Thanks.

Yeah, I was flossing all the time too in the beginning!! Then I was noticing my gums and got all paranoid. Glad I asked the dentist/ortho the question! I do tend to use the proxy brush during the day though if I'm eating crackers or bread or anything that can stick between brackets.

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Have you tried a sonic-type electric brush? You don't need to push very hard and the vibrations are supposed to get the gums and such real well without scrubbing damage. My sister had good success with one, was able to hold off further gum issues. The vibration takes a little getting used to, but I noticed it tends to make sore teeth feel a little better afterwards. HTH-

Thanks, I have tried the Oral B one that's electric. My ortho gave me one and it seems to work pretty well... I'm just going to confirm with the dentist about the gum issues in April.

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Welp, nothing has changed much. I guess I should take a picture to check out the changes. I keep meaning to and then something else comes up and I forget...

I'm going in for my first adjustment on Thursday morning. Nothing exciting here with the braces. Just there. I'll be curious how it goes after the adjustment. Will post and will def. try to take a picture to post.

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Had my first adjustment today. The ortho stated that everything looked good! I have to say it was slightly uncomfortable getting the ligs taken off, didn't really hurt -- just tugging. Felt pretty nice not to have the wire in at all Except the brackets felt a tad strange without it.

The ortho gave me a stronger wire, and stated my upper teeth should move a bit and my next appointment in May I'll get my lower braces on. That's 4 months of not having lower braces on!! Seems like a long time. Anyways, I'm hoping I won't need the build ups or the bite plate. I'm guessing they're going towards the buildups if I need it with the bottom brackets. It was stated that this wire may do all the work and I might get lucky and not need it!

Once the new wire was in, it just feels tight. Doesn't really bother me besides that. I do have one bracket in the back that feels a tad sharp though. I may see if I could put wax on it later.

My next appt. will be when I have my teeth cleaned in April. It's going to be a huge PITA! I might take a half day. I have to go to the ortho to get the wire taken out (which is nice), then go to the dentist later for the cleaning and at the end of the day, go back to the ortho to get the wire put back in. Then about a couple of weeks later, I get my bottom braces on.

Tonight I'll try and take pictures...

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Just wanted to comment real quick about all the work you're gonna do to get your teeth cleaned. I had the wire and ligs removed for my first cleaning with braces, and it was worth all the hassle. Even my hygienist said she wished they did that for every patient. I actually cancled my cleaning for this month, so that I can do the wire removal again, when my husband comes home. You're right it is a full day of running around, so taking some time off would prob be easier in the long run. OH!...do not forget to take an advil or two throughout the day. Something about all the scraping, and then the tugging for wires and ligs to be put on, very painful at the end of the day.
Congrats on your first adjustment...time flies after that first one.

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29 years old
2-18-10 baby canine pulled
3-15-10 got braces
12-22-11 Moving-SO EXCITED!!
1-2-12 Meet new Ortho
1-5-12 Begin finishing treatment
3-5-12 Canine Implants...dun dun dunnnnn
4-9-12 Deband!
I had braces for Two Years and TwentyFive Days

Thanks for the tip!!

Yeah, where I am .. we're on a strict clocking schedule - so lots of time off taken unfortunately. But, I'm glad that it's worth it!! I assume it's so much better without the wires to clean the teeth and all. I'm not looking forward to all the tugging/wire changes though.

I'm nervous though about the bottom braces being put on, if I have to go through all the soreness and possible canker sores again (wasn't too bad on the top).

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This is the part I have disliked most at each of my appointments, feels odd when they tug on tender teeth . He didn't change my ligs the other day, so I managed to get away with it



I wonder why I am still in the same wire nearly 4 months in . I got my lowers put on at about the 3 month mark of having my uppers put on. I still say it was a little too soon because my upper front teeth kept hitting the lower brackets, but that seems to have corrected itself now and I guess that's why he removed my molar build ups on Thursday.

Having just my upper braces was a breeze, since the lowers have been fitted I get more food stuck . But, already it's becoming 'normal' and I am not feeling as stressed as I did 2-3 weeks ago.

I can understand you feeling nervous about your lowers, but I am sure all will be ok. Do you sometimes wish you were able to get uppers and lowers at the exact same time? I know I do!

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Braces: Metal fixed upper and lower
Estimated treatment time: 18-24 months
Next appointment: 26th March 2013

I always thought that part of the process was going to be easy peasy. I'm so not looking forward to that in April for my dentist appt. cleaning. My teeth are going to be aching I know.



Hmm, I'm finding it fascinating the difference in treatments. That's sweet that you already have the build ups removed. I'm not looking forward to that either. The sooner you have the lower braces on though, the sooner the treatment will be over. That's my thinking. I'm kinda wondering if I'm delaying the end since it's taking me so long to get mine on.

Heh, thanks for sharing about the food being stuck more I so look forward to that.. hehehe. I think flossing is going to be hard though for the lowers as compared to the uppers, but at least I think I should be able to get all my teeth -- I'm still having problems flossing all my upper teeth.

