Blake24 - Braces Story

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#16 Post by **brika** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 11:59 am

Congrats on making it through your first month, Blake! I'm glad you've become more comfortable with your brackets now. And It's great to hear you're feeling the changes in your bite! I have no doubt you'll be seeing the changes too, soon enough!

Tue Mar 03, 2009 2:44 pm

Hey Blake, congrats on having the braces for one month!

For me the beginning was the hardest, but as time goes on it gets easier. Heres to another month!

#18 Post by **Blake24** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 1:07 pm

Thanks for the comments everyone!

1 month down, 23 to go.

#19 Post by **Blake24** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 12:27 pm

***UPDATE***

So this past weekend I went to Las Vegas for Dad's 50th birthday and it was a blast...naturally. As for my braces during this trip, well I didn't notice them at all because I pretty much had a constant inflow of alcohol into my system haha. Well, one thing I didn't account for was the fact that drinking a large amount of alcohol causes dehydration, thus cause dry mouth. So on the first morning as I awoke out of my stupor, I realized that I had incredible cottonmouth and also some pretty nice sores on the inside of lips. The braces cut up my mouth, and the sores turned into canker sores soon after. What a bummer!! The only remedy for me at the moment was to drink more alcohol...it was only the second day of Vegas and I had no other choice!

I got back Sunday night, and here we are on Wednesday and my sores have subsided. I am not sure if this has happened to anyone else, but it would be interesting to find out.

Blake

#20 Post by **Blake24** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 12:35 pm

...I forgot to mention.

As for the "kissing with braces" thing, and finding girls that would be interested in me and look past the fact that I have braces...well I think I am over the self conscious feelings because I ended up kissing a girl the other night and she didn't seem to mind them. I am also being more of myself when I go out, not caring about the braces, and I am getting some good responses from girls that seem to be genuinely interested in me (I think haha). So it looks like I am over it. Besides, I am going to have these things on for the next couple of years, so I better get over it!!!

#21 Post by **brika** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 12:49 pm

Haha, I'm glad to hear you had a good time, Blake.

I think you've got the right attitude towards the braces!

#22 Post by **catfish** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 8:24 pm

It looks like you're off to an excellent start on your braces journey. It's pretty exciting when you can actually feel the difference in your bite, isn't it? Your pics are excellent, by the way. I can't seem to get a close up like that to be in focus. I like your braces, too. I have the regular all metal Damons. Yours look more discreet. Oh well, too late now!

#23 Post by **Blake24** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:58 am

Brika:

Haha! Yeah, thanks. I am trying to keep upbeat about the whole thing.

Catfish:

Thanks you very much! It seems like my bite is changing every day, which reminds me why I am doing this in the first place. About my braces, my ortho gave me the option for the half clear/half metal Damon's as opposed to the all metal. The difference was $100, so I figured why not. And for the pictures, trust me it took me forever to get them. I took so many that I had to post a bunch. I took them in Black and White because the lighting where I take the pictures make my teeth look incredibly stained and blurry.

I am wondering when I should take my next set of pictures because it looks like my teeth are actually moving now. I think I will take a few right before my first adjustment on April 15th and then a few after the adjustment.

By the way everyone, when I go in for my first adjustment on April 15th I will be getting my bottom braces!! Let me tell you, the wait is killing me! I am actually used to my top braces, and now I have to go through the whole experience again?! Oh well, I can't say that I am not excited about it haha.

Blake

#24 Post by **mommy of 2** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:53 pm

Hey. I have had my tops on for about three weeks. Its going to be months before I get my bottoms on. I feel like my lips are out of proportion with only braces on top! Your teeth looked pretty good before you got your braces!! Thank you for sharing your story of your hang-over! Did I read that you are an accountant? I am almost done with my accounting degree. Well, good luck to you!

#25 Post by **mommy of 2** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:54 pm

Hey. I have had my tops on for about three weeks. Its going to be months before I get my bottoms on. I feel like my lips are out of proportion with only braces on top! Your teeth looked pretty good before you got your braces!! Thank you for sharing your story of your hang-over! Did I read that you are an accountant? I am almost done with my accounting degree. Well, good luck to you!

#26 Post by **Blake24** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:05 pm

Hey mommy of 2!

Thanks for the comments about my teeth. I am hoping that because of the current situation that I won't have to be in braces as long as my ortho predicted (2 years). I was actually surprised how my lips felt after having my top braces put on. When I was younger I always tried to imagine what my lips would look/feel like after getting braces. I would stick my gum on my teeth to see how far it would make my lips push out hahaha. Surprisingly, I guess there was a lot of room in between my teeth and my lips to begin with, so when I got my top braces I could barely feel or see a difference.

Haha, yeah I just had to share my story about Vegas. I feel that this is a site to share everything about your braces experience, so why not that one? And yes, I work as an accountant for an engineering firm (I do not have my CPA) but my degree was in finance. I am still considering going back for my CPA but I think I will wait until after I get my MBA. I don't think I could go for both at the same time. So you are going for the accounting degree huh? What university do you go to??

Blake

#27 Post by **mommy of 2** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 1:37 pm

Hey Blake. I attend Campbell university in nc. I'm getting my BA in accounting. I'm going to go ahead and get a job for a while before I go back to get my masters. Are you still finding success in the industry without your CPA?

#28 Post by **Blake24** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:32 am

Well I was fortunate enough to start at this company as an Intern, so after I graduated they decided to keep me on full time. I actually started in Marketing for the company, but they saw that my degree was in Finance and that I would be more of an asset in the Accounting side of the business. I don't think that having a CPA is necessary unless you really want to pursue the tax side, or if you want to go heavily into auditing. The good thing about accounting is that it is an area that always needs more people, so even without a CPA I think you have a pretty good chance of finding something that suits you.

- Blake

By the way everyone....my appointment for my first adjustment is coming up on April 13th. I can't believe it has already been nearly 2 months! When I go in for my adjustment I will become fully braced, getting my full metal lowers on. I am a little excited, but I am not looking forward to the whole eating/cleaning transition period again.

I wonder, is it easier to eat when you first get your lowers on as opposed to when you get your uppers on?

#29 Post by **Blake24** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:03 am

2 months in!

I will try to post some pictures this weekend.

#30 Post by **Tommm** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:31 pm

Grats on the braceversary!!