Braces | Week #78 Yes I still have those

I've had braces for one year and 7 months now.

At the time, the doctor said that I would need to wear it for "more than one year, less than two". Well, I'm ready to take them off! OK, not really. I am sick of having braces, but this doesn't look nearly done. 

My doctor keeps messing around my teeth's position.She makes them move around, she makes them shift and I get gaps between my teeth. Huge gaps. Like I'm missing a tooth. Yeah, it's crazy weird. 

I've had all different types of appliances on my braces now. I've had elastics to connect top and bottom jaws, chain-elastics, and I've had a spring between two brackets! Oh yeah, that was fun -- it was painful AF! Honestly, I didn't knew that this was going to be such a hassle! Having food stuck on my braces all the time is not fun at all! Oh and you know what else is not fun? Having stained elastics! Oh yeah. I always ask for elastics with bright, bold colors. But last month I wanted pink and they only had baby pink. Worst decision ever. After a week my elastics were all yellow-ish because of all the coffee I drink. Disgusting. Never happening again.

-- I've restrained my self from doing this type of posts, because usually they're not very popular. However I like to keep a record of what is going on. And btw, if you have any question about my braces experience, you can leave them in the comments. --

Braces | Week #22 Update + Check Up

I'm not in a very good mood today. I'm feeling tired, and annoyed. It has been a very rough week for me. So excuse my objectivity.

During the last weeks I had no pain at all. And everything was going great. I was pretty much able to eat anything, and the brace were not bothering me at.

But, today was appointment day. And I think today the doctor was feeling productive because she worked a lot on me. Any way, let me sum it up:

• I thought my top teeth were good. I was wrong. They need to be shifted, because the top canines are supposed to rest in the space right before the bottom one and mine don't do that .So she removed two brackets and she glued them back lightly raised, to create a wider arch. So one of my teeth (tooth number 13) is going to be all weird during the next month, at least. And since it is shifting already it hurts like crap. Makes my whole face hurt. She prescribed me some paracetamol. I wish she had prescribed me some oxycodone, it would make this whole experience so much fun!

• Good news: if this painful process works, I won't need to remove any teeth -- which I bet is even more painful soooo *fingers crossed*.
  
  
• She added brackets to all my last teeth. I didn't had brackets on the very last one, nor top or bottom. But now I do. Now, the wire pokes my cheeks and it is supper annoying.
  
  
• She told me my gums are not very healthy and that I need to go to see my dental hygienist. I kinda already knew that. I've been slacking on my "routine".

• I chose hot pink elastics (again). I like it. I think the color blends nicely with the rest of the inside of my mouth and I think so far it's the best color I've chosen.

If you any tips on how to handle the pain, let me know. I've heard salty water helps. Anyone confirms?

TIPS & TRICKS | I bet you didn't know this!

Today I want to share with you some information that is not common knowledge and I think it's really important. If you have been here for a hot minute, you know that since I got my braces I've became a little bit obsessed with oral hygiene and making sure that I'm doing the best I can to improve my oral health. Hereupon, I'm showing you here 6 facts that I didn't know before and that

completely blew my mind! All this information was given to me by my Dentist and Dental hygienist

I'm not in any form an expert about this subject, and if you are, and if I am saying something that is completely wrong let me know!

1- Mouthwash is not supposed to be used after brushing, but BEFORE BRUSHING. Mouthwash helps to release the pieces of food that are stuck in between our teeth. It should be the first step of your routine.

2- Unless you have braces, or gum problems, you shouldn't use Mouthwash with Alcohol in it. Alcohol is proved to cause cancer in your mouth and you should try to avoid it. My Dental hygienist was the one who told me. The alcohol is good if you have braces or gun problems because it helps not only to numb it but also to disinfect. Even so, you should not used it for more than two weeks in a row, or you should deglute it. I am telling you all this, but to be honest I need that burn of the alcohol to really feel like my mouth was really disinfected!

