Moonlit Narratives Blog

During yesterday’s visit, Dr. B called the dental hygienist into the room to help resolve the issue of keeping the white elastic on the lower front teeth clean. I told them it was a food trap and that my attempts at cleaning it weren’t the most successful. Kind of tricky working with such tiny spaces. She gave me a Crest Glide Floss Pick; using the end to gently open up the elastic so I could use a tiny Go-Between to brush the remnants of food out. It’s been proving useful. Come to think of it, a GUM stimulator could also take the place of the Glide Pick… Another small issue solved.

I’ve been using the GUM stimulator (soft tip) to gently remove food particles collecting around the brackets only because I’m not sure what else to do and my rinsing and Oral B brush aren’t always successful at getting the food completely off.

The dental hygienist reminded me to keep my brushes clean by using an equal part mixture of water and vinegar.

Sorry if some of the pics look like they were taken at weird angles.  Sometimes I tend to tilt my head a little back.  I will try to do less of this so the shot is more straight on.

Previously I mentioned to Dr. B regarding Lora’s Blog. The next time I saw him, he noted that though Lora’s Blog was a good account of her experience with braces, she never really brought up people’s reactions to her braces (namely her family). He made a good point… So to improve upon that recounter, I will say that my husband told me that my braces made me look like I was smiling all the time (spoken in jest)… haha… What it really was? The brackets gently pushed my upper lip up a little on either end and made me look like I was smiling all the time. I obviously had a small problem of keeping my upper lip closed over the brackets earlier on, since I was not used to them yet =)…
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I’m glad I didn’t get braces as a child for the reasons that I was dealing with many issues back then- racial prejudice, being a nerd. Braces would have made the teasing worse. Kids are mean. I also didn’t have the greatest dental hygiene back then (typical kid problem). So when my mom went into her banter of “see I told you to get it when you were a kid,” I told her “think again.” This was the perfect time for me to have braces- no teasing (except from my mom), plus I’m compliant to the regimen- no slacking, no matter how late at night it may be; you will still see the bathroom lights on, hear the buzz of my Oral B, the sound of swishing and rinsing, the duggaduggadugga of the waterpik (think mini jackhammer).

For any adult who doubts they’ve made the right decision to get braces; doubt no more, you’re worth it.

Today is October 17, 2008. My third visit to ortho. I have a party to attend this weekend and was trying to decide whether I should just go for the clear elastic ligatures. Frankly, I’ve been tired of the continued staining- looking at the neon yellow-green…yuk. I wanted color this time, but not too much to attract attention to my braces. I’m still overly self-conscious about them and sadly sort of ashamed that I need braces. I’m sure people see them but no one has said anything yet. I haven’t caught people staring either. I guess everyone knows the polite thing to do (keep quiet if they do spot them on me)- maybe let me bring it up only if I want to. That is, everyone except for my mom, who sure has a way of making me feel better =(. Anyway, I told Dr.B I was feeling a little braver and asked him what colors he had with him today. My face brightened when he said he had pink. That was the color I was hoping for. The perfect blush/neutral color that says “fun” yet doesn’t shout “look at me.” Not bad for my first experiment with color. I think I would have gone for purple lowers and maybe clear uppers, maybe purple lowers and uppers (depending on the way it looked on the lowers first), had he not said he had some pink handy. Anyway, my husband says he can see some progress with my teeth from the pictures. I haven’t really done a comparison yet. I did notice that after I got home, I checked in a mirror and saw that my lowers are slowly moving closer together. Millimeter by mm my teeth are moving. I’m thinking of switching my Oral B electric toothbrush to Sonicare with a brush sanitizing system. I haven’t decided yet. As for pain, I did start feeling a bit tender several hours after the dental appointment. I hope tomorrow will be okay. I love food. I dislike limiting what I can eat due to this sensitivity.

I have been eating mainly soft foods e.g. eggs, yogurt without solid fruit chunks, congee, potatoe salad, noodle soups since the tooth extraction and braces tightening. Today was the first time I realized my bite has changed slightly. I’m not sure what happened? It feels really strange. I had suspected my right upper canine but it’s really the “loose tooth” and the one below which feel at odds with one another. It seems like there’s something new everyday. I will probably call the dental office on Monday to consult with Dr. L. It’s not a tremendous problem but a noticeable change. I suspect that these changes are normal; funny that the potential change in bite never crossed my mind as a consequence of having braces. I’m overall experiencing less teeth/gum aching. Maybe tomorrow will be even better?

I was actually a little nervous today. Why? I have no idea. I’ve been through enough dental procedures within these past several years, I really don’t have an excuse to be nervous anymore. The extraction went pretty smoothly. Didn’t feel a thing. I made sure they gave me enough lidocaine gel before using the lidocaine-filled syringe. I still can’t believe a healthy tooth had to be sacrificed =(. Dr. L examined the slightly “loose” tooth and thought it was within the norm of having braces. I sat in the waiting room again trying to put pressure over the “surgical” site to stop the bleeding. I was determined to not leave without a full mouth of archwires and elastic ligatures. I was warned Dr. B would not proceed until the bleeding ceased. Remember I had to plead with him to make this a back-to-back procedure and he was reluctant to give-in. The lidocaine wore off about a half hour after the extraction and I started to feel some pain. I began to worry a little but, I’m so grateful the pain disappeared by the time Dr. B was ready to work on my braces. Though I complained about the clear elastic ligatures taking on the color of my food, I wasn’t brave enough to choose among red, blue, green, or purple. I hate to admit this but I would have went for pink or smoke color if he had them (this is the kid in me). So now it’s round two with the clears and more potential (okay, guaranteed) staining. I still have a big jar of pickles left that no one will help me eat. My husband hates pickles. Right now I’m slowly trying to finish my salad but I have a minor aching from the braces so I’ll just drink tea or whatever and try to eat something soft later. The visit in total took two hours but now I can finally start my countdown to beautiful teeth. This is not an experience for the faint-of-heart. I think the weirdest part of today’s ordeal isn’t the braces but the gap in-between my teeth (I can feel the edge of one tooth and the gap on the other side). Can’t wait until the gap closes; I’m hoping it’s about a month or less…that’s why I wanted the archwire for the lowers so badly. I was instructed to avoid rinsing my mouth for 24 hours due to the extraction (probably to not interfere with clot formation) but I think I’m going to bend the rule a little and do some gentle rinsing later tonight. I don’t want to go to bed with food stuck to my braces.

