Braces

nali77

i had them as a kidddywink, they were quite painful at times so i needed paracetamols.....
i think if your having train tracks, keep some bonjela with you at all times and also you need lip balm as my lips were quite sore after getting them.
hope this helps x

ooobedoo

I had my brace for 3 years and they look fantastic now, and it's been 10 years sinced I got the brace off, and my teeth were so slow in moving my orthodontist has to delay his retirement!!!!

choccyface2006

Yes you can have any colour ligs that you like, even alternate them if you like! I usually have boring grey but decided to be brave and I really like the pink

I want to have dark and light blue on the 12th (next adjustment) but I think I am having a clear powerchain at the top to bring my top 4 teeth together as I have some gaps now so the blue ligs might have to wait as the powerchain goes on instead of them.

I have a powerchain at the bottom and when I had a curry it went flouresant yellow :eek: :eek: not a good look so I won't be having curry again in a hurry as it will be really noticable at the top!

When yo have your brace fitted take some paracetomol beforehand and use loads of lipbalm. My lips were very dry for weeks after but thats because I wasn't prepared.

Thanks for reading my diray and the nice comments on it!

Sarah x

sarah84

I'm saving up for veneers, got a way to go though and am rather nervous about the pain too! I'm sure it will be worth it :-)

HannaB

I had braces as a tiddiler (ok, I was twelve) as I was a finger-sucker. My advice when you first have them put on... keep lots of soup handy. For the first few days your mouth will feel like it's on fire! But if you eat (well, drink) soup and have very small sarnies, you'll be fine. And then, when you first have them tightened a few months down the line, get the soup out again. After that though there's no probs. My only regret was I only had the train tracks on the top teeth. My bottom teeth still look like a rickety fence!

I can't advise on price though, it was free on the NHS at the time (ahh, those were the days!)

Hope this help

HB

(PS, congrats on the no-smoking.)

Toothsmith

sarah84 wrote: »

I'm saving up for veneers, got a way to go though and am rather nervous about the pain too! I'm sure it will be worth it :-)

Think long and hard about veneers - especially if your teeth are otherwise OK.

Your own natural teeth will last you a lifetime if properly looked after. If you have bits of porcelain stuck to them, yes they will look better to start with, but they will need replacing every few years (Between 8 & 15 I would guess, depending on the factors that are going on in your mouth). Each time they are replaced, a little bit more damage will be done to your teeth, and so they will be weakened that little bit more.

Plus - it will be more money each time it's done as well.

Is it really that important to you?

Sallys_Savings

I think everyone else has covered what I was going to mention...but I just wanted to say a big congratulations for stopping smoking and all the very best for your braces

positivelymummy

i've spent all weekend looking at the site mentioned above from choccy, wow! its very inspiring, they can do anything!!! and some peoples teeth move so fast, i know my dentist (who i see next mon) will want to see that my teeth are being well looked after so i've really upped my routine now, and gone from a quick 30 second floss on just a couple of teeth (oops) to a full on flossing that seems to take me 15 mins!!! i bought some of those floss sticks, but the floss seems thinner than ordinary floss? also sometimes i use interdental sticks but thats not really flossing just pokes between teeth, so can anyone (toothsmith maybe!) advise the best floss? on a roll or the floss thats on sticks? and thankyou, quitting smoking was one of the best things i ever did, it does make a difference to my teeth and gums, they never ever bleed now and used to bleed all the time when i smoked, and the staining:eek: good grief if it does that to your teeth, its easy to see what it does to everything and everyone else!

Badger_Lady

Wow... I always wanted braces when I was a teenager, because my teeth were never quite straight and I thought "Better now, when everyone else has got them too, than when I'm 24 and someone's boss!". But my teeth were never quite bad enough to "need" them, only cosmetically wonky.

I'm going to see my Dentist on Wednesday and will definitely look into this...

Toothsmith

positivelymummy wrote: »

i bought some of those floss sticks, but the floss seems thinner than ordinary floss? also sometimes i use interdental sticks but thats not really flossing just pokes between teeth, so can anyone (toothsmith maybe!) advise the best floss? on a roll or the floss thats on sticks?

Talk to your hygienist about Tepe brushes (Not wigwam brushes as one patient of mine insists on calling them!) they are small interdental brushes and most of my patients find them much easier to handle than floss. And because it's easier, people use them more often.

They come in many different sizes, and you could do with the help of your dentist or hygienist to get the size or even sizes that are best for you.

Here is just a random site to illustrate the brushes http://www.freshbreathonline.co.uk/page9.htm