I got braces, need advice. This sucks.

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I had them TWICE plus a palat expander which if you dont know what it is imagine having to take a key reach into the mouth and when you turn the key the metal expands to make the roof of your mouth bigger.

That pain you have goes away and then starts again the next time you go back. Make sure to clean around the metal touching the tooth i had a big hole next to where one was on my front tooth and had to have it filled in. How old are you OP?
 
Get ready for headaches for the day of, and a few days after, you get them tightened.

Just gonna have to get used to it, really.

Hope you don't have to wear too many rubber bands at a later date. My dentist went a bit overboard, and I ended up with 6 on at one time. That was annoying as all hell.
 
Get ready for headaches for the day of, and a few days after, you get them tightened.

Just gonna have to get used to it, really.

Hope you don't have to wear too many rubber bands at a later date. My dentist went a bit overboard, and I ended up with 6 on at one time. That was annoying as all hell.
Thank god i didnt have to do the rubber bands thing those just add insult to injury, my brother had them. Other than invisaline has there been any breakthroughs recently in orthoditics?
 
Ahh, I remember those days. How long you in for op?

The pain is gonna last man, just bear with it is all I can say. Prepare for the day when they start prepping you for your retainer, cause if you've got braces in the top you'll have your retainer fitted with the braces and it'll make swallowing difficult.

I remember getting to pick colored bands, that was cool.
 
Thank god i didnt have to do the rubber bands thing those just add insult to injury, my brother had them. Other than invisaline has there been any breakthroughs recently in orthoditics?

Thankfully, it could've been worse for me. My dentist originally planned for me to wear one of those external-brace-addition things, at least at night, but my teeth ended up moving a bit faster.

The amount of rubber bands near the end actually was him being a bit overly optimistic about how fast he could get my teeth to move, and the sheer amount of pain it was causing was too much, so I only had to endure that much for a few days (I did have to have two bands on for a longer while before it though).

I'm just thankful I avoided that night brace thing.

seriously

take this advice

also avoid corn on the cob

Alternatively, take a knife and slice off the kernels and eat it with a fork. I wanted my summer corn, damn it!
 
Yeah, that's just the kind of thing orthodontics is here to fix.

when the braces are on they will protrude more though lol

It depends though, on age. As an adult, not sure braces can do much for an overbite, your jaw bone has fused etc.
 
Biting down hurts (duh)

And I've been eating Greek yogurt, oatmeal, and the occasional Smoothie King.

Any braces vets have any nice smoothie recipes or something? Also, I can still eat pb&j right? I forgot to ask at the Ortho office, but I love me pb&j but the consistency is fucking tough.
I have had braces for the last year and a half.

PB&J is a godsend. If it hurts too bad, pinch it off, take a sip of milk, and mash it with your tongue until you can swallow it.

The bad pain only lasts for a few days after you're teeth's major movements are over, for the first couple of visits my teeth hurt for over a week, though...


I'm goddamn 30 and I need braces... Too late?
I'm 32 and have had them for a year and a half. Parents couldn't afford them when I was younger, I can afford them now. No reason not to do it
 
I couldn't eat normal food for around a week after an appointment. It sucks badly. Take ibuprofen/another pain reliever and hope for the best.
 
I REALLY need braces :(

Question tho, If you have an overbite and it causes your lips to protrude, will braces fix that?

Yes, it will do that but at what degree it's something that only a professional could tell. There are some very extreme cases that need jaw surgery in order to get fixed (I hope it's not your case).

On topic:

- Yeah, the first month is the worst, in my case the worst pain was during the first two weeks. During weeks 3 & 4 still hurt but much less. After that the pain disappeared except for when my doc changed the arch, which is the wire that goes through the braces and the actual piece that produces the force that makes your teeth to move. After every new arch I felt pain for about a week and that's it, but as I said, it's a much tolerable pain, compared to the weeks 1 & 2.

- You're never too old to get braces, I got mine at 37 and the treatment lasted for 2 years. I was about to not doing it cause I said "2 years?!!!!! that's too much". The thing is, time flies, those two years felt like 1 actually.

