Underbite & crossbite correct w/Damon, IPR, Acceledent etc

[newbite]

Hi all! Oh god I can't believe I'm finally "officially" posting on here about this-- it makes it seem so definite! *silent scream*

Well, I am a 32 year old woman who has never had braces and in the past few years have developed jaw pain (and clicking at times), gum recession, and the beginnings of tooth destruction from grinding/clenching and a bad bite. Besides a bad bite my teeth are also very crooked and the bottom are crowded. I've wanted braces for years but it hasn't been an option financially until now.

The ortho diagnosed me with a Class III bite, crossbite on several teeth, and fairly severe crowding. My teeth are kind of weird because even though I am class III my top front teeth rest in front of my bottom teeth because the top flare out and the bottom are pushed in. I never realized how bottom teeth are supposed to almost lay like they're reclining in your jaw -- I was looking at the model mouth in the ortho office and comparing it to my molds from my night guard. Scary!

I have a 3mm difference btw my molars (uppers are 3mm in back of lowers), which they told me is a significant movement but possible with braces. My ortho flat out told me that surgery would just be cosmetic (and wrote it in my chart!) and I don't think my insurance would cover it anyway. I would love to have my upper jaw moved forward, but I'll be happy with a better bite and just not looking worse.

The ortho gave me a few options in case elastics kill my TMJ-- IPR (which he might do anyway); yanking a bottom front tooth and pulling back my bottom teeth (wouldn't have a good midline then, not that i do now); or TADS. He also mentioned something about purposefully causing inflammation by basically stabbing the jawbone multiple times with a TAD screw to damage it and promote movement. I can't remember what he called it but I'm pretty sure I'm not interested!

Sentence-- 24-26 months BUT only 12-16 with Acceledent! I chose to get the Acceledent because I can see how it would help with the pain, and if it reduces my time even a few months it will be worth it!

I've scheduled to have my braces put on August 14. On Thursday they took my x-rays and did a digital scan of my teeth (instead of taking impressions, which was an interesting and long process!). Apparently my x-rays didn't show anything bad/surprising since no one said anything (about my skeletal development, bone density, etc).

The bottom braces will be metal Damon, top will be half metal half clear (front 6 are clear). I debated on whether to get all metal, but decided that the potential risks of the clear (breakage, staining, harder to remove at end of treatment, etc) were worth the possibility of having less noticeable braces.

I'm REALLY nervous to have them put on and to be committed to them for up to 2+ years! I hope the Acceledent really makes a difference in reducing my time in braces. I'm worried about it hurting when they put the brackets on (my teeth are sensitive, especially to blowing air) but that is such a small part of the treatment I shouldn't worry about it. I feel I can handle "regular" pain (abrasions, etc) much better than "nerve" pain, though (like from air, cold, fillings etc).

They do indirect bonding (which is why it's taking so long for me to get my braces, plus they're on vacation for a week), so I'm hoping it will be quick and not too painful. I started using a Rx sensitive toothpaste, hopefully that will help. I used to be really tough and even routinely had fillings done with no novicaine. No more! Probably thanks to my grinding/clenching.

I'm going to buy some braces care stuff (Waterpik is #1 on my list!) and try not to think about what it's going to be like starting my 2nd year of graduate school and teaching for the first time with braces. Eek. Not thinking about it!

[Klaudia96]

Don't be nervous! The braces only make you prettier If you get the Damon system on you shouldn't feel the pain at all Wish you luck

[newbite]

Thanks Klaudia! I hope you're right!

[newbite]

Oh no, 17 days until braces!! ...I keep feeling my teeth and even though they are horribly crooked and being ruined by my bite I know I'm going to dearly miss having "naked" teeth! Really weird to think that in just over two weeks my life is going to be substantially different, at least for a few weeks (hopefully I adjust quickly!). I'm also starting school again and teaching for the first time.... I hope I didn't make a terrible decision!

[pjade1]

That's pretty cool your ortho does the indirect bonding and acceledent. It sounds like you won't be spending as much time in the chair that I did. I would have opted for acceledent if my ortho was a provider too. I will end up being in braces for over 2 years. It sounds like you will be out earlier, hopefully.

The 17 days will come quicker than you think. When you are waiting, it seems like a looong time! I thought the same thing and now I have them on. I am glad I made the decision but at the same time, I do miss my naked teeth too. It is surely a pain to do all that cleaning every time you eat. That waterpik is your best investment and having a portable one is a must too.

I don't have Damon's but I do have self-ligating Innovations and they do not hurt. I also got the same thing done, 6 clears and the rest metal. I will try to get pictures posted tonight. I think I finally got it figured out. I didn't see the attachment files until now.

