Tuesday 24 June 2014

Braces // My Experience

I've been having orthodontic treatment since 2012, and I'm so glad to say that it will all be over in 27 days. Hopefully. Anyway, I've had a removable appliance, and I currently just have your typical 'train tracks.'

Okay, so the reason for this entire process was my overbite and it wasn't pretty. The removable appliance had four plastic blocks - two for my top teeth, and two for my bottom teeth - that locked in place. Basically the way the brace fit together, meant that over time my jaw was being realigned.

It wasn't too painful, it was more of a dull ache, which luckily only lasted a couple of days after I got them. Not only did they sort out my dodgy overbite, they also gave me cheekbones. Obviously, my jaw wasn't correctly aligned, and so my face wasn't very well defined hence the moonface.

Anyway, after quite a few months wearing the brace religiously - even whilst I ate - I was told I didn't have to wear it in the day. Hooray! Because the only downside to it was it gave me a massive lisp, but with a mouthful of plastic and wiring, is that not to be expected?

Okay, so onto the 'train tracks'. Firstly, one thing my orthodontist said to me was basically that the wonkier and crooked your teeth are, the more it's going to hurt. So because my teeth weren't wonky in the slightest, I think I've gotten away quite lightly.

The actual process of having the brackets attached to your teeth doesn't hurt in the slightest. They're simply glued on, and then bonded to the teeth using a light, meaning you get to wear some 'trendy' medical sunglasses. The wire is then threaded through the brackets, and elastics are used to keep it in place. (The elastics are the coloured bits - I always go for pink and blue, or two shades of blue.)

So for me, train tracks weren't/aren't too painful at all and I don't/haven't had a lisp at all. For me, one thing I was worried about was brushing them. We've all seen those photos of people who didn't brush their teeth while they had braces, and seen the rotten little squares on each tooth. But in all honesty, it's not at all difficult to keep up good dental hygiene - so don't worry about that.

This is already quite a long post, so I think I'll leave it here for today. If you have any questions, leave them below and I'll try to answer them as best as I can in my next post.

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5 comments :

  1. I got my braces (train tracks) off recently, and I have to admit I miss them a little bit... No horror story marks though, so I guess I'm lucky there

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  2. I was supposed to have braces at 13 and I refused because they had to take 4 teeth out... really regret not doing it now because I have quite wonky teeth. I guess I'm just used to them but I do have like dracula fangs that stick out on my top teeth which is annoying!

    Jade x
    Beauty Butterfly | UK Beauty Blog

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  3. I wore braces for several years. I had to have a load of teeth taken out as I just had far to many and then the others were all shifted into their correct places with the braces. It wasn't too bad, as you said it just aches for a few days afterwards and obviously there's the ulcers as well from where it rubs. The day I had them taken off I was over the moon, but then I did come crashing down slightly when he said 'ok do you want surgery for your overbite now'. I was annoyed he didn't get that sorted at the same time I had the braces so I never had it done

    Becky @ The Little Blog of Beauty

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  4. Hi Becca, my teeth aren't that bad but I have a slight over bite and there's a gap between my two front ones. I'm getting braces this month and I was nervous about having them put on on/tightened but since I read your post, it doesn't actually sound that bad. Thanks for all your help!

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