- My only regret was not getting braces before. Seriously, the moment the doc took them off and I saw my teeth in the mirror was a "holy crap my smile is so awesome" moment :D

- Permanent retainer is in my doc opinion the way to go. Every patient, said my doc, promises to use the non permanent retainer and 99% of them, again, according to my doc, stop wearing it after awhile, which means the lower teeth begins to get crooked again and that means all the time spent in the treatment go to hell. I got permament retainer and I barely can feel it when I slide my tongue in the back of my lower arch. I recommend to go that route.
 
Yes, it will do that but at what degree it's something that only a professional could tell. There are some very extreme cases that need jaw surgery in order to get fixed (I hope it's not your case).

On topic:

- Yeah, the first month is the worst, in my case the worst pain was during the first two weeks. During weeks 3 & 4 still hurt but much less. After that the pain disappeared except for when my doc changed the arch, which is the wire that goes through the braces and the actual piece that produces the force that makes your teeth to move. After every new arch I felt pain for about a week and that's it, but as I said, it's a much tolerable pain, compared to the weeks 1 & 2.

- You're never too old to get braces, I got mine at 37 and the treatment lasted for 2 years. I was about to not doing it cause I said "2 years?!!!!! that's too much". The thing is, time flies, those two years felt like 1 actually.

- My only regret was not getting braces before. Seriously, the moment the doc took them off and I saw my teeth in the mirror was a "holy crap my smile is so awesome" moment :D

- Permanent retainer is in my doc opinion the way to go. Every patient, said my doc, promises to use the non permanent retainer and 99% of them, again, according to my doc, stop wearing it after awhile, which means the lower teeth begins to get crooked again and that means all the time spent in the treatment go to hell. I got permament retainer and I barely can feel it when I slide my tongue in the back of my lower arch. I recommend to go that route.

nah I dont need surgery, but another problem I have are these white little spots on my teeth. I dont know what they are or how to remove them because toothpaste isnt helping
 
The worst thing about braces is from time to time, your mouth bumps against the braces and it'll be sore. Not to mention it's easy for food to get caught in between the braces.

Also, if your braces is self-adjusting like mine (it tightens itself up - a lot less painful than when doctor does it for you. My dentist only had to check up of its trajectory when I came to visit as well as fixing little problems and cleaning here and there), get a wire cutter because at the end of each month, the wire will poke out against the back of your mouth. You need to carefully go there and cut the wire yourself.

But rest assured that it's the best investment you can do to yourself. I got mine when I was 30 and I'm glad I did. My face now versus then is markedly different in a good way - it's scary.
 
I motherfucking hated braces. The day I got them removed (junior year highschool) was a glorious day indeed. Had those fuckers for almost two years. Worse was the palette expander I had to endure for a few months beforehand.
 
One thing you need for braces are the gums to go on the front of them so the inside of your mouth doesn't get all messed up from the braces. Can't remember about food. Had mine off for a while, I just remember that it cut my mouth up good
 
One thing you need for braces are the gums to go on the front of them so the inside of your mouth doesn't get all messed up from the braces. Can't remember about food. Had mine off for a while, I just remember that it cut my mouth up good
Oh yeah the pain from the braces cutting up the inside of the mouth is worse than the tightness from the braces. They would not only scratch my mouth but the sides of my cheek would get caught in the metal. The inside would be smooth away from the braces and then shredded up where they rubbed together.
 
Retainers are the worst. I had the old style and absolutely hated them so much. Fuck them. Stopped wearing them and teeth have shifted but no where near as problematic as before. Retainers were the worst part.
 
Make sure you brush yo teef constantly. People with braces usually have mustard gas for breath since it's really easy for food to get caught in them.
 
I love this time lapse. The improvement is so amazing...

yt9cLyQ.gif
 
According to my ortho the most recent recommendation is to wear a retainer 24 hrs for the first year after, then at night time FOR LIFE. So a fixed wire behind might indeed be the way to go.

Apparently a lot of adult orthodontics is with patients who had braces as a child but whose teeth moved since because of older guidance about retainers that turned out to be not good enough or not cautious enough.

