First, since nothing I purchased dislodged it, I ended up having to make a trip to the dentist, which is even more embarrassing than it sounds, who dislodged it and gave me a referral to my lovely orthodontist and charged a steep price for the privilege. That was what finally pushed me over the edge and talked me into braces. It wasn’t the headaches, the bite issues or even my teeth wearing down at an alarming rate because of said bite issues, it was the nightmare of getting floss stuck between my crowded teeth again. He’d been telling me for years “you really need to think about this” but both cost issues and just the idea of “braces, at MY age?” kept me away. This, however, was enough. I never wanted to deal with that again!

Most importantly, second, I bought a WaterPik. It was beyond useless in dislodging the floss, but I started using it regularly before I got my braces on and now post braces installation I can’t even express how awesome it is. If you don’t have one, get one. It doesn’t need to be that specific brand, it doesn’t need to be fancy, just trust me on this. Nothing I’ve tried has worked better to get stuff dislodged from my brackets, not even my toothbrush or an interproximal brush. It’s utterly useless at dislodging floss from between your teeth, but to serve its actual purpose? Priceless.

I’ve since upgraded to a somewhat fancier model than my original, cheapest portable model and I’m planning on taking pictures and posting a review of both in the next day or two, in case anyone is curious.

It’s the actual tooth movement, though, that’s where things can get more painful. Take my last adjustment and the associated gremlins pulling out my teeth sensation, that was a pretty apt description. It was a rarity, though, that passed after a few days and now the spring doesn’t bother me, and I’m not even noticing it against my tongue. However, sometimes a tooth just randomly hurts; like a tooth ache. I’m still new enough to braces that I get a momentary flash of “uh-oh, should I make a dentist appointment?” before I remember “oh wait it’s probably movement” and it never fails, within a few days that tooth will have shifted and the ache will be gone.

So that is what it feels like, chaffing from the brackets and regular tooth aches from the movement. Oh and the occasional gremlin visit.

This tooth had better shift fast and I truly hope the rest of my teeth adjust to the pressure soon, I don’t know what I’ll do if I go another night without sleep. My joking about gremlins might transform into actual hallucinations by that point.

1. The budget. When I decided to get braces I saved up to pay for the actual cost of treatment (well a down payment and I budgeted in the remaining monthly payments). I’ve since realized I also need to budget in:
   • Extra tooth brush heads. The brackets wear down my fancy Sonicare brushes at an alarming rate. Considering how much those puppies cost it isn’t an inconsiderable sum, however, their extra cleaning power is even more appreciated now than before, so it’s a worth-while expense. I use a combination of a regular v-cut brush/travel tooth brush and Ortho ReadyBrushes when away from home, though (depending on purse size). The travel implements also needed to be budgeted, not as painful as extra Sonicare heads, though.
   • Wax (more on that later). I’ve already used an alarming amount. Luckily it isn’t that expensive, but during period of extreme irritation I’ve actually managed to use an entire packet of the OrthoSil “wax” in a single day. Thank goodness for bulk purchases.
   • Various other dental implements like threader floss, interdental brushes and various numbing methods for the fading but still present irritation of tongue and cheeks. This also includes dental implements bought on a whim, I’m sure this will fade with time, but never has the dental hygiene aisle been of so much interest to me than it has in the last month or so. Anything that seems like it’ll make flossing quicker or easier or relieve some of the discomfort of the brackets has swiftly made its way into my shopping basket. It all adds up.
   • A higher quality of restaurants. An odd one, but you never realize how much the quality of an establishment’s bathroom matters until you find yourself brushing your teeth in it. A hole in the wall diner may have fabulous food, but if it doesn’t pass the bathroom hygiene test it may be off my list for the next couple of years.
     (just to note, I’m not making anything from the various links, just linking to products I’ve used that I’ve liked)
2. Comparisons and expectations. When I first decided to finally take the leap and embark on this journey I did as much research as I could. A lot of this took the form of reading other’s experiences and while a lot of it has held true and it was definitely a great way to gauge what I could expect (and if I could handle what was to come) I’ve had to keep reminding myself that everyone is different! The number of stories I’ve read that involved people not needing wax at all or talking about how after a week or 2 they were done with it were great, but it started to make me feel like I was must be a wimp or really unusual because I was still using it in some areas even 6 weeks in. Well, that’s life. Wax is there for my comfort and it isn’t a competition. If I’m still using it the day before my brackets come off so be it! I’d rather be comfortable than wax free and that’s why some stores sell it by the case.
3. Food. It’s only been a little over a month and I’m already getting somewhat adventurous. Yes, mashed potatoes are still a staple in our household and yes, I’m still amazed at how much I can eat without chewing. However, I was expecting 2 years of knife and fork usage for everything and years of cautioning myself away from all those do not eats on the lists. Well, I’ve already eaten a hamburger the good old fashioned way, and while being a bit awkward it was less so than a knife and fork to me and some with caution experimenting with of those cautionary foods (with Orthodontist permission no less!) is next on my list.
4. Gum. I was so overjoyed when my orthodontist said that not only could I continue to chew gum, but it was actually encouraged. I wouldn’t have to give up my gum addiction! Nothing works better to break an addiction than making some a chore. There is no pleasure in chewing gum now, it’s uncomfortable and awkward. It did help with some of the initial pain relief and helping me adjust to chewing again, but I no longer dive for the gum pack after finishing every meal. It’s lost all pleasure.

