First days of wearing braces

Just a couple of weeks before my birthday, I decided to have braces and on this write-up, I will be sharing how I successfully went through my first days of wearing braces.

I have underbite for the longest time. It is the condition where the bottom front teeth overlap the upper front teeth. But, I was so kebs about it for ages because the only drawback I can see was I cannot confidently show my teeth when smiling especially for photos. Other than that, I was totally cool with it because I don’t have a protruding jaw and I did not feel any pain.

Then, not so long ago, I experienced chronic throbbing in my jaws and it even extended around my ears. There were also instances that I had a hard time closing and opening my mouth. I went to an EENT doctor and it was found out that I have a Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disorder caused by the misalignment problem.

Great.

I was given pain relievers, but ultimately I was advised to have orthodontics to correct my bite. Fortunately, I already had my wisdom teeth removed so it is one less problem without it. If you are wondering how I survived the wisdom teeth extraction, it’s here.

So yeah, I took that leap of faith—I had my braces on. Holy moly!

Just like my dental surgery, I also had my orthodontics in Uy Dental Clinic (UDC) at their Makati branch.

When I arrived at the clinic for my appointment, a nurse took time to discuss with me the stuff that I have to expect on, before and after the braces installation. I was also reminded about the do’s and don’ts in wearing the braces. Then, I was finally directed to the Treatment Room.

The Orthodontist cleaned my teeth (but it was not as thorough as the oral prophylaxis done by a General Dentist), made a plaster cast of my teeth, then stuck the brackets down. The doctor prescribed a painkiller (just in case the pain gets unbearable) and a topical oral anti-ulcer (for singaw). 

The first days of wearing braces felt the weirdest. I had to follow a soft diet again for almost three weeks. I had a slight speech impediment which totally sucked particularly during meetings. It was rather painful at night especially when I couldn’t shut my brain off about how painful it was.

As of this writing, I am currently on my 2nd month of having these foreign things on my teeth. Brushing takes longer now because aside from using the regular toothbrush, I also have to use the interdental toothbrush. Flossing takes like forever. My lips are always chapped and my lip balm always comes in handy. My mouth always feels dry and sore specifically every after going back to the dentist to get the wires tightened. The funny thing about it is the orthodontist predictably leave a cheeky bit of wire sticking out so hello singaw always. And, you know what I can go on and on. Nevertheless, if there’s one thing that I always look forward to in going back to the dentist is choosing the color of the braces. 😀

Having braces is not fun at all especially during the first days. But, for what it’s worth, I shall bear all of these because, as my dentist says, it’s worth all the troubles in the end. 🙂