The beginning
The first few days were very painful. I'd compare it to the pain after something hits you in the mouth. It wasn't excruciating. It was a nagging, throbbing pain. After the 3rd day, most of the pain was gone and it was only slightly uncomfortable when I ate. Some teeth hurt more than others. Oh, and one tooth was loose. It's to be expected, but still weird. During the first few days I was complaining and resented them, but that's just because emotions were running high as well as pain. I'm happy with them. It's just a transition period that will get even better with time.
Eating
I ate in most of the week. It takes longer to eat now and I have been eating nothing but soft or delicate foods. Everyday I'm adding firmer foods. I miss the crispy days!!!! Here are some foods that I quickly realized were NOT my friend despite being soft:
1) Ramen Noodles Quick, soft, and filling. Eating wasn't the problem, cleaning was. Looking at my mouth after a bowl was so gross. It looked like little worms in between the wires and brackets. I think I'll stick to wide, thick noodles.
2) Rice. Rice is soft and good too, but because of its size it fits nice and snug in every crevice in the braces. A small portion isn't bad, but I definitely will steer clear of fried rice dishes. I learned the hard way after ordering Thai fried rice over the weekend.
Ordering at a restaurant is a task and requires preparation. I can no longer pick what I want. I ask myself 1) Is it soft enough? and 2) Will it be easy to clean? It kind of takes the fun out of eating out but oh well...
Brushing/Flossing
This was another big adjustment. It takes me a very long time to properly brush and floss. I have a regimen and it takes me about 30 minutes to get it all done. Flossing is tricky and time consuming, but I know I'll get faster with time. If I just brush and rinse with mouthwash, then it's only about 10. The majority of time is spent just rinsing all the food out first. It's crazy how much food get lodged in between these braces.
Anyway, this first week wasn't bad. I can already see a difference in some spacing between teeth.
I felt the same exact way about eating! It hurts so bad sometimes and I even did the whole breaking the food into pieces thing myself. It just takes all the fun out of eating doesn't it? I've had braces for almost a year and its gotten easier, but it definitely takes some getting used to!
ReplyDeletehow much is this costing you, total?
ReplyDeleteand...did you need any teeth pulled first?
im an adult who was quoted approx 5600.