The application of the braces wasn’t painful. It was uncomfortable–you’re basically sitting there for a couple of hours with an awkward cheek spreader keeping your mouth open, with a suction device attached to your tongue keeping your mouth as dry as possible, fun! It isn’t a recipe for comfort, but it also isn’t a recipe for misery. However, because I was having lingual braces applied to the top arch I got a little something extra, a little something beyond the regular installation process.

I got to have my teeth micro-etched, to rough up the surface and make them suitable for slapping on those fancy golden brackets. This involved about 20 minutes of them sandblasting my teeth, sending the aforementioned tooth dust everywhere. I do mean everywhere. Once they were done I was white as a ghost because my face was covered in dust. I was choking from breathing it in, my shirt was covered, my hair was coated in teeny tiny particles of my teeth. Just the concept is horrifying. The teeth didn’t feel noticeably different, they weren’t smaller, they weren’t even really rougher. Where did all that dust come from?

It took hours of scrubbing before I felt like it was out of my hair; I may still need to burn those clothes. If you’ve ever sanded anything that produces super fine particles you might know what I’m talking about, now imagine that being…your teeth. The horror! If they’d have warned me about the dust I might have opted against the lingual braces. The speech problems, bah! A little extra poking to my tongue, who cares? Being covered in tooth dust while having them put on, dream haunting.

To those contemplating getting braces, really they aren’t that bad. I’m sure it’ll be worth it in the end. It’s not some delusion forced upon me by the orthodontic industry. I think. I hope.

Oh, and silicone wax is far better than standard wax, but it takes 3 times as long to put on, so get both.

[note, this was originally published at BoredNow.org]

I have learned a few things along the way, though, that I hope might be of some use to others thinking about making the same choices I did.

First, lingual braces are actually quite comfortable. Maybe it’s because I had a tongue piercing once upon a time and I already had to go through that whole learning to talk around an injured tongue and dealing with discomfort thing, but really, they aren’t so bad. My speech is most certainly affected, but I have no doubts that given time and practice I’ll get rid of my annoying lisp.

Second, ceramic braces are not comfortable. I’m already regretting cheaping out and getting the linguals only on the top. After all the horror stories of discomfort and speech issues I decided that more standard braces on the bottom made sense. No one is going to see them anyway so why spend more for the fancy gold ones. The ceramic ones are more comfortable than the regular metal ones (my back molars have regular metal), but they’re still extremely discomforting. I feel as though my lip has had an altercation with a weed whacker.

Third, the area where the ceramics really shine is in hygiene. If you think flossing is bad normally, try doing it with threader floss while trying to open your mouth wide and look in the mirror so you can see what you’re doing. At least with the ceramics there are no jaw contortions needed, linguals, not so much. For that reason alone the extreme discomfort of the ceramics is worth it.

Fourth, wax is my friend in terms of comfort, but oh the hours I’ve already spent putting it on, taking it off, putting it on, taking it off, so on and so forth. Wax on, wax off, I feel like I’m in a classically campy 80s movie, just without the martial arts skills.

Fifth, when they say “You’ll start to see movement soon.” they really do mean soon. I thought with 6 weeks to go before my first adjustment, soon meant 2-3 weeks, not 36 hours. Feeling as your front two teeth begin to slowly move out of alignment is freaky. It’s like living in one of my worst nightmares. I’m sure it’ll only get worse from here on in, though. To anyone just getting started, just be prepared, soon comes sooner than you think!

Sixth, you can eat an astounding number of foods without chewing.

That’s it for now. I have every intention of posting pictures at some point, if only because some people (such as my little brother) are demanding them. I’m planning on posting updates at least every few weeks or once every adjustment, if only to chronicle things for my own memories, I might move them to a separate section of the site though. I know when I was doing my regular obsessive over-researching while making the decision about what types of braces to get, I enjoyed reading people’s experiences. So maybe someone out there will glean useful some information from mine.

[note, this was originally published at BoredNow.org]

Early tomorrow morning I go in to have both iBraces (uppers) and ceramic braces (lowers) installed (such an odd word, makes me feel like a car, having something “installed”). Wish me luck!

[note, this was originally published at BoredNow.org]