EmbraceJCT Update: 4th adjustment & 6 month anniversary!

Message

#16 Post by **AmybettyB** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:04 am

Hey Embrace,

Sorry to hear you are having such a hard time of it, but trust me it does all get better! The first couple of weeks are the worst and you and your lips will soon get used to the metal in your mouth.

I hope it soon settles down for you are you can smile and be happy that soon you will have a beautiful smile and it will all be worth while!!

Amy

#17 Post by **EmbraceJCT** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:18 am

Thanks Amy! I can't wait until my lips get used to this! I just hope that it happens soon!

#18 Post by **Lisa65** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 11:19 am

Embrace, I remember that barbed wire feeling all too well

Sounds like you've hit the wall a bit with the discomfort and the "what have I got into" feeling. It does get better, honestly!

Don't be mean with the wax. Even if you use it, your mouth still gets used to the hardware eventually. What I used to do was leave the wax off for a few hours and as soon as I felt any real chafing, I'd put some on, thereby gradually exposing my mouth tissues to the abrasion of the brackets etc. You'll get through loads in the first few weeks, and then probably hardly any after that.

I wouldn't worry about flossing either for a couple of days, if your teeth are tender or tight.

Chin up, it'll be OK.

#19 Post by **EmbraceJCT** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:51 pm

Thank you so much Denise and Lisa!! Your advice is so good - I'm going to do all of it. And you really did help me to chin up and believe (at least a little bit) that this is all going to get better. THANK YOU!!!

#20 Post by **melliemoo** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 4:49 pm

EmbraceJCT How are you doing? I'm just checking on you,

Melliemoo

#21 Post by **EmbraceJCT** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 9:28 am

Hi Everyone,

It's been forever since I posted. Turns out life doesn't get less busy just because you get braces!

Here's the good news for anyone contemplating braces who is reading my blog: it gets better from what I posted the last time! I was in so much pain the first week or two, but it really does get a lot better. That is, until you get adjustments!

I had my second adjustment last week and I was given elastics to wear from the upper to lower teeth. Ouch! They are really annoying too. I hate not being able to open my mouth. But hopefully they'll do their job. I'm sure it varies incredibly, but I'd be interested to know how much of your time in braces you all were in elastics?

I'll post pictures as soon as I get them downloaded from my camera. The improvement has been good so far. I've changed archwires twice already and my teeth have really straightened out. The wayward one is totally in line with the rest already. My gap from the extraction is still big, so I can't wait for that to close up.

I have had a lot of self-esteem/self-confidence issues with the braces. I'm totally fine with my close friends and family and I'm totally fine with complete strangers who I'll never see again. But it's the people in between that I get really self-conscious about and feel bad about myself. Especially guys. It's totally just my own issues because I know I'm doing a good thing for myself and I shouldn't care what they think anyway. But I do

I've got 9-15 more months to go and it seems to be taking forever. People say you get used to braces and don't think about them and time flies by. Well, I think about them every day and hate them and feel like time is moving backwards! I know I probably just need an attitude adjustment, but I'm working on it. I've started making goals for the summer to help distract myself - like running a half marathon and learning to lead climb in rock climbing.

Hope everyone is doing well and thanks for reading this long-winded blog

#22 Post by **EmbraceJCT** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:26 pm

Hi Everyone,

Here are the promised pictures! These were taken at the time of my second adjustment, 3 months into braces.

Upper Arch on Brace Day:

Upper Arch at 3 months:

Look how the wayward tooth is totally in line and my midline has even moved a little! Now if we could just get that gap to close....

Lower teeth on B-Day:

Lower teeth at 3 months:

Much straighter!

Front view on B-day:

And front view at 3 months:

The wires have definitely straighted out.

So there you have it - definitely some progress, but also a lesson in patience. Well, I have to go brush my teeth and change my elastics!

#23 Post by ***melissa*** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 10:25 am

Hi EmbraceJCT

It's amazing how much your top and bottom arches have rounded out! How many more months do ya have to go?

#24 Post by **Miss Smiley** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 2:29 am

Embrace, your teeth look great! So quickly have your arches rounded and pulled that lateral out.

#25 Post by **kittymeow84** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:01 am

Woah that's some pretty serious movement there! Great progress

#26 Post by **EmbraceJCT** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:17 am

Thank you all so much for your supportive responses! It feels really good to see the progress and I'm glad others can see it too!

Melissa, my ortho told me that I'd be braced for about 18 months. I asked him if there was any chance that I'd get them off sooner than that and he said "well, there's always a chance," but it didn't sound like it was going to happen. I keep telling myself 12-18 months just because it makes me feel better

. So that means I've got 8.5 - 14.5 months go go!

#27 Post by **SGPWired** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:11 pm

Your teeth are aligning up â€“ what a great feeling!

#28 Post by **EmbraceJCT** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 7:47 am

Yesterday was my 4th adjustment and I'm less than a week away from celebrating my 6 month braces anniversary. Apparently the next 4-6 months are going to be spent making some big shifts and closing my extraction gap (yay!). The bad news is, it's so painful right now! I have to wear two elastics on the right side and my whole jaw/head/mouth is in so much pain. I'm on extra-strength tylenol around the clock, but still can hardly concentrate or sleep, let alone eat. I know it will get better in a week or two, but right now it is quite bad...and I actually have a pretty high tolerance for physical pain.

The good news is, after the next 4-6 months of major shifting, my ortho said I'll have 4-6 months of minor tweaking and then I'll be done. So, while I could be in braces for exactly my predicted 18 months, I could also conceivably be out in 14 months! That's only 8 months away!

I'm not posting pics this time because not much has really seemed to change recently. My very back molars moved a bit because they got braced last adjustment, but that's it. So hopefully I'll have some great pictures in a few weeks or months that will show my gap closing!

Metal Mouth Message Board

EmbraceJCT Update: 4th adjustment & 6 month anniversary!

EmbraceJCT - 3 months in and got elastics - pics coming soon