braces

[bunnycutie]

 so…. im getting braces on the 11th. i know im so fortunate to get them, lots of people cant. and my teeth will be pretty! right now i have my spacers in(they KILL!) so i have taken an advil liquid gel for the pain. it helped. my mouth hurt so bad this morning i literally couldn’t open it. ouch. now just four more days. any one who had braces want to give me advice? its kinda scary so while im getting all this stuff i think about my favorite topic: BUNNIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FluffyBunny]

Spacers = nastiness

My only advice is…uh, it’ll get worse, so…eat while you can. D:

[katie, max & penny]

ooh spacers do hurt. i had braces when i was your age. it really sucks but just do what the ortho tells you and eat when you can and you’ll survive!

[bunnycutie]

ohhhh uh *cough* im a blonde sorry its actually the 15th im getting em on. not the 11th. that was yesterday. haha. im going to do everything! no gum/sticky food and brush my teeth alot! i will obey! haha! and i will eat while i can

[mrmac]

I had braces when I was younger. Eat the things you wont be allowed to as much as you can now, well not that you can with spacers in. Your mouth will be sore, keep advil handy.

[bunnycutie]

yup advil’s handy

[Daisy1029]

I had braces in middle school and a trick I learned to survive was baby food. Whenever I got the bands changed or anything that would cause pain I would eat mushy foods. I survived my braces by eating things like Mashed potatoes, pudding, jello, ice cream, and eventually I started eating some of the fruit varieties of baby food. I could take them in my lunch and it didn’t hurt to eat it. Of course its not the most sustaining lunch but it was something.

[katie, max & penny]

oh ya baby food and jello were big time important.

[Miyuki]

I suggest soups that have soft things like noodles or soft small veggies. Just to let you know when they change the wires you’ll probably experience the painful can’t chew phase each time… I never had spacers but that could be because I was one of those people that had huge gaping holes since they pulled all my teeth out!

Oh and don’t forget the good stuff… pudding, milkshakes, ice cream, smoothies… just to name a few .

[KatnipCrzy]

I missed eating popcorn- and that was the first thing I did when I got them off to celebrate- movie and popcorn.  The hulls from popcorn are supposed to be a bad combo with braces.

Even though it sucks right now- be happy that you are getting them at a young age- it hurts more when you are older.  I got braces at 21- and had to have top and bottom expanders first which was painful also.  Everyone thought I was young since I had braces- and one of the assistants after my ortho appt of changing the bands, etc- asked me if I needed to call for a ride home!  I had to laugh because I was 22 years old, married and had been driving myself around for 6 years already.

The spacers I had made me drool like crazy- your mouth produces saliva to “wash away” what it thinks is “foreign material”.

Are you getting clear ones or metal ones?  I had metal ones and chose different colored bands each time- excep light colored bands can get stained from spices and look weird.

[jerseygirl]

Oh yeah been there done that! I had them age 12-13 I think. Advil (ibuprofen in general) is good for dental pain. You may even be able to take it 1/2 hour before your appt for adjustments – but ask you Ortho first about that. You’ll find it may hurt less the further into treatment you go and the teeth become more mobile. You adjust to the feel of braces pretty quickly. I remember how weird it felt when I had them taken off! It took me a while to readjust to the feel of just bare teeth! My main advice to you is after you get them off – WEAR YOUR RETAINERS! Lol! (I worked as an Ortho tech for 6 years ) Your teeth are still really mobile after the braces come off – so if you don’t wear retainers, all the work can come undone really quickly.

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

I just got my braces off after two years. It was annoying at times, but it went fast! My biggest recommendation would be to go to the store and buy yourself a waterpik to clean your mouth with! Those little contraptions are a godsend.

[jerseygirl]

Rachel – can we see your new smile?   btw, wasn’t it your Ortho that you found out had pet rabbits?

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Yes, my orthodontist has a purebred Jersey Wooley! He went on a statewide search for that little critter. It gets me every time! Let me find a picture from when I had just gotten my braces off!

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Here’s my new smile!

 

 

And for reference, here’s what it used to look like. The braces were for a heck of a lot more than cosmetic changes, though!

[jerseygirl]

Beautiful!   Don’t stop smiling!

[jerseygirl]

Oh and Bunnycutie….one more peice of advice. Stop eating hay when you get your braces on. Be hell to clean!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I don’t think I have loaded pics to show my ‘before’ but I had small teeth that were second to my front teeth. My mouth cost $ with braces, retainers, cosmetic stuff-I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to finally have nice teeth-especially if your sensitive with the starting project!! It’s just so nice to smile with no reservations!! You’ll love it-tough it out

 

 

[bunnycutie]

yup. i bought all my favs! chicken noodle soup, spegittios(i spelled that wrong!) ummmm pudding and yogurt. and boy i need em! baby food? im not so sure i will be buying that. but the good side is i get all this yummy food(im probably only gonna need them for a few days) so yea! oh and im excited because they can be quite fashionable! im want to get some really pretty colors. im starting with pink

[bunnycutie]

ohhhh i will stop the hay

[skibunny8503]

Ouch I had almost forgot about spaces, they do hurt!  Braces will hurt when you first get them on but you kind of get used to them.  I had my jaw forward so I had these metal things on the side of my mouth that would hook into each other.  I hated them, I looked like a chipmunk!    And during a boring class at school was the worst because I would keep yawning and they would come apart and I’d have to stick my fingers in my mouth and put them back together…ugh.  Yup, no gum or stuff that would really get stuck in your mouth…I think I avoided cheesy puffs because that would get all in my braces.  My teeth look so much better now!  I hated them at the time but now I’m glad I had them.  My ortho was a pain though because he was like “Mr. perfection” and wanted me to keep coming back after I got them off for my retainer.  I kept coming back but it was getting ridiculous when it was years later and he still wanted me to come back.  The receptionist even told me to wear the retainer til I was around 40…I don’t think so.  Not the best thing for my husband to wake up to with a retainer by his face   I finally stopped going and I stopped wearing my retainer a little after I was 20 I think.

 

Good luck when you get them on and just think happy thoughts…bunnies

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Oh poor you, I didn’t find them that bad, it was only painfull when they changed the wires, it will be the most painfull when they first put them in. Hehe though, I was a bad girl, I didn’t restrict myself at all with what I ate. I ate apples popcorn bagels, I even chewed gum! My braces only broke once and that was from chewing a hard candy…

Oh and when you get them on, make sure that the wires in the backs aren’t poking you at all, they ripped up my cheeks untill they bled if they were not trimmed properly.

[mrmac]

I ate all the things you’re not supposed to when I had them. Luckily nothing ever broke or got stuck! Yes like Moonlight_Wolf said, make sure the back wires arent poking you. My cheeks got all torn up and bloody too a couple time when they werent trimmed enough.

[jerseygirl]

Ok Bunnycuite – my 3rd and final piece of advice: No kissing boys who also have braces on!

[Monkeybun]

lol… if she doesn’t eat hay, who are we gonna go to for tips on what bunnies might like?

[bunnycutie]

i don’t think the braces will be that bad. im getting them on this morning. and ofcourse, no kissing boys with braces tehe dont want to get stuck together haha guess i can’t actually eat the bunny food. i will go for tips on what they might like by the way, you have another review coming!

[katie, max & penny]

soooooo how are they???

[Beka27]

I had braces for 3.5 years… It was a blast… lol!

My advice is: take a couple Tylenol/Advil/Motrin (under the supervision of your parents!) about an hour or so BEFORE going in to get them tightened. This really helped me! It will take the edge off. If you experience discomfort, it will help… (AGAIN, this is under the supervision of your PARENTS! Please don’t go telling people a forum leader on your bunny website told you to medicate yourself!)

Good oral hygiene is a MUST! Take the time to floss and brush thoroughly. Form these good habits NOW and they will help you your entire life. Many people in their 20s and 30s have gingivitis and more severe gum disease. In most cases, this can be prevented by keeping the mouth very clean. I have a class tomorrow about oral hygiene/brushing/flossing/etc… and I’m very excited! No matter how well you do, you can always do something better! (I’m a dental hygiene student, by the way… lol!)

