Three weeks in and I'm just getting used to them now..

Three weeks and one day ago I had my braces fitted (see Orthodontic treatment the first step on a long journey for the first instalment) and I'm just starting to get used to them.

I didn't have a picture of my two extracted teeth when I posted before so here they are.  For some reason I didn't want to give them up.  I'm not sure what the gong rate with the Tooth Fairy is nowadays anyway.

By Christmas day I was able to chew "normal" food (nothing too hard or challenging but Christmas Dinner was fine) but couldn't bite as that was still quite painful.  On Boxing Day we visited my parents and after dinner I tried to bite a Crispbread cheese cracker which I thought would just crumble or crack at the slightest pressure (they do when you try to butter them!).  It didn't give and I needed to apply more and more pressure.  By the time it gave in I was very close to tears, it was THAT painful.  Boy, I wasn't going to try that again in a hurry.

Keeping everything clean is getting easier.  Cleaning before bed is still a 10 minute job but I'm less stressed about food getting caught up and having to clean thoroughly after every meal.

As I said previously, I've had an easy run with rubbing brackets.  I stopped the salt mouthwashes after a week because the extraction sites had healed and still no ulcers.  The SmileSuite (the practice treating me) has started recommending Vitis oral hygiene products which contain (alongside the usual fluoride levels) Allantoin which promotes soft tissue repair and Aloe Vera which soothes inflammation.  I don't have a control case to compare with (I have never had a brace and not used these products) so can't attribute conclusively to these products but I feel they must be helping.  A good test will be when my wife starts using them as she is still suffering from ulcers and discomfort 3 months in.

Whilst I haven't been ridiculous I haven't been that restrictive with my meals after the first week of soup and mashed potato.  I've had proper meals, drunk tea and coffee, even red wine and my ligs still look reasonably clean.  The first curry will be a test but if it stains the ligs then I can live with that until the next check up.

Last night I had takaway pizza without using a knife and fork.  After the Boxing Day cheese cracker incident I had been trying to avoid biting anything but I decided that I had to push myself.  I was slower than I was pre-brace (but that's no bad thing) but I managed to eat a whole pizza without resorting to cutting it into mouth sized bits.  Pizza crust is on the "avoid" list of foods but this was quite soft so I risked it and survived.

Teeth are apparently supposed to move (under treatment) 1mm per month.  I understand though that initial rotating and levelling can be quicker as it involves less root movement through the jaw.  From the pictures below you can see that after 3 weeks my upper teeth are slightly straighter and the upper left incisor that was set back has pulled forward.  On the lower jaw the incisors are much straighter and an even height and they are more upright.  I think the only thing stopping them moving into a perfect line is the canines which have not moved very much at all.  They have quite a way to go.

I still have three weeks to go before my first check up and adjustment but it seems to be going OK.  I'm feeling pretty bored of having them on now but its an inconvenience rather than being painful and I keep telling myself it will be worth it.  There's already an improvement in my bite which is a help when motivation wanes.

If you missed teh start of the story you can see it here.  Orthodontic treatment - the start of a journey

Orthodontic treatment - the first step on a long journey

I suppose my collision course with Orthodontics started back in May 2005 with a freak accident but its taken until 2012 to get this far.  I'm probably not a typical case for braces as I don't care enough about my teeth's appearance to have treatment and yet here I am.

My teeth have never been that bad.  My top arch, whilst not perfect (in a Hollywood sense) is better than many peoples with balanced, reasonably straight teeth.  My bottom arch has always been crowded and the teeth crooked but it didn't bother me at all.

When I was growing up, in the 70's and 80's, the only kids wearing braces were the ones with truly terrible teeth and as such were quite rare and mercilessly teased at school by those whose natural good looks made them feel superior.  Short, tubby and bespectacled from age 5 but with reasonable teeth I fitted into neither group.

Anyhow, I'd accepted my dental lot years ago and didn't spare it a thought.  In May 2005 I took part in a charity mountain biking event in the Mendips called "Clic 24" in aid of Clic Sargent, a charity which supports the families of children with cancer.  It is fair to say that it wasn't a charity close to my heart (although I have taken part in other fundraising events for them since) with my interest being in the mountain biking more than the fund raising.  I did however easily exceed the minimum fund raising target for entry.  If something is worth doing its worth doing well.

As part of a team of four I had three much fitter and capable companions.  The aim is to complete as many laps of a 10 mile cross country course as possible in 24 hours.  Considering the athletic prowess of my friends I suggested I go fourth in our relay team with the aim of potentially doing fewer laps and holding the others up less.  In true gentleman fashion they agreed without argument "if I felt that was fair" but we've been friends long enough to know that they had been thinking along the same lines.

Three laps down and it was my turn to go.  The course was close to my home in Bristol so I had trained on it and knew it quite well.  It would obviously be a different challenge with all the other bikers there as well but I wasn't fazed.  From here on I only have one memory.  I passed a young lady on the first climb and offered her some encouragement as she pushed her bike up the rather steep incline.  Next thing I remember clearly is the day they released me from hospital, I had to prove I could get up a flight of stairs unaided before they would discharge me.  That was four days later.

On a downhill section of the course I'd come off.  An eye witness said that the front wheel seemed to buckle under me and I flew over the handlebars landing face down on some rocky ground.  I was still not moving when that witness made it to me although by the time the Air Ambulance had arrived I was screaming loudly, apparently.

Four days on a neuro ward in Frenchay, I'd smashed my face quite well, stitches in my eyebrow, fractured right orbital, and I'd stripped the flesh and skin off a large portion of my right knee.  Despite this it was the serious cerebral contusion that had kept me in hospital.

I was in quite a lot of pain, that much I remember from my first days at home, and my teeth were quite painful.  My jaws also weren't parallel meaning I couldn't get my teeth together.  Despite it being the case at several follow up out patient appointments the maxfax consultant put it down to bruising and assured me it would be fine.

The bruising persisted and the situation didn't improve so I asked my dentist to refer me to the Dental Hospital which he did.  By this time I was getting some discomfort in my jaw joint due to the misalignment.  After several visits the consultants at the Dental Hospital concluded that my jaw was misaligned and the three potential treatments were

1. Break my jaw again and try to get it to heal closer to the correct position.  They told me that the margin of error was greater than my current misalignment though.
2. Grind down my teeth where they were meeting until all my teeth met.
3. Do nothing and hope it fixed itself.

Being more than a little phobic about hospitals at the best of times and  getting no reassurance that options 1 or 2 would work I opted for 3.

Over the next few years it did settle down and I vowed to just get on with life putting it down as one of those things.  As time went by my lower teeth got more crooked and started overlapping, one in particular was heading backward significantly and they began resembling old tombstones.  My top teeth were also starting to move but it still didn't bother me that much.  I was getting more pain and discomfort from my jaw joint but accepted that there was nothing that could be done.

In January 2011 chance had me starting a job with Darren and Lynne Hills, the owners of a number of orthodontic practices.  They were growing, incorporating and becoming more corporate and in need of an FD.

At first I thought that it might be a bit like Ugly Betty of the Dental world and I'd stand out because everyone else would have perfect teeth but I was relieved when it was nothing like that.  It was probably another 18 months or so before fate get me another gentle prod, although not directly.

My wife had a routine trip to the dentist and he had no nurse that day so she couldn't have her usual scale and polish.  We have a hygienist who works part time with us so I suggested that she pop in and see her for a quick clean up.

Apparently its not quite as simple as that and my wife had to have a quick appointment with Darren first to "prescribe" the scale and polish.  My wife is terrified of dentists but Darren put her at ease and even managed to broach the subject of treatment.  Rachel has always been unhappy with her teeth but didn't agree to anything.

It took several months for Rachel to decide that she'd have treatment and partly due to her fear of dentists and partly out of an interest to see what our company actually did I accompanied her to her initial appointments.  Whilst she was out of the room having x-rays and photos Darren and I naturally started talking about whether I would ever have treatment.  I outlined my history as above, not caring that greatly the aesthetics but concerned a little about discomfort and functionality going forwards.  To my surprise Darren said he could do something about that.

After a proper consultation Darren said that he would ideally like to extract 4 teeth, 2 top 2 bottom, to make room for the required movement.  He couldn't tell from my x-rays but in his opinion I probably broke my bottom jaw in 1 or 2 places as well as by cheekbone / eye socket  and that would explain the problem with my teeth.

I was very reluctant to have any teeth out since I was quite proud to still have 32 but eventually we compromised and agreed on losing the lower 4's on each side, the first premolars.

With Christmas approaching and little time for multiple appointments with different dentists Darren agreed to do the extractions at the same time as the initial bond up.  Rachel thought I was mad but my theory was to get it all out of the way at the same time.

Prior to bond up I had a thorough clean with the practice hygienist.  It was the most thorough clean I'd ever had and felt like I ought to be noticeably lighter after all the scraping and polishing!

The day finally came, 21 December.  Darren bonded the brackets first and then extracted the two teeth.  The anaesthetic numbed the whole bottom jaw and I didn't feel a thing.  It took a matter of seconds for each tooth.

Wires went on once the bleeding had stopped.  014 Niti for the first period.  I could immediately feel the pulling on my teeth even though the anaesthetic hadn't worn off yet.  After a couple of hours feeling was almost back in my face and it was surprisingly pain free.

Over the next few days my teeth became progressively more uncomfortable, best described a bruised gums, only sore when eating.  After every meal I had to have salt mouthwashes to help the healing of the extraction holes.  Whether due to the salt washes, the shape of my mouth or the location of my teeth I've not had to use wax so far as the brackets are not rubbing.  Occasionally I feel them but nothing too serious.

I think I've had it quite easy so far but it still feels like the first steps on  a very long journey which I'm hoping will go quicker once I can eat without thinking about it.