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!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Braces in a week!
No more turning! No more turning! I can finally stop turning my RPE!
I went into my appointment today expecting to be fitted for another RPE. Currently, the underbites on both my right and left sides are gone BUT the left side is at a cross bite right now. I beyond maxed out my RPE because it's currently measured at 11.5mm! Everyone was so surprised that the screw didn't fall apart since 10mm is usually considered the maximum. However, when my orthodontist checked my progress he said that I could stop turning. The braces will be able to finish the job by pushing the teeth on the left side out, which would fix the cross bite. Hence, I won't be turning my RPE anymore and will be getting my top braces on next week! After more than 5 months, this is really BIG news.
I really want to show you guys pictures of my teeth right now but I don't have my camera on me at the moment and won't have it for another week or so. Don't worry though I promise I will post tons of pictures when I get it back.
I went into my appointment today expecting to be fitted for another RPE. Currently, the underbites on both my right and left sides are gone BUT the left side is at a cross bite right now. I beyond maxed out my RPE because it's currently measured at 11.5mm! Everyone was so surprised that the screw didn't fall apart since 10mm is usually considered the maximum. However, when my orthodontist checked my progress he said that I could stop turning. The braces will be able to finish the job by pushing the teeth on the left side out, which would fix the cross bite. Hence, I won't be turning my RPE anymore and will be getting my top braces on next week! After more than 5 months, this is really BIG news.
I really want to show you guys pictures of my teeth right now but I don't have my camera on me at the moment and won't have it for another week or so. Don't worry though I promise I will post tons of pictures when I get it back.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
"But your teeth aren't even bad..."
A: "Just a heads up, if I sound like I have a speech impairment it's because I'm wearing an expander"
B: "An expander??"
A: "Yeah, a jaw expander."
B: "A what?"
A: "Oh... it's because I'm getting braces soon"
B: "What?!?! But your teeth aren't even bad..."
Have anyone experienced a similar conversation like this? I have... a few times now. At first, I thought people were just being nice by saying that my teeth didn't look that bad. However, the volume of these responses have been increasing as of late. It must be noted here that there are have also been many who don't say this and happily agree that braces is the way to go. However, as time goes on and I ponder about it more, I finally came up with a few reasons why people might have responded in this manner:
1. My severely rotated canines are very noticeable but my lower lip covers them when I smile. Hence, no one notices them.
2. I have lived with these teeth for 22 years and have seen them everyday. Hence, not everyone sees them (and notices how bad they are) everyday.
3. No one (that I know of) is obsessive with teeth as I am. Since starting treatment I've started to notice how bad (and good) some people's teeth are. Hence, no one obsesses and notices my teeth like I do.
4. People are actually just being nice because there aren't many responses one can say after someone tells you that they're getting braces. I've gotten a few "nice..." or "braces are expensive right?" responses though. Hence, there are too much nice people.
5. My teeth aren't that bad. Although I think they are. Hence, my negativity is the problem.
Whatever the reason, I have to admit that it nice to hear from people that they previously didn't think that my teeth were THAT bad looking. Cheers to those individuals!
B: "An expander??"
A: "Yeah, a jaw expander."
B: "A what?"
A: "Oh... it's because I'm getting braces soon"
B: "What?!?! But your teeth aren't even bad..."
Have anyone experienced a similar conversation like this? I have... a few times now. At first, I thought people were just being nice by saying that my teeth didn't look that bad. However, the volume of these responses have been increasing as of late. It must be noted here that there are have also been many who don't say this and happily agree that braces is the way to go. However, as time goes on and I ponder about it more, I finally came up with a few reasons why people might have responded in this manner:
1. My severely rotated canines are very noticeable but my lower lip covers them when I smile. Hence, no one notices them.
2. I have lived with these teeth for 22 years and have seen them everyday. Hence, not everyone sees them (and notices how bad they are) everyday.
3. No one (that I know of) is obsessive with teeth as I am. Since starting treatment I've started to notice how bad (and good) some people's teeth are. Hence, no one obsesses and notices my teeth like I do.
4. People are actually just being nice because there aren't many responses one can say after someone tells you that they're getting braces. I've gotten a few "nice..." or "braces are expensive right?" responses though. Hence, there are too much nice people.
5. My teeth aren't that bad. Although I think they are. Hence, my negativity is the problem.
Whatever the reason, I have to admit that it nice to hear from people that they previously didn't think that my teeth were THAT bad looking. Cheers to those individuals!
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