New here, Newly Braced and 1st post!

[LisaK]

I new here and havent gotten to read everything. Im glad I found a place that I can talk and learn about what others are going through. My whole life Ive been afraid of the dentist. I took care of my teeth as best that I could, but I always had a small mouth with lots of teeth. With those lots of teeth, Ive had 4 removed to make room for my teeth to move. I just recently had two oral surgeries about a month ago to start my journey in life with braces. I got my braces on last Tue during the worst snow storm in Upstate NY. Ive been waiting all my life for this day to come and I wouldnt let the storm Stella get in my way!..lol. My Dr's findings were Class II malocclusion, Excessive overbite, Maxillary/Mandibular crowding/irregularity and Anterior crossbite. You can say.... Yes, Im a hot mess! Im 38yrs old and always thought this was going to be my life. The life where I was never going to be able to show my teeth in pictures and be able to smile happily. Ive always covered it up. The person that could never bite down all the way when biting into food and basically rip the rest with my mouth and hands. The one that would have pain in my jaw from TMJ here and there. I just thought that was always going to be my way of life. People that know me, know Im down to earth and would do anything for anyone. I treat everyone equal no matter what their faults might be also. So my husband finally got me to go to the dentist and start my journey. Ive had my braces on for 1 week and 1 day. I can already see a little difference in my teeth. I go back in 4 weeks. The first few days felt like pure torture! Maybe Im a baby, but from everyone that Ive talked to that has had braces, said it wasnt so bad. I actually dont know anyone or have seen anyone that has teeth as crooked as mine. Ive been so afraid to open up to people. Including friends! I never liked to talk about my teeth because I thought it would draw attention to people looking at my teeth. Im trying to adjust to this new life. I cant even bite down to rest my mouth because the brackets are in the way. I was supposed to get a bite plate, but when they tried to put it on, it wasnt made properly so they decided for me to try it without. Im hoping I dont bite if off one day..lol..Its bound to happen at some point I think. I just hope closer to my next appointment! Its been really hard to eat. Im so hungry, but every nerve in my mouth is screaming at me when I try. So Ive been trying to eat soft foods. Its gotten a little better over the past couple of days. I feel like Im on a emotional roller coaster! I wonder if anyone else feels this way? It's like its a constant discomfort that I hope will go away in time. Otherwise, this girl might call it quits! I know my husband and friends wont let me do that. I know it will be worth it in the end. Sometimes, I think its going to be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I couldnt bite down fully when I didnt have braces and now I cant bite down even more with the braces because otherwise Ill bite them off. I feel at a loss some days. Its not that I could eat great before them, but it was much easier and less painful prior. I just have to cut up food into small pieces and swallow and not even attempt to chew. It doesnt work like that. Once two teeth move forward and back Ill be able to bite down as normal. I dont see that happening for a long time. I would assume months? Im here to learn, share my story, hear about others stories and hopefully give advise to others at some point when I get more acquainted with this site. I hope to share more about my journey soon.

[Prometheus]

Welcome Lisa! The pain and discomfort will go away, it took me about two weeks to get past the initial shock, but the pain does go away, honestly. I had a bad posterior crossbite that I ignored my whole life, even though I regularly broke teeth and fillings because of it. I eventually developed TMJD that was so painful I had to get braces to fix my bite, at 58 years old... The annoyance of having braces has been worth it, the TMJD pain has subsided, and watching the progress is interesting. Good luck to you on your journey.

[LisaK]

You're giving me hope! I appreciate it. Thank you!

[TheProfessor]

You should be very proud of yourself! My story was very similar to yours. I finally worked up the courage to get braces when I was 39, wore them for just over 2 years, and I'll celebrate 1 year of straight teeth next month. Even though I was really scared to get braces, it turned out to be a lot less of a big deal than I imagined it would be and I'm so happy I did it!!! The new braces pain is temporary and you will be able to eat like an "almost normal" person soon. And, the worse your teeth look in the beginning, the more dramatic and exciting the changes will be

Good luck with your braces journey!
--Prof

[LisaK]

Im so glad I joined this group. Everyone is making me feel so much more hopeful. Im glad I have a place to vent and share and hear everyone elses journey. I dont know many people my age(38) with braces right now...lol.. I know in the long run, it will be worth it. Im just in the first few weeks slump I suppose. Im actually feeling pretty good this morning. Except that my inner lip is raw from on bracket rubbing against my lip. I think Wax will be my best friend today! I noticed while eating that my teeth dont feel as annoyed with me. Solid food might actually be in my future!. I cant wait! Thanks for the encouragement!

[LisaK]

If anyone is out there reading this. Do your teeth always have this wiggly feeling to them and will the nerves ever not be sore when you try and eat something thats a little more solid then just mush all the time?

[ElizabethMae]

I've had so many years of avoiding the dentist and then ignoring the recommendation of braces when I did go every few years until December when I was told I'd been grinding my teeth enough to cause damage. A month later I'm in an Ortho chair for a consult.
I'm sure I'll be happy about it eventually, though I'm currently on day 4 and I'm pretty sure I'd give up anything to be able to chew real food.