Hmmmm, i only got 9 more weeks of invisalign, but my dentist said i only need to wear retainers ever night. Then after a year every other night.
 
Yo Spinluck, I also just got braces (on August 17th)! Originally I didn't see how I'd ever be able to eat solid food again. I never would have guessed how sore teeth actually get when you get your braces. However, today I was able to eat a hamburger and it was a little sore, but I was able to do it without much trouble. I think i'll be able to eat whatever the hell I want next week. Unfortunately I will have to go through this again because they only installed the top set of braces, i'll be getting the bottom set in 2 months.

For those asking about age, i'm 31. The ortho won't be able to fix my overbite without breaking my jaw, which isn't going to happen. It would have been fixable with a head brace if I did it when I was younger but that's long past now. I'll have these for 2.5-3 years with a 90% perfect smile.

The one thing that still really bothers me is they put this hard white plaster on two of my bottom teeth so that my teeth won't collide with the brackets, but it means that my teeth don't meet when I bite down, so chewing is a lot harder now.

I also had a problem with the wires in the back poking my cheeks but I went back in and they clipped them and are perfect now.
 
My bottom teeth are shifting like crazy as I approach middle age. I have thought about Invisalign.

But I kind of like my shark teeth hehe
 
My bottom teeth are shifting like crazy as I approach middle age. I have thought about Invisalign.

But I kind of like my shark teeth hehe

I've had that problem too, basically seems like all the time spent as a teen with braces was wiped out at this point.

I don't want permanent braces/retainer, and I'd rather not have the work possibly wiped out again as I get even older, so meh, I can eat fine, I'll manage.
 
Do teeth move in adulthood?

Lower teeth always move, that's the reason for the retainer.

My ortho also said to me that it's good to wear a permanent retainer even if you never had braces, cause that helps a lot to retain the correct overall mouth shape.

He said the facial muscles are always pushing the teeth toward the mouth cavity, and as we get older, our teeth begin to get weak, so the facial muscles start to "win" that fight and that's the main reason why old people have that distinctive "pushed" mouth profile.

themoreyouknow.jpg
 
Sure it sucks now, just remember the reason why you got them and eventually you'll get used to the "pain". I turned into a
muthafuckin
mack once I gotten mine taken off.
 
I love this time lapse. The improvement is so amazing...

yt9cLyQ.gif

Reminds me of mine. Wish i had a time lapse of that.

I didnt avoid eating anything other than corn on the cob and thats mainly because it was a convenient excuse not to eat corn on the cob. it also sucked to clean my teeth after. I chewed gum and did a bunch of other stuff i wasnt supposed to, never had a problem.

Pain will go away. I only had a couple times where it really sucked. generally after getting them tightened. I swear my teeth felt like the were going to shatter as they tightened everything. it was crazy. youll get used to it.

Nothing like having them for how ever long and then getting them taken off. so weird for the first couple days.
 
yeah that first day when they come off

you won't be able to stop running your tongue over your smooth teeth. it's crazy
 
They'll hurt for the first week, my teeth felt like glass. They'll also hurt when they tighten the braces but it won't be as bad, the pain will last a day max, maybe even a few hours.
 
I had bracers 2 years ago and I miss them (i was 27). I actually liked the pain, its weird I know. Not being able to eat bread sucked though.

My teeth are completely straight now and compared to how crooked my teeth were before its night and day. Dentist told me I'd be stuck wearing a splint on and off for the rest of my life to stop my teeth moving back.
 
Lower teeth always move, that's the reason for the retainer.

My ortho also said to me that it's good to wear a permanent retainer even if you never had braces, cause that helps a lot to retain the correct overall mouth shape.

He said the facial muscles are always pushing the teeth toward the mouth cavity, and as we get older, our teeth begin to get weak, so the facial muscles start to "win" that fight and that's the main reason why old people have that distinctive "pushed" mouth profile.

themoreyouknow.jpg

Interesting. I haven't worn a retainer/braces for 23+ years and my teeth still look the same. My wife got hers when she was younger so she has been off the retainer/braces for about 30 years and they still look good. She does wear a mouth guard at night since she's prone to teeth grinding.
 
