dianaschnuth

My second adjustment! Today, we added chains to the bottom teeth.

And, yes, I opted to go all St. Patrick’s Day with my “colors.” I wasn’t sure what I’d think of them, but I figured I should have fun with them at least once. So far, after six or seven hours, I’m not sick of them yet, so that’s a good thing.

I think the orthodontist’s assistant was a little weirded out when I told her that I’d been looking forward to getting my chains put on. After I explained that I’d done some research and found an online community of adults with braces, she did note that adult patients tend to be more interested in the mechanics of the braces: how the teeth move into place, how the wires and chains and coils do their thing, all that good stuff.

A couple of my friends and co-workers have already noticed that my top teeth are starting to straighten out. I think it’s because I show my top teeth when I smile, but my bottom ones stay hidden. My bottom teeth have actually moved pretty well themselves.

Yeah, they’re still kind of gnarly. But! There’s a lot more space in front of that middle tooth now, and the spots from the extractions are visibly smaller. There used to be a couple that were overlapped and turned funny, too, but now they’re pretty much in a line (except that one, of course).

See the coil in front of that middle tooth? That’s a stronger coil than they put on last time — you can actually see it bowing outward. They also changed my bottom wire from a 14 (I think) to an 18, which means it’s stronger and will more aggressively pull my teeth into alignment. The chains on the sides will pull that gap closed on either side, too, giving that little tooth even more room to join its friends in the front row. Maybe I’ll get to have a bracket put on that one next time…

During today’s wire and coil change, one of my bottom brackets popped off! The assistant said she hadn’t had a bracket pop off in years. That added a bit of a wait to my otherwise no-nonsense adjustment — my half-hour stretched out to 45 minutes or so.

So, there was a lot of attention paid to my bottom teeth, but not so much to the top. No wire change there, just colors. Sounds like Dr. N. is focusing on the bottom teeth right now, since there’s more remediation still to happen with that one overlapped tooth, and going slow and steady with the top teeth. The assistant noticed that my one top tooth still hasn’t rotated into place yet, and it seems that we’re going to let it very slowly do its thing. The orthodontist might be more assertive with that later; he hasn’t really given me any future details about what’s happening when. (Assumedly because he won’t be sure until he sees how my teeth move from one visit to the next.)

The assistant who worked with me today warned me that my mouth will be sore for the next day or two. So far, it’s no more sore than usual, but that might change. Every time my teeth hurt, I remind myself that this is what I signed up for, and that the end result will be worth it.

And I’m not just blowing smoke. I’m genuinely still excited about having braces.

My first adjustment!

I had my “fours” (aka my first premolars) extracted on Day 22 to make room for the rest of my teeth, and I had intended to blog about it… but I didn’t. So, the Reader’s Digest version of that experience: my entire mouth was numb for about five hours. I had to pulverize my Motrin and shoot it with a glass of water, because I couldn’t really swallow. The bleeding stopped on the second day, and the holes closed up within a few days. The pain wasn’t really so bad; I only took Vicodin to sleep, and only for the first two nights.

The photo above is to show off my new hardware: full archwires, bumpers, and a coil. The bumpers (the gray rubber bars) are to keep the long stretches of wire from irritating the inside of my cheek until that big gap closes up — or until I get chains put on, instead. The coil is to gently coax those front two teeth apart to make room for the one that’s behind the rest. It’s definitely adding some new pressure.

My mouth is sore, yes, but not as sore as when the braces first went on. I don’t think. Maybe I’m just getting used to it. I’m remembering what it was like when I was a little kid with no front teeth, and I used to bite hot dogs with my molars. Eating is kind of like that right now.

Oddly enough, I’ve been showing off my new tooth gaps to anyone who will listen. You’d think I’d be self-conscious about it; instead, I feel like I’m showing off a new upgrade or something. “Look how awesome my mouth will be in 2+ years, compared to now! w00t!” I think it’s partially because I’ve browsed the forums and gallery at Archwired.com and have realized that other people started with waaaay worse teeth than I did.

I get my routine cleaning in a couple of weeks, and I’m curious about how different it will be with all this hardware in my mouth. I’m trying to keep everything clean, but I know I could be more vigilant. Flossing daily and all that, despite how tedious the process is now. (I bought myself a water flosser, but I have yet to figure out how to use it without making a giant mess of water on the vanity and making my gums bleed to boot.)

Even with the discomfort in my mouth, I’m liking having braces so far. It feels like I’m doing something for me, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Something that will totally be worth it in the end.

Today was kind of a big day: I scheduled my extractions. After December 6th, there’s no turning back.

My orthodontist, Dr. N., told me during my initial consultation that I’d need to have four teeth removed. After doing some research online, it seems that these teeth (the first bicuspids, or “fours,” as the orthodontic staff call them) are fairly common extractions for adult braces.

Of course, after getting my wisdom teeth extracted a couple years back, I was initially fearing the worst: twice as much pain with getting four teeth extracted as for two. I took some time during a break in my work today to Google “tooth extraction braces” and discovered a site that’s going to be a go-to resource for me in months to come: Archwired.com. Specifically, Archwired’s guide on Getting Teeth Extracted for Braces. If my experience is like other adults’, this should be no big thing — not nearly as bad as getting my one over-erupted and one impacted wisdom tooth removed.

So, I have my extraction scheduled for Thursday, December 6, 2012. I’m leaning on my faith in Dr. N’s knowledge and experience, since he won’t have seen me since the braces went on, and so won’t have been able to determine how I’m responding to treatment so far. He’s just done this enough that he knows.

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