Braces at (almost) 49

[Marigold]

Hi everyone,

So glad you're starting to see the changes and getting used to the braces. Seeing movement really does help to keep the spirits up. Shekhinak, I can so relate to reverting back to a 5-year-old! At my last adjustment they repositioned some brackets and it was not pleasant. They had to grind the cement off and my teeth were very sensitive. Talk about nervewracking. I kept putting my hand up like I wanted him to stop, and I was wiggling around in the chair. The kid next to me was whimpering so I didn't feel too foolish (except he was 10 and I'm 47)

My next adjustment is in a few weeks and I'll probably be back in elastics. I was doing them before but the ortho had me cease for a few months because my jaw was clicking so badly. I am getting so anxious for my bite to even out, but I know that will be a slow process. <Sigh... deep breath... one day at a time...>

Smile big and flash your metal mouth proudly! Let everyone see your very expensive bling

[Redfern]

I love reading this thread. I am 50 and have been braced for about 8 weeks. I've also been through most of what you've all been through, including a serious bout of 'buyer's remose'.

I teach adults for a living, so speaking is part of my job. I'm thinking about trying the vaseline trick, along with a lot of wax. Most of my brackets have hooks because my midline is off centre and I'll need the bite realigned with elastics. The hooks catch on my upper lip and cause cuts and cankers. I've already had a few "emergency" appointments because of popped brackets and dislodged wires.

Spouse and all three kids have had braces, so I've got a lot of support.

Please keep posting. I want to hear about your progress. I'm a bit disappointed in mine--I can't really notice any changes, just a lot of discomfort. Hopefully it will get better soon.

[SueAsh5]

Hi all,
Tomorrow I go for my first adjustment. The appointment is 30 min. but wish I had an hour to ask all my questions! I´ve written them down and hoping to not turn into a five year old as has been mentioned here. I did that too at an earlier appointment. My ortho gave me his email but I´ll find out if he really is OK for me to use it to ask questions between appointments.

I have a couple loose-feeling teeth on the bottom, the ones next to the extraction (middle incisor). I know this is "normal" but it is unnerving. My skinny little archwire goes across the gap and I´m SO careful to not knock or break it. Will ask tomorrow how long it´ll take for the gap to close. It has been so wonderful eating fairly normally these past days but I´ve got the soft food ready again. Had to speak in front of a group of people last weekend and feel so aware of my lisp but hubby says it´s barely noticeable.

Oh, and I´m so happy to see obvious movement on the bottom where the gap is. I can also tell almost daily a difference when flossing.

[shekhinak]

That's great that you're seeing some movement, SueAsh! It makes it a lot easier to bear with the daily chores of wearing the braces when you see things happening!

My latest wrinkle is that my bite has now shifted, so now only the rear teeth on my right side touch when I close my mouth. I know that my bite will be changing the entire time I'm in braces, but I just wonder how many different odd bites I'll experience. I used to quip that the archaeologists would find many tools in the woods behind my house, and they'd know which ones were mine from the teeth marks in them (I buy cheap ones, and then get frustrated when they don't work). Well, now the tools will all have different teeth marks in them.

I live in an area where we were hit by a very early snow storm, and our power was out for the better part of a week. So I discovered a new challenge with braces: trying to floss in the dark, using a flashlight. If they ever make flossing an Olympic event, I might have a good shot at a medal in the all-around category

[SueAsh5]

Adjustment #1 done. My ortho only worked on the teeth next to my gap on the bottom and added a rubber band that his assistant will change in two weeks. I live an hour from the clinic and live in Spain with high gas prices so was hoping to not already be starting twice a month appointments. Even just that little adjustment had made my mouth quite sore again. But it was great to have plenty of time to ask questions.

shekhinak, my bite is also bizarre, even more than is was before (which was bad). Because of my EIGHT crowns, my ortho can´t make any promises on my bite which is understandable. I´ll just be glad to have straight teeth. WOW, flossing in the dark with a flashlight certainly would be a challenge!

I had somewhat of a breakthrough yesterday. Went to the post office and through the entire transaction didn´t think once about my braces. I can´t really tell if people notice and if they do simply don´t care. One strange thing for me is that, since I´m bilingual, there are some words in Spanish and others in English that just don´t come out right!

Keep the stories coming.

[Marigold]

I'm back in elastics 24 hours a day now. The ortho said this will fix my overbite, which confuses me because originally I had an underbite . It will also bring my bite into alignment. I'm all for that, so this is motivation enough to keep those elastics on 24/7! The assistant told me she needed to put a power chain on my 4 front teeth so they wouldn't get gaps. She gave me a color chart and asked me to pick one. Not really understanding what a power chain was, I went with my favorite color orange. After the appointment I looked in the mirror and was shocked to see that it looked like I'd just eaten a bowl of stew and had bits of carrot stuck in my front teeth. Why, oh why didn't I just go with white?

Oh well, I'm learning as I go.

[shekhinak]

OK, I really appreciate the insight about the orange power chain! Guess if I need that, I'll always pick white or clear!

I had a pseudo Thanksgiving celebration with my brothers and sisters last week, which we do so that way we don't have any conflicts with in-laws for the actual holidays. I only have braces on my top teeth, but no one noticed them! I have my next adjustment the Monday after Thanksgiving, which will probably just be another arch wire. They probably won't put the bottom braces on until after Christmas, and then I likely won't see my siblings again until summer. By that point I will have had the braces for nearly a year, and at least I'll have fairly straight teeth, and they'll be off soon.