[newbite]

Hi Pjade! I was reading your posts in your thread and am amazed that you are able to eat normal food so quickly! I've been expecting to live on soft food for months, but maybe it won't be that bad? The good thing about soft food, though, is that it's probably easier to clean from the braces!

Yeah, I'm really glad about the indirect bonding. I didn't know what it was at first but when I looked it up I realized I much prefer it over direct bonding, if only so I don't have to spend as much time in the chair trying not to gag or jump out of my skin from the blowing air on my teeth! He didn't give me a choice, though. If he had given me a choice I may have chosen direct bonding just so I could get them on sooner. Oh well, what's a few weeks in the overall scheme of braces.

I was reading about Acceledent and apparently some people buy them second-hand online if their Ortho doesn't have them? I don't know if that's "legal", per se, I don't know if Acceledent is technically a prescription or whatever, but it might be worth looking into if you're interested. If it really cuts off an entire YEAR that would be incredible. Even six months would be worth it, in my opinion. And if it helps with the pain (assuming you develop any, I assume I will) then that also makes it worth it!

16 days!! ahhh!!

[newbite]

I'm hanging out with my umbrella ocean (seriously I can't write the word c o c k a t o o because of the filter?) and realized that she's probably going to be very upset about my braces! She notices any little change and has a special fascination with looking at my mouth, so she'll definitely notice. I hope it's not too upsetting for her. I've been spending the past month trying to accustom her to the curtains I made for the kitchen and it's very slow going. I might have to really keep my mouth closed around her to not freak her out. Hah!

[pjade1]

It was nice that I could eat normal food right away after I got the braces but then about day 5, they started hurting. Maybe things were moving then? I don't know. Now my teeth are hurting a bit. They don't hurt at all when I am not eating though so that's a good thing and I don't really have to use the wax they gave me. I guess that is good too.

I see you get your braces soon. The worst part to me is all that cleaning you have to do. I am getting used to it put it's time consuming. Yes, it will all be worth it in the end. Take pictures so you can see your progress. I will try to get my pictures posted this weekend from my day one bracing.

[newbite]

Today is the day! I had to get up super early to make the two hour drive and get there at 930. I'm apprehensive... About everything! .... I just have to trust that he is a good ortho. Hoping my gums don't recede too much, or that my already stressed TMJ/molars don't get injured further... Also hoping my underbite is actually fixed and that it doesn't make me look worse. Who knows, maybe Acceledent is a dream machine and will dramatically assist with my "bone remodeling". Off I go!

[pjade1]

Good luck! I hope all goes well. Keep us posted.

[newbite]

All done and I am so happy!!!!! The woman who put my braces on was awesome and really careful so it didn't hurt at all. She used warm air and water and did lots of suction-- it was great. I have a ton of stuff to do here before I go home but will post more tonight!

So happy!!!! And I don't mind at all how they look, it's just a bit weird to talk right now.

[newbite]

Well that wasn't a great first night in braces! I started to feel pressure when she first put the wires in but at first it felt like a good "I'm helping myself" kind of pressure. As the day progressed my bottom front teeth started to hurt, and the bottom right side hurts to chew on (which is weird since it's my left bottom molar I'm worried about having a fracture and I normally avoid chewing on the left side but now I can't avoid it!). I also pretty quickly started to get abrasions inside my lower lip-- maybe from talking more than I normally do since I made some phone calls to share my braces excitement. I put wax on all my bottom front teeth last night and so far it's not worse, but the day is still young.

I have been very worried about not being able to wear my nightguard with my braces. I clench my molars and also grind my teeth. Without my nightguard I could crack a tooth and pop off brackets. The ortho tech (not sure of her title?) suggested I get a boil and bite nightguard and just not make a very defined impression in it so it wouldn't hinder tooth movement. I bought one last night and it is a ridiculous piece of junk compared to the one my dentist made for me (yeah, for $500...). I did get it to stay on my top teeth, though, at my third fitting attempt and amazingly I was able to fall asleep with it in. I didn't *stay* asleep but I did get to sleep. My jaw is the one thing that actually doesn't hurt this morning so I think that little piece of junk worked! And it hurts to bite down so I may have just self-corrected in my sleep.

As for my actual braces, I took pictures and will post them later. They look worse in the pictures than in the mirror, but so did pictures of my teeth. I wonder why that is. In person I think the braces look nice. I have all metal damons except the top front 6 are the clear plastic Damons. I have brackets on all my teeth but the wires aren't attached yet to my last molars on top or bottom. I don't have any molar build ups or bite turbos!! I was really surprised. She said I would wear through the buildups in a few days, anyway, and it would do more harm than good to my bite. She did put smoke colored bumpers on my front bottom teeth since my top teeth touch the brackets when I bite down. I don't have any molar bands, either, but I might need one on my "big filling tooth" since the bracket is 1/2 on filling and may pop off.

