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Faerunner posted:I didn't know an Airfloss existed either before you mentioned it. Looks like waterpik systems are cheaper though. I nearly swallowed my lower retainer a few times and it terrified me so much I stopped wearing it. I didn't really need it that much, thank goodness.
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Mar 27, 2016 09:49
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I had an area in my mouth i kept accidentally biting, and it could never heal. I tried this stuff and it was surprisingly effective. It numbed the area, and the sore finally calmed down and healed. Got it at Walgreens. http://www.kank-a.com/products/kank-a-mouth-pain-liquid ...However, it does have a strong medicinal taste and wears off fairly quickly. I found it best to use before bedtime. Anyway, it's worth a shot! I wish I had known about this when I had braces.
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Mar 27, 2016 13:49
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I didn't wear my retainer as long as I should have because I never got the hang of speaking with it in without a huge lisp. My teeth shifted back a little bit but not too much. I kind of actually like it better because my teeth look naturally straight and don't have that weird extra super straight kind of pointed inward look that some people have post-braces.
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Mar 27, 2016 17:24
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I just have wires bonded to the back of my teeth, instead of a retainer that has to be put in or taken out manually. They've been there for a decade now and haven't caused me any bother whatsoever.
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Mar 28, 2016 16:43
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Those "bonded" retainers are known for coming loose though, even just on one tooth - then that tooth moves back to where it wanted to be before you wanted it to be somewhere else. Also, they need a lot more care (flossing round them, etc.) than a removable retainer. They aren't used much in the UK as far as I gather. When I asked my ortho how long I should wear my retainer for after the initial 6 months or whatever you are told, he basically said "one or two nights a week - for as long as you want your teeth to stay straight!". So that's what I do, it's not a hassle and it saves me doing it all again if my teeth shifted.
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Mar 31, 2016 19:26
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After my braces came off as a teenager, the orthodontist numbed me up and put a tiny razor between my tooth and gum and went around all my teeth that way. He said it was to cut the little fibers that hold the teeth because they would remember how my teeth were before and move back. It didn't mess with my teeth other than being sore and only one tooth moved a little bit on the bottom in the years that followed. Google said it's called a fiberotomy. Anyone else get this done? BULLETKISS fucked around with this message at 04:28 on May 30, 2016 |
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May 30, 2016 04:26
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O_o I think I'd rather avoid razors in my gumline, but sure, if that worked. I'm hoping that at the end of 3 years and with a retainer my teeth will STAY THE gently caress WHERE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE. I've never heard of anybody having it done, but then so far all the braces stories I've heard were variations on "Oh I hated them and they hurt, good luck!"
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May 30, 2016 04:34
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Jose Mengelez posted:This made me laugh, same thing happened to me. I had my braces in my early 20s (I'm 32 now) and can't agree enough. It was a literal pair of wire cutters, and the little metal thing even shoots into your gum when it snaps off. Thankfully my Dad's really awesome insurance at the time pretty well covered it all, otherwise I would have been pissed to pay $100+ to have that snip done. I have 0 regrets and am so glad I had braces. My dental hygiene game is on point now (because it had to be, nobody wants those marks on your teeth) and I now respect people with/have had braces so much. It was pretty annoying getting my mouth filled with playdoh for the retainer molding or having my braces cranked down twice a month, but man if I was a 10 year old kid I wouldn't have been able to sit still out of anxiety and discomfort. Also being the one male adult patient at an orthodontist full of kids and hot hygienists was a pretty nice bonus. -- Also to agree with others, the wax was a lifesaver at times it really was. Sitting at work one day and POW damnnnnnn my mouth hurts, what the hell is that? *Sees syringe looking wire sticking in gum that somehow broke free* Let me ball up this wax and shove it in there before I get to the ortho...AWWW THE RELIEF
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May 31, 2016 17:06
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I have mixed feelings about the wax. On one hand it has been useful in protecting my cheek from pointy wires. On the other hand, it gets soft and doesn't hold form at body temp, so it's a pain to get it to stay where it's needed. Better than nothing, though. Now if I could only stop pinching my tongue in the spring leg of my appliance I'd be so happy... T minus 3 weeks to full lower braces.
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May 31, 2016 17:16
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Faerunner posted:I have mixed feelings about the wax. On one hand it has been useful in protecting my cheek from pointy wires. On the other hand, it gets soft and doesn't hold form at body temp, so it's a pain to get it to stay where it's needed. Good luck! I never had braces as a kid, but I had them when I was in my mid 20s for basically my second half of law school (so 1.5 years, more or less). It was annoying at times, but I'm so glad I did it. Agreed that the wax was helpful when it would stay in place, which isn't a guarantee. I thought there used to be another A/T thread about being an adult with braces, but I guess it died at some point in the few years since I've had mine off.
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May 31, 2016 19:42
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Probably. I didn't see one on the first few pages of the forum and I don't have plat for search, so I just started a new one. 
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Jun 1, 2016 14:33
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I had braces two times around, once as a kid (awful) and once as an adult (slightly less awful). I have the permanent retainer wire in my bottom teeth and it's never caused me trouble, while my top teeth have shifted a bit. But try out invisalign if you can get away with it, it's a lot better than the wire catastrophe. I still have some scars in my inner mouth from how badly braces tore my gums up since I hated the wax.
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Jun 3, 2016 08:19
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McPhock posted:Your teeth will never, ever feel as weird to you as in the first 30 seconds after your braces come off My first words to the orthodontist after getting my braces off were "This feels grea..... are my teeth about to fall out?!" Seriously, it feels like your teeth are rattling around in their sockets when you get the braces off. Braces were the worst thing that ever happened to me, and the worst three years of my life. gently caress braces.
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Jun 6, 2016 22:00
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My teeth felt brittle as hell for a few days right after but either got better or I got used to it.
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Jun 7, 2016 02:48
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Just skimming through this thread while I'm trapped at work and figured I'd chime in. I had braces when I was a teenager--standard stuff, top and bottom braces with rubber bands to try and correct my underbite. I also had a Hyrax appliance--basically picture a car jack, but it's horizontal in the roof of your mouth. It is designed to widen the roof of your mouth and you crank it a turn every day. It was basically sore forever, but one night when I cranked it, I felt a sharp pop and searing pain run from between my front top teeth all the way up my nose to my eyes. I swear I split my skull, although I know that wasn't (probably) it. Anyway, I also currently have braces again at 32. I'm in the US Army and went in for a routine dental cleaning. The dentist saw me and got all excited, saying the base I'm currently at specializes in jaw surgery that's exactly what I need blah blah blah. Long story short, I'm going to have some pretty intensive surgery done to corect my underbite and allow my teeth to finally touch when I close my mouth. It should help with trivial things like "biting food" and, honestly, it's also going to be partly cosmetic. Before they can do the surgery, though, I've got to wear some braces to get stuff lined up. It's been about a month with top braces on. I had a skin graft onto my lower gums to provide enough support for the braces down there that I'm geting in a few weeks. Then in a few months, they'll cut two segments out of my lower jaw so it can slide backwards a few mm, then cut my upper jaw completely off, cut it in half, realign it to correct some cross-bite I have going on, and bring it forward a tiny bit. Then I'll have my mouth wired shut for about two months, during which I'll be on a liquid-only diet and probably go crazy from not being able to talk or brush the inside of my teeth. I've got a bunch of pictures from the gum skin graft and they are fun to show friends and family to make them squirm. I am a bad person. [edit] Also, the wax is a lifesaver for me for the first week or two until the insides of my cheeks and tongue get tough enough. I've eaten a few chunks of wax when I forget I have it in, but it's well worth it to not have the insides of my mouth feel like hamburger. [edit2] Floss threaders are wonderful and I love them. Waterpiks aren't as good, from what my orthodontist has told me. It's fine for getting gunk out from your brackets, but it can't get in between teeth and up under the gums like real floss does. With threaders, it's a little more time consuming, but honestly if I'm getting a barbwire fence glued inside my mouth for over a year, I think I'm prepared to spend an extra 5 minutes a night flossing. Aranan fucked around with this message at 13:08 on Jun 18, 2016 |
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Jun 18, 2016 12:56
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What up, bilateral mandibular osteotomy + Lefort I buddy? 
Grundulum fucked around with this message at 14:33 on Jun 18, 2016 |
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Jun 18, 2016 14:29
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I had to Google those big words.
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Jun 18, 2016 15:14
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Congratulations, you have successfully made me feel like my mouth is not that bad. That's saying something, because this is my mouth as of last week:  Tomorrow the lower braces go on and they adjust the pendulum on top again and I go back to a soft-foods diet for a few days. Lucky we just bought a bag of frozen strawberries. SMOOTHIE TIME.
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Jun 21, 2016 05:16
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Faerunner posted:Congratulations, you have successfully made me feel like my mouth is not that bad. Heh, nope.
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Jun 21, 2016 05:25
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Achievement unlocked: Shave 15 years off your age! I underestimated how quickly the pain would set in so I'm playing catch-up with doses of tylenol and it's not working well. I think I'm gonna skip the next painkiller dose and go straight for the liquor cabinet. I might look too young for alcohol but I assure you, I was born before 1995.
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Jun 21, 2016 20:22
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Yeah, I am having a sore day myself. Had spacers put in for a second set of bands, so chewing is something I am avoiding. Oh well!
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Jun 21, 2016 21:18
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Y'all making me so excited for my third round of braces 
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Jun 21, 2016 21:38
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Faerunner posted:Congratulations, you have successfully made me feel like my mouth is not that bad. Jesus, that looks uncomfortable. My palate was too narrow as well, but I ended up with an Inman Aligner instead of braces - my teeth weren't terrible. Happily, it seemed that once you made room for the teeth to go straight, they actually wanted to - mine moved super-fast. And I'm nearly 40, so no kiddy with teeth and bones that shift around on a whim. Hope yours are the same!
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Jun 23, 2016 20:04
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Faerunner posted:Congratulations, you have successfully made me feel like my mouth is not that bad. Is that one of those things where you need to turn it with a key? It's fricking awful. It hurt so much.
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Jun 23, 2016 21:32
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No - I had one of those key expanders as a kid! And it was painful. Faerunners has springs instead, so it works more gently, but all the time. Kids bones aren't properly fused together so they can expand easily, but with adults, the hard palate is probably fused together so its more of a constant stretching thing.
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Jun 23, 2016 21:50
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Yeah, those expanders with the crank were pretty awful. I remember getting poo poo stuck up in mine all the time and it cuts your mouth room down by a good 30%. It felt super weird when I finally got it out; my tongue felt like it would get lost in all the space that was my empty mouth. I'm getting a little better at flossing with the threaders. Doesn't take nearly as much time as it did initially. I'm sure it helps that the braces have started moving my teeth around, so I have more room between them and it's easier to just slide the threader right in.
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Jun 23, 2016 22:18
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Ohnonotme got it right - this is just spring legs and constant pressure. It's supposed to be shifting my molars back so there's room for all the others up front to fall in line. So far it's actually moved them quite a bit - you can see the gap in front of the silver bands around the molars. It's weird having a big gap there so I keep sticking my tongue in it. And oh my god, the food that gets stuck in this thing. Cooked spinach is the worst. Right now my lower teeth ache horribly, work doesn't provide an adequate level of distraction (and also requires me to talk, which has torn up my inner lip) and I got my monthly bill from the orthodontist and I'm tempted to send them back a note asking "Why am I paying you for this torture?". I'm being a baby about it but I haven't wanted to chew anything harder than a french fry since Tuesday afternoon. Three cheers for Blendtec! Aranan, any tips for the floss threaders? My dentist told me to tie the floss to the threader so you don't have to re-string it for every tooth, but I still feel like it takes so long to get the threader under all the wires...
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Jun 24, 2016 02:08
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I take about 2feet of floss, put it in the threader so there's 1 foot on each side, then thread it between my teeth and floss with double-wide floss. That way I'm not having to re-thread the floss each time. I'm using ribbon floss, so it doesn't change the thickness, really. [edit] I woke up and one of my spacers is gone. I guess I ate it while sleeping. Whoops. Aranan fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Jun 25, 2016 |
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Jun 24, 2016 03:55
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Ughhhh I'm on vacation three hours away from my dentist and I feel like there's something trapped under the gums near my right premolar. It's been bothering me for days now and no amount of floss, waterpik or brushing has helped. The whole area has gotten steadily more inflamed and painful. Worst part is that I just got my teeth cleaned and they had to dig a tomato seed out of the hosed up front tooth gap, where it had been wedged for over a week because I couldn't get it out. I have no idea what is stuck this time or why this keeps happening. I never had a problem before the braces  Edit: Might not be stuff stuck up there, just aching from the teeth moving. The entire area on both sides is sensitive and eating is horrible and it's 90* but all I want to eat is soft stuff, and that mostly means microwaved spaghettios and ice cream. I'm buying stock in our local ice cream company after this. Faerunner fucked around with this message at 10:41 on Jul 13, 2016 |
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Jul 5, 2016 05:01
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