It feels like I haven't updated in forever, but it's only been a month! Yep, I'm still here. I didn't off myself in agony over my braces. Don't get me wrong, they sucked the first 7-10 days, and continue to suck, but at a much lower level of suckage than the first 7-10 days. I read about experiencing pain after getting braces on, but I guess I didn't know exactly what kind of pain that would be. Would it be a constant throbbing? Pain just when I bite down? Sensitivity thrown in to the mix? I guess it might be different for everybody, but for the most part my pain was biting down, and oddly enough, flossing really set me off, especially around the teeth that hurt the most. The only awesome part about all of it was I lost 4lbs taking in pureed soups and all. Also, brushing with my heavy duty sonicare didn't help with the pain either, but I sucked it up because I am super serious about keeping my chompers clean right now. I had so many gum problems leading up to this point, I don't want any reason to develop even a hint of gum issue and endanger this whole process and all of the hell I am going through (and will have to continue going through!). I especially don't want any reason for a surgeon to say they can't do the jaw surgery. That would suck since my teeth are being moved in positions specific for the surgery, and would have to be moved back to different positions if we found out I couldn't have the surgery. Seriously, it would probably be a bummer.
So, it's weird, but I seriously believe my teeth and gums are healthier with the braces on! I can't stand the feeling of stuff in my teeth, and after I eat anything, that's all I feel! I feel like every crumb and sliver is stuck in the brackets, so I'm going right to the bathroom to proxy brush it out, or just floss and brush all together. I'm pretty much flossing 1-2 times a day, brushing 2-3 times a day, proxy brushing the nooks and cranny's of the brackets probably once a day, and then I'm adding my air floss and water pik into the mix every other day or so. My gums look great so far, which makes me super relieved.
I go back to the orthodontist next week to get spacers in front of my back molars. The surgeon I am working with requires all 8 back molars to be banded, so these spacers will make room for the next set of bands to go on my second molars. I also need a tooth behind my bicuspid banded on my left side since it's such a tiny tooth they can't fit a regular bracket on it. I'm really not looking forward to the spacers or the bands. That was seriously my least favorite part of getting all of this stuff put in my mouth the first time. And I'm also not looking forward to the pain. The spacers were super painful for me! So, I've got that next week, and then the week after they put the bands in and I for my first adjustment with a new wire swap, so I'm looking at two weeks of feeling crappy again if it's anything like the first round when this all got put on. Oh well-- weight loss round 2, here I come!
A little off topic from above, but so many people's blogs have been so helpful. The online community and people on forums have been so kind and helpful as well. Here is a post from a gal who has helped me in some of my decision making, and her blog is super informative as her case is similar to mine. Here's what I have to look forward to sounding like when I am post op, banded shut, and splinted. So much for going back to work if I feel better sooner than expected before the splint is out! (For those of you who don't know me, I work for the NWS and my whole day is giving verbal briefings and forecasts to air traffic controllers-- in person, and on the phone. Definitely not going to happen if I sound like this for 6 weeks!)
Becky's Blog: Weeks 3 post op video talking with a splint in
And.... even further off topic, life outside of braces isn't sucking. My knee is on the up and up (got cleared for light hiking, skydiving, and any other activities I want to do using good judgement and my knee brace-- see yosemite pics below!), and the weather has been gorgeous around the Bay Area, so we've been getting out and about
So, it's weird, but I seriously believe my teeth and gums are healthier with the braces on! I can't stand the feeling of stuff in my teeth, and after I eat anything, that's all I feel! I feel like every crumb and sliver is stuck in the brackets, so I'm going right to the bathroom to proxy brush it out, or just floss and brush all together. I'm pretty much flossing 1-2 times a day, brushing 2-3 times a day, proxy brushing the nooks and cranny's of the brackets probably once a day, and then I'm adding my air floss and water pik into the mix every other day or so. My gums look great so far, which makes me super relieved.
I go back to the orthodontist next week to get spacers in front of my back molars. The surgeon I am working with requires all 8 back molars to be banded, so these spacers will make room for the next set of bands to go on my second molars. I also need a tooth behind my bicuspid banded on my left side since it's such a tiny tooth they can't fit a regular bracket on it. I'm really not looking forward to the spacers or the bands. That was seriously my least favorite part of getting all of this stuff put in my mouth the first time. And I'm also not looking forward to the pain. The spacers were super painful for me! So, I've got that next week, and then the week after they put the bands in and I for my first adjustment with a new wire swap, so I'm looking at two weeks of feeling crappy again if it's anything like the first round when this all got put on. Oh well-- weight loss round 2, here I come!
A little off topic from above, but so many people's blogs have been so helpful. The online community and people on forums have been so kind and helpful as well. Here is a post from a gal who has helped me in some of my decision making, and her blog is super informative as her case is similar to mine. Here's what I have to look forward to sounding like when I am post op, banded shut, and splinted. So much for going back to work if I feel better sooner than expected before the splint is out! (For those of you who don't know me, I work for the NWS and my whole day is giving verbal briefings and forecasts to air traffic controllers-- in person, and on the phone. Definitely not going to happen if I sound like this for 6 weeks!)
Becky's Blog: Weeks 3 post op video talking with a splint in
And.... even further off topic, life outside of braces isn't sucking. My knee is on the up and up (got cleared for light hiking, skydiving, and any other activities I want to do using good judgement and my knee brace-- see yosemite pics below!), and the weather has been gorgeous around the Bay Area, so we've been getting out and about
My husband Matt and I in Yosemite
Cheese!
A little yoga action at sunset in Yosemite
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