I have the thinnest, teensiest wires on top and bottom. It's pretty amazing that something so fragile looking is already causing me pain! My next appt is on my birthday in the middle of September. She said they'll probably change the wires out then. I'm going back so soon since I'm using Acceledent and she expects a lot of movement in a short amount of time. She said my teeth will likely be straight in six months!! And the rest of the time will be for "finishing". Apparently my bite is better than the ortho originally thought. My treatment plan is so straightforward starting with what I have now, possibly doing IPR, and "elastics as needed". What! I thought elastics were a definite and that TADS and/or bottom tooth extraction were a maybe. Wow. What a gift if this turns out much simpler than I thought.

I used the Acceledent twice yesterday. I'm supposed to use it 20min a day, and I can use it for 9.5min any time I want. She told me that apparently there's a limit to how many full 20min uses you can get out of it (equal to about a year and a half of daily use). But that less than 10min uses are unlimited. Weird, but fine. Acceledent is gross and weird to use! Maybe it's just me but I make so much saliva while I'm using it it's really disgusting. I have to remember to take it out when I'm in a place where I can spit. I used it in my car the first time--not a good choice. It's also hard to get used to using correctly at first. If you bite too hard you stop the vibrations and if you bite too soft you don't feel them, either. It was easier the second time I used it and will probably continue to get easier. I don't know if it's made a difference to the pain/movement already but the vibrations do feel good! Too bad the mouthpiece is so awkward and spit-inducing.

She told me to wait 3 days before eating tougher foods, to let the bracket glue cure. Ive never heard of that before, was anyone else told that? She also said I can eat pretty much anything I want (except the obvious very sticky/hard foods), and I was surprised. She said just not to use my teeth for tearing into food since that's how brackets pop off. I won't be doing much chewing, anyway, with how my teeth feel.

As for eating, it's so gross!! The first thing I had was a banana and I couldn't even taste it, the whole process was so weird and uncomfortable. I must use my cheeks to hold food while I eat or something because everything I eat wants to get smushed against my brackets. I realized that swishing with water while eating is helpful when done in the privacy if your own home. Not sure if I'll be eating in public anytime soon.

If nothing else, having braces is going to make me stop mindlessly eating between meals and at night. It's too gross, painful, and doesn't even taste good since I can't chew properly so there's no point. I'm hoping this helps me lose 20more pounds to get to my healthy goal weight!

Well, I should probably get out of bed now. Still really tired but we're having work done on our basement and they were here bright and early so no chance of going back to sleep. Going to take care of the animals and attempt to eat breakfast and then attempt to floss again...

[TheProfessor]

Welcome to the club! Eating and the necessary cleaning afterwards definitely get easier in the first few weeks! I think braces are a great weight-loss aid- I've cut out most of my snacking and I also feel motivated to exercise more since I want an in-shape body to go with my new smile

[pjade1]

I can relate to your story. I am just over 3 weeks in now and I can tell you the cleaning does get easier. I still can't stand to eat hard things because it takes so long to chew with my bite being off and certain things get stuck easier in the braces than others. My teeth didn't hurt at all until 5 days in and then they hurt for almost a week. They are still sensitive though but don't hurt. I also got those gray bumpers installed on my brackets. I suppose that is much better than those bite turbos. You are lucky you didn't get molar bands. I have 4 on top and 2 on the bottom so far. I will get the last 2 on the bottom next month at my first adjustment and those darn spacers a week before that.

I was told I could eat anything I wanted right away and didn't have to wait for the glue to set because it was set with the light that they used to cure it. Of course, the normal sticky and hard things were out as always. That was one question I asked about so I knew I could eat what I wanted. I had no problems with the brackets coming off.

The pain gets better but the chewing part is still hard and dealing with all the food getting stuck is just a pain so you may choose not to eat something because of it.

[newbite]

You are lucky you didn't get molar bands. I have 4 on top and 2 on the bottom so far. I will get the last 2 on the bottom next month at my first adjustment and those darn spacers a week before that.

4 molar bands!! Ack!!

I was told I could eat anything I wanted right away and didn't have to wait for the glue to set because it was set with the light that they used to cure it. Of course, the normal sticky and hard things were out as always. That was one question I asked about so I knew I could eat what I wanted. I had no problems with the brackets coming off.

The pain gets better but the chewing part is still hard and dealing with all the food getting stuck is just a pain so you may choose not to eat something because of it.

That's interesting that they didn't say your glue had to set. They used a light to set my brackets, too, but she still said I had to wait 3 days. Well, it didn't matter anyway because I still can hardly chew! Do you still have pain chewing or is it just difficult because of tooth movement/brackets/positioning, etc.?