Braces Are On! Only One Problem...

On Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2012, my braces went on! I am officially a metal mouth.

The bonding process took about an hour and a half. Because I had taken some Advil nearly two hours before my appointment, the process was virtually painfree. As the orthodontist's assistant placed each bracket on my teeth, I kept praying that she'd put them on straight. Luckily, the orthodontist checked her work and made any necessary adjustments before the brackets were bonded. They used a 16-gauge wire. There was some struggle in getting the wire into the brackets on teeth that were tucked behind others, but eventually, everything went in and on just fine!

The expander will take some getting used to. I'm getting food caught between the horizontal bar of the expander and the roof of my mouth, but I've also learned how to use the expander to break up my food without having to use my teeth as they are still very sensitive. The expander is also affecting my speech, although not significantly. I have a slight, almost indiscernable lisp. I'm sure that will go away with time.

My lips are having the roughest time of it--I have a major canker sore developing on the left side of my mouth. Putting dental wax over the offending brackets has helped tremendously.

My colleagues have been very supportive of my getting braces. Almost everyone wanted to look at them, and all made very positive comments--"They look great;" "I didn't even notice them!"

Immediately after getting my braces on, I joined my fiance for lunch. While he enjoyed his usual sandwich and chips, I stuck with soup. To say that eating is awkard now is an understatement. Navigating food into my mouth, around all this metal is difficult. I'm learning, however, to "slurp" mashed potatoes, pasta, ground hamburger, and even fish fillets! I'm sure eating will get easier, though.

My fiance thinks that I look very cute in braces. I suppose this is a good thing, although I do think he's a bit biased in his opinion. I'll take any compliment I can get though!

My biggest complaint is that cleaning my teeth after every meal is getting to be rather monotonous. My brushing routine has gone from 2 minutes to 6, and flossing takes me about 20 minutes! I am hopeful, however, that even hygiene will get easier (more routine) as the weeks pass.

There has been one setback though...

Shortly after dinner, I noticed that one of my brackets keep falling open. The wire isn't popping out of the bracket, but the bracket isn't staying closed. I've left a message for my orthodontist telling him as much. His office is closed on Fridays, so I sent the message with "urgency." Until I have an opportunity to get the bracket fixed or replaced, I'm putting was over it to keep it closed.

I plan to have my fiance photograph my teeth every week so that we can track the movement of my teeth. I can't say that I have an image in my head about how my teeth will look when my treatment is all said and done; however, I know that it will be worth the wait to find out!

Stay tuned!