Tongue Issues...

I am feeling so good the last couple of days! I'm getting over my tiredness, I can eat more in one sitting without feeling worn out and I'm not too sore. Yay me!! :-D There is one slight problem though... My mouth is being cleaned all the time, right? So I should have the freshest mouth in the world... but, it seems that when I haven't just eaten and cleaned my teeth, I need to be drinking all the time to keep my mouth fresh! I couldn't understand why... so I looked everywhere in my mouth and the only thing I can see wrong is that the back of my tongue (where I can't brush unless I want to vomit everywhere) has a white/yellowish coating on it. Has anyone ever had this problem? What could be the cause? I have no idea, so if you do, please help me?! I have never had problems with smelly breath and I don't really want to start now. I work in close contact with people all the time and I just don't want that to be a part of who I am!

I'm sure it is just something simple and it will soon be gone... RIGHT???? :-(

By the way, my SARPE/SARME surgery is only eight sleeps away... I don't feel scared yet, just a little excited I guess. I feel like once the surgery is over, it's all going to be moving forward from there. I guess things are going to get worse first; jaw fractured, teeth pulled out, pain, turning the key, and having a huge gap between my front teeth! But I can't imagine what any of that is going to feel like yet, and I know that God wont let me be in a situation where we can't handle it together. So I guess I'm gonna be ok :-D

Oh, oh!!! I went back to work at school a couple of days ago and the students were like "have you got braces? Oh they look cool!" Ha ha, so that was really nice. No nastiness at all. I'm one of them now ;-)

Day 5

I am pleased to say that I am starting to get used to all this gear in my mouth. I even ate some food today that didn't look like soup :-D My teeth are still very tender to chew with, but i am trying to convince them that they aren't... it's a work in progress. I had another first tonight; I flossed my teeth! I flossed the upper teeth first and then tried to do the lower, but that didn't happen. They actually feel like they are more crowded at the moment. I ripped the floss in to shreds just by flossing normally! Now that I know it wasn't very successful, I am going to try and find some wax covered floss with the special ortho hard tip. Any suggestions where I can find this or what brands are best??

The expander has started to feel like it's kinda cutting my tongue... not that extreme but just hurt it I guess. I am trying to be more conscious of where my tongue is sitting in my mouth to prevent this from happening as much. See how it goes.

Other than that, I have been feeling tired all week and not much like eating. It's such an effort to eat and then clean my teeth every time. So I have been eating only two or three meals per day (very small meals) and no snacks = losing weight already YAY!!!!! :-D So the makeover begins... 

Orthodontic WAX!!

I have discovered the wonderfulness of wax! The brackets felt a little scratchy against my mouth but didn't hurt too bad the first day. But last night and this morning were different. Every time I spoke or moved my lips it hurt and I already have at least one ulcer. So I put some of this wax on the brackets that offended me the most. It looks and feels a little bulky, but eventually I wont have to use it at all. i just need time for my mouth to adjust to all this gear.



The wax also came in a pack that i ordered from USA. This kit has been very handy and convenient, right from the very beginning. The kit itself is only 6x4" and maybe 1 1/2" thick. It has everything in it I will ever need and so compact! Love it :-D My daughter actually said she wanted to get braces so that she could have one of these cool bags!

http://www.dentakit.com/debrsuki.html

My favourite and most necessary piece of equipment is this tool called 'Li'l Palates Sweeper'. It has gotten me out of trouble when I thought I couldn't handle having food stuck between the expander and the roof of my mouth. I had a tablet stuck there first and I was so thankful to be able to get it out.

  http://www.dentakit.com/lpapaclto.html

Day 1-3

It is now Day 3 and I can't believe I have survived yet again! Let me take you back to the very beginning of Day 1...

I went to my appointment with the Ortho half an hour early. One of the assistants came to talk with me about how to care for my braces and teeth e.g. cleaning after every meal, how to keep them clean and what products to use etc. But no-one even mentioned the expander or what to expect with that. It was then time to start the one hour long process of having the braces fitted.

They began by cleaning my teeth and polishing them (my teeth are very sensitive, so they didn't enjoy cold air or water on them... luckily it didn't last long). I knew that my mouth was going to be stretched wide open, I was fine with that, but there was a piece of equipment that sat in my mouth (kinda under my tongue) and acted as a suction hose (it also held my tongue in place). I have a very sensitive 'gag reflex' and as soon as this thing was in my mouth, I began gagging and felt like I was going to choke! He told me to relax my tongue and after a little while I was ok... it pinched my tongue too but I didn't want him taking it out and have to go through the whole 'gag' thing again so I didn't let him know. That was the worst part for me.

After that they put the glue on my teeth and attached the brackets. This was ok, I just had my mouth open for a long time. Then he let me relax my mouth for a few minutes (wonderful), the expander was attached to my teeth and the wire put in. DONE!!

...I soon found out that having the expander in my mouth was going to mean I had a lot less space for my tongue....

I felt fine for the first couple of hours after that. My kids and my mother thought I looked good with my new mouth bling and I wasn't too worried about my appearance either. So we took a couple of pics :-)

Not too bad, right? I was surprised at how zig-zaggy they are though! Wont be long and that will look different I guess :-D

Anyway, the first night I had plans to go out (BIG no-no), I thought i would be tired because of the travelling but I'd be ok. I chose all soft food and only served a little bit for myself to see how it was eating with braces... I didn't plan on chewing because i knew from my experience with spacers  that my teeth would be tender for a while. So I sat down to eat, and found that i couldn't even swallow properly!!! i felt like i was going to choke because there was food (mashed potato) stuck in the roof of my mouth and I couldn't get it out! If i can't eat mashed spud, what can i eat?!?! I felt devastated that I was destined to spend the next six months eating/drinking only soup :-(

The whole swallowing process is hindered because of the expander being in the way. I haven't quiet worked out how to get past that yet, but I don't feel so disheartened anymore... I will get through this, i just have to be patient and wait while trying to retrain my mouth. And in the mean-while I will continue to eat soft/soup type food with very few lumps! 

