Hi Everyone!
Today I wanted to share with you something not many of you may have known. I recently had braces for just over a year and got them taken off in December of last year. My teeth weren't that bad before I had them but they needed a few adjustments and my dentist recommended that I were to have them and honestly it was one of the best ideas I've made. So, through the power of blogging I thought I'd share with you my journey.
Before
Before I start, I apologise for the bad quality of the first picture. I tried to find a picture where you could clearly see my teeth before I had braces and this was the best one I could find! My dentist recommended that I should get a brace around summer of 2011 but I insisted that I didn't want to have them for my year 11 leavers prom or my holiday to Skiathos. Thankfully he understood (what a star) and delayed my referral to the orthodontist. It came to around August/September when I started going to my orthodontist where he took photos, moulds and scans of my teeth to get a good picture of what was needed to be done. I'm going to be honest, the moulds were disgusting and left me with pink clay-like stuff all over my mouth! Attractive.
Getting the Brace
After the preparation, I was then given two appointments to get my brace fitted. The first appointment was to fit the brace for my top teeth. My orthodontist glued little metal brackets on every tooth and then clipped in a metal wire to tighten them together. This hurt. It felt so weird having my teeth pushed tightly together since that wasn't their natural position. A month or so later I went back for my second fitting which was for the brace on my bottom teeth. At the same time I also had my top brace tightened to push them together more. My bottom teeth did hurt a lot more than my top teeth, I think this was due to the fact that they needed more work done and so had a tighter wire. It wasn't nice!
During the Brace
Throughout my time of having a brace I had to go for regular check ups so that my orthodontist could tighten them. I hated getting them tightened because he would have to unclip the existing wire and replace it with a tighter one, which usually caused me a lot of pain for a couple of days after. I remember waking up loads one night due to the pain and it honestly made me cry so much!
Cleaning them was also a difficulty. You can buy mini toothpick like brushes to get in between each metal bracket. Cleaning them was really annoying, you could brush your teeth as normal but it was so tricky especially when your teeth are in pain. I couldn't wait for them to be taken off so that I could brush them properly again.
I didn't have elastic bands like most people do however, towards the end of my brace journey, my orthodontist fitted some on, just to push them that last little bit. He also reshaped some of my teeth to make them fit together straighter but also look aesthetically pleasing.
Getting the Brace Off
I could not contain my excitement for getting my brace taken off, especially since I would have it off for Christmas! I had my last few appointments to do the finishing touches and it soon came to the big day when I no longer had a metal mouth. I had two appointments: one to take the actual brace off and get fitted for my retainer and then the second was to be given the retainer (which I will go on to next). It felt so weird to feel my teeth and not have anything in the way, they just felt smooth. I remember looking in the mirror and thinking that my teeth had become bigger so I was worried what people thought of them!
After
After I had my braces taken off I felt like I could smile properly again. I hated smiling with braces and always thought I looked miserable with my mouth closed when I was trying to smile on photos. My teeth felt really big but I think it was just cause I wasn't used to them without braces! I was given a plastic retainer which I had to wear for around three days after to get used to the shape but then I just had to wear it every night for bed, and still do, to stop them from moving back to their natural position. You have to make sure they're kept clean and to be honest, I sometimes forget to put them in or quite frankly can't be bothered. They do feel quite tight when you first put them in and can be annoying after a while which is why I always can't wait to take them out in the morning!
Another great feeling is eating an apple. I know that may sound weird, but when you have braces you have to stay away from any hard foods and so biting into an apple is a long lost memory. IT's great to have that back again ;-)
Getting braces was probably one of the best decisions I've made and I don't regret it at all. I'm so happy with how my teeth have turned out and after a year and 3 months, they were totally worth it! Just think, it takes a year to two years for your braces to work, but the rest of your life to have a perfect smile. If you're thinking about getting braces but are worried about how they might look or feel, don't worry about it! Yes it does cause some pain but you get used to them and the end results are always great!
Hope you all have a great week!
Charlotte xxx
