it's been awhile....

WOW....it's been since august since I posted anything on here. Well my upper arch looks pretty straight right now!! I'm in a 18 wire and outside of the inital day I got it put on I have had hardly any need to take ibuprofen! The only BIG thing that has changed is now my jaw has started popping on the right side. From talking to other people who have had them...apparently this is a normal thing and it eventually goes away....well I wish it would go away now. It's not that it hurts....its just annoying. Like for a few days....everytime I woke up in the morning its like I could feel like my jaw was locked and that I couldn't fully open my mouth....weird....and then I would lay there and work myself up to just opening my jaw wide enough so it would pop back into place and then its like...just when you think you fixed it....it does it AGAIN. Eating is just horrible when my jaw is being like that b/c everything you chew makes your jaw pop. On days when its being really annoying i have noticed that I start to get a minor headache. bleh. But the past couple days haven't been too bad.

I'm getting my lower braces placed on November 4 - then I will have both upper and lowers! Excited....b/c that means i'm one step closer to having straight teeth.....but nervous/not excited about how I will look. Hoping that there is enough room on my teeth for me to get clears on the bottom as well b/c I REALLY dont want any metal. But we will see.....I will update again (with pictures) when i get my lowers done.

Wish me luck.

Smooth sailing.

Not too much has changed since I last posted.....I DID notice that my 2 front teeth are actually in a straight line now!!!! YAY! Now if they just turn out a little more then my top arch would be PERFECT - at least from my persepective. I will post pics when I am on here next. I haven't really been as sore this go around as I thought I would be. Just a couple mornings here and there where I wake up and i'm just sore all around.....hardly had to take any ibuprofen. Next appointment isn't till the 27th...hoping my teeth will move more before then. We shall see.

ONE Month!!

So, on month ago today I got my top braces put on! Yay! 17ish or less more to go. Boo. The first month wasnt horribly bad - the farther I got away from when they were intially put on - the better my mouth felt and the more foods I have been able to eat.

And then today, just when all seemed well, I went to the ortho and got my braces tightened. Oh, and I got a larger arch wire.

My first arch wire was a 14 (what exactly that is measuring, im not sure) What I do know is that the larger the numbers get....the bigger and stiffer the wire gets which means more pressure/pain. :( From the time the wire got put on and it was getting tightened into place i was SOOOO sore already! Last time it took a few hours before I noticed anything....this time...I hadn't even left the office and I was already feeling it. Hence the reason I went straight to Target and got a bottle of ibuprofen. :)

It's been about 10 hours since I was at the ortho....and the pressure isn't too bad. Im SURE i will really feel it when I wake up in the morning :(

So....here we go again.

one of many lessons.

Kissing with braces (for the first time, and probably many times after this) = VERY awkward.

2 weeks.

So, today is 2 weeks since I got my uppers put on. Pain really hasn't been all that bad at all. I have had to be significantly more selective about what I eat- making sure that it't not too hard to bite down into. A favorite snack/food desert that I have become a huge fan of is

Yoplait Whips - preferably in Strawberry :)

It's yogurt....but it has a different kind of whipped (hence the name) texture that just makes it SOOO much more appealing that your standard yogurt....and at 50 cents each.....I definitely stock up on these!!

Yesterday I was sitting on the couch....and started messing with my teeth and realized that they are able to rock back and forth a lil bit now - YAY they are moving! I can't wait for my next appointment *July 20* to see if and how much progress I have made....I know its only going to be my first appointment since getting them placed....but I am just interested to know.

So all in all not doing too bad. Still learning to get used to smiling more with them on - it's just a work in progress!

First appearance with braces. Check.

So as previously mentioned, I'm on a dance team - so, we had an appearance on Saturday....and from the time I started getting ready, everytime I opened my mouth I was FILLED with regret about deciding to get these....even when I was there. Normally, I really like to smile....but I tried so hard to not do it. We took a couple pictures while we were there....and I felt a lil better after I saw some of the pics....b/c the braces really are not that noticable in them.

Then again - the picture was taken with an iphone....so that really doesn't say too much for quality....but NONE the less....you can really notice them. This hurdle of mine is not completely cleared...but it's a start....I will have to see how I feel about these things once our season starts in November.

If I could...I so would...

...take some pliers and pull these things off my teeth.

It't not b/c they hurt or anything, I am used to the pressure now...but sometimes I just forget that I have these things on my teeth and I want to try and get whatever is in my mouth out....and then I remember....'oh yeah, i signed on for this.' I feel like I can't quite talk right b/c I can't get my upper lip all the way over my top teeth. Sometimes, I have noticed I make a whistling noise when I talk. And I totally feel like a 14 year old....rockin the braces....I should have gone all out and gotten metal with colored rubber bands!

yeah. right.