Day 2 was hard too. I had to work and I felt like crap. I had been taking panadol since three hours after the braces were fitted, and this day i got something stronger. But all medications had to be soluble!! I'm pretty sure my teeth started moving straight away because they have been feeling fuzzy (like pins & needles in your leg) and kinda loose like if I pressed on them too hard they might break or come out of my gums! I guess cause I'm older the experience is going to be more exaggerated than if I were a teenager.

But now, Day 3, I have only had drugs this morning and feel like I might be adjusting little by little. 

xx 

Only Two Days Left...

I have had these new spacers in for about five days and have had no problems at all... until this morning. I woke up with my jaw feeling uncomfortable, but i can't understand why it would take this long for my teeth to start moving. Sounds weird doesn't it?

Only two days left til my freedom is completely gone! Not sure how I am going to survive without much chocolate... but i know this: braces are going to be awesome for my figure... or lack there of ;-) It's time for a 'makeover!'

I guess next time i blog, it will be about having my braces & expander put in... and I'll have new photos... SCARY!!!!

xx

Spacers Part II & the Profile Pics...

So I went to the ortho this morning and had my spacers put in again. I have had no pain or discomfort from them for the whole day... I did have panadol though because of the tonsillitis... but guess what; that's almost gone too, yay!!!!

Remember I said I would ask for the photos? Well I did... I'm almost afraid to show them, because for me they are pretty gross (but no way near as bad as some others I have seen). There are also black dots on some of the pics, I'm not sure what that is, just know that it's not a part of my mouth, ok?? :-(

Here they are!

My beautiful smiley profile :-)

 Closed mouth profile... kinda



Right side profile 

 Right side view... the worst view in my opinion :-(

 Front view... mostly hidden when I smile or talk...

 Left side

 Upper jaw

And last but not least: the lower jaw

I hope that wasn't too scary for you... soon they (my teeth and whole mouth in general) will look much better and be easier to look after & keep healthy. After all, that's the point of going through this whole braces thing, right? If and when I lose sight of this, please feel free to remind me why and/or encourage me with your story. The more of us in this together, the better!! Thanks :-) xx

Urghh...

I'm feeling so crappy today... the tonsillitis hasn't left me yet, but the antibiotics is letting me feel a tad more human like. I just miss my sleep! I've been waking up every four hours without fail for five nights now. It's like having a newborn in the house again... except I'm the baby! Tomorrow I get the spacers in but I don't even feel like leaving the house, let alone driving for two hours up and back to see my ortho for five minutes :-( But I figure, as soon as I am up there anyway, I'm going to ask if I can get a hard copy of the photos they took for my teeth profile, then I can put them up here for you to see (because they are so attractive!!) Anyway, it's a good starting point for the pics i think... a whole heap of 'before' photos... could be a good laugh if nothing else? :-D xx

Spacers :-/

A couple of weeks ago I had my first lot of spacers put in, 8 in total. This was in preperation for the expander that needs to go in the top of my mouth. I didn't expect it to be painful because they are just like tiny little rubber bands in between my teeth. But boy was i wrong. Those innocent little bands caused me enough pain to stop biting /chewing for almost the whole week. The main part was for three or four days after they were initially put in. But i survived! I guess this won't be the worst part of braces, so I have lots to look forward to.

Spacers... the tiny little blue things between my teeth

I went back a week later to have them removed and have some impressions taken. The gunk that they put in the mouth tray is disgusting, it feels like cotton wool in your mouth! I have a really sensitive gag reflex, so that's not much fun for me. But again... I survived. And the bonus was I didn't have to have the spacers put back in yet; I had a whole week of freedom!!! :-D

Tuesday is my next appointment and the spacers will be back in then, but I am ready for soft food now... I know what to expect.

One week after that... it's BRACES time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...And the expander... I'm getting all of my mouth 'bling' on before the surgery :-(

...Oh... I forgot to mention... I have tonsillitis atm, so I'm not sure if the ortho will even let me open my mouth for him. But I hope so as all the appointments will be totally mucked up if I don't follow them as they are scheduled for. Please pray that it'll be leaving me at least by Tuesday. Thanks :-D xx

My current background...

I am 28 years old and have been having wisdom teeth issues. They have been coming for years I thought, but this year they have actually cut through and have been causing me a lot of pain! I booked in to the dentist to see how much it would cost to have them all pulled out in hospital (half dead of course so I wouldn't remember any of it). The figure they quoted me was scary, but I had to have it done anyway.

Now I have had horribly crooked and crowded teeth all my life, and I decided if I was going to have my wisdoms removed, maybe I could be brave enough to finally get braces too. So I went for my first consultation with my Orthodontist. He told me he would like to remove some of my other teeth that have been filled and let the wisdom teeth move forward to be used like regular teeth. He asked me to sit down and told me that he would highly recommmend having the SARPE/SARME surgery (my top jaw broken), that means lots of money out of my pocket and more pain!!

I have been thinking and praying about this situation for a couple of months. I met with my surgeon last Thursday and asked him a whole heap of questions... I thought he would kick me out of there... But he was very patient with me and happy to answer my questions. The meeting actually put my mind at ease. I will not be having my jaw broken, it'll be fractured... so that sounds like a lot less pain, right? And I don't need to have my mouth wired shut or anything, what a relief!! So the surgery is booked for the 6th October 2011. I think I feel happy about it :-)