I'm new and extremely discouraged :(

[Eeme]

I just got in-ovation braces on 6 days ago, ceramic on the top and metal on the bottom. I didn't really want to get braces and I liked my teeth before getting them on, but my parents made me, so I just got over it and had them put on without any fuss. Right after I got them on they didn't hurt, but they felt weird in my mouth and I had a hard time shutting my mouth, but I thought the braces themselves looked fine. They hurt a few hours after I got them on and then the pain went away and came back the next day and that was the last of the pain. However, I still cannot eat any solid food, I can't floss because it's too painful, and I look like someone stuffed cotton balls under my lips. My braces feel exactly the same as when I first got them on and although I can easily shut my mouth I look silly when I do and I am embarrassed to even leave the house. I went out to dinner with my family a couple days ago and I had to leave the table to go cry in the bathroom, I couldn't hold myself together for the life of me. I hardly ever cry and I absolutely never cry in front of anyone. I just want these things off. I don't see how my mouth is going to look better shut because my mouth can't grow to accommodate the braces. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I feel so alone and depressed and I start school on monday, so I'm going to have to leave the house, but I'd just really like to know if this is going to get better and how quickly it will get better.

Here is a picture of my mouth before I got braces on and 5 days after (my mouth still looks exactly the same on the 6th day)

[bluegirl]

I'm sorry to hear that you're having such a hard time.

I couldn't really eat many solids that first week either. I think that's pretty normal. I ate: Jell-O, toast, apple sauce, soup...and made my way to pizza, pancakes, McDonalds hamburger & fries, spaghetti...

I definitely did more swallowing than chewing that first week. I still cut everything up into small bites. I find eating to be a hassel because my food gets cold before I can finish it and flossing/brushing afterwards is annoying.

Have you tried Oral-B Superfloss? It has a soft end which is nice.

I had anxiety before leaving my house for the first week too (even avoided some family gatherings which I really wanted to go to.) I still think my braces look horrible and they're the only things people see on my face...and I'm 27 years old!! I'm also paranoid and thought these 2 old ladies were laughing at me last week. Ugh. Hopefully these feelings will go away soon. Luckily, I haven't had to face my coworkers yet (teacher - summer off) but I'm not looking forward to that. Everyone has been very positive though so far.

My mouth is getting used to them but of course they still feel a little weird. I find it hard to keep my lips closed at night which dries out my mouth. I'm hoping that as I get used to them it gets better.

I wish I had lots of ideas and tips for you but I'm new at all of this as well. Just know that you're not alone and it's an adjustment for anyone once they get braces. Good luck! Be brave. (I'm working on that part myself!)

[spatrick]

I understand what you're going through: I'm three days in and dealing with considerable pain. If I keep taking ibuprofen/aspirin on a regular basis it seems to be under control, but flossing is really uncomfortable.

I've also been on a really, really soft food diet, trying to get a decent amount of nutrition without having to chew.

My bite is really off, so my top lip is also pushing out a little with the braces. Within a few months, though, I expect it'll move back some. It also means that when I bite quickly, I bite into a bracket and get hit with a jolt of pain. Not fun.

Today I'm trying this for food:

Breakfast: Lightly scrambled eggs, with minced tomatoes mixed in.

Lunch: Soup

Snacks: Milkshake/smoothie with pureed berries

Dinner: I'm going to try mashing some potatoes, and then pureeing that with ground beef and ketchup to make something that I can just swallow. It'll be like a McDonald's meal put through a blender.

Anyway, try and stay positive! Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.

[mist]

there is something that seems quite irrational but which is also seems true:
if you care, people will care (and eventually react)
if you dont care, people dont care either

strange but it seems to works this way

the first week i had braces (metal upper only), i felt insecure but once i noticed that my braces (and my insecurity) were less noticed if i didnt cared about them, i started t change my mind and now (one month since braces) i dont care anymore and it seems like braces have became more or less invisible.
Some people may still notice them but .. i dont notice people noticing and here lies a trick.

take care

[nomadic myth]

Hang in there and try to be positive. I wish I could have gotten everything done when I was younger, but my parents couldn't afford braces for me. Maybe it's being an adult that has given me more self-esteem about myself so I don't mind so much, but I'm not so sure about this--I'm still kind of a shy person.

However, I'm a teacher. I have to stand in front of thirty teenagers while wearing braces as an adult. My speaking is harder, and sometimes I shoot spit out my mouth when I'm talking. I just let it slide. After a year of having them on some kids actually didn't even know I had braces. They only noticed when I was helping them up close with some problem.