I'm 23 and will go for braces in the coming months. I have an underbite that I want to get fixed via surgery. Orthodontist recommends i get braces first to straighten them out perfectly. Wish i did this when I was a kid.
 
I had bracers 2 years ago and I miss them (i was 27). I actually liked the pain, its weird I know. Not being able to eat bread sucked though.

My teeth are completely straight now and compared to how crooked my teeth were before its night and day. Dentist told me I'd be stuck wearing a splint on and off for the rest of my life to stop my teeth moving back.
Oh man, I don't know if it'll be the same every time, but I really liked the feeling of them "tightening" them. It's such an unfamiliar sensation.
 
Oh man, I don't know if it'll be the same every time, but I really liked the feeling of them "tightening" them. It's such an unfamiliar sensation.

Yea the tightening, you could literally feel the teeth moving over the weeks/months.
 
Interesting. I haven't worn a retainer/braces for 23+ years and my teeth still look the same. My wife got hers when she was younger so she has been off the retainer/braces for about 30 years and they still look good. She does wear a mouth guard at night since she's prone to teeth grinding.

Oh, that's cool and interesting indeed, considering what the orthos say to their patient.

Personally, I think I'll choose to wear my retainer forever just to be sure :D
 
Yea braces suck, I couldn't stand them when I was a teenager especially the tightenings, my Ortho would always pick a date near the holidays when we would have big family parties so my mouth would be in pain when eating, ugggh. Shakes, pudding, and soft sandwiches didn't bother my teeth when they were hurting from a checkup, the pain usually only lasted about 5 days.

They'll be worth it, I got mine off when I was 17 and about ten years later my teeth are still pretty straight and I haven't been wearing the retainer at night like the Ortho recommended.
 
Yes, it will do that but at what degree it's something that only a professional could tell. There are some very extreme cases that need jaw surgery in order to get fixed

This is something I was told that I needed, for my TMJ too. But F that, even if I had the money to do a jaw surgery (very expensive even when I was quoted down in Mexico) I'm not taking any risk lol.
 
Yea the tightening, you could literally feel the teeth moving over the weeks/months.

I could feel mine a bit loose during the strong invisalign. But the feeling of the aligners hugging and compressing your teeth is really interesting and somewhat comforting.
 
Never. Nobody cares. So many non braces teeth yeers ahead of you. Totally worth it.

OP, pain will go away in a few days, week. Comes back when they tighten. No worries.

Think about what you eat though. Keep that grill clean and it's less of a pain in the arse.
This.
 
I REALLY need braces :(

Question tho, If you have an overbite and it causes your lips to protrude, will braces fix that?

Yes, I got braces for a severe overbite. Make sure to wear the retainer properly once you're done. I thought I only needed to wear a retainer for 2-3 years, so stopped after that, and part of my overbite came back. ): Some of my overbite was from jaw alignment, so at least that aspect stayed put, but bleh... I hate my teeth now.

OP, I wouldn't stress over what to eat too much. As long as you make sure to clean diligently afterward, messy foods like peanut butter should be no issue. Just avoid hard foods that can damage the brackets, or stuff like corn off the cob. Avoiding the real sticky stuff like bubblegum and taffy should be obvious, too.

I would eat popcorn and crap with braces even though you're not "supposed to", but I never tried eating that real sticky stuff like gum cause I hate it... So yeah, probably better to avoid that. But stuff like popcorn? I was always careful and diligent with cleaning after, and my teeth were fine when I got the braces off.

Also if you have a history of poor gums, take damn good care of them! I already had weak gums before braces, and now I'm still suffering for it. I think I always will unless I got gum surgery again like I had to before braces. :/
 
Hmmmm, i only got 9 more weeks of invisalign, but my dentist said i only need to wear retainers ever night. Then after a year every other night.

From what I've read and what multiple dentists have told me, I'd err on the side of caution. But googling around about Invisalign specifically, I see a variety of schools of thought. There may be a certain amount of 'bargaining' going on - orthos trying to balance retention with the pain in the ass factor. It seems the biggest problem overall is the large proportion who eventually stop using them altogether, whatever about the details of the schedule.
 
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