3 - Whitening toothpaste doesn't make your teeth whiter. Have you noticed how some toothpastes have like a sandy texture? The truth is that most whiting toothpastes are very abrasive for your teeth. When you are brushing with them, it's like you are exfoliating the top layer of your teeth enamel  --top layer of your teeth --  that is stained yellow. And yeah, of course that they will look whiter, but after several years of using this, your will lose this top layer and you will have a lot of sensitivity to heat, cold or acid beverages. I've actually noticed this before --  when I use Max White or Oral B tooth paste my teeth get super sensitive to temperature.

4 - You shouldn't rinse your your mouth after brushing. Toothpaste usually has a lot of fluorine. That is great for avoiding and preventing cavities! After brushing you shouldn't clean your mouth with water. Instead you should just spit out all the excess toothpaste and just leave some remaining in you mouth. Usually people do this with mouthwash -- after brushing, you gargle with mouthwash, then you spit it out and you leave some lingering around in your mouth...  but hey mouthwash only has (if it even has) 300-500 ppm of Florine. While toothpaste has around 1500 ppm!

5 - Softer toothbrushes are always better than harder one. The bristles on your toothbrush should be hard or medium, but soft. The strength of the bristles doesn't make your teeth cleaner. Again, it only hurts your enamel or your gums. You should always use a soft toothbrush, And you should never forget to brush closer to your gums --  because that's where all the junk gets stuck!

6 - Electrical toothbrushes do not clean your teeth better than a manual one. It's a misconception transmitted to us by this industry and marketing. In fact, my dentist told me that now-a-days electrical toothbrush are advised only for people that may not be able to do an OK job with a manual one, because their mobility or dexterity is compromised. Like kids or elderly people. Otherwise there is no point on investing in a electric toothbrush.

Did you knew these facts? If you know any other interesting tips and tricks, leave me a comment and tell me, please ;)

Braces | Week #18 Update + #slighlyregretingit

This last week has been rough to say the least. I've had a lot of pain. Way more that I had with my top braces. During the first 3 or 4 days, just moving my mouth was painful. Most of the pain was on the right side, and I felt like my teeth were being pulled out, like something was constantly pulling them outwards... it's hard do explain. And at the same, i was feeling some resistance when I tried to open my mouth. I was so uncountable that I even had to take some sleeping pills. Now, it doesn't hurt any more.

With all this pain I would expect some movements,  but not. I don't see any differences.

And you know something great? Food gets stuck EVERYWHERE!  I need to brush, gargle,  floss every freaking time I eat something and sometimes that's not even enough! It's so disgusting ans annoying! As for my top braces,  no changes too. But I guess there's not much left to change.

#slighlyregretingit

Braces | Week #17 Update + Bottom braces

Wow, I just noticed that this past month I haven't posted anything about my braces, but the truth is that nothing really excited happend. My top teeth haven been completely straight for a while now. They look good I guess, but they look different from before. Each one has its exact own position, they are not overlapping not ever a millimeter! I don't know what kind of black magic is this but it did make a huge difference.

This morning I had an appointment and I went to get my bottom braces.

This time I didn't need spacers because the doctor didn't use the metal rings around my molars, like she did for my top braces. She just glued the pieces in place and that was it. It was super easy and fast, didn't hurt a bit. Of course,  changing the elastics on the top was painful but there's nothing I can do about that. As the time passed today I started to fell more and more pain. Specially on the right side. I feel a lot of pressure and pain like if I had something stuck in between all my teeth. But I'am sure that it will all go away in a few days. It's uncomfortable and it give me headaches!

I feel like I make this pledge every time but. if you have any tips, comments or suggestions on how to live with braces, share your wisdom with me please :)

Braces | Week #12 + Check up

Okey. So today was appointment day. 

First, the doctor made me wait a long long time for the appointment. It was supposed to be at 10:15 am and she only called my name at around 10:40 am. I hate when this happens. 

When I went inside, and I told her that next time I would prefer her to be on time because I may have important things to do after and that sometimes -- more like, all the time --  I'm on a tight schedule! And she said she thought I was still in High-school. Yup. Apparently I look 10 years younger that I actually am! It must the L'ORÉAL Paris Revitalif Filler face cream I've tried last week ;)

So, she changed my rubber bands (Rubber-Bands Color: Burgondy). For me it hurts a lot to remove and add the rubber bands. You know I haven't complained about pain a lot, so far. But this really hurts me.