Skipping to the end… WEAR YOUR RETAINERS! They are a PAIN in the you-know-what… but you have to wear them (I stopped wearing them after a couple years… and my teeth shifted.) Teeth continue to shift your entire life, and it’s within their natural tendency to want to return to the ORIGINAL position. You have to wear them for about 6 months or so all the time, after that it is only at night. Wear them at night. Forever. I know people who are decades past braces and they still wear retainers at night. You will need to get them replaced every once in awhile, probably every few years, but it is worth it b/c of the investment you (your parents!) are making in your smile.

(And it is *possible* to kiss boys with braces on. Don’t ask me how I know this… ;o) LMAO!

[babybunsmum]

ooo good luck!    i had braces for 2 years in my mid-twenties.  def keep advil handy for those adjustments!  do they still hand out wax to pack over braces where your cheeks are irritated?  that saved me from a lot of pain when my cheeks got chewed up.  here’s a tip… carry a wee mirror and one of those tiny brushes (looks like a wee bottle brush… fits under the wires) so you can get food out of your braces while out & about. 

dont have before pics but picture my incisors (fang-like teeth) way up high and infront of my other teeth.  my mouth was too small so i had to get 6 molars pulled to make room – ick.  sooo worth it though.  here’s my mug now…

[Beka27]

^^^Aw, you’re so cute! They look great!

[Sage Cat]

Hey everybody – those smile photos are awesome!!!!
I also have a small mouth – I had to have 4 molars pulled. I even had to go to the baby dentist until i was in high school, because my mouth is so small!
I don’t remember how long I had braces. But now, many years later, I still have a nice smile!

[babybunsmum]

aww gees.. thanks beka

do any former brace wearers have permanent retainers like i do?  i have wires cemented behind my front 6 teeth top & bottom to keep them in line.  10 + years and counting!

[Beka27]

^^^I wish I had those!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My lower teeth shifted pretty badly when my wisdom teeth came in. The bar would have lessened or prevented that!

[amanda-penny & lola]

I remember when I had braces.

I had them for two years & when I got them off I never wore my retainer like I should have.
Needless to say my momma wasn’t to happy.

[sibley]

Let’s see a pic of the new braces, complete with puffy irritated scraped up cheeks/lips! That wax stuff they give you is only so helpful– go ahead and stick neosporin on the raw spots. And buy a bottle of liquid adult tylenol.. the green kind. That was my favorite part of braces. Made me loopy with a good excuse.

I had braces for 2 years in middle school. I have a retainer that I’m supposed to wear to sleep once a month now (which I do whenever I feel like my teeth are getting crooked).

It kind of helps if you think about the braces in a different way… right now your mouth is terribly sore and uncomfortable because of them, but do you remember when you were little and you had a loose tooth, particularly a loose molar? Those felt so GOOD to wiggle and poke with your tongue. You’re essentially moving your teeth around just like you did then, only nothing’s pushing up under them so they won’t fall out on you =) Or! it’s like when you have your hair in tight braids overnight and you loosen it the next day. It hurts, but it feels good at the same time.
The 2nd-~4th day after each visit to the ortho you’ll be really sore, but on the other days poke at your teeth a little like you did when you were little to see what was loose. It really does feel kinda good.

[Beka27]

Sorry, no pics allowed. From the forum rules:

You must be 18 or older to post any photos of yourself. (posting photos of your rabbits, is of course, okay!)

Not sure where a pic of a minor’s teeth *only* would fall into this category, but better safe than sorry I guess.

How are they today? 

[FluffyBunny]

I’d guess that a pic of just teeth would be fine…

[BunnyLiz]

do any former brace wearers have permanent retainers like i do?

I do! Only on the bottom though, I wish I had one on top too, that would be super easy. I am suppose to wear a retainer at night too, but I stopped for a while and it doesnt fit now, shame on me! My mouth is really small too, so I had 4 (I think) molar taken out and I have to use a kids toothbrush as instructed by my dentist. And now im more then likely going to have to get my very back molars (wisdom teeth?) cut out because they are laying sideways because they have no room. GRR!