September 18, 2008

Late last night I was flossing my teeth and suddenly realized that the tooth on my right side with the last bracket felt loose. I panicked not knowing why? I wasn’t even in pain. I’ve taken such good care of my teeth and gums. I went to bed worrying that I wasn’t meant to have braces. Maybe they were wrong and my teeth and gums weren’t really healthy enough to handle the stress of braces?

I woke up this morning and decided to call the dental office for advice since I was scared to eat, thinking the tooth would pop right off. Dr. L explained that the “mobility” was normal (I’ve had my braces for one month). He also told me that at some point all my teeth would be going through this mobility and that Dr. B would stabilize my teeth and tighten the braces with every visit. Mind-boggling news. Why didn’t anyone warm me about this “loosening” and “numb” yet not totally numb feeling was just a “normal” part of having braces/ortho? This “mobility” is a horrible feeling. Kind of transports me back to when I was I guess about 10 years old, when my permanent teeth were setting in… one tooth after another went bye-bye (a disgusting and disturbing feeling I still remember)… my baby/deciduous teeth slowly jiggled and fell out, and then erupted my adult teeth. Though Dr. L said I didn’t have to go on a soft diet, I’m thinking I should stay away from steak (my favorite meat) for awhile, at least until I feel braver. If anyone actually has any doubts, this entry gets a big unhappy face from me =(. By the end of all of this, I may be in need of some retail therapy!

I was already careful about avoiding curry but still got my elastic ligatures (for those of you who don’t know, ligatures are those little rubber bands on each bracket that hold the archwire in place) stained by eating pickles =(. I went into my dental office today to ask if anything could be done to whiten them, but alas I’m stuck with the neon yellow-green until next visit =(… I checked archwired.com for some advice but it looks like there are no real great options once they’re stained. So besides curry, you can add pickles to the list.

*The “Parts” of Braces… I’m learning something new everyday…
http://www.greatsmiles.net/parts/parts.html

I’m actually beginning to feel more pressure exerted by the braces. I wouldn’t describe it as pain or suffering. I can still eat a lot of what I want without big limitations (obviously no “sticky stuff” though). Maybe I should be slightly thankful this means they’re really doing their job. My initial belief that the orthodontist didn’t tighten them enough was unfounded =# <-- (this is a e-smiley face with braces on; I saw it on the archwired.com site and thought it cute). Previous to having the braces placed, I came to the conclusion after some thought and realized that I haven't chewed gum in a very long time, cake was only occasionally, and soda & ice cream once a week at most especially during the summer. My concerns were a little irrational; I was making a mountain out of a mole hill. The very thought of having to give up so many things at one time was disturbing to me; besides the anxieties of having to cope with braces for the first time was also troubling. Regarding "sticky stuff," I'm remembering a recent conversation with my orthodontist. He was trying to encourage me to give up artificial sweets altogether for the betterment of my dental health e.g. cake, ice cream, soda, candy. I looked him straight in the eyes and said, "I'm not going to lie to you... if I have to quit cold turkey, I really don't think I'll make it through this... I promise to try to taper back the sweets though and no sticky stuff." He answered laughing "I'm not the food police... we want you to make it through, so just enjoy."

The first few days of braces were very difficult. I didn’t suffer much aching or pressure on my teeth as many people often experience; however, two of my lower brackets on either side were rubbing against the mucosa of my mouth. I would have gone crazy had it not been for the orthodontic wax which greatly helped relieve my pain. By the second day, the area under my tongue became inflamed so I made an effort to drink plenty of water, rinse with warm saltwater, rinse with Gum’s Rincinol® Oral Pain Reliver, and apply Gum’s Canker-X gel to any problem spots. My first few days of braces consisted mostly of eating soft foods: spaghetti, yogurt, squash, noodles in soup- I think you get the idea.

The orthodontist already warned me that braces would be a real food trap. I knew that I would be brushing and flossing more often now than usual to keep my braces and mouth clean. I generally rinse my mouth several times and brush after each meal or snack, flossing in the daytime if there is food stuck to my teeth. My big cleaning including careful flossing is at night before I sleep. I wouldn’t be shocked if I spend 30 minutes every night cleaning my mouth and braces.

Here are some of the other invaluable dental supplies & equipment I use on a daily basis:

Cross Action Oral-B electric toothbrush
Waterpik® Personal Dental Waterjet (recommended by my dental hygienist)
GUM® Proxabrush® System with Proxabrush® refills or Oral-B Superfloss®
REACH® Access™ Flosser for the areas sans braces
The Natural Dentist® mouth rinse for am (recommended by my dental hygienist)
ACT mouth rinse for pm (recommended by my dental hygienist)

This is what I carry in my handbag:

sample size toothpaste
travel size toothbrush
sample size mouth rinse
GUM® Orthodontic Wax
Go-Betweens® Cleaners