Eating has still been a task....just having to select foods which I don't really have to chew into right now is kind of annoying....hopefully my back teeth will start to get a little less sensitive...even though I kind of doubt they will :( I feel SO negative right now. Back to my dinner of mashed potatoes. :)

Not too bad.

Woke up this morning with a little bit of pain....it's more like pressure honestly. Took some ibuprofen - and now I'm ok. Breakfast this morning consisted of applesauce....just really didn't feel like putting in too much effort. I had a meeting at work today....and they had oatmeal rasin cookies there....my fav! Of course, there was no way I was going to turn that down....so I just broke it into really small pieces and managed to get some of it down. Now lunch...which I am tackling right now is two chicken soft tacos from Taco Bell - everything in it is really soft. It hurts kind of bad to actually try and chew on my back teeth - I find myself pushing food up against the top of my mouth to make it smaller that way.....I think that will work out at least till I am able to tolerate constantly chewing on my back teeth more.

So....all in all, not as bad as I expected. Still trying to get used to looking at myself in the mirror and seeing these things (granted not as visible as metal) sticking to my teeth. :$

Ouch.

Just woke up from a two hour nap - my mouth is definitely starting to be a lil more sore now. Ate some applesauce. yum.

Time to make some dinner!

Ticker.

All braced up.

So. I got them.

Took about 30ish minutes to get them put on - then I was given some instructions on how to clean them.....what not to eat and then I was out the door with my braces. Initally I got in my car and looked in the mirror.......ugh.....I mean they aren't bad....but it definitely makes my mouth feel different. First of all, my teeth feel HUGE! When I try to smile it takes so much more effort to get my upper lip to slide up over my teeth....its just weird. Getting them put on didn't hurt all that much - but now about 3 hours later I am starting to feel some pressure on my back teeth - hopefully nothing that the ibuprofen I just took can't cure. After getting my braces on I went to the store and got some foods that will be easy for me to chew/swallow over these next few days....pasta, ice cream, applesauce, yogurt. I was also told that my mouth will be the most sore in the morning....great :(

Here is my top teeth. Trying to straighten out those two front teeth :D

And then there's the bottom. All 4 of those teeth in the middle are overcrowded and the two middle ones are pushed back.

Time to go eat some ice cream!

The morning of.

In less than 4 hours I will be the proud owner of braces. Excited...? No not really. I hardly slept at all last night. I just kept thinking about all of the negatives to having these things...and wasnt really so much focused on the positive that at the END of this I will have nice straight teeth.

Oh yeah, I am just getting the top row on today. They have to get my top teeth straightened out before they are going to put the bottom ones on - so i won't be 100% metal mouth...just 50%. I will try and find some consolation in that for now.

Guess I will go lay back down for a lil bit longer before I have to go to the orthodontist.

The day before.

Well, I have decided to finally break down and get braces, I was evaluated for them like 3 or 4 years ago....but I really just never decided to pursue it. The way I see it, i'm 24 now.....and I really don't want to have braces when i'm in my 30s (props to those who do!!) but I just want to get this started and get my pretty straight smile!

I was initally wanting to get invisalign....for one of many reasons - obviously they are not as apparent as having brackets on your teeth....also...I don't really know how guys would perceive a girl with braces...I mean its one thing to have them as a teenager when EVERYONE has them - but to be 24....single...and with braces...I am just slightly apprehensive about going through with this. Next...i'm on a dance team. Hmmm, yeah, dont really want to be known as the dancer with the braces. I haven't even told my director yet that I am getting them....not that it should/will matter...but, yeah.


Oh, back to why I decided to not go with invisalign - I just dont think that I would be disciplined enough to wear them. Apparently you have to keep them on for like 22 hours per day - and in between taking them on and off so you have to make sure your teeth are perfectly clean so nothing gets trapped up under those tray things. Way too much work in my opinion. But what I have decided to go with is some of the clearest brackets I could find....the 3M Clarity braces.




The thing that I like the most about these is like unlike normal ceramic braces these are resistant to stains that can be caused by many foods - also they don't use rubber bands.

My Orthodontist said that I have a pretty mild case and that this process should take 18 months or less.....i'm leaning towards...less. :)

I'm really just worried about 1. the possible pain that I may have the first couple days afterwards...but they said that for the most part that can be relieved with ibuprofen. 2. All of the foods/snacks/candy that you can't eat. I love gum...yep, that's off the list. 3. How I will look once these things are on....don't know that I will be smiling all of that much for a while :(

*Sigh* well now I just have to commit to getting these things on and see what happens from there!