Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Officially a brace face!
I finally got my top braces on a few days ago (see below). It's currently metal braces but I'm only wearing it for about a month. I did not get to inquire the assistant but I think I will be getting ceramic braces in the upcoming months. Also note from the first picture how much my teeth have moved. I'm still very shocked and happy how much they have moved outwards! Goodbye underbite!
So how are they? The first three days they really made my teeth ache. I forgot to take a tylenol (or any other painkiller) 30 minutes before my appointment, which I read online helps with the initial pain. I plan to do so for my next appointment. The pain was worst than when I had spacers. However, it got better.
During those three days, I stuck with soft foods such as soup and ice cream. I was told to stay away from hard and sticky food. After that, I ate a lot of stuff I usually eat: sushi, pizza (no crust though) chicken wings, fruits, fish, etc. You can eat pretty much a lot of foods but you have to be mindful to cut them into small pieces. For one, it's requires less chewing (which can hurt). And two, less of the food will get stick in the brackets.
The worst thing about braces so far is having to clean it after eating. My routine is usually rinsing my mouth with water a few times to clean out any big chucks of food. Then I brush my teeth for a few minutes (there's a timer on the automatic toothbrush). Then I rinse a few more time and use a small brush with a bristle to get any remaining food stick on the brackets. After that I floss, which is a pain in the butt. The following picture are the supplies I was given to take care of my braces. It includes: waxes, automatic brush, floss, travel toothbrush, etc.
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| Pre-braces (5 months with RPE) |
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| Day 6 |
So how are they? The first three days they really made my teeth ache. I forgot to take a tylenol (or any other painkiller) 30 minutes before my appointment, which I read online helps with the initial pain. I plan to do so for my next appointment. The pain was worst than when I had spacers. However, it got better.
During those three days, I stuck with soft foods such as soup and ice cream. I was told to stay away from hard and sticky food. After that, I ate a lot of stuff I usually eat: sushi, pizza (no crust though) chicken wings, fruits, fish, etc. You can eat pretty much a lot of foods but you have to be mindful to cut them into small pieces. For one, it's requires less chewing (which can hurt). And two, less of the food will get stick in the brackets.
The worst thing about braces so far is having to clean it after eating. My routine is usually rinsing my mouth with water a few times to clean out any big chucks of food. Then I brush my teeth for a few minutes (there's a timer on the automatic toothbrush). Then I rinse a few more time and use a small brush with a bristle to get any remaining food stick on the brackets. After that I floss, which is a pain in the butt. The following picture are the supplies I was given to take care of my braces. It includes: waxes, automatic brush, floss, travel toothbrush, etc.
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| Braces kit |
P.S. Just realized how yellow my teeth look in the previous photos I've uploaded. Note to self: take pictures during the day with natural lighting and not at night with artificial lighting!
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