Well it’s been a month now and i’m starting to realise it’s here to stay. My speech is better than at the start but i’m still struggling with lots of words and i can hear myself stumble over phrases and have to slow down and repeat them, as even I can’t work out what I said!

Pain wise it’s not bad at all, my cheeks have toughened up a lot and so I only wear the wax when I’m at work or know i’m going to be talking a lot but otherwise I don’t bother.

It’s still the eating thing that gets to me. I like cooking and love eating and trying things but not being able to eat properly and getting everything stuck all over the place just makes me not bother. It’s turned something I used to do for a hobby and being social to something that’s just a big chore and makes me very unimaginative about shopping or cooking. The most annoying thing is that nothing will change for a while, and in June I will have the main braces put on as well as what I already have and I think things will get worse.

Cosmetically none of it bothers me, I think i’m too old to worry about people noticing. Three quarters of the population have had braces at some time and so even if they do notice they just remember their time and come out with a story or two!

So I have another 23 months to go. I know it will get worse before it gets better but over the next few months I have been told that my mouth will change shape dramatically so i’m actually mildly excited about that. I’ll keep taking photos each week and see the progression but so far nothing has changed, which is actually frustrating.

 

 

I had been reading some of the forums and generally nerding it up researching ‘equipment’ for those with braces and the waterpik water flosser kept coming up as the Best Idea Ever.  Eating is still my biggest chore, I still can’t bite down properly and of course food gets everywhere and I spend nearly as long cleaning all the extra out of my teeth and wires as I do actually having the meal. So I thought i’d jump on the bandwagon and get the waterpik thing. In Australia you can only get these from the Chemist Warehouse either direct or online for $112, so off I trotted to the store. $180 later ( who goes to the chemist warehouse and doesn’t buy a bunch of other stuff?) and I tried it out when i got home.

Observations?

Firstly; it’s not as big as i thought it was going to be. I had read posts from folks who complained about how much space it took up so I was expecting something larger but it’s actually not too cumbersome. The electrical chord is the worst part as of course you have to have it near a power point and that will restrict where you can use it, and chords dangling around the bathroom are both ugly and dangerous so that’s something to think about.

Secondly; water does go everywhere!! It actually spits the water out by default and you have to press the button to stop it, which kinda seems slightly counter- intuitive. Once you get used to it it’s fine but when learning you end up spraying water all over yourself and the bathroom so don’t be trying to share the sink space with anyone else for a while!

But it does really work, it only takes a few moments to clean all the food out from the appliances and it does actually feel clean again. So i’ve just got used to to ducking out of the room after a meal and having a ‘quick flush’ and then coming back to my seat.

I wonder about getting the portable version too for when I’m not at home…

So I do like it and I do use it, though i’m not sure that I would use it if I didn’t have the braces, as I tend to brush my teeth in the shower and this means that I have to change my routine around a bit. Again, the portable version might be something to think about there, though i’ve heard it’s not as powerful as the counter top one.

I’d be happy to hear anyone else’s opinion regarding gadgets and things

 

 

 

 

 

Well it’s now got to week 3, and thankfully the ulcer has cleared up but I did keep my appointment with the ortho to try and move the wire that was bugging me. When he saw me he said ” oh good, that’s working” and I was confused. One of the things i have noticed about my teeth is that nothing is happening. No movement and no pain. I’ve had the usual pain from the gums and cheeks but most of that has gone away now I’ve toughened up but no pain from my teeth- which is something I remember vividly from my teenage years. So I did ask him if the appliance was in right or was tight enough (wondering  if i was going to regret asking him for more pain!) but he told me that he wasn’t moving teeth anyway. The appliance was designed to move my upper mouth up and forward taking me teeth with it in their current position. Then when that’s changed He will add in the braces to move my teeth around- and then i’d know about pain!

So that was a bit of a fizzer, i was looking forward to seeing movement but apparently I won’t for a while.

I will take photos of my profile from a different angle though, since that will be the first thing to notice, not the teeth.

I’m still struggling with eating though, since my back teeth still don’t meet up I still can’t chew. I’ve progressed from soups and smoothies but still all my meals are based around rice, pasta or mash!

Happy New Year! Another Christmas and NY week has passed and all that contains. For most of us it means lots of food and drinks and everyone making excuses about not doing much. Here in Australia we are in the middle of summer so the food is mainly all about the BBQ and being outdoors. And I LOVE all of it but this brace plate has really put a real dampener on it. I’m getting really really frustrated with not being able to eat properly. It’s not just having to chose foods that don’t need chewing or at least are able to be crushed with my tongue it’s also the total frustration of getting everything stuck everywhere and having to get organised to be able to clean everything out and bring toothbrushes and bits and bobs out with me. I now eat breakfast of a mango and banana smoothie and a scrambled egg and then don’t have a bean until lunchtime. I didnt realise how much incidental snacks i have in-between meals. I don’t like cakes and sweet things anyway so I have never been a coffee and muffin kinda gal, but even not even eating a cracker with cheese midway through the day has made me realise how much I do eat.

When I do eat i’m having to really think about each meal I produce and cook and how i’m going to eat it! Thankfully I like cooking so there is a mild challenge in trying to find new food combinations that are edible for those with braces but what’s made it worse is that I now have a huge ulcer under my tongue where the central wire cuts  across my mouth. It’s really painful as anyone who has had mouth ulcers can attest! Even just basic swallowing is awful and as soon as anything harsher than water touches it it just makes me want to cry. I can’t treat with anything or put wax on the wire as it just comes straight off so i’m just hoping eventually it will heal and go away.

Right now every meal is a chore. I’d actually rather not eat at all but of course i’m hungry and need to and with this week it has made it really hard to turn down food that others have prepared. The pain of the ulcer just makes me feel nauseous when i’m eating and I just stop. But of course I know i’m going to be hungry pretty soon if I give up after only 2 mouthfuls so I force each bite down and then clean everything up and just sip water until the next meal.

Urgh, It sounds like such a winge but i’m really hoping that I don’t have to have the next 2 years of dreading each meal and getting ulcers. I’m already losing weight and i actually  don’t need to.

It’s a pretty extreme way to change your diet and lose weight but it certainly works- and it’s a lot less expensive than surgery of some kind!

I’d love to hear from others who can give me encouragement that the ulcers do heal and that eating becomes fun again!