Well here is my story!
I've always had crooked teeth, I had plates when I was younger to try and expand my mouth to fit all my teeth neatly into my tiny tiny mouth! I hated wearing the plates, they rubbed on my gums and were forever being ground down at the Dentist to make them more comfortable, they impaired my speech a great deal and I basically never wore them, when I moved to the UK from Australia that was the final nail in the coffin for the poor old neglected plates!
Years later I moved back to Australia and my teeth were still far too crowded for my little mouth. I finally felt like enough was enough, I had a huge phobia of the Dentist due to my past unpleasant experience with the plates (being told off for not wearing them enough etc etc) but finally decided to rise above my fear and get myself to a new Dentist. The Dentist was very polite and didn't make any sort of negative comments regarding the fact that it had been about 8 years or so since I had been to the Dentist and said nothing about the fact I had neglected my teeth badly. I sort of figured they're crooked anyway why does it matter if they look bad seeing as I hide them!
He cleaned them up nicely for me, told me to get my X-Rays and gave me a referral to my Orthodontist. I got my X-Rays (lat ceph & OPG) and took myself back to the Dentist. I had one filling right at the back that I needed due to a horizontally impacted wisdom tooth pushing into it, but that would be done after my... EXTRACTIONS! The Dentist suspected 8 extractions including wisdoms but wanted confirmation from the Orthodontist first. The Dentist said he wouldn't perform the wisdom teeth extractions because they were impacted and quite close to the nerve, I was relieved (to say the least) that they could be done under a general anaesthetic.
I waited a few months, had my consultation with my Orthodontist, he confirmed what my Dentist had suspected that it was 8 teeth including wisdoms that had to be removed, he gave me a quote for treatment and sent me away to get my extractions and filling.
I had a 4 month wait to see my Oral Surgeon. When I did see him, I got my date for surgery 05/06, the date rolled around quickly. I was terrified of surgery and hospital but got through it all. I exited day surgery minus 4 wisdom teeth and minus 4 second pre-molars. After the local anaesthetic the Surgeon injected while I was under wore off I had zero pain whatsoever. Never once did I experience post extraction pain. I didn't have to have pain killers or anything. (I'm still amazed by that!)
After everything healed up it was back to the Dentist to get my filling done and a clean and fluoride. That was all done without any problems. Finally my brace day rolled around.. 07/08.
I have ceramic braces on top and metal on the bottom. I went into a bit of a black cloud after having them fitted, I felt too scared to eat anything because I didn't want food getting caught in them, for the first 3 days I ate nothing but soup and yoghurt because they seemed like the easiest foods to eat. My appetite got the better of me and I've since been tucking into more normal (and unhealthy foods) like pizza and hash browns! I tried some chocolate today and straight away freaked out about decay and staining of my teeth. The horror stories they show at the Orthodontist are kind of etched in my mind. I brush with an Ortho head on an Oral B electric brush and floss with normal floss (a time consuming venture) I think I need to chill out a little bit! I brush in the morning and at night but tend to just swill my mouth out with water at lunch time (I don't know if this is enough and if I should be brushing again.. The ortho sheet says I should after EVERY meal
) I'm sort of not minding having braces now. I had a small ulcer at the back where the end of the wire (or a hook) was catching when I ate but that has now stopped and is nearly healed. I've got a nice new ulcer starting at the front where the wire that goes along where my extractions were is rubbing my cheek (I think I sleep on that side). I'm trying to get through it without wax! There's a whole load of pressure. The only time I'm feeling pain is if I accidentally bite together when I'm chewing, and when I try to floss between my two front teeth. I actually cried out in pain when I tried to floss between them tonight!Here is my before picture
My bottom teeth are more or less straight with the exception of my right canine which sits lower than my other teeth. My top teeth are just far too crowded. basically all the teeth need to move back, and my lateral incisors need to come out.
I'll include my newly braced ones and pictures of the kit the Ortho gave me in the next couple of days when I can take some pictures out in the natural light.
Hope my story isn't too boring!!
Take care
Liz
