Here is a recap of this week:
Day 1: Braces were put on around noon time. This process is not too bad. It is hard to have your mouth pried open for that long... it is rough on the lips. The actual placement of the brackets and the application of the initial wire is quite painless. The teeth themselves experience no pain right away... just very awkward. By 8pm, soreness started to set in on the bottom teeth, which is where the traditional (ceramic) braces are. Top teeth (with Invisalign -- see below) felt fine.
Day 2: Bottom teeth VERY sore. Cannot eat anything unless it is very soft. Top teeth still feel fine, maybe just a little "tight". Hard to ignore pain in bottom teeth... pretty severe.
Day 3: Bottom teeth continue to be sore. The wire on the bottom left has started to irritate my cheek. It is sticking out and is quite painful. I go to CVS and buy every orthodontic product known to man... including, dental wax, which you can use to cover your brackets and/or wires to prevent them from shredding your cheeks. This helps tremendously.
Day 4: While eating -- what I thought was -- a soft chocolate chip cookie, the wire that has been bothering me gets pulled out of the back tooth. I am missing my second to last molar on that side, so the wire is 100% exposed to the pressure of food while eating. The husband fixes it with pliers... as he had braces as a kid and knows how to do this. Bottom teeth still VERY sore. Eating is a huge issue. I cannot chew or bite anything. I was however, able to eat sushi (well, inside-out maki) and for dinner. Ahhh.... flavor....
Day 5: I call the Ortho office because of the exposed wire. By now I have accidentally swallowed at least 5 pieces of wax that were covering the offending wire. I go in at 5pm (toting along my 3-year old) and the Ortho decides to replace the entire wire and enforce the area (with a spring-like structure) where the wire is exposed (missing tooth area). This time, changing the wire is quite unpleasant. My teeth are still very sore, so removing the wire causes pain and pressing the wire back into place also causes pain. I got to CVS and finally fill the prescription for Tylenol with Codeine that the Ortho gave my on Day 1.
Day 6: Pain in bottom teeth is finally starting to subside. I still cannot bite into anything directly, chew anything firm or even moderately firm, and chewing in general causes pain. I do not have on-going pain when I am not eating though... this is a big step! After dinner, while trying to sneak in a Cadbury Egg (I know... what was I thinking? But they are my FAVORITE!), my damn wire came out again... YES, the that has been enforced with a thick-assed spring. Will I never be able to chew on my left side again??? What the F? I assume the task of reinserting it this time... after all, if this is going to happened regularly, I better know how to do it! I have success and things are back to normal. The question is... do I call the Ortho again or wait until my next appointment? Which isn't until March 18th!!! I'm going to play the waiting game and see what happens.
Day 7: I'm getting used to all the "in and outs" (literally) of the Invisalign trays. They need to be removed everytime you eat, drink anything hot or that will stain them and brush your teeth. It adds up... I am probably brushing my teeth at least 5 times a day now. Bottom teeth are feeling better. No pain upon resting; however, I tried to eat a Triscuit last night and had to spit it out. WAY too hard. Hmmmm... how much longer, if ever, until I can eat crunchy foods? I miss the textures. Soup, soft pasta and ice cream only go so far.
Day 8 (Today): Teeth feel good. Invisalign tray is starting to get "mucked up". I need to get some denture cleaner (yes, gross) to soak them in. Bottom teeth still sore when eating, but doing much better. One thing I haven't mentioned yet is that every single thing you eat -- no matter how innocuous you may think it is -- will get stuck in your braces. It's disgusting and eating in public is quite the embarrassment. Not only do you have to REMOVE your trays... that drag about a gallon of spit along with them... you need to run to the ladies room right after you eat to brush your teeth, put the trays back in and lament at how much food was stuck in your braces and wonder how many people saw it!
2 comments:
Thanks for writing this, I am an adult looking at getting braces and people tend not to admit to the pain and annoyance of braces because they are wanting the good results so much they focus away from the negative when commenting to others.
I'll still get them, but like the realistic perspective.
I might watch your progress... I am on day 2 now (34 years old).
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