I chickened out 2 years ago, gotta do this!

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redwilllow
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2015 2:11 am

I chickened out 2 years ago, gotta do this!

#1 Post by redwilllow »

:cry:
I can't believe it's been 2 years since I was here, all geared up and ready to go with getting a brace on. I was and still am terrified about getting the 4 extractions done that I need doing before I get the braces. I am worried that again, I won't do it! If I had it done when I first went for it I would be almost have completed treatment. It makes me feel bad :(
My teeth are pretty awful and I feel have held me back all my life, I don't want this to be a never ending cycle of getting excited, then chickening out :(

claribeary
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2017 3:27 am

Re: I chickened out 2 years ago, gotta do this!

#2 Post by claribeary »

BE BRAVE! Sometimes you just gotta jump into the pool, take a leap of faith and all that. :) I totally know how you feel, though. When i went for my consultation i actually never thought I'd agree to commit to it on that day. I walked out with a bonding date set and a treatment plan in the works and was like.. okay, what did i just do?!

I'm 2 days in and I cannot tell you how happy I am that I've done this. You won't regret it either. Trust me, I know how it feels to want to put this off, but until you finally do it, you're just going to keep thinking about it. And don't feel bad about not doing this sooner. Be proud that you're finally doing it now. Focus on the good. :>

Extractions aren't that scary. So you walk around with 4 holes in your mouth for a while, hardly anyone notices. And once the braces go on no one (including yourself) thinks about the holes anymore. Hard to believe, but it's true. The extractions themselves don't hurt, I'd suggest breaking them up into 2 sessions, left side first with a few days in between for recovery, so you can still chew with the right side. That's what I did. By the time I went for the right side extractions my left side had healed up enough for me to eat on that side. But if you don't want to go through the whole thing twice, do them altogether! It's really your choice. You recover in usually just a day or two, with very minimal bleeding. It's been a week since my extractions and the holes have all healed up. Painkillers will be your best friend. Take them! You'll be fine. <3

Are you going for metal, ceramic, or clear aligners? :)
Image

redwilllow
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2015 2:11 am

Re: I chickened out 2 years ago, gotta do this!

#3 Post by redwilllow »

Thanks Claribeary, I saw your post and yours look amazing, I'm pretty sure I chose the same brace type as you. I am gonna wait a few weeks and get a few different pics cos when I get my braces it's gonna be one of those posts you see that there is a massive difference between before and after and it's one of the things that is driving me at the moment!

VioletStubbs
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu May 11, 2017 1:09 am
Location: Tasmania

Re: I chickened out 2 years ago, gotta do this!

#4 Post by VioletStubbs »

I read somewhere that when you're nervous about something you change it to excitement by saying out loud, "I'm excited!" Apparently by doing this you change the nervous energy into excited energy, since the two feelings are pretty similar. I probably sound like a crazy person hahaha, but I said it to myself before Uni exams and it actually helped :)

Best wishes with your treatment, just think of the gorgeous smile you'll have when it's all over.

paulwall
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2017 6:52 pm

Re: I chickened out 2 years ago, gotta do this!

#5 Post by paulwall »

Extractions can be intimating, but so worth it (when they're truly necessary). I was nervous to get my wisdom teeth removed in April. I got braces a week later. Couldn't be happier. Good luck!

tillybrace
Posts: 238
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2016 11:01 am

Re: I chickened out 2 years ago, gotta do this!

#6 Post by tillybrace »

Last year i booked my "free consultation" twice and cancelled twice. I was a big chicken. Everyone kept telling me that i didn't need braces. It finally took me going on a date, and releasing that i didn't want to eat in front of them,and having to ask my self all the reasons why i don't like eating in front of people, or talking about in front of people, or why i covered my mouth when i eat, or laugh for me it it to hit me that my teeth were wrecking my confidence. With that in mind I booked my third appointment, and i have not looked backed.


So you were not a chicken, you were just not ready yet. Also, the first time you are able to smile wide, will be with braces, and you will be proud, you will forget that you were ever a chicken. :jump:

redwilllow
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Sep 15, 2015 2:11 am

Re: I chickened out 2 years ago, gotta do this!

#7 Post by redwilllow »

Thanks everybody for the encouragement! I've been to register with a second ortho, I think the least i can do is to get another opinion, especially when extractions are on the table. I worry that my top palette is narrow in the first place, so extracting up the top is going to resort in a narrow smile, I have a small mouth anyway so I dont need it any smaller! A sunken profile is another worry too. I have a visit with my new dentist next week (he is dentist and ortho) and will hopefully get an idea of what he thinks then ^_^

Tath4746
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2017 9:07 pm

Re: I chickened out 2 years ago, gotta do this!

#8 Post by Tath4746 »

Redwillow,

Speaking from personal experience with 4 premolar extractions with retraction for Orthodontic purposes, DO NOT EXTRACT ANY OF YOUR PERMANENT TEETH FOR ORTHODONTIC PURPOSES!!! The long-term detrimental health and facial issues are not worth it!!! You state that: "You worry that your top palate is narrow in the first place, so extracting on top is going to resort to a narrow smile; I have a small mouth anyway so I don't need it any smaller; A sunken profile is another worry too." Speaking from personal experience, please find a non-extraction Orthodontist or look into palatal expansion. Check out Facefocused.com and the effects of Extraction/Retraction Orthodontics to give you further perspective. Thank you. - Tath4746

Synergy91
Posts: 16
Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2017 11:53 am

Re: I chickened out 2 years ago, gotta do this!

#9 Post by Synergy91 »

[quote="Tath4746"]Redwillow,

Speaking from personal experience with 4 premolar extractions with retraction for Orthodontic purposes, DO NOT EXTRACT ANY OF YOUR PERMANENT TEETH FOR ORTHODONTIC PURPOSES!!! The long-term detrimental health and facial issues are not worth it!!! You state that: "You worry that your top palate is narrow in the first place, so extracting on top is going to resort to a narrow smile; I have a small mouth anyway so I don't need it any smaller; A sunken profile is another worry too." Speaking from personal experience, please find a non-extraction Orthodontist or look into palatal expansion. Check out Facefocused.com and the effects of Extraction/Retraction Orthodontics to give you further perspective. Thank you. - Tath4746[/quote]

I am in the same boat, except I had the top bicuspids taken out for braces when I was younger because of my narrow upper jaw. At the time I was young and did not understand the result of this. Currently right now I am opening them back up and reversing the process to put in teeth again. How about you ?

noodles
Posts: 23
Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:32 am

Re: I chickened out 2 years ago, gotta do this!

#10 Post by noodles »

You only have to do the first step, and then the momentum will carry you :) Do not worry! It took me actually years to make the decision. I was convincing myself my teeth didn't look that bad and I managed to put it off for a long time until I started really hating my teeth. Now, I don't know if that time was lost or "used" for this decision to grow :)) I personally didn't go for the extractions (top 1st bicuspids), there are ways to free up some space there like in my case with the pendulum appliance. But my ortho said the extractions variant is also pretty alright. In any case, it's good to get a second opinion. I went for a consultation last year and they told me I'm perfect for Invisalign, then I moved to another country and the second orthodontist told me no way it's gonna work with Invisalign and explained that if we don't free up space for the teeth to be pulled backwards a bit, we can still align them, but they'll protrude forwards, ugh. Makes sense and I'm very happy it worked this way. But I'm not an ortho myself :) You only have to be happy with your decision :)

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