Young 67's Brace Face Blog (first of many broken brackets)

young67 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:29 am

The first entry

Hi everybody. I'm 24 years old and today is Day 1 in braces. After lurking (ha becoming inspired by your stories of course) Iâ€™ve decided to post my story.

Since I was 12 I've wanted braces. As a teen, I begged my parents to take me to the ortho, but we were dirt poor. Seriously, my siblings and I played with pinecones instead of toys. Sucks for me. Growing up as a teen means going through an awkward phase filled with natural insecurities, but add some vampire teeth on top of that and you have godzilla sized insecurities.

Still, I did my best with the hand I was dealt. I overcompensated for my bad teeth by working on the rest of me: I sharpened my wit, became a fierce fashionista, and always held my head up high. People noticed me, for more than my teethâ€”it also didn't hurt that I inherited fabulous eyes and cheekbones from mom. So simply by faking the confidence and ignoring my teeth, I got by.

But deep down, my jagged smile always bothered me. Though I laughed heartily at others jokes, but there was always a nanosecond of hesitation when the fear of judgment flashed across my mind. Smiling is an essential aspect of non verbal communications, being uncomfortable with this means being unable to connect to others. My mouth holds me back, and I hate this.

So at 24, I finally decided to be a brace face. I still canâ€™t afford it (with paying off school loans too) but Iâ€™m financing it because it needs to get done.

I went to three different consultations. I asked each ortho how difficult my case would be, and they said on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the most difficult case) I was an 8. They each had radically different suggestions for how to give me a beautiful smile.

I decided to go with Doc number 1. Cost and time were the best option for me. He specializes in six month braces/speed braces. The fact that my case is double his usual treatment time is surely a testament to how bad my teeth are. Hereâ€™s whats wrong.

So fast forward a couple of weeks and now I just got the braces put on. I was at Dr. Georges for 2 Â½ hours. I zoned out most of the time to the coral reef documentary playing on the overhead TV. So I donâ€™t remember what happened, but now I have the whole enchilada in my mouth: some sanding work was done, I have power chains, a coil spring, buttons, a rubber band, bumpers, etc. (These things sound like items that belong under the hood of a car by the way.) Here are some photos.

Putting braces on wasn't as horrible as I imagined. But boy do they hurt now. I ache too much to write more, but I will continue this story soon. I have to go slobber down my soup and take some advil now.[quote][/quote]

Braced32 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:53 am

Oh! My! Gosh! :shock:

I have the exact same beauty mark.

Check out my blog for proof. That's too funny!! :lol:

Welcome! Glad your were finally able to start your journey! It will be worth it! Hope you're feeling better soon!

young67 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:56 pm

Braces feel like pebbles glued to my teeth. Ouch it hurts.

Whenever I feel pain, I hum this little song in my head to make me feel better...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSHGT9bATdc
.... "It hurts so good"

Miss Smiley · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 1:20 pm

Most def, those tiny brackets feel like HUGE pebbles in your mouth. Remember to keep hydrated, use wax at the first signs of chafing, and plain chapstick or vaseline works wonders over your lips! Your lips will be very attracted to the little hooks of your brackets, the chapstick will help your lips glide over them without pulling.

young67 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 2:00 pm

Thanks for the tips. The chapstick is not leaving my hand. MY lips are very very attracted to my teeth brackets (more like inseparable lovers actually) Things are especially painful when the bracket on my 'above the gumline' canine gets caught on the inside of my upper lip. I hope wax here will ease the friction.

I have a feeling Wax and I will be best buddies.

Can I eat with wax on? I haven't tried it yet.

KellyO · **Joined:** Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:35 am **Posts:** 30

Hi, I feel all of your pain. I have been in braces for a week now. It has gotten better. I have a canine issue too. I will be getting springs on my next adjustment in April.
I am staying waxed, I eat and sleep w/ it on

young67 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 7:13 pm

While my mouth was waxed up, I ate some food.

Then I went to clean my teeth. Before removing my wax to brush, I noticed some of it was already missing.

What the heck. Did i just eat wax for dinner?

