Re: Braces are now on - OUCH!!! Cammie

[Guest guest]

Hi Cammie,

Thank you for your reply. I should have thought of the waterpic.

My sister just got her braces on too, and she recommended one to me

a few weeks ago. I just didn't " hear " it the same way as before I

got my own braces on!! lol I am going to check on that tomorrow.

It is really time consuming now to clean out all this hardware,

though as of tonight I can see that it is getting faster each and

every time. It only took me about a half hour tonight to pick,

floss and brush my teeth after a semi solid meal tonight. I managed

blended meatloaf and a baked potato. The baked potato was

WONDERFUL!! I felt like I was eating something real!! haha

I got the wax and put it on the most tender spot. It really did

help today. By the evening now, I just removed the wax and it feels

okay for a while. I may put more on before bed on that spot anyway.

If it helps my progress to have this ledge on, I will just wait it

out and hope it speeds things up. As my mouth toughens up, the

remaining problems will not seem so large I think. And I can get by

with a semi solid diet indefinately I guess. I can make it a

challenge to find things that make it more interesting. In the

meantime, it may help me shed a few pounds I have been trying to

lose. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...maybe it is a GOOD thing! lol

Thanks for your help Cammie. I will call the OD tomorrow to see if

they realized I currently have such a very open bite with the ledge

in place, but otherwise I will just work with it. It is a lot

easier to be stoic about it when you have enjoyed a good baker! lol

Hugs,

Fran

> > Hi Everyone,

> > Well, I did get my braces on Thursday. I know I have seen many

of

> > you getting your braces on, still I really did not understand

how

> > much they HURT!!! Part of my problem with them may be that

since

> I

> > have a really really deep bite, they had to put a small " ledge "

> (my

> > OD called it something else, but I can't remember the name right

> > now) behind my two front teeth that stop my bite from going

beyond

> > the point where they would sheer off the braces brackets if my

> bite

> > went too deep. The result is that the only place my teeth even

> come

> > close to touching is on that very itty bitty ledge. So forget

> > eating! I have a new understanding of the difficulties that

> people

> > with open bites experience all the time. It is awful! I can't

> eat

> > anything that has more than the consistency of mush. My tongue,

> > which has been always before been a prisoner in my mouth that is

> too

> > small and with too deep a bite, has no clue how to mobilize food

> in

> > my mouth. I come fairly close on the right back molars, but I

> still

> > can't even " chew " boiled veggies small enough to swallow. I am

> > having to chop up spagetti!!

> >

> > My teeth are sore, which I was expecting, and the insides of my

> > cheeks, where there are little poles in addition to the

brackets,

> > are raw - I also expected that. But my tongue, which is already

> > pushed back into my throat due to the insufficiency of my lower

> jaw,

> > is now even further back due to the ledge behind my two front

> > teeth. And it hurts! What little movement it has is compomised

> by

> > that ledge. It is raw too. I grind my teeth on that ledge, and

> > that hurts!!

> >

> > Anyway, sorry to rant here about it, but while I thought I was

> > prepared for the braces and getting used to them, I really

wasn't

> > prepared for this!! I am not eating, just so I can avoid the

pain

> > of using the brush to clean them out. My mouth is so small, and

> > pulling my already sore cheek back and trying to fit the brush

> > inbetween the wires is killing me.

> >

> > Do you have any suggestions? Have you had this before? Please

> > share with me how you coped with it. I know some of it will get

> > better as my tissue becomes toughened, but the chewing and

> inability

> > to move the food bolus is going to be something I have to deal

> with

> > eventually. Can you help?

> > Hugs,

> > Fran