[bunnycutie]

hmmm the braces don’t hurt much. really, i kinda like them and im being really good about the oral hygene! yay! flossing takes forever, because i have to go… get under the wire…rub rub rub….get out…. now to the next tooth! and so on for about ten minutes lots of dental care thanks for the tips! and all the smiles look great!

[bunnycutie]

grrrrr….. won’t let me upload pic of teeth

by the way, i got pink bands(those things on the brackets)

[bunnycutie]

ohhhh wisdom teeth. i am definalty not looking foreward to those

[sibley]

lol I’m glad you’re liking them! And I always forget that minors have weird rules. College skewed everything for me… everything is legal in college.

[Deleted User]

I’m 32 and I have braces on. I just got them in May, so I’ve only had them for a few months now.

My teeth were BAD before, soooooo crooked and crowded, but it only took 3 months for them to be nearly straight with these braces on. I still have to keep them on for a few years though.

You’ll need the braces wax, if you’re anything like me. During the second and third month my cheeks got cut up so much! But now they seem to be fine. And my teeth really only hurt now when I get my wires changed.

It’s nice to smile without my lips being closed, and not be self-conscious about it. Finally.

[wendyzski]

I had SERIOUS braces for 2 years – my eye teeth never came in so they had to pull them, run wires up into my jaw and slowly pull them down, along with straightening the rest of the teeth.  I didn’t just have wires on the teeth but actual cemented brackets  – I would never had survived without my waterpik for cleaning and that cushioning wax (I liked the minty kind).  I treated any rubbed spots with GlyOxide drops.

The saddest part for me was having to give up playing trombone – as with those braces I would have turned my lips into hamburger!  But it did make me concentrate on my vocals, and now I have 4 CDs out

[youngbunny]

Wow after seeing all your pictures I’m wondering if I’m the only guy on this website. By the way bunnycutie im amazed they have a topic that fits me perfectly. Ill give a summary of braces.
1. braces- you will get used to the soreness and minor pain, but overall its not that bad, then you will get them tightened every 6 weeks usually, sometimes they just put a stronger wire on which isnt that bad, tightening the actual braces you will get used to. The worst part of braces is the food problems. Whats your favorite food that you cant eat now, i have a safe method to eat almost everything on the “no-no” list. Thats just how i am, i like to eat. hehe

[bunnycutie]

thanks you guys. the wax was pretty helpful during the first week- but now i dont even notice them. of course, they are a lot of upkeep but its worth it! i’lll have pretty teeth yay! and youngbunny-im sure your not the only guy hehe

[Scarlet_Rose]

Eek, braces. I had them as an adult. HATED them but got used to them, the rubbing and sores were the worst and when the bracket got caught on the side of my cheek…AGONY! Dental wax and Oragel were my best friend. The sores go away because the skin on the inside of your cheek toughens up or callouses. Still use dental floss by threading it around your braces, otherwise you will get cavities – this was advice given to me by all the students and faculty at the dental school I went to. Also, see if your dentist will give you a flouride treatment for your teeth to prevent cavities while you have your braces.
Retainers now-of-days you will need to wear for the rest of your life to keep your teeth where they are after the braces come off. I wish I had known back when because eventually, your teeth with revert back if you do not wear your retainer on a regular basis.

[hooty22]

I had braces for 5 years…

The wax is amazing bc it only takes on little spot to get slightly irritated and then you end up getting a horrible raw spot. I played 3 different sports during that 5 year period… Mouth guard is a must if you are playing sports. I took a forearm check to the face in a basketball game. The band hook got suck in the girl’s arm and ripped 4 brackets and a molar band out of my mouth plus turned the inside of my lips to hamburger…

Another trick I learned after getting it adjusted is that pressure makes it feel better. I had a flat piece of hard plastic that I would put in my mouth and bite down on for a few hours after the tightening if it was really bad. It helped soooo much.

[bunnycutie]

yea- the wax has been so helpful! a life saver! i got the special flouride rinse and i am using it every night. they showed me how to floss under the braces too, which im keeping up with. im proud to say im a good dentist patient LOL. ………….

hooty22- strange but good tip. i might really want to try that!

[hooty22]

I know it sounds strange, but for some reason it helps soooo much!

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