Braces II

For each of my visits thus far, this is how it goes:
X-ray + consultation >> Extraction >> Braces bonding + Extraction >> Monthly follow-up

Basically, during the consultation, my dentist talked to me about my problem, which was teeth overcrowding and my midline not being aligned. It's the best time to "bomb" your dentist/orthodontist with questions because during subsequent visits, you may realize that you do not have the luxury of time to talk to him/her and that bothered me because afterall, it's your teeth you're talking about and of course you want all your doubts cleared am I right?!! I was initially told that I had to have 4 teeth extracted, all at one go. But there were some amendments along the way, and so it's 2-1-1 for each visit.

Taaaadah, a picture of me after 2 teeth extractions looking all gloomy (not that I was in pain). OUCH!! My tolerance for pain is quite high but the tugging and pulling was uncomfortable though. And with the gauze soaked in blood and me not wanting to swallow my saliva, I must say that.....THE STRUGGLE WAS REAL.
Anyway, after the extractions, I rinsed my mouth with warm salt water so that the wound can heal faster. Apparently, most people did it so there's no harm giving it a try!

poker face mode on

And how I looked after the bonding of braces and 1 tooth being extracted. Not much discomfort while the brackets were glued onto my teeth
and the arch wire going through the brackets.
3 things to clarify:

1) Only the top row is fitted in as the dentist wasn't confident of the cleanliness of the bottom row had it been fitted in, while the top row is being worked on, particularly creating space (hopefully I don't need to extract my 4th tooth) for my left canine to shift downwards and my right canine to shift now that my first premolar is gone.
2) No bracket on my left canine and upper left lateral incisor yet as I've explained above and also, it may cut my lip/inside of mouth.
3) I look like I was smirking. NO, that was the best smile I could give while waiting for anesthesia to wear off.

 

 

 

I had no issue with pain & sleeping..... which in my opinion was great news because I read online about how terrible others felt. But, my teeth was damn sensitive!!! Whhhhhooooaaa, imagine me accidentally biting down both rows of teeth and each time going OOOWWWWWW. That was sick! I stuck with soft foods like porridge for the first few days of my meals and slowly experimented with different foods. Ohhh and please expect water to leak out of your mouth while drinking or crazy amount of saliva drooling while taking naps. It was funny though ha ha hahahaha.....

 

 

This is what my teeth looks like after 1month+ into treatment. You should be able to picture me with my not-so-perfect smile prior to having braces. :((

 

pardon my dry lip & yellow teeth

 

 As you can see on your left (my right), I've got this very obvious red plastic chain attached from my bracket on my canine to the bracket on my first molar.

 

 

This is what I meant. NOW CAN YOU SEE A GAP BETWEEN MY CANINE AND UPPER RIGHT INCISOR BECAUSE I CAN!!!!! Yes, it may be a small achievement...but it has gotten me excited about what the next few months have in store for me!


Now on the left side of my teeth is this open coil spring.

It's meant to create space so that my canine can shift downwards. Keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have to extract my premolar but according to my dentist, I may have to.

 

 

That's all I've to share for now. I'm planning to do a monthly review of my braces progress here. Either that, Braces III would be when my bottom row is fitted in (probably 2-3months time). Through blogging, I hope to document my braces journey so that when it's time to remove my braces, I have something to look back at. To be frank, I benefitted quite a lot from doing research online, watching youtube videos of people with braces.

So... this is my humble contribution to anyone who might stumble upon my blog! I'M ON MY WAY TO A MORE CONFIDENT SMILE!!!

 

 

x

Braces I

Yes, I've gotten braces. As of right now, I'm 1month and a few days into it and I'm glad everything's going pretty ok for me. :)

Let me share with you guys the reason why I wanted to get braces.

Any guesses? Well, let me admit that I'm pretty vain (aesthetic). I've never been confident of my smile ever since I started to be conscious of how I look whenever I open my mouth. For this very simple reason, I've decided to not drag any longer and took the first step. Of course, having a set of straight teeth definitely makes cleaning and brushing and other maintaining (health) work SO MUCH EASIER. Some of you may ask, why only do it when you're 21? Speaking of which, I've ALWAYS wanted to have braces back in my secondary and college days but it was like an ALL-TALK-BUT-NO-ACTION kinda thing. Life went on and fast forward years later, I thought it's time I really do something about my teeth. Also back then, factoring in the cost of putting on braces given the economy, I did not want to be an extra burden to the family.

A few things to take into consideration before getting your braces done:

1. Get your parents' consent
I'm not gonna lie when I say that I had quite a hard time bringing this topic up with my parents. While my Dad was cool about my it, my Mum had a little more to say... and that's reasonable. I remembered how she told me that I had to wear my retainers fo lyfe and etc. But me being me, I assured her that everything's gonna be ok and as I'm writing this post, I feel like I was kinda bugging them. =p
More importantly, the reason why you would want to discuss this with them is that they are most likely the ones who are paying for your braces and taking care of you when you're whining about how sore your mouth is and how you can't eat this and that!!! And once they've given you the green light, it's time to do some homework.

2.  Homework
Yes, you hear me, homework. Do some search on the Internet about the things you need to know about braces! It may be a lot to do but trust me, it's all worth it. Ring up the orthodontists to check and compare prices. If possible, take a look at different forums about others' reviews and whatnot. All these go a long way in helping you search for your most desired orthodontist whom you're gonna stick to for quite some time!! Another tip is to preferably pick one that is nearer to home so as to save travelling time. For me, I chose a general dentist because an additional S$2-3K would totally be out of the question. Had circumstances allow, I would choose a specialist over a general dentist anytime. But, I've faith in my dentist! :)

In my next post, I'll be writing about the the most exciting part - bonding of braces. So stay tuned for pictures and my progress thus far!