I guess I did. Aww man this sucks.

acd · **Posted:** Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:05 pm

Congratulations on getting braces! I wish I could have done it at age 24. Now that I'm 40 and halfway though I wish I would have gotten them earlier.

kittymeow84 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 1:53 am

Hi and welcome to Archwired :-D

Our stories are a little similar - I'm 24 too and always had that slight hesitation before smiling.

Yes - you did eat wax!! Hehe - you'll find it won't stay on your teeth at all. I used to take it out before eating.
And don't worry - you'll be used to your braces in no time! The wax won't be so necessary in about 3-4 days and within a week it'll be like you'd always had braces

Soon you'll be experiencing the exhilarating feeling of actually noticing your teeth have moved! I'm sure you've read it all over this board but its such a trip out to finally have it happen to you.

samara · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:10 am

hey, young67

your teeth look just like mine did, before i got retainers, about 13 years ago, and before i did the stupidity of having my dentist take the Dracula-like right upper canine out. i'm gonna be braced in a month or so, and reading stuff on this forum has helped a lot, with the tips and everything, you're in the right place. uh, and, might i add... you're sooooo pretty!

young67 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:19 pm

My lips stick out so much more because of the braces. I wish I felt like Angelina Jolie, but It feels more like the 'blue steel' pose. :lol:

If you haven't seen the movie zoolander... go see it

Chrissy · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 1:26 pm

Quote:

My lips stick out so much more because of the braces. I wish I felt like Angelina Jolie, but It feels more like the 'blue steel' pose.

LOL that's the one thing I love about braces!!!

young67 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:37 pm

Day 2

Whoa. Last night was rough.

Braces feel so foreign in my mouth. Those wires are strong and Iâ€™m feeling constant pressure. Iâ€™m the kind of person that usually takes a natural approach to dealing with a headache. However with these braces, Iâ€™ve been loving the pain meds lately. Ibuprofen = heaven.

On top of the pressure, Iâ€™m starting to feel sores in my mouth from the brackets rubbing. At least the wax helps a lot. I havenâ€™t tried a salt rinse yet, but I just might soon. Also my ortho put some kind of cement bumper (not really sure what it is really called) on my back molars so I canâ€™t bite down fully. This is my least favorite part because it prevents my molars from fitting into the grooves that they are used to.

Oh well. Iâ€™m sure this torture will all be worth it in the end. At least I know the pain means gain, literally. And I'm one day closer to a beautiful smile. Thanks for all the kind words of support everybody!:D

Iâ€™m glad Iâ€™m an adult with braces. If I were any younger I donâ€™t know if I could handle it. For a moment today I fantasized about prying them off with my forkâ€¦ but just for a moment.

My 3 year old cousin has braces. She was born with a cleft palette and needs them to correct her jaw. Sheâ€™ll have braces a couple more times in her life too. I donâ€™t know how she does it. Gosh, Iâ€™m 24 and Iâ€™m a bigger baby than her.

Note to self: toughen up.

Braced32 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:06 pm

Hi Young 67 ~

I used wax faithfully on one bracket for a week (this is my first day without it) and I think I only ate it once! :lol:

All the other times it stayed put when I ate. My routine - I put a piece on in the morning after brushing, removed it at night to brush, and then put another piece on. That's it!

Trust me - the salt water rinses are GREAT! I strongly suggest them. For some reason, even after all the reading I did here, I didn't start them on day one and wish I would have. Day one I was fine. Day two I started getting sore and by day three I was really hurting. So day three I started salt water rinses 4 to 5 times a day and I was feeling pretty good by day five!

I also took ibuprofen faithfully the first 24 hours! Haven't needed it since. Instead of cement bumpers I have a removable bite plate. At least your molars touch. Mine do not touch at all - wide open spaces! You can imagine it's rather difficult to chew! I mash it as good as I can and swallow - mostly whole! :shock:

WOW! A three year old in braces. Never heard of that before. Poor thing!

Braced32 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:07 pm

Hi Young 67 ~

I hate double posts!

Young 67's Brace Face Blog (first of many broken brackets)

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