Day 42 with the Damon Braces and My First Follow-up Appointment

Status Summary: I got a new archwire!

Today was my first checkup / follow-up appointment since I got my braces on. I got there at exactly 3:00pm and was out by 3:20pm. What did they do? Not much actually.

I spoke to one of the orthodontist as this practice (they have 2) and he said this appointment is to basically check how I was doing with the braces. He asked if I had any major uncomfortableness in the past few weeks and how long it lasted. As far as I remember, the first week was probably the worst but very bearable.

He also asked if the composites were bothering and I said no. Unfortunately, these did not get removed and I don't think they will be taken out any time soon. The ortho said they will be grinding them down until they are completely gone to avoid my teeth hitting the lower brackets.

The next step was the change of the upper archwire. It took about 1 or 2 minutes. The assistant snapped the doors open with the tool, took the old wire out, put the new wire in, shut the bracket doors and that was it. She had minor problems with 1 bracket, but it seemed like it was because she did not place the tool properly. Other than that, it was a pleasant experience.

The ortho said the lower ones will stay as they are still bent - which means they are still working.

The new archwire are definitely stiffer than the old ones. I don't feel any real pain, just a very minor, almost unnoticeable pressure on the teeth. I am sure tomorrow I will feel it more just like the 2nd day with my braces.

My next appointment is in 8 weeks! Now, that is torture...

Day 41 with the Damon Braces and Blisters and Cuts

Status Summary: Anxious. I guess they are still moving... slowly.

Yup, I am getting a little anxious and don't seem to see as much progress with my teeth as I used to. But, this is probably normal as I don't think they really move more than just a few millimeters every couple of weeks or so.

In terms of comfort, everything has been feeling O.K. I spoke with a few coworkers who used to have braces and they all ask if it has been an unpleasant experience so far. Truth be told, it hasn't been too bad at all. I only had to use wax the second day and haven't had any blisters or cuts so far. I am assuming it all depends on your teeth and your lips.

There is also a major difference between the half clear brackets and the full metallic brackets. The half clear brackets have sharper edges, so when I speak a lot I noticed there is more rubbing and scratching with my upper inner lip.

Here are my latest pictures:






Tomorrow is going to be my first follow-up appointment. Wish me luck!

Day 34 with the Damon Braces and Brushing

Status Summary: Slight pain on my lower left incisor

I apologize as I do not have pictures available today. I will be taking some later this week (hopefully).

Today I wanted to write about brushing your teeth while having braces. I still remember what the assistant told me on the first day, "You must brush your teeth after every meal. If you can't, make sure you rinse your mouth very well."

For the first week or so I had no problems brushing after every meal. This meant brushing in the morning, brushing after lunch, brushing after my 4pm snack, brushing after dinner and brushing before sleeping after another snack. I skipped breakfast but that was still a total 5 times of teeth brushing per day. I guess I was still in the "honeymoon" period, so it did not seem too cumbersome.

It has been almost 5 weeks and I must tell you I have been slacking! I hope the orthodontist doesn't yell at me next week at checkup. Right now I cut back on brushing to about 3 times a day - in the morning, after my 4pm snack, and before sleeping.

Don't get me wrong, brushing is extremely important and I should not be so lazy. I am not an orthodontist but it makes sense to brush after every meal. With the braces, your teeth are actually moving - some are even loose. I guess they are a lot more vulnerable and food will easily get stuck between teeth and even go under the gum. If you let it accumulate, it would probably cause gum recession. The other problem I could see happening is that food stuck on the brackets could hinder the effectiveness of the archwires (and they might smell after a while).

I have to admit - being healthy is not easy. I try to eat small meals to avoid overeating but that leads to more brushing of the teeth.

So be warned, braces comes with a lot of brushing :D.

P.S. You are supposed to brush each tooth for about 10 seconds. There is a technique for brushing which I will write about in a later post.

Day 26 with the Damon Braces and Bean Soup

Status Summary: No big change.

Time really goes by fast - it has almost been a month since I first got my Damon braces on. The last week or so has been ok. I haven't had any major problems with the braces - which is kind of disappointing.

I feel like my teeth are pretty used to the braces and the current archwire. Two of my premolars are actually loose but they still have not moved to where they should be. Besides that the only slight tightness I feel is usually in the mornings right after I wake up.

I can't wait for my next appointment in 2 weeks. Hopefully they will change the archwire.

Here are some pictures I took earlier tonight.






Tonight I made some pinto bean soup to bring back the good old days when I couldn't bite down on anything and was having beans for a lot of my meals. I am no cook, but this was pretty simple to cook and was also very tasty.

Ingredients:
- 1 Tomato
- 1 Cup of Pinto Beans
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Large Potato
- 1/2 Onion
- 1/2 cup of ground pork/beef
- Salt and pepper

Instructions:
- Pre-soak the beans overnight
- Cut the vegetable into pieces
- Add all of the ingredient into a soup pan with about 3 liters of water (upto you).
- Done!

Day 15 with the Damon Braces and Eating

Status Summary: I am finally eat properly.

It has been a long 2 weeks. And yes, I can finally eat properly. I remember I tried eating an apple on Day 6 and it was unsuccessful and ended up throwing it away. It was cut into tiny pieces but my teeth were still too sensitive.

Here is how small I cut them.


Now I can pretty much eat anything. I guess the thing anyone should avoid is having hard food hit the brackets and knock them off.

Pain? Not really, a couple of molars felt itchy yesterday but I realized this means they are loose - just like how it felt when I was loosing my milk teeth. I also noticed I tend to push them, kind of giving them a nudge, so that that can move faster - probably not a good idea.

My bite has changed. I can definitely feel that my bite is slightly different. From the pictures it is actually closer than before even with the 2 composite materials still holding my bite slightly opened. This is probably why I can bite better and eat better now.

Day 15 pictures with the Damon Braces System (I will be taking more of these so that I can track my progress better):