Brace day on March 19th!

[isthistaken]

Elmer Fudd ring a bell?

That bad? I may not talk for a while then haha.

I had no idea until my husband took a video. I thought I sounded perfectly normal. I did find it rather odd though during a bit of a tiff (cranky lately, who can blame me) and the object of my ire did not seem to be the least bit offended. He seemed--amused? Perhaps even stifling a chuckle....

[jmjohnson317]

Elmer Fudd ring a bell?

That bad? I may not talk for a while then haha.

I had no idea until my husband took a video. I thought I sounded perfectly normal. I did find it rather odd though during a bit of a tiff (cranky lately, who can blame me) and the object of my ire did not seem to be the least bit offended. He seemed--amused? Perhaps even stifling a chuckle....

And I sound funny as it is! I'm just getting less and less excited as I go. Just gotta think of the end result.

[isthistaken]

Fear not, you can do it. It just helps to have a sense of humor and you obviously do, so you will sail through it with aplomb.

[jmjohnson317]

Thank you, I know I'll do just fine, and I'm certain the funny talking will pass, I've had friends with braces who talked normal. I'm just nervous I'll have to do a lot of talking before it goes away.

[Tobilei]

Hey I got mine on Saturday (the 16th.) I only had a little pain at the end of the first day. But it is really weird to eat with these things so that's the challenge. Now I'm day 3 and the pain has NOT been that bad! I woke up with a bit of a throb in my front 6 teeth but once the ibuprofen kicked in, I felt really good!

You'll do fine! I was expecting way worse.

yeah I have a lot of movement to do in the front teeth so I'm not eating anything solid for days just as a precaution haha.
I just bought a bottle of ibuprofen just in case.
Oh, how is talking with them on? I'm really worried about that.

Elmer Fudd ring a bell?

For me it's the occasional gopher from winnie the pooh who whistles his "s" noise Thankfully no one else but me ever seems to notice. You will get used to talking again and just have slips ups when you're tired or have talked too much (but that tends to make lips sore anyway).

[jmjohnson317]

Thanks to all for all the encouragement. Braces go on tomorrow morning, wish me luck everybody!

[safetysquirrel]

Hey!!

Good luck tomorrow - make sure you take some ibuprofen before you go and drink plenty beforehand!

I got mine on this morning, and it hasn't been too bad so far! I got them on in the morning and then went to work, same as what you'll be doing.

I definitely lisped today, but not atrociously. I mostly have trouble with "s" and "th" sounds, and that got better as the day went on. This is going to sound dumb, but try singing along to the radio after you leave the ortho with your new "grill". It helped me figure out how my mouth was going to have to rearrange to make sounds.

The worst parts so far have been the bite blocks. The molars that have the bite blocks on them are crazy sore and since that's the only place that my teeth touch right now, eating has been incredibly challenging... but you figure it out once you get hungry!

I'd also try and eat something "solid" tomorrow (at home!) before your teeth get really tender from starting to travel. I attempted a hamburger tonight (little success), tater tots (huge success), and a milkshake (huge success). I couldn't even attempt to bite into the burger (the bread made it impossible, especially with the bite blocks), but once I took the bread and toppings off and cut it off, I managed to get it down. The tater tots were fantastic, you can just kind of mush those up in your mouth. Milkshake was the winner of the meal though, that feels fantastic on your tender teeth.

I wouldn't try anything too exciting at work through, stick to broth-y soups and maybe oatmeal if you're feeling up to a brushing challenge.

Buy a waterpik!!!!!! I feel like I do a pretty good job brushing, but that thing is just amazing. I used it to rinse out my mouth before brushing after my dinner, and it was the grossest/coolest thing I've ever seen. My mouth has never felt so clean before, even with all this crazy hardware in it.

I would also invest in superfloss (the kind with the hardened end) if your ortho doesn't give you any. I know people swear by the floss threader, but this seems to be much simpler in the beginning while we're figuring out everything.

I was also surprised by how long it takes to brush/floss/water pik/use mouthwash. i timed it, and I'm at 23 minutes this evening. I'm hoping that gets faster?

I had a few brackets that really scratched me - don't be afraid to use the wax. There's no sense in having a beat up mouth if you don't have to.

If your dentist says you need a fluoride rinse, I'd go for the kids variety. I'm using the Tom's of Maine kid's fluoride rinse and it's much tastier than the options offered to adults.

Best of luck! Let us know how it goes tomorrow, and know we're all cheering for you!!!

[isthistaken]

Way to go, squirrel! First thing I did was take a photo in the ortho's bathroom mirror, grinning ear to ear. You?

[oldfart]

Way to go, squirrel! First thing I did was take a photo in the ortho's bathroom mirror, grinning ear to ear. You?

And have you shared this photo with us armchair orthodontists here?

[isthistaken]

Way to go, squirrel! First thing I did was take a photo in the ortho's bathroom mirror, grinning ear to ear. You?

And have you shared this photo with us armchair orthodontists here?

No way! You would have see my whole beaming face to get the full effect--das ist verboten!

[jmjohnson317]

Hey guys, They're on!!! It feels so weird, so far I'm coping pretty well. I'll let you guys know how I'm doing once I give it a bit of time.

[isthistaken]

Woot! Stock up on Fruit Chillers. Should be in the canned fruit section. I'm eating one right now. The cold is so soothing.

[jmjohnson317]

They're starting to ache! Not bad just a dull aching, but hey that means they're starting to work right?

[safetysquirrel]

Hey! I did the exact same things, we'll have to keep comparing how things go for us

Warning, today I felt like someone had kicked me squarely in the teeth this morning. My teeth were the most tender! It got better through the day though, thank goodness for ibuprofen

I'm gonna post pictures, so you have to too We're in this together!


I have damon clears on top and damon 3's (I think) on bottom


Top arch, complete with bite blocks


Bottom arch, which is what brought me into this adventure in the first place

[Avalon Rose]

heywait, you have great teeth, if mine were like that, I wouldn't be gettinb braced in in 2 weeks.

(actually already had braces, just needing the top 3x3's straightened back up, since my front tooth sticks out back to the original pre braces place ugh but I'm in luck, I am only paying a fraction of the cost for just uppers, and damons at that. )