She finaly glued the missing bracket. This time she placed a thicker wire. And this one is making a lot of pressure. I can defenitly feel it. It hurts a little bit. And it's making have a headache.

From my last update to today, not much has changed. It was basicly the same. Maybe the really huge changes only happen in the fist month... Anywho, I'm very happy with the result so far, although my smile looks kinda weird. It's sliglhty tilted,

Next month I will get my bottom braces! I'm so scared!! People say it hurts so much more than the top one. Is it true? 

Braces | Week 10# + Lip Balm Addiction

10 weeks have passed. wow.

And overall -- since day 1 to now --  the changes are massive. My teeth are always moving. But the gaps that I had in my front teeth -- created by having braces -- have started to close. However, now I have more space between two teeth on the side, but it's not as noticeable as when the space was right in the front. Now my smile looks super straight! But... ... when I bit down, I feel like my top doesn't really align with the bottom. Which has been causing me some difficulties while eating. My jaw cracks sometimes when I'm chewing. This will be fixed when I get my bottom braces.  But since I have trouble completely closing my mouth, I have been sleeping with my mouth open -- very glamorous, I know! The problem with this is that I am always waking up super thisrty and with insanely chapped lips. I wake up with huge cuts on my lips, sometimes bleeding or with dryblood because of how dry my lips get. So now I need to have lip balm with me all time and I look like a maniac applying it every 5 min during the day.

Does this happen to you, or I'm just weird?

Braces | Week #9

Last week I din't post anything about my braces, because there is not that big change really. It was weird, I didn't have really any extra pain or discomfort from getting a new wire. I still can't bite with my front teeth but that doesn't really bother me.My teeth keep shifting around. Gaps are appearing between them. It looks like black magic. I really see spaces appearing between my teeth every day-- an getting bigger and bigger! 

I forgot to tell you  in my last update, I got hot pink elastics ;D I like this color better than what I got before -- teal blue. 

Braces | Week #7 Update + Check up

Okey. So another week has passed. And from last week there were no big changes. Still have a gap. My front teeth are stil very sensitive and it hurts when anything touches them. Anyway...

So today I had an appointment with my orthodontist and with my oral hygienist. It was my first time changing the wire and rubber-bands. I was not expecting this to be a big deal -- oh god it hurted so fucking much! The pressure that the doctor has to make to take out and to put the new ones... oh god! Almost made me cry! But she said it was normal, since everything is still moving around.  She told that I should the intradental brush more, because she found a tiny piece of my breakfast between two of my back teeth! Yuck, I know! But I have to admit, this morning I was kinda hurry, so I didn't brush super thoroughly! She was not able to glue the bracket that had come loose. She glued it down but when she was putting the rubber band, it came off again, so she just cute wire and left one thoot without a bracket. She said the treatment was going very well, she was very happy with the developments and that iIll be putting my bottom braces around April.

Right after that, I had an appointment with my Dental hygienist. She is super nice and I feel super at ease to ask anything -- which for me is really important! I have to bond with me doctors to be able to trust them ok? For example,  I feel like my orthodontist is always in a hurry, she does everything super fast and I feel lik she is tryig the get me out of ther asap... So I never asker her a lot of stuff. I feel much more comfortable talking to the oral hygienist. And she always looks happy that I have questions and I feel like she really likes explaining!  I had a question about flossing -- I thought that I was doing something wrong because every time I do it it looks like the floss isn't really doing anything. And she explained me how to brush more efficiently,  how to floss properly,  and she recommended a tooth paste for me to try. Then, she clean my teeth. I will admit, I was so scared of this. All I could think was how my teeth were so sensitive and she was going to tdo stuff to them, with a drill, and that I was going to die lol -- I know I am such a baby lol. She was so careful and it didn't hurt one bit. Then she clean my theet with a salty solution that tasted like old fishy sea wather and that makr me gag so much, I was afraid I was gonna  though up!

Now I have a headache... I always get one after going to the dentist!  It's weird.

Braces | Week #6 Update

I keep seeing things changing in my mouth. I have huge gaps between my 4 front teeth. Really, my teeth used to be very thigh. So tight I was even worried that the doctor may wanted to pull me a tooth to create some more room. I don't know where all this space came from!

