Amtrak

[Amtrak]

Tomorrow is the big day. I've been wearing spacers for the last three weeks and the first five days were less than pleasant. I'm prepared to be in some pain, and I have a slew of moist foods available for the next week. While wearing spacers I realized that if you put Mac N' Cheese or pasta in the Magic Bullet, it chops it up nice and small and it's super easy to eat, even when you can't chew. My biggest concerns are the fact that I'll look like an a-hole, I'll talk with a lisp, and my self-esteem will hit rock bottom. I agree that the pros outway the cons at this point, and I'll appreciate my new smile when this is over but for the time being I'm definatley not accepting my fate well. My parents couldn't afford orthodontic treatment when I was young so now at the age of 29, I'm finally taking the plunge. If anyone out there has any advice on dealing with the pain, the torn up cheeks, and keeping your sanity, I'd appreciate it! I'm trying to keep a sense of humor about the whole experience but I'm sure tomorrow when I leave the ortho's office with a mouthful of metal, I'll feel more like crying than laughing. Any encouraging words are much appreciated!

[Lingualita]

Welcome to AW. And congratulations on your decision. I haven't had spacers, but I've heard they really suck , and that the påin related to braces will be a peice of cake compared to the pain with spacers.

Good that you're prepared in terms of cooking. I was not, but ate soup and yoghurt for a couple of days after extractions and putting braces on. I would like to loose a couple of pounds, but soon found out that wasn't going to happen since I was able to eat perfectly within four-five days. Bummer. LOL.

I've had braces for seven weeks (upper jaw), and five days (lower). And I have to say, so far so good. Havent seen any movement yet, so I'm so looking forward to when I can start seeing changes.

I wish you good luck on your journey:). What are you "having done", and how long is your "sentence"? Good luck and keep us posted!

[sdawdy]

Congrats on making the choice for this journey. Yes, spacers are the worst part of this journey!!! I could not imagine having spacers for 3 weeks.....

Couple of tips for the first little while....ok...for the whole journey....

keep wax handy...i have been braced for a little over 2 years, and this last adjustment, i had to go back to the wax...

keep hydrated...by keeping hydrated, you will keep you mouth wet and your braces wont get stuck on your lips or cheeks as much...

Dont be too shocked when you see yourself for the first time. I thought my teeth were pretty straight, just gappy....but when i saw the archwire looking like a roller coaster, it freaked me out!!!!

Take pictures throughout your journey...you wont see much looking in the mirror...but if you look at your pictures, you will see things differently. (wish i had taken this advice)

Somethings, might get worse before it gets better....this is ok....it happens as thing need to move to get other things in line.

For me, the quicker i start to chew after adjustments, the quicker the pain goes away...yes there are days you will need soft food....but only you will know when it is time to go to harder chewing foods...

Ok enough rambling....have fun with it...you may as well as it will be a part of you for the next few years!!!!!

SD

[Marley]

Congrats Amtrak on making this big decision! The advice given by sdawdy was great. Water water water!! I've been braced for a little over two years and have had close to zero pain.

For the times you do I can't stress how great rinsing with salt water is. I heard it before and thought yeah yeah. Well, it was awesome, so keep a glass and a box of salt in your bathroom!!

I know right now it seems like this is the worst, but the time really does fly by. And once your used to seeing yourself in the mirror, you really get used to it and you'll be proud of what you're doing!

And I found that people really couldn't care less about your braces :)

Take lots of pictures! They are great to look back on!

Congrats again, and make sure you wear some lip stuff while getting braced!

[kayleighkelley]

I feel your pain with the spacers. My mouth feels like I've been kicked in the mouth!!! I only have to have mine for a week, I can't imagine this pain for 3 weeks. Good luck on your brace day

[Amtrak]

Thanks so much for everybody's kind words. I really appreciate it. I have to admit that I'm mortified by my reflection in the mirror. I'm trying to keep a good sense of humor about it and make jokes at my own expense. My husband had a field day with cute jokes last night but assures me that I still look beautiful! The Ortho's assistants told me that if I put my hair in a pony tail I could get into the movies with a child priced ticket and that even if my old habit of smoking reared its ugly head I look too young to purchase cigarettes anyway. If I look that young at 29, I suppose it's a complement!
I'm glad I made the decision to do this but it's going to be a long journey. I'm sure two years will go quickly though. Right now, I'm in a little pain just from the pressure being put on my teeth. I have to have a lower front tooth extracted to make room so my co-workers will have a field day with that one! I can't seem to drink from a cup without drooling so I've been using straws. I've also been eating a soft diet and find it utterly disgusting at how much food gets stuck in the braces. I'm sure I'll get used to that too and I just keep my brush and rinse handy at all times.
Thanks again for all your advice. I'll keep everyone posted on my journey.

[Miranbrady20]

Hey Amtrak! Eating with braces can be tricky but as soon as you get used to them it’s super easy! I've eaten chips, popcorn, pretzels, Twix, twizzlers, cotton candy, lolli pops, and steak since I’ve been braced with no issues... It took me about 2 to 3 months to get used to it and experiment with new foods to eat... now I rarely eat the sweet stuff but if I run into a fave of mine I just suck on in instead of chewing it... I find eating rice and lettuce to be some of the more difficult foods because they get stuck the most and look the nastiest hanging out of your teeth!! Looks like maggots and seaweed!!!! EWWW lol! Also having a survival kit helps A LOT! I always carry my travel toothbrush and paste with my little mirror, floss, threaders, mouth wash and mints. They always help me with the gross foods... my advice is to always have a mirror while you eat... a rather small one that is inconspicuous ... I have a mirrored screen protector on my iphone which i use and no one is the wiser when it looks like im just checking my messages

So anyway can't wait to see your story unfold and I wanna see some pictures of your progress too!


Click "www" to see my story

[Miranbrady20]

where it says "SPAM SPAM SPAM" all i put was "phone" ... odd lol

[SharMarali]

Hi Amtrak, welcome to the club!

I'm 29 also, and I got braces 5 months ago (well, I got brackets 6 months ago, but no wires til 5 months ago, so no progress was being made that first month).

I'm not gonna lie to you, it WILL be a shock the first time you see the braces on your teeth. After they put all my brackets on, they sent me to the sink to brush off the excess material they'd used. I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach when I saw myself with braces for the first time and I immediately thought "what have I done?!"

That feeling will go away in time. It may be a few days or a few weeks, but you'll get used to how you look with braces and won't think twice about it anymore. Also, most of us here at AW have found that others don't really notice our braces much, unless they themselves have braces, recently had braces, or have a child with braces. I was trying to talk without moving my lips the first few days and one of my best friends pulled me aside and said "Cut it out, they don't look nearly as bad as you think they do, and all you're doing is drawing attention to them and sounding like an idiot."

In five months' time, my teeth have moved quite a bit and I'm LESS self-conscious now, WITH braces on, than I was before, because my teeth are so much straighter already! I know I have a long way to go still yet, but seeing how much progress I've made in five months makes me go "Wow, how much more progress am I going to make in NINETEEN MORE months?!" (assuming my treatment time lasts the length of time I was told, unfortunately a lot of people go longer)

Make sure when you're at the grocery store you pick up some soft foods to keep around for bad days. I always keep a couple of cans of Spaghettio's in the cabinet for those days when I just can't chew.

Over-the-counter painkillers are your friend! I always go to my appointments right after work, so I take some Tylenol right before I leave work so they've kicked in before I get there and it's not as painful for me when they're putting things on and taking things off. I usually use Tylenol PM to sleep the first 2 nights after an adjustment and Aleve during the day for the first 2-3 days. After that, believe it or not, the pain DOES go away for the most part until the next adjustment! Yes, sometimes there's a tooth or two that aches, but that's much easier to deal with than a whole mouthful of owwwww.

Wax - Some people love it, some people hate it. I find that I don't use very much of it, but I always, always, always have some with me JUST IN CASE. You might feel fine one day and then the next day, one of your teeth has moved a little overnight and suddenly a bracket is driving you crazy. Or your teeth have moved a lot and suddenly your wire is poking you. That's when I use wax. Sometimes my lower brackets just drive me completely nuts for a few days and I throw wax ALL across my lower teeth, wire, brackets, the whole shebang, so I can get some sleep. Use it whenever you need it, and use as much of it as you need! You're not hurting anything by using it!

Also, for some reason, your lips will dry out a lot more now than they used to. Buy yourself a half dozen chapsticks. Keep some at work, some in the car, some at home, some in your pocket or purse (sorry, didn't catch if you were male or female!), wherever else you can think of. Believe me, you will be happy you did!

[macgirl4ever]

The worst food I've actually found as far as getting stuck was sushi! I refuse to give it up however! I chow down and excuse myself to the bathroom ASAP! Hope all is settling in well!

[catfish]

I have to have a lower front tooth extracted to make room so my co-workers will have a field day with that one!

I had to have the exact same thing done. I had it extracted about a month ago. I can tell you that I'm the one who notices it and cares about it the most. I haven't had one single person bring it up, ask about it, or even give it a sideways glance. I continue to obsess about it, but no one else does! The good news is that I'm already seeing progress in closing that gap after about 3 weeks with a powerchain.

So hang in there! I won't tell you not to worry about it or think about it because I know it's not something you can ignore. But know that I'm in the same boat right along with ya!