I do sometimes wish I could have had both put on the same time, then everything could be progressing at the same time. Also, the pain of having them put on would only happen once, instead of twice!!!

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Let us know how it goes drgnchsr36 - I am going to be booking a clean soon and wanted to have the wires removed too



I hope that wouldn't be the case and I have too wondered the same thing. But my Ortho still keeps saying 18-24 months like at my consult, so no extra time has been added to the estimate... yet hehe.


Oh sorry! . It's not really a problem if you are able to brush soon after eating (sometimes I can't though and rely on a really good vigorous swish of water around my mouth). I just notice more food caught under the archwire when looking in the mirror after eating. With my uppers I don't get as much, just mainly around my premolars.

I must admit, it took me a little longer to get the hang of flossing the lowers, but I have got it now. If I remember correctly my uppers took about 2 weeks to get the hang of it. My lowers took about 3-4 weeks and I just did what I could at first, but now it feels really easy.

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Braces: Metal fixed upper and lower
Estimated treatment time: 18-24 months
Next appointment: 26th March 2013

I'll let you know how it goes with the cleaning minus the wire. Part of my dread isn't even dealing with teeth, but just the amount of time being spent going to and from either the dentist or the orthodontist.

Hopefully the estimate includes all this time without lower braces, etc. I'll definitely see how long it'll take me to get used to having lower braces... I'll try not to rant too much about it

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Welp, today is teeth day!! I got my wire taken out this morning, and I have to say that it felt pretty good. Although, my brackets feel a tad strange. I can't keep myself from rubbing my tongue over them -- feels pretty weird. At lunch, I got my teeth cleaned. I told the hygienist my paranoia over my gums. It turns out that my gums haven't changed. I guess I'm just hypersensitive now. Everything went well. My top teeth didn't have much plaque (yay!).. and those are the one with brackets.. but my bottom teeth, I had lots of plaque on the inside part of the teeth. I guess I have to work extra hard on those areas. I'll try and keep my paranoia of gum recession toned down, I'm going in for another teeth cleaning in a few months. One extra one a year while I'm in braces. It'll cost me a bit over $100. But, worth it if I can get rid of extra plaque and see issues before they really become problems. I'll be really curious how my teeth are once my bottom brackets are placed.

Anyways, getting the wire put back in around 4pm. Hopefully my teeth won't hurt too much.

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Ugh. I'm pretty grumpy. I admit it.

The process of getting the bottom brackets on wasn't too bad. I am still not a fan of the plastic thing that keeps your mouth open nor of the suction tool to dry your mouth. But, other than that -- it went pretty fast. Thankfully, no new wire on the top and so my top teeth feel fine. My bottom teeth don't hurt yet, but they're super uncomfortable with the brackets. Not only that, I did get the cement build ups and it's awkward not being able to bite down all the way. For awhile, my teeth only touched on the left hand side .. thankfully, they filed it down so it's even. Although, I've discovered a sharp spot on the right hand side with the cement and I'm heading back to the ortho after lunch for them to file it down. My tongue is NOT happy. It keeps rubbing against it. I also don't feel like I can talk very well, it just doesn't feel natural. I have at least 18mths with braces and I'm not sure how I'm going to get through this if this is how it's going to feel the entire time. I didn't mind just having my top brackets. I should have relished it more. I know I'll probably grind the cement buildups in time, but it's going to take time and at the moment .. I have no patience. I don't know how I'm going to eat and that's frustrating. I'll test it out at lunch. Or else I'm stuck with a soft diet for awhile.

Anyways, that's my update for now...

edit: I take it back, I'm in pain now.. it's general pain.. took some tylenol... frakkin' ouch!

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Sounds like we're going through similar hells at the moment Drgn. I had a pretty good idea that the bottoms were going to be really uncomfortable due to how much crowding I have down there, (for some reason, that statement just seems... wrong... anyway...) but I didn't anticipate how hard it was going be to chew food because of how unaligned my bite now is. I actually ASKED for those cement buildups to help not bite down on some of my bottom brackets, but my ortho wouldn't go for it. I found that both frustrating and comforting at the same time... I've read stories here about people who feel their ortho's purposely torture them, lol, and here mine refuses. It's day five for me now and I'm still living on Tylenol. I'm sure in another week we will feel almost back to normal (I'm hoping!), it's just getting through the adjustment period that is so hard. Here's to more chocolate milkshakes for medicinal purposes!!!

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@JennyLaughs,

How are you doing now? After 6 days, I'm no longer in major tooth pain. I have a few places where I still need wax, but other than that.. it's been OK. The bottoms are definitely not comfortable and I'm not sure if I"ll ever be able to ignore them like I could the top braces. Talking is at times a challenge with the "s".. I think that's more because of the cement than anything else.

Eating is still a pain, I hope it's getting better you!!! I was sorta happy last night, I was able to messily floss my bottom teeth.. a bit of a pain, but it was nice to know I could do it again.

Hope things are going well with you!

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