Living With Braces

Hello!

I’v had braces for a good nine months now, so I know a thing or two about them! I thought I’d share my experiences with them…

So, I had my braces fitted in December 2016; 10 days before Christmas! My first colour was Red because…. Christmas! They took a lot of getting used to and they hurt a lot for a while. The wire was very thin and I managed to bend it so I had to go to the orthodontist to get it fixed before I was due to get it tightened. I got them tightened early because the wire broke again, and I was then able to upgrade to a thicker wire. My first tightening was on the 31st January 2017 and my colour was blue! I liked the blue, but it was quite dark. It got to the point now that some of the time I even forgot I had braces because they had just become part of my mouth (after the initial tightening pain, which only lasts a few days!)

I don’t remember when the next tightening was, but I do remember I got pink. I like the pink, in fact I have pink on my braces now! The tightening after that I kept the pink! The next time. I got Pink and Blue and I think that was the tightening that I got elastic bands too. The add these little attach thingies onto your wire and then they loop the elastic band around it and around he bracket at the very back. I have this four times as I had four teeth at the back taken out (one from each ‘corner’). The tightening after that they didn’t replace the wire because I now have the strongest wire, instead they just make the elastic band tighter! I got purple at this tightening!

My last tightening was just this week, on Monday in fact! Again, they only made the elastic tighter! I got pink again! They’re still a little but sore but it’ll be fine in a couple of days! I’m not sure when I’m going to get them off… they originally said 18 months but it might be quicker than that!

MY BRACES TOP TIPS:

Use teething gel to subside pain! I have a whole load of it and I use it when it’s particularly painful
Only eat soft foods after getting tightened because otherwise it will hurt for longer!
Use inter-dental (mini) toothbrushes to clean between the wire and your teeth! I also recommend using a manual toothbrush just after it’s been tightened so that it doesn’t hurt so much!
Use mouthwash to wash food out of the wires!
Use wax on the spiky bits to stop them ripping up the inside of your cheeks (because that hurts)
Choose a colour that you’re going to be comfortable with for between 6-9 weeks because you can’t go back because you regret your choice after 3 days!
If it really hurts, eat something COLD because the braces tighten when in contact with heat.
Don’t eat really really sticky foods/sweets because it might break your brace!
Same with fizzy drinks, be careful because the metal can erode from too much of it!
Lastly, fight through the pain because at the end you’ll have really nice teeth!

Here’s a little gallery of images: