As I left the hospital with my boyfriend I thought to myself, these aren't too bad! little did I know that was just the beginning!!
I went straight to boots and stocked up on orthodontic toothpaste, mouthwash, interdental brushes. Basically anything I could get my hands on and then off i went home. The first hurdle was trying to eat something at lunch. I'd never found a time when it hurt to eat soup? But I powered through, it was uncomfortable but it didn't hurt that bad!
It was the next day when I really noticed. The dull pain had kept me awake a bit but I just took some pain killers and got on with it. The next day I was in work and was anxious for everyone to see my new braces. I'm 23 and work in management so obviously I did feel self conscious. The first person I saw was my old boss who could be bitchy at the best of times. hmmmm what have you done to your teeth? he said.... They're not *that* bad I suppose! But you can really see them can't you!? .... What a great start to the day and I hadn't even got into the office yet!
Everyone else was so supportive of them, they were great. I really struggled with talking for the first day just because of the pain. I was lucky because the brace didn't actually caused a lisp or anything. That day I was going out for a leavinglunch as I'd just left one team and moved into another department. We went to an italian and I ordered a sloppy lasagne - I think I managed about 1/5 of it and it was a rather small piece!
For the next week I did sturggle to eat. I mainly lived off rice pudding, porridge, rice and mashed potato. In total I lost 7lbs in about 9 days. Result I thought! That half a stone I've been wanting to shift has just falling off me .... needless to say it found its way back to me quick enough! :)
After that first week things got much better - i couldn't eat everything i once could and of course things took a lot longer for me to chew but I was in no where near the pain I was at the beginning! I was finally starting to see that the braces would be worth it!
Wednesday 8 June 2011
Brace face time
31st March 2011 is definitely a day I will not forget in a hurry. The day I got braced.
I was told when I arrived I would only be getting my top braces on, something that at the time I was disappointed about. In retrospect I think I was definitely lucky for it to be done in stages. It didn't actually take too long for me to get braced. I was expecting a good hour of pulling, tugging, tightening etc. I now know the bracing isn't the bad part really its the aftermath!
They gave my teeth a quick clean and then started gluing each bracket on. easy! It felt so weird after that and between them putting the wire on because they left me for a minute. I ran my tongue over each bracket, getting used to the alien feel of it on my teeth. When they put the wire on I felt so much pressure. I will admit it was an uncomfortable thing to go through but by no means unbearable - although i did break a few nails without realising because I was digging my nails in to my legs. I actually though, couldn't believe it was over so quickly.
The assistant then led me into another room. I said thanks, or at least tried to, when she opened the door for me. okay, I thought, this may not be as easy as once thought. She talked me through the horrors of tooth decay, scare mongering me into brushing after every meal... and it worked! Then she let me go. My boyfriend had come to the appointment with me and I was so scared to let him see me with them on. I knew he wasn't going to bother but I would and they hadn't even let me look in a mirror yet. So I hid my mouth and told him not to speak to me until I could get to a mirror! (baby I know!)
I was told when I arrived I would only be getting my top braces on, something that at the time I was disappointed about. In retrospect I think I was definitely lucky for it to be done in stages. It didn't actually take too long for me to get braced. I was expecting a good hour of pulling, tugging, tightening etc. I now know the bracing isn't the bad part really its the aftermath!
They gave my teeth a quick clean and then started gluing each bracket on. easy! It felt so weird after that and between them putting the wire on because they left me for a minute. I ran my tongue over each bracket, getting used to the alien feel of it on my teeth. When they put the wire on I felt so much pressure. I will admit it was an uncomfortable thing to go through but by no means unbearable - although i did break a few nails without realising because I was digging my nails in to my legs. I actually though, couldn't believe it was over so quickly.
The assistant then led me into another room. I said thanks, or at least tried to, when she opened the door for me. okay, I thought, this may not be as easy as once thought. She talked me through the horrors of tooth decay, scare mongering me into brushing after every meal... and it worked! Then she let me go. My boyfriend had come to the appointment with me and I was so scared to let him see me with them on. I knew he wasn't going to bother but I would and they hadn't even let me look in a mirror yet. So I hid my mouth and told him not to speak to me until I could get to a mirror! (baby I know!)
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