[LisaK]

Theres a gap between the upper teeth and lowers until some teeth move to where they need to go. I would to eat more solid food, but my nerves are still a little sore, but like 95% better then they were. Im just over two weeks now with having them on...lol I know it will be worth it in the end

[atrixa]

If anyone is out there reading this. Do your teeth always have this wiggly feeling to them and will the nerves ever not be sore when you try and eat something thats a little more solid then just mush all the time?

YES! Mine feel a bit sort of... 'clicky'?

[bretthov]

Welcome to the forum - hope you make it through the next few weeks and are getting acclimated to the braces. My wife has them now and her first two weeks were pretty awful, but then the pain subsided and other than elastics not being fun, she has adapted well. She had that wiggly feeling in her teeth for a while, mainly at the beginning. As soon as she gets hers off in two months, I start and and I'm pretty nervous as most likely have to have tooth pulled and wear a forsus appliance for a bit during my expected 16 -18 months.

[LisaK]

Well thank you for the warm welcome! Yes its been a tough few weeks. Ive actually had my braces 3 weeks today as a matter of fact...lol. The discomfort had mostly gone away now. I only really feel it when I eat. The pressure on my teeth is what bothers me. Im sure in time that will get better. My mouth hates me with these brackets though. They rub up on the inside of my mouth. Some days it gets super sore. Thank goodness for wax. Good luck with your journey! Stay in touch would love to hear yours.

[Steph30]

Well thank you for the warm welcome! Yes its been a tough few weeks. Ive actually had my braces 3 weeks today as a matter of fact...lol. The discomfort had mostly gone away now. I only really feel it when I eat. The pressure on my teeth is what bothers me. Im sure in time that will get better. My mouth hates me with these brackets though. They rub up on the inside of my mouth. Some days it gets super sore. Thank goodness for wax. Good luck with your journey! Stay in touch would love to hear yours.

Hi Lisa, just wanted to say your beginning story is similar to mine! I'm surprised they didn't try to refit a new bite plate though? I Have one.. it really helps at night and has improved my jaw soreness and headaches already!... It is awful to try and wear it throughout the day though, and extremely hard to talk with so I tend to cheat... Has your bite changed much? Are you able to eat much? - My teeth also get completely on edge any time I eat! Like you said, feels like every nerve is reacting.. its really aggravating.

[Juliebrynn1]

Lisa K. I just got my braces about 4 days ago. i cry day in and day out. i would say im depressed. how did u manage and were u as upset as i am? I keep telling myself i should have never got braces to begin with. i have a small diamond shape space on my two front teeth, and a couple teeth crowded on the bottom. I ended up getting 6 brackets on top, and 6 on bottom, so not the entire mouth. the orthodontist claims it will only take 4 months to correct this stuff. i am seriously upset over all of this. I am 43 years old, never had braces, and feel like I'm getting depressed. I had small little mouth sores in the begining, so i was trying to clean them with hydrogen peroxide. They got worse. They think i burned my mouth. The pain/sores are on my inner upper lip and bottom lower lip, on the inside of my mouth. I am seriously thinking about telling the doc to take out the braces. The only reason i got them was because of the time span i would have to wear them and the fact that our insurance covered some, so we would only have to pay about 825.00. Now I'm thinking that while i was chasing the dream of "Perfect teeth", I have created a mess emotionally. And, they keep telling me to not put wax on brackets, when my mouth is getting raw from the peroxide burn. I'm a mess. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Juliebrynn1]

Also, how does everyone withstand the pain long enough to not wear wax???? Like I said before, I was told to not wear it so my teeth can develop callouses. I haven't eaten in about 3 days. My actual teeth dont hurt, just the inside of my mouth from the braces hitting it. Im so sorry with my endless questions, but I was so happy to find a forum like this to discuss having braces as an adult, but now I am having a hard time going back to look at the responses to my posts. I'm going to keep this page up, so i don;t loose it, like i have the other ones. Please help me understand how i can go to my old posts and read peoples responses. Thank you guys so much for listening to me. I can't even begin to explain how depressed I am.

[SinkFullOfDinner]

LisaK - Sorry to step on your thread, but it sounds like JulieB is drowning and needs a life preserver thrown her way.

JulieB - For goodness sake, use the wax! It's there for a reason. I challenge you to find even 1 out of 10 people on the board who viewed wax as anything but a godsend. Really. If it's a friend telling you not to use wax, they don't know what they're talking about and you should show them the palm of your hand. If it's your ortho or their assistant saying it, this is the one and only time that I will be so bold as to say they're full of shizzle.

Trust me, your cheek and lips will adjust even with the wax, and will likely do so faster if you're not constantly tearing them up. The first week sucks anyway; no need to make it that much worse by unnecessarily withholding aid. A bit o' wax will improve your mood immensely. And don't skimp on it. Use as much as you need. If you need additional help, poster djspeece likes to recommend an alcohol chaser. He is wise (like Yoda, though not quite as old and he puts his words in the right order - usually). Follow his advice.

LisaK - I return your thread to it's regularly scheduled programming.