I've only had arch wires so far, and no elastics or power chains. I'm amazed at how much my top teeth have lined up in only two months, and the terrible gap between my two front teeth has nearly closed! My bite is pretty messed up, which I now think is actually kind of funny, so I don't much mind that.

And brushing my teeth at work has become SO routine now, that I don't even give it a second thought. No one has ever said anything, even when I've been using the interdental brush, and I don't feel sheepish about it any more. I guess I am now in the "acceptance" stage of having braces as an adult

[toothymonkey]

I'm glad to have found this board. I just had my braces put on today and can't imagine ever being able to eat again...or communicate beyond monosyllables and grunts. I have ceramic brackets with white wire and a built-in bite plate on the back of my eye teeth. Right now the bite plate is bugging me more than anything.

The good news is that they're 6 month braces so, even though 6 months seems very far right now, by summer I should be done. I'm 42 and have always had messed up teeth. It's only now that I can really afford to fix them. Ya'll make me think it's worth it and that I can do the time.

Thanks for sharing your stories; it's made me feeling a little less despairing as I try to adapt to this whole new experience.

[shekhinak]

Glad to have you with us, Toothymonkey! It really is helpful hearing other people's experiences, insights, and suggestions. I was having a pretty rough time of it the first month, but a bit of online social support really helped!

Welcome to the Bracket Club

[SueAsh5]

ToothyMonkey,
You WILL be able to eat again! And only 6 months...it´ll go so fast. This week I had my rubber band changed and the assistant couldn´t believe how quickly my gap is closing! Yippee! My gap is middle lower so very visible. Then I emailed my ortho when I got home and he wanted me to send a photo to him so he could see too! I´m happy that they are cheering me on, my own little cheerleading team! On a side note, I have beautiful fingernails now since I can´t bite and am using the braces diet to lose more weight (16 lbs so far, only a few more to go) so what´s not to love about this experience!

[toothymonkey]

Thanks for the responses and encouragement! SueAsh5, it must be satisfying to see the change in your teeth. I can't wait! Oh were my teeth sore today. The upside is that I had some delicious soup and white wine. I have a feeling that eating is going to be challenging...things I learned one day in: chocolate hazelnut gelato sounds like a good idea but is not your friend. The tiny hazelnut slivers wreak havoc. Black bean soup, while delicious, should only be consumed in your own home with no one else around...it's not pretty.

Other realizations...I think kissing is not an activity option for the duration of my braces. This would be a good time to focus on self reflection and growth.

[SueAsh5]

ToothyMonkey,
I also thought kissing was done for me (30 yrs married!) but it´s getting better. I just have to tell hubby what NOT to do. My teeth are also sore all the time especially when pushing them and I don´t think I´ll be able to bite down until I´m debraced. Hang in there and look toward the goal!

[shekhinak]

Toothymonkey, you are most certainly getting the full experience!

Yes, eating is a bit of a challenge at first. You quickly figure out that some foods are to be avoided. I lug around so much material (tooth brushes, floss, a signal mirror, interdental brushes, picks, and so on) that I could start my own dental office in a parking lot.

Yes, the teeth sure feel tender! But the good news is, it does get better! I had a problem where my front teeth started colliding, and it started 4 days before I had to give a big customer presentation as a technical expert, with corporate vice presidents from both sides as well as a team of their experts. The pain was so severe with every collision that I couldn't help but let out a stream of profanity every time, and I was certain everyone would think I suffered from Tourette's syndrome! Fortunately, the pain subsided (for the most part) the day before the presentation.

My bite is always different, but when you think about it, that's a good thing. That means your teeth are moving. I used to have a terrible gap between my two front teeth, but it is hardly even noticeable now, and all I've had so far are archwires.

I gave my spouse kissing instructions (Approach SLOWLY!).

So yes, glad to have you with us! It really helps to hear that others are going through the same thing, and yes - we really understand what you're up against!

[toothymonkey]

Thanks, guys!

So, good news is that today, day 3, I didn't take any ibuprofen. I did go through a lot of wax and my cheeks feel like ground beef but no advil. Shekhinak, I totally get the presentation issue. I haven't formally done any presentations but I have a lot of meetings and conference calls and my lisp is so pronounced, it makes me a little self-conscious. I'm hoping this gets better but I'm not sure it will. And I know it's bad because my close friends giggle when I talk...oh well, I'm in it to win it now so I just have to deal.

[shekhinak]

Toothymonkey, if it helps any, I do think the lisp will go away. After awhile, you do get reasonably used to the braces. I still feel like I have a plastic bracelet stapled to my teeth, but I tend to forget about it, and my lisp seems to have subsided. I still can't whistle at all, but that hasn't proven to be a problem at work

I had my second adjustment this morning. They thought I was progressing well enough that they said I'll be ready for the bottom braces at my next appointment. They noted that at present my bite is pretty messed up (me: "Really? I hadn't noticed... "), and it'll be that way until the bottom braces start to straighten out those teeth. Which is fine. The messed up bite means it's too much of a nuisance to eat high-calorie junk food.

So I get the bottom braces on January 3rd. Hence it will be that much less likely that my siblings will spot the braces until after the holidays (they didn't notice them at Thanksgiving, a family reunion, or my daughter's confirmation celebration). And one part that I'm particularly happy about is that I'll be in absolute agony after the holidays, so losing the Christmas weight will be trivial

This time I had my wits about me enough to ask if I will need any extractions. They said they're not sure, and that they'll wait to see how things go after my lower teeth get untwisted. Untwisted? I knew my lower teeth were crooked, but "twisted?" Well, at least they'll be starting to get straight by the start of next year