Addicted to the Mirror

Once you get braces, you always stare at your teeth in the mirror. It's like you're addicted to the mirror. Not to being vain, but just curious to see if your teeth moved at all. I haven't seen any drastic movements since the last time I looked. Maybe it's because I look every single second of my free time. My brackets are a lot better now, by the way. Eating is still a little bit of painful because more food get trapped in the insides of my mouth. Other than that, the scraping stopped and now my gums are no longer inflamed. Life has returned back to normal, somewhat.

Another piece of good news is that the nurse was right. My o-rings are did not stain and are not yellow despite the fact that I drank a cup of coffee today. There was no staining whatever. It's interesting. I will surely remember to get the same color o-rings next time. It's called Bone.

Bad week

It has been a bad week for me since my 2nd adjustment. My mouth wall tissues are inflammed, so whenever I bite or chew or even talk, my teeth trap the tissues in-between. It feels almost like biting on your tongue, but 10x worse because the area is already inflammed. Talk about adding salt to the wound. The rear brackets are not only scraping the walls of my mouth, they are really painful on the gums. My gums where the rear brackets are so sensitive. They are all red and inflammed as well. I think the nurse might have pushed the brackets too far into my gums. I'm going to wait 1 more week and go back to the ortho if the swelling continues.

As you can imagine, it was really painful to eat during the past week, which is such a shame because it was Thanksgiving and I had about 3 dinners to go to. I still have a hard time chewing today. I've changed my diet back to softer foods such as soups, tofu, napa cabbage, and potatoes. I think I will have to go through those food for one more week, or so I hope.

2nd Adjustment

I went in bright and early today at 8am for my 2nd adjustment. The spacers didn't bother me as much as it did the last time. The spacers went off in no time, and I had to do those back molar bracket fittings. The nurse associates this procedure as finding a shoe among hundreds that fits without first knowing the shoe size. A couple of tries, but she found it. The worst part was having to "bite-close" and to force those brackets into the molars. I don't have a proper bite to begin with, so you can just imagine how hard it was to bite-close those brackets into the back molars. My teeth got so sore! They still are! I can barely chew on anything today. The rear brackets are also scraping against my teeth so I need to use wax.

My ortho fitted me with even thicker archwires. I was surprised when he said that the past 2 wires I had were only "training" wires. Now, it's more like the real thing. He told me that the good news is that my teeth moved a lot, and the bad news is that my teeth moved a lot. He said it while he was checking on my teeth. With my mouth open, I wasn't able to respond. I'm not really sure what that all mean, now that I come to think of it. I hope it's not all bad. I did notice that my lower teeth now look slanted. Is that the way it should be? My ortho already told me that my teeth will look worse than they do before, due to the fact that he is correcting my teeth based on what's going to happen in surgery.

My next adjustment is not going to be until January 20th! 9 weeks from now! My ortho said that the archwire will need 9 weeks to adjust because it's thicker. He also told me that from now on, my adjustments will be further apart because the thicker wires will need more time to adjust. I will eventually need 7 more wires. I got "bone" colored ligs this time. According to the nurse, this is the best color without major staining. I sure hope she's right. My next adjustment is 9 weeks later! The tooth-colored one that I got last time didn't work.

Pre-2nd Adjustment

I went to the Ortho today to put in spacers for my rear molars. On Monday, I will have 4 more rear brackets, in addition to the 4 I already have. The spacers are just what I remembered them to be, annoying. They don't hurt as much this time because I only have 4 this time, instead of 8 last time. They still feel like food stuck in between my teeth. It's hard holding back from flossing them out. I also got some sores on my upper right lips today. I'm not sure why that happened.

One thing I don't like about having braces is all those ortho appointments I need to go to. If I'm a kid going to school, I would love it. Having an ortho appointment would mean a legal excuse to skip classes. But now that I'm working and being as busy as I am, having to leave early or come in late to work become a nuisance. I make the appointment usually 6 weeks before the actual appointment and with my luck, I always seem to pick the day that end up being the busiest day of the month. Yeah. I try to plan around my known scheduled deadlines, but something always come up in between. Like today, I had to excuse myself from a meeting mid-way because I had to leave early for my appointment. I felt embarrassed.

