This is going to take some getting used to...
Yesterday I went to have my spacer bands removed and my metal bands fitted.
The plan was to have 8 bands fitted over my back 8 molars in preparation for my full braces in a few weeks. These bands each have a little tube and hook arrangement on the outside for securing the archwire to the teeth and stay on throughout the whole process.
The little bands are like fitting shoes, they come in different sizes and you have to sometimes try a few different ones to get the best fit.
The blue spacer bands had made a little more space between my teeth but it was still a pretty tight squeeze sliding the bands over my molars. Much of it involved biting gently onto a plastic stick to nudge them down into position. Not painful, just a little uncomfortable. One tooth was particularly troublesome so the ortho decided to leave it band-free and deal with it next appointment. I could feel the metal hooks rubbing against the inside of my cheeks, not a great feeling, not looking forward to the full works in a few weeks.
The next stage was to remove all the bands and do the whole process again with glue. I was warned it tasted pretty grim but to be honest it just tasted a little like lemon juice. This time round there was another band that just wouldn't go back on so, again, the ortho decided to leave it off.
So far, bearable. Bite felt a little odd, a little tender in places and not entirely natural but not too bad. When I looked closer once I got home I realised that my crossbite wasn't there! The metal hooks on my top right side were preventing my bottom jaw from sliding off to the right and my midlines were practically aligned! No wonder my bite felt weird. I remember reading an ortho blog about someone who's jaw had tried to revert post surgery back to a crossbite position and was having to wear some heavy duty rubber bands to keep it in place. Something to do with muscle memory. So, having my jaw held in this position may not be a bad thing as perhaps it's preparing my muscles for their new range of movement?
Then I tried to eat.
Ah, problem.
While I have a very nice straight up and down movement going on there's no grinding movement so chewing just isn't happening. What the hell? Is this my life for the next two years? Nothing solid? I did, however, manage to eat a McDonalds Filet O Fish meal later, through a combination of hunger and some sort of 'tongue chewing'.
By bedtime I'd had a few Ibuprofen for a niggly headache (although I don't know if it was teeth related) and I had some lovely big comfortable globs of wax on my hooks. Bliss! I slept like a log so that's a relief because I do love my sleep.
So, first day summary coming up!
Pain:
Not much, sore spots here and there, wax helps
Smiles:
Chin looks a little straighter! Plus it feels good to be finally getting started
Moans:
Am going to starve!
If I knew then what I know now:
I'd have kept my little tub of vaseline in my hand while the bands were fitted as it really dries your lips out.
-- Post From My iPod Touch
The plan was to have 8 bands fitted over my back 8 molars in preparation for my full braces in a few weeks. These bands each have a little tube and hook arrangement on the outside for securing the archwire to the teeth and stay on throughout the whole process.
The little bands are like fitting shoes, they come in different sizes and you have to sometimes try a few different ones to get the best fit.
The blue spacer bands had made a little more space between my teeth but it was still a pretty tight squeeze sliding the bands over my molars. Much of it involved biting gently onto a plastic stick to nudge them down into position. Not painful, just a little uncomfortable. One tooth was particularly troublesome so the ortho decided to leave it band-free and deal with it next appointment. I could feel the metal hooks rubbing against the inside of my cheeks, not a great feeling, not looking forward to the full works in a few weeks.The next stage was to remove all the bands and do the whole process again with glue. I was warned it tasted pretty grim but to be honest it just tasted a little like lemon juice. This time round there was another band that just wouldn't go back on so, again, the ortho decided to leave it off.
So far, bearable. Bite felt a little odd, a little tender in places and not entirely natural but not too bad. When I looked closer once I got home I realised that my crossbite wasn't there! The metal hooks on my top right side were preventing my bottom jaw from sliding off to the right and my midlines were practically aligned! No wonder my bite felt weird. I remember reading an ortho blog about someone who's jaw had tried to revert post surgery back to a crossbite position and was having to wear some heavy duty rubber bands to keep it in place. Something to do with muscle memory. So, having my jaw held in this position may not be a bad thing as perhaps it's preparing my muscles for their new range of movement?
Then I tried to eat.
Ah, problem.
While I have a very nice straight up and down movement going on there's no grinding movement so chewing just isn't happening. What the hell? Is this my life for the next two years? Nothing solid? I did, however, manage to eat a McDonalds Filet O Fish meal later, through a combination of hunger and some sort of 'tongue chewing'.
By bedtime I'd had a few Ibuprofen for a niggly headache (although I don't know if it was teeth related) and I had some lovely big comfortable globs of wax on my hooks. Bliss! I slept like a log so that's a relief because I do love my sleep.
So, first day summary coming up!
Pain:
Not much, sore spots here and there, wax helps
Smiles:
Chin looks a little straighter! Plus it feels good to be finally getting started
Moans:
Am going to starve!
If I knew then what I know now:
I'd have kept my little tub of vaseline in my hand while the bands were fitted as it really dries your lips out.
-- Post From My iPod Touch
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