My broken bracket is still broken. Doesn't bother me at all.

Lately I feel like brushing my teeth in public bathrooms is my new hobby. For me this is the most annoying part of having braces. And it's disgusting. But I am always so self-conscious about it. I even bought a small mirror to carry with me all the time, so I can check if I really have something there of it's just my imagination. 

I have a brushing/cleaning routine that I used to do in the morning and at nigh, but lately I have been skipping the mornings, just because the whole process takes around 15 min, and for me that's way too much time to waste in the morning. This includes thoroughly brushing , flossing, using the intra-dental brush, mouth wash and applying some gum gel.

Also, I have been waking up with really chapped lips. Actually, my whole mouth feels so dry in the morning...

Next week, I have an appointment with my orthodontist and with my hygienist.I will finally get my bracket fixed. What color rubber bands should I put? I am thinking dark blue or burgundy if they have! :)

Braces | Week #5 Update

Overall, everything is exactly the same from last week. 

However, Christmas is NOT a good season from someone with braces. I am eating sugary things all the time, and this means I have to go brush my teeth all the freaking time!! It's so annoying! And food is always getting stuck. And when I am in like social events and Christmas parties am always always always worried if i have stuff in my teeth.

The other day, I had a meeting and I was already in the elevator, literally almost getting to the place of the meeting and I noticed that I had a piece of food stuck right between my front teeth..! I had to run to the bathroom and brush and floss to get it. This is definitely the worst part of having braces. 

Braces | Week #4 Update

One month has almost past!
And last week I broke a bracket! It's not actually broken, it's just loose or unattached. The glue came off. So the bracket is turned upside down and just held by the elastics. It's in one of the molares so, no one sees it. It doesn't bother me at all. So I don't think I need to go have it replaced. Or should I? She'll do it in my next appointment. Apart from that, not much changed.

I don't know if it is normal, or not, but my teeth still hurt. And they are still moving. The differences from day one are huge. And every day I see diferences! And this makes up for all the discomfort! I just hope I'll love the final result! That is something that really concerns me...

Braces | Week #3 Update + Insecurity Issues

So, three weeks have passed. Pain-wise, is nothing has changed. Same as last week. Oh, but I see A LOT of differences from before. It's working fast! Now my teeth look super weird... I have so much space between them.. It's crazy! And I haven't been to any adjustment appointment yet. I'm so impressed with the development! I'm still almost a month away from my next doctor appointment so yeah.

I think I've never talked about how I'm handling having braces and telling people that I have braces. And one week before having them I was very concerned about what people would say or think. 

Generally I don't care about this type of stuff. And I try to overcome this type of thoughts. I try to embrace it --- see what I did there, embrace it, see see? lol.

At first, I didn't told anyone. In fact, the first time I shared that I was doing this was here. And you're good words of support helped me a lot! THANK YOU btw, you guys are awesome! So I told a couple of my closest friends. But when I am going to meet someone -- for work or just a friend -- I get super stressed. I'm like "How am I going to tell him? Should I? Or Should I just not mention it until they do?". What is strange is that I get more embarrassed when it comes to my close friends than to total strangers. Shouldn't it be the other way around? 

I almost canceled lunch yesterday with a friend because I was too embraced. I was afraid I was going to get food stuck in my teeth or.. I don't know! I know that we wouldn't make fun of me. I know that. But I was still feeling nervous. I took a deep breath and I went anyway. I decided that I would do what I always do and made make a joke about it -- hey, it's the best way to avoid insecurities for me, okey? -- When I got there I was like "heyy look at my new bling!" And he laugh and made fun of my baby-blue elastics. We also asked me a few questions that usually people ask me and that was it. I was so worried and it was fine. In the first week I tried not to talk that much, but to be honest most people don't even notice that I've gotten braces, if it wasn't for the blue elastics. I have a co-worker that I see every day that only noticed last Monday. 

But yeah, I think this meme it totally right, and braces are just another fashion accessory that I have on now...permanently.. Hey, it's better than a tattoo! At least I can change it's colors once in a while :)

How do you battle insecurity? 

Bad decisons...

Eating popcorn with braces. 