Happy 2nd month!

I've reached my 2 month mark. I know there is a lot more months to go, but it's still a milestone for me. For the most part, I'm 90% used to my braces now. My teeth and gums are no longer sore. I am able to bite into certain food that I would have never attempted to a month ago. So there's definitely progress there. Speaking of progress, I don't notice much difference between my Oct 25 picture and where I am today. Doesn't seem like anything has changed. I guess my definition of change is the straightening of the archwire. But since it was already relatively straight on Oct 25, there isn't a whole lot of more straightening to do. Not that I know this for sure, but I think my next step is to change my bite and the way my upper and lower teeth "fit together." I'm impatient when it comes to these things. I wish everything can go faster.

By the way, I've already lost 6 pounds since I had my braces. I guess you could say 6 pounds less in 2 months. A lot of it has to do with my diet. I've been cautious of what I eat...not because certain foods are more "fattening," but because I tend to gear towards "easy-to-chew" foods, which means lots and lots of tofu. I love tofu, so I guess it all works out. I rarely drink coffee now because it stains my clear ligs. Instead I drink tea. So at the end of the day, I am eating and drinking a lot healthier, although not necessarily all by choice. I would love to eat pizzas and fried chicken wings, but because the massive amount of work I need to do to cut them up, etc I just give it up altogether.

Spacers on Friday .. Yuck.

Endless Sores

When I first got braces on, the metals scraped against the inside walls of my mouth day and night. Knowing that our body is usually very good at adjusting to changes, I tried hard not use any wax because I wanted my mouth to adapt and "immune" to the braces. I want my mouth to quickly develop the stronger tisses to withstand the pain. So, the sores came and went. But I just learned that you can never be done getting sores as long as you have braces on. I got my new adjustment last week and this week, I've already experienced multiple sores inside my mouth, in "new" spots. I guess when your brackets move, they scrape against new areas of the mouth. It's actually quite annoying. So, even if you think that your mouth is equipped to battle sores, it isn't. You'll never be done.

1st adjustment

I just came back from the Orthro's office for my 1st adjustment. I got all my o-rings changed. I chose the tooth-colored o-rings for my upper clear brackets. Hope these won't stain, but I have a feeling that they still will. I don't remember if I got the same ones last time or did I get the clear ones. Either way, I'm going to try them to know for sure. They also removed my archwire and replaced them with slightly thicker ones. When the new archwires went on, my teeth were a bit tight. But after 2-3 minutes, they felt fine again. I don't feel any different than I did before going to the visit, which is good and bad. Good because I don't feel any pain. Bad because I am wondering if that is what I should feel? Are my teeth adjusting faster than normal? I often read about people's experience with braces and for the most part, they are pretty bad. But for me, I'm fine. My teeth aren't hurting at all. Even my orthrodontist tells me that I should feel sore, but in reality, I don't. I'm perfectly OK. I mean, I feel the inconvenience, but pain? soreness? Not really. That worries me a bit.

My orthrodontist tells me that he's using the most comfortable treatment for me and that may be why I don't feel pain. He said my first archwire was just a "transition" period just so I can get used to have braces. The archwire I have now helps me start the process. I will be getting rear metal brackets on my furthest back molars in 3 weeks. I already have 4 (2 upper, 2 lower) but I'll get 4 more. The worst thing is that I will need spacers before the brackets can go on. I HATE SPACERS. They hurt like hell and are really annoying. They feel like you have food stuck in between your teeth, 24 hours a day. They move your teeth apart so all the other teeth feel pressured. Luckily, I got the orthro to give me appointments only 3 days apart so I can get the spacerse removed ASAP. Next appointment: November 18, 2005 for spacers. November 21, 2005 for my rear brackets. I think I will get another set of wires on that day as well.

I was able to eat a pizza for dinner today. I still had to cut it up into pieces but at least I was able to chew and swallow it. I avoided the hard crust and ate mostly the middle, more soggy parts of the pizza. Happy to note that I am beginning to get used to having braces. Don't get me wrong, I am still very much reminded every moment that I have braces and the inconvenience of having them doesn't go away. But at least now, my teeth don't hurt as much. People tell me that the moment you get used to the braces, it's time to have them adjusted (usually about 6 weeks), which is totally correct in my case. I will have my first adjustment this Thursday. I took a picture of my teeth today and notice substantial improvement since the first day. My archwire is now almost totally straight. This only tells me that my teeth are beginning to straighten with the archwire, which is exciting for me. I wonder if I'll be getting a new archwire on Thurs....which I'm sure will cause me another few weeks of pain. Not looking forward to that. On the flip side, I am anxious to change out my yellow o-rings. I have been enjoying coffee this week because (1) I really needed it to fight jetlag, and (2) I know that I'll be changing my o-rings this Thursday. I'm posting the picture I took today and I'm re-posting the first day the braces got on. You can see the noticeable difference when you compare the two.

October 25, 2005

September 16, 2005

Happy 1st month!

Sorry that I haven't been blogging as often as I would like. I'm actually on business travel in Hong Kong right now. The bad thing about this trip is that I need to meet a lot of new people. People who I always email or talk to the phone with, but have never met in person. I am conscious (and curious) of what people think of me when they first see me, with braces. I don't think they would have imagined someone as old as me to have braces. Majority of the people would have nice teeth by now, since braces are usually a teenager thing. But nope, not me.

Traveling also throws you off your normal schedule. I am relying a lot on coffee to keep me adjusted to the time schedule and the lack of sleep. My O rings are already disgustingly stained, so I'm not even going to care anymore. I need the caffeine to keep me awake.

I've been pretty busy with work and meetings, but I have to find time today to celebrate my 1st month anniversary with braces!! Like I said before, the experience hasn't been bad so far. I go on my first adjustment on Oct 27.

Don't eat greens in public!

I learned something new today. Never eat greens in public...especially spinach. Or any other veggie related to spinach. They will stick onto your braces like glue and are almost impossible to remove. After I brushed my teeth, irrigated with high-pressure water, and flossed, the spinach is still stuck in between my teeth and wrapped around my brackets. It's already embarrassing to have green stuff stick in between your teeth. When you have braces, it's 10 times worse. So word of caution, don't eat spinach in public.

I hit my 20 day mark today. YEAH! I am quite amazed that my teeth has already started to move a little bit. My front teeth are still sore and sensitive. They're not painful nor bother me at all, but I can't bite food with them. I usually have to break the food apart into smaller pieces and then chew with my back teeth. In fact, when my mouth is idle (not eating or talking), I almost forgot that I have braces on.

Like I promised last time, I'm posting some of my "before" pictures. Hope they won't scare you!

When you look at my front view (right), my teeth and jaw don't look too bad. In fact, I've learned how to smile so that only my upper teeth show and no one really notices my protruding jaw.


Now if I turn to my side and you see my profile... YUCK!!! I hate my profile. My jaw protrudes out sooo much. My lower lip sticks out so much! I never take any pictures with my profile. It's ugly, ugly, ugly!!

Here is my teeth. Sorry to scare you! Notice that the top and bottom teeth don't touch each other. There is at least a 5mm gap in between. My bottom teeth tried to accommodate the irregularity by growing inward, attempting to touch the upper teeth. For the most part, my front teeth are inusable. I only chew with my back teeth, which aren't fitting to each other that perfectly either. Some parts of my teeth are crooked. The bottom right has some crowding.

My first day in braces! September 16, 2005. The crookedness is noticeable when I have the braces on because you can tell from the archwire. It's not straight. The worse part is the bottom right crowding.


Here is my teeth today, 20 days later. Notice the lower right teeth...the crowding is a little bit better. The tooth no longer "leans" to the side. The wire has also straightened out. I am happy that it's progressing. My orthro tells me that since my lower bottom teeth leans inward, the plan is to have them straighten, so before surgery, the gap in between the top and bottom jaw will be wider. My teeth and lip will appear to protrude out even more. Until then...

Yellow O rings

I just realized that I got my O-rings stained. They're no longer clear but yellow. In case you don't know what O-rings are, look at the picture. They're little plastic rubber donuts that hold the archwire to the individual brackets. I have ceramic brackets on top so my O-rings are clear. But now they're yellow!! :( I didn't notice it until today so I'm trying to remember what I ate or drank that may have caused the staining. I narrowed it down to 1 culprit: Coffee. It's all my fault because I knew that coffee would stain before drinking, so ignorance couldn't be my excuse.

If you know me well, I'm a big fan of Coffee. I love the smell of it, the taste of it. It's the one thing I look forward to in the morning. But I knew coffee stains things, just like how they stain your teeth, your white mug. So after I got braces, I held back (very hard) and traded in my morning coffee for green tea instead. But after an extremely long week at work last week, I decided to treat myself to nice cup of Iced Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks on Friday. This is my favoritest drink in the world! But little did I know that as I was indulging on my coffee, it's doing damage to my clear O-rings! Getting them stained is not the end of the world. Once I go for my adjustment, the O-rings get replaced and I get brand new ones. But it's just from now until then, I will need to live with yellow ones...

Intro

I'm dedicating this website to share my experience, feelings, emotions with others about my journey for a perfect smile. I won't include my other daily activities because I have a separate weblog for that. This website will solely discuss my experience with braces and eventually, with jaw surgery.

I think I'm already 4 months too late in starting this weblog, but I guess it's better late than never. So everything started when I turned 30 years old this past May. I don't know what it is about turning 30 that made me realize that I needed to do something about things I am unhappy with. One of the things that has plagued my life so far has been my ugly teeth. I grew up with extremely low self-esteem because I have bad teeth and an ugly smile. I visited an orthrodontist when I was 12 or 13, but my parents didn't have the money to pay for the braces. I went again when I was 25 and found out that my situation involves more than just braces, it requires jaw surgery as well. My lower jaw protrudes out (imagine Jay Leno) because it is overgrown. I have what professionals call a Class III malocclusion (aka underbite). My underbite was so severe that braces alone can not correct the problem. Cost to this surgery: 20 grand. Just imagine that. So, no, I didn't have the money to do any of that. So getting braces was put to the back burner but it never escaped my mind.

So, fast forward to this year, after my 30th birthday, I felt a sudden urge to fix my teeth. I figure that if I don't do it this year then I should just shut up, move on, and never think about it again. So my saga started back in June when I made my first initial consultation with an orthodontist. Again, same old story, in addition to the braces, I would also need a jaw surgery to move my lower jaw back into alignment with the upper jaw. What was different this time which gave me a little positive push was the fact that my health plan at Kaiser covered the jaw surgery procedure. I wouldn't have to pay anything for the surgery. I would need to wear braces for 1 year and then have the surgery. Then braces for another year. 2 years. That's my timeline for the perfect smile.

Then things began to move along although very slowly. I got impressions and X-rays done. I met with the Kaiser physicians, first with my primary care doctor to get a referral, and then with the oral surgeon. I extracted one of my upper molars (wisdom tooth) and had to let everything heal. Then I waited for the Kaiser authorization to go through. And then FINALLY, after 3 months since the initial visit, I had my braces put on!! During this process, I was very frustrated.

I chose clear ceramic brackets for my upper teeth and metal for my lower teeth. My orthro suggested that I use metal for my lower because they are more secure and stable, since I will eventually need surgery for my lower jaw. There is less chance of the brackets breaking. It's been 15 days since I had my braces on. I would say, the first 5 days were the hardest. My teeth were sore and it was very difficult for me to bite and chew my food. I mostly ate soft foods. I also had to brush my teeth every time I eat. The most annoying thing was that the metals keep on scraping against the inside walls of my mouth. It was very irritating. For the most part, I try to just 'swallow' and endure the discomfort because I am just too excited, that after so many years, I finally made getting braces a reality. Majority of the scraping is gone because my mouth has already adapted to the braces getting there. My archwire is already straightening out and my next adjustment is in 4 weeks. I'll post some "before" pictures next time.