Well i’ve had the original appliances for nearly 5 months now and my top teeth have moved forward enough to allow my bottom teeth to be moved forward and out. Apparently because my lower teeth are out of alignment so much my Ortho decided that it was time to put the lower brackets on as he was going to have to take it all very slowly and it would take ‘ages’ to move. So I was booked in for the brackets to go on earlier than he thought. Great.
I had a moment at work to feel my teeth as they were now and what it felt like to still have no metal around that area and then off I dashed to the appointment. It was a bit like being a teenager again- I know I didn’t want to go to the appointment really, who likes going to the dentist? But it still was giving me a real excuse to duck out of work early so I skipped out like a kid bunking double chemistry!
I reclined in the chair and tuned out to what was about to happen. They used a white dental expander to hold my mouth open but it meant that I had no idea what was going on in my mouth as I could feel nothing with my lips. Strangely it reminded me of one of those forensic tents you see in crime scenes- lots of people peering into a hole in the ground but you can’t around the white curtains. No idea what made me think of that but I was trying to distract myself from the fact they were rattling around in my gob with the sort of tools that you buy in hardware stores.
it didn’t really hurt at all but it tasted pretty yucky as the ‘glue’ fell onto my tongue and he fiddled and heated and cooled different brackets onto my teeth. My lips were so dry and started to crack as he pulled them wider to get more access and I made a mental note to use way more chapstick on my lips before I went next time! My tongue and mouth were so dry that my tongue was now stuck to my lower palette. I feel for those with Sjorgens Syndrome- I was only like that for 20 mins or so that was uncomfortable enough.
He didnt really talk to me, just barked instructions at his assistant but just near the end he took a pair of pliers, twanged the arch wire into place and then crunched the ends off and looked and me and said ” it’s just like fencing really.”
??? I wasn’t sure what to do with that.
Finally he released all the equipment and I sat up and was done. I didn’t dare look. Surprisingly it didn’t feel too bad. Of course all the brackets are on the outside of my teeth so it didn’t feel any different to my tongue as the back brackets have been there with my previous appliance so talking was the same as the last few months and it wasn’t a real problem. My lower front teeth tilt backwards so much that the new brackets don’t even touch my skin on my lips so i didn’t even feel them, only on the ‘corners’ where my mouth bends back to my molars.
I came home and really it was not too bad- but looking in the mirror was a bit of a shock. My boyfriend came over and said “ok, show me” and when he saw he just nodded and said “hmm….”
Not a great sign. The Ortho joked as I left that it was not possible to get more metal in my mouth now and when I saw my jaw then I knew what he meant. EVERY single tooth on my lower jaw has metal attached to it. So. Not. Cool. Thankfully it’s only my lower teeth so i can hide most of it most of the time but i dread the look when my top teeth get done!
But all was good and it was not a big change from things so far.
So Far.
Middle Aged Lady with Braces 