[Lioness]

if you care, people will care (and eventually react)
if you dont care, people dont care either

this is true....my friends tell me to relax and to stop caring so much

took pics today, and I couldn't see the braces at all (then again, I have ceramic and have been avoiding certain foods/taking good care of them)

one of them actually admitted that they'd like to get braces themselves

[braceface418]

When I was a teenager, I was a little envious of the kids with parents that could afford to pay for braces. Even as a young adult, I was jealous of other adults that had finally taken the plunge. Certainly, if I had been able to do this a few years earlier, I probably could have used a regular palate expander and avoided extractions since I still would have been in the under 23 group. Probably could have even avoided a gum graft, since my tissue on the really out of line teeth just started receeding badly in the past few years.

In any case, don't sweat starting school with braces. Most people probably won't notice. Those that have noticed my braces usually have nothing but sympathy since they've often experienced braces themselves. They're also sometimes confused since my teeth now look so much better than when I started. People may notice if you look less confident though, which is something that you can control.

[mwic1985]

Yes the first week was bad. I had ceramic uppers on about 4 weeks ago, they're fine now. During the first week all I could eat was porridge and soup, I tried a few semi solid food like pasta but gave up.
I had stainless steel bottom brackets put in last week (I already has the underlying painful bits put in when I had the top put on) so I just have the usual rubbing against the gum, which hurts sometimes when I talk - but like the uppers, I know in a week the soreness will be gone.

I don't know where in the world you are, but over in the UK we have a shop called Boots (a chemist and general health/beauty type store) and they sell mouthwash for brace wearers, it's milder than normal mouthwash and can sooth sores. I highly recommend it, either that or salt water which hurts at the time but does sooth a few minutes later.

You're over the worst of it (which for me was having teeth out!) so just sit tight and bear the pain for a few more days.
Good luck.

[Jim C]

I had braces as a teenager and (now again) in my late forties - and I can relate to you all fronts.

The first couple of weeks is tough. Your mouth hurts like hell, you're self conscious and life kind of sucks. Once your cheeks toughen up the pain will diminish. I can't in all honestly say you'll forget they're there all the time - but certainly most of the time. Just stay the course.

On the self consciousness front. It's obviously all in your own mind. The reality of it is people really couldn't care less you wear braces. I had to face an office of fifty, and friends and clients as an adult. A few mention it but most don't and so what either way. If you don't make a fuss of it and be yourself, you'll be just fine (just as before).

In high school I don't think I smiled too much either. But, honestly, it's a lot easier to smile naturally when you laugh, enjoy fun times etc, than hold your lower face in a grimace. Been there, done that - So SMILE all you want and be proud you're doing something positive and long lasting.

Braces are hard work but then most things in life worth having generally prove to be so.

[mary.]

Hang in there! It gets much much better. I've had my braces for 1-1/2 years and I don't mind them a bit now - it's been a pretty smooth journey. It's a big big adjustment at first - give your body some time to adjust. I remember being concerned about what you show in your pictures - but that gets better too, as does eating, flossing etc.

I got my braces when I was almost 40 (yikes, I don't admint that age too often haha). I've always needed them, but refused to get them when I was in school. I cannot begin to tell you how much I regret that!!! To think that I could have been enjoying this wonderful look and all the health benefits for so many years!! I'm glad that you won't have to live with that regret.

To be honest, I have never received so many wonderful comments on my smile as I have over the past year with my braces. I think my smile got bigger. Many of those comments I find come from younger folks - such as the salesclerks in the mall - will often say how nice my braces or my teeth are. Probably because braces are so common and hip these days.

Having braces is something you should be proud of - accept them and make the best of it- you're doing something great for your appearance and your health - and you will benefit from it for many many years.

And again, don't worry - everything will get easier and easier for you!!

[ANGELFLUTTER]

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This is for all the young ladies that are dissatisfied because they are young and their parents have made or are going to make them get braces :
Oh honey, smile for all your worth. Appreciate the opportunity that you have been given and just hang in there ! I have never had braces. In fact, I never saw a dentist till I was 16. That dentist caused me to have a terrible mistrust of dentists in general. ( As I was "resting" my head in the chair and he was doing an "examination", after telling me to close my eyes and relax - only to open my eyes a little later and seeing him standing there with a HUGE syringe with a long needle about three inches from my mouth ) I never went to another dentist until I was in my 30's and again had a very bad experience. ( Not numbed enough for a tooth extraction - which he pulled anyway. ) I am now 53, Yesterday I was eating a piece of pizza and shattered two molars ( 13 and 14 ). I called a dentist in town that had high praises from people that I know that go to him. He had me in the office within 20 minutes. Did a temporary fill ( Will be having 2 root canals done tomorrow. ) But today, I was in the office for debridement ( teeth cleaning above the gum line and next month I will be going again to do the areas under the gum line - thankfully under sedation - for two days in a row since they can only do half of the face at a time. It was also suggested today that I consider having braces placed. Needless to say - poor dental health, partially due to my parents and mostly due to me has placed me in a position of needing excessive and what could have been avoidable dental work. When I was in high school - I wanted to have braces - It was the cool kids and the popular kids that wore braces. ) I was popular - but Darn it - I wanted braces. At that time I wasn't concerned about the benefits. But, alas, mom & pops wouldn't consider it because of the expense. I read on another forum here about how someone elses parents didn't need to feel that they nor their children needed to see a dentist unless there was an emergency in which they chose a dentist out of the yellow pages and went only to solve the immediate problem - only to never return unless there was another emergency situation.
Please, please, please - adjust your own attitue about braces. After reading some of the messages here, I am given hope and inspiration. I am mentally back in high school and am finally going to get the braces that I wanted waaaayyyyyy back then. ( Probably around December - January ) But more importantly - My teeth will be in good health - which in the long run can prevent further health problems. I have been suffering migraine headaches and other pains in the neck, shoulders and back for approximately the last 10 years. While looking up info about braces, I followed to a link about TMJ. I had out of around 50 signs and symptoms 46 of them. I downloaded that article and highlighted all of the symptoms that I was experiencing and showed it to my dentist today. ( Make sure that the dentist can diagnose TMJ - otherwise see an otolaryngologist ) He too feels that I am suffering from TMJ and wil be doing a panoramic x -ray just to make an accurate diagnosis. Thank God!!!! I have suffered daily headaches for the last 10 years, with severe sickening migraines about 2-3 times a month. The TMJ was apparently cause by you guessed it - misaligned teeth / jaw. So, eating that pizza and shattering some teeth was actually a blessing to me. I have no one to assist me financially - and will end up needing to pay approx 11 - 12 thousand dollars before all is said and done. But, for my health - I am more than willing.
Sweetheart - I understand it's a pain in the a$$ now - but, please learn from my story. You are only going to go through this for two or so short years of your life - but you will earn a lifetime of benefits. I have also read posts about older folks like me being embarassed about needing / showing their braces - not me - I will be the one with the biggest . Not because of an old high school fantasy - but because I chose to do something very important for myself.
When you look back on your high school/college and especially your wedding photos - you will be looking at the most beautiful bride in the world - YOU. Good Luck and please hang in there. Angelflutter

[delilah]

You go!!!!

Here's to your dental and overall health benefits you'll receive from taking care of you.

Best,
Del

[Soph!e]

Aww cheer up babe! Things will definitely get better!

I got mine last tuesday, so its been about a week and a half now. I found it hard to eat at first, but gradually it does get better! Right now I'm eating pretty much similar stuff to like I did before, and you know the best part? My teeth are already looking better!

And when its finally over with, just think how GORGEOUS your teeth will be! They are going to last for the rest of your life!

Good luck at school, trust me you'll be fine. I went back today, and definitely did not look forward to what people would say. Don't worry, my lips stuck out at first too - but no-one will notice apart from you, I swear! People that actually notice it, might say something, but its always kind or interested! One of my friends tells me they're "cute" which was a definite boost, and many seem really interested to know more about it.

It was strange though, my only friend who has had braces was the one who found it awkward. She said to me "Ugh, you feel like never smiling again don't you?" I know she was unconfident with hers and that made it worse for her. IM GONNA SMILE and I know that people just wont care - they're happy for me! Be happy too, trust me, things can only get better!

Good luck, we're in this together me and you!

[Lola]

When I got braces I went home, trued to eat something, and cried my heart out when I couldn't! I'm 18months in now and it flies by: you get so used to them, and looking at yourself in them. At first I felt so ugly, but now Im used to looking at me with braces I reckon when they're off I'll think I'm gorgeous!

[ANGELFLUTTER]

You go!!!!

Here's to your dental and overall health benefits you'll receive from taking care of you.

Best,
Del

A big thank to you Del !!!! You keep smilin as well.