Tinsel E - 18 weeks

Today I had my 18 week appointment with the orthodontist. I knew I was due for a "wire change" but I really didn't have any idea what I was in for.

The assistant took the wires off, and let me go brush/floss with my temporary freedom. Oh you don't have any clue how NICE it is to floss normally if you've never had braces. This was a total TREAT. And just to prove how nice of a treat it was, my gums promptly bled from the lack of attention they've gotten.

When I went back to the chair, the orthodontist checked my progress. She cleaned off the calcium deposits around my bottom brackets and on the backs of my bottom front teeth.

Then the assistant put a new wire in my mouth. The first wire I received when the braces were first installed was a rounded wire, thin and light, but no edges to it. The new wire I now have, if you laid it flat on a table, it would look like a thin flat rectangle. Apparently, the first wire moved my teeth in alignment horizontally i.e. teeth that were overlapping with others are now even with each other. The new wire aligns my teeth vertically (makes the root and ligaments move). I didn't think you could do that, but clearly, what do I know.

The assistant put the new wire on my bottom teeth first and I thought, "Yeah, ok, that's tighter than the first wire." During my 10 week checkup, the assistant tightened the wire between the two bottom canines, and there was definitely pressure there for a few days. Now I'm feeling that same pressure again, but across the whole bottom jaw, with added pressure on the teeth between the canines. Also, there was pressure when she would "close the door" to the bracket that I thought would bother me later, which it's not (now that it is "later").

Then the assistant put the wire on my top teeth. She hadn't even clamped it all down and my eyes got wide. Oh yeah, this one hurts, particularly my back molars on the right hand side. But my front teeth hurt, too! Man, those were the straight teeth!! Guess not when it comes to an overbite!

The assistant told me that with this wire, I should expect to see some spaces form between my teeth from the movement, and not to worry. She also said that I should expect my bite to change a lot in the next year, as the wires will be moving things in places I don't necessarily expect, and so bites will feel weird. Great.

Needless to say, this wire hurts. It's not as bad (yet) as the first day I got braces - that was compounded by all the canker sores - but this is not just pressure. This is pain, and it hurts to eat anything that isn't super soft.

Three and a half months down. Eleven and a half months to go...