I don't know what I had in mind but yeah. I think I'll have little pieces of popcorn stuck on my braces forever. Definitely not a smart move lol.

Braces | Week #2 Update

Not much have changed since last week. Pain -- zero. Except when I hit my front teeth with something when I'm eating -- a glass, a fork. It sounds weird but it happens me a lot. Probably it happens to you too, you just don't notice because it doesn't hurt you.

Chewing is now normal. The only thing that really annoys me is not being able to bit. Bread and  cookies, for example, I have to break it into bite-size portions with my hands and eat it like that. Also, food is still getting stuck in my braces all the time. I guess that's no going to change. Specially in the back of my mouth. It looks like I'm saving some for later. Lol it's not fun, it' disgusting! At least my Colgate Portable Kit has been very very useful -- read more about it here! I really use it all the time. I bought it at a Continente and it only costed 3.99€. And yes, now I'm one of those persons that immediately goes to the bathroom and brushes their teeth after eating. And after having coffee. Or a chocolate. I don't want to get my teeth stained ok? Okey...

Do you like to read about this? Or is it boring? I feel like this is not very interesting, but let me know in the comments if you relate to this. If you passed to the same things or if it was totally different!

Once again, thank you for all your kind words ♥ I really appreciate it!

Braces | Week #1 Update

My first week with braces is over. It has been a rough week, thankfully I have been super busy and I haven't had time to complain or to deal with it too much.

Let's start with the good stuff. I can already see differences! Actually I could see them after just two days! I wasn't expecting it to work so fast. Now, I have a small gap between my front teeth. When I floss, the string enters the space between my teeth like butter -- no resistance at all --  and this didn't used to happen. My teeth were completely stuck together. I have to admit, this is super impressive! 

Unfortunately,  I have way more bad comments to make. First, it is super hard to eat. I have been eating soup and baby-food all week because it is super hard to chew. My front teeth hurt if I even touch them slightly and it is impossible for me to bite. My back teeth have the rings that hold everything together and when I -- try to -- chew, the rings get pressed into my gum and it hurts a bit. Also, I keep hurting and cutting my tong in a metal thing that is stuck to the ring but on the inside -- near my tong. Over all I can say that the pain have been decreasing but it's still uncomfortable. Most of you said that with time I'll become more used to it. -- fingers crossed!

Oh and let'snot forget the mess. Food gets stuck in the brackets. All the time. And its disgusting. I have to clean my teeth right after every meal. Oh yeah, and brushing is a very complex process now. It takes me at least 10 to 15 min to have everything properly clean. I brush my teeth like I would normally do, then each individual bracket and I use an intra-dental brush to clean behind the wire. Plus floss, mouth wash and gum-gel. I know I am a bit obsessed when it comes to self-hygiene, but a I have to be sure that every single inch is clean, and that I don't have any disgusting little piece of food stuck in my mouth. I've set an appointment with my dental hygienist to see if I am doing what I'm supposed to do but it's only in January. Any tips on this subject?

I also want to thank you all for you nice works, tips and support! Thank you :)

Review | Colgate Portable Kit

Since now I have braces, I need to be more careful and more responsible with my oral hygiene because I don't want to walk around with food in my braces and because good hygiene helps speeding up the process. Therefore, I needed to buy some sort of portable toothbrush that I can just stick in my bag and always have it with me. I ended up buying this one. 

This one comes with a foldable toothbrush, a baby toothpaste and a plastic zip-lock bag to keep everything thigh  I think that having a toothbrush with you always is a very good idea, even if you don't have braces. You never know when you may need it, and it is good to brush after every meal. If we carry mascara, lipstick and blush why not have a toothbrush as well? This is super small and compact. I found it perfect for everyday!

I saw a lot of different options -- and there are this type of kits specially made for braces, but they cost around 10€ and I know that braces ruin toothbrushes super fast. So I thought that It's not wort to invest in an expensive thing when it's just going to get ruined. This one costed only 4 euros. Its nothing fancy but it does the job. 

Do you own something like this? And do you actually use it or it ends up just being there? I'm afraid that's gonna happen to me! Let's see!

Braces | Let's get it on

Today I went to get my top braces putted in.

The spacers I had on -- click here to read about it --  they were hurