's see.

1st day:



2 months:

[NeilH]

Hi, that's really good progress, your upper wire is much straighter already. Comparing monthly photos I found to be the only way to really see progress as the individual teeth movements were too small to follow. Poking wires are another good way to measure progress, I'm having some gaps closed at the moment and every additional bit of poking at the back means another gap is no longer there! Good luck with the lower brace.

[jhenry]

The upper wire is waaay straighter. They also look really unnoticeable with the white wire!