Braces :)

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baby-wilson

Hey... I'm getting braces soon... I'm soo excited! We got a letter today to say i am at the top of the waiting list so not too long now...soes anyone here have braces or has had them before?
I just wanted to know what i can and cant eat... also i can think of what colours i want... any sugestions of coulours that would look nice?

Thanks guys!
 
Hello

Ooh you're getting braces! Well I had mine about 13 years ago so I'm sure advances have been made since then. I was only able to have plain metal ones at that time but I reckon if there was a clear option I'd go for that or bright pink :)

I seem to think that the only things I couldn't really eat were toffees, whole apples, whole raw carrots etc etc. I found that when I had them put on or tightened my teeth felt a bit tender so didn't really feel like harder stuff but after a couple of days I was pretty much able to eat normally.

Good luck - let us know what colour you pick!

Alex x
 
hope i can still eat chocolate lol... my fave colour is green but I'm not sure if that would look like somthing stuck in my braces... dont worry the second i get them ill be on here you can count on that lol.

Will let you know what colour i pick though... thanks!
 
I have a brace & I'm 28!
I'll answer any question you want. Yes you can eat chocolate - the first couple of days you'll probably only want to suck it! I love green but I haven't had that colour before - the colours I have had are: Pale blue - looks great but they stain really easily into a kind of mint green colour which isn't bad - but if you have pale lips it can make your lips look blue/cold!. Shocking Pink in my opinion is one of the best colours because it doesn't stain really easily - & if it does it only goes a darker colour. Purple didn't look good because it didn't stand out enough from the silver & made the brackets look bigger than they actually are. The turquoise look really good & doesn't seem to stain at all. At the moment I have a dark red/Claret colour which looks nice too.
Don't go for the tooth colour brackets because they are actually bigger than the metal ones & not as strong so you will poss have the brace in for longer than you need to.
I'll dig out a few scary pics for you to look at in a moment.
It is a bit of a shock when you first get them on & it will probably hurt a bit - I actually cried at the look of them the first night - but I was 27 with a daughter & felt a bit silly! Now mine are due off in about a month & I am already missing them.
How old are you? I'm asking because I think that if you're on the NHS you can sometimes get some really funky brackets (the bit that they stick to you tooth) which are star, heart , flower shaped. But these are really new on the market & quite hard to get hold of.

I'll do you a list of stuff you need to get to make it easier for you before you get them on. I'm all excited about having someone to talk 'brace' with!
I'll try & find a few pics for you now.

Hx
 
********Warning********* - pictures of teeth for those who don't like this sort of thing!





Heres a few nasty pics for you! The first shows my teeth almost a year to the day ago. The blue things are spacers which made room to put metal bands round the tooth that they are either side of on each side. The metal bands aren't normal by the way-I have had a lot of work done on these teeth & they weren't strong enough to hold the back bracket.
spacers.jpg

Day 1 in braces - pale blue bands
day1braceft.jpg

Week 12 & teeth straightened loads already - purple bands wasn't keen
bracewk12frontclose.jpg

Bottom set on with hot pink bands week 17 - look at how the bottom looks like a rollercoaster ride!
frontday1lowerwk17up.jpg

Xmas 06 - bottom ones straightening out nicely.
xmas009.jpg


I haven't taken any since Xmas but should do very soon.
 
my 11 year old daughter has the maxofacial at hospital in april and he seems to think now she will having braces fitted this year shes been going for 3 years to keep an eye on them but she has a tooth missing and needs the braces to close up gaps she is purple mad so no doubt will pick that colour will be interested in hearing all about them, if not too grusome will show her
 
Hils the pink bands look ace! There was nothing like that when i had mine on!

I had braces when I was 17 (so18 yrs ago!)- the worst age to have them i thought, but it wasn't so bad, actually went through more boyfriends than ever during that time!. The first one had a neck strap and wires that came out of each side of my mouth to pull my teeth back - I hated this one so only wore it at night, I then had a retainer which was OK, then the big brace afterwards, but it was worth it, didn't hurt that much either.
 
Good luck love you'll be so pleased at the 'after' results. My 3 kids have all had them, each one of them really needed them badly. One for bucky teeth, one for seriously crossed and turned teeth and one for a tooth at the back of the other teeth. Most time for them on was just over 2 years least amount was 17 months. As Hils said uncomfortable and re food difficult for awhile but don't worry before you know it, even within a month you'll see teeth moving it's amazing :)
Mine all had colours, their fav colours plus footy colours or for Christmas they did red and green :)
Make sure you have before and after shots to compare with.
Another thing you do need to wear your retainer as much as possible when they come off, Dee still is wearing hers at night and she's had them off for nearly 3 years now, her teeth are beautiful and the boys even tho they've not been as good as that, their teeth look great still as well.
 
Thanks for the pics hills... I'm almost 14 i just remembered i have to lose 1 more baby tooth before i can get them :( so i am wobbling like mad! I'm very slow at losing teeth. I was thinking pink and blue maybe... whats a retainer? it sounds scary lol... is it the plate thing that goes in our mouth coz i love them lol!
I am soo happy i can still eat chocolate...
I definatly wont forget to smile! I can finaly smile without looking like bugs bunny lol ;D (you can just imagine lol)

Thanks guys... i better get back to wobbling now :P :D

EDIT::

hils78 said:
I'll do you a list of stuff you need to get to make it easier for you before you get them on. 
Click to expand...

Thanks for that hills! ;D
 
I had braces when I was at school-the only things I avoided was toffees and maltesers-I hated the sound of the crunch on my teeth-it still makes me feel funny now! :)
 
what about caramel and chewing gum... wouldnt they stick to your braces?

Thanks guys!
 
Forget toffee - it gets stuck around all of the brace & is a night mare to clean off! it could also pull off the brace. Chewing gum is ok as long as it is sugar free. My ortho actually recommended it to stop you playing with the brace with your toungue & it does help you stop clenching your jaw. This happens alot when you first get a brace on.

You can't bite into stuff like apples or raw carrots because it could knock off the brackets. But cut them up & you can still eat them. The only thing I miss eating - & didn't even like before I had brace are spare ribs - you just can't nibble. I serioulsly miss corn on the cob too.

You need to invest in loads of lip salve & bonjela! Always keep your mouth hydrated with water so that the brace doesn;t stick to the inside of your mouth. Never forget to slap on heaps of lip salve before you go for a check up because your lips go really dry & could split because of your mouth being open all the time. Get your parents to give you some Nurofen 15 mins before you go in too. It doesn't really hurt but will take the edge off anthing that might. Eat the biggest meal you can get down you before you have your brace fitted because eating will be very strange for the first few days!

Wilkos sell packs of mini tooth brushes for 99p they're on little rubbery handles & have a type of mini bottle brush head which get inbetween the brace. Put one in every coat pocket you have! Keep us posted x
 
Thanks for all that info hills... we already have bonjela because i had a huge olcer so ill have to find it! Do i us it is my mouth gets cut? wouldnt that sting heaps bad? Just wondering if those wax strips you can get... do i need them? what do i use them for lol

at the moment for the colours i get i am thinking pink and bue or pink and another colour... still can decide, at least i get to chage them monthly lol.

Will keep you posted... they just have to go through my info again and then i get to have my 'first checkup' ;D

Thanks!
 
I'm going for my first checkup on Thursday :) thats only 5 days away :D

Just wondering... the retainer you have to wear after the braces... what do they look like?

Thanks again guys!
 
hils78 said:
My ortho actually recommended it to stop you playing with the brace with your toungue & it does help you stop clenching your jaw. This happens alot when you first get a brace on.
Click to expand...

Ha! I had a brace on my top teeth when i was a teenager, but it was the type that slips in with a plate for the roof of your mouth - I used to play with it with my tongue and broke it! I can't remember not being able to eat much, only the obvious toffee etc.. but it wasn't a fixed one so it might be a bit different. It hurt when they tightened it though, i used to cheat and take it out (always got memories of that being in Geography - maybe it was in the afternoon and i'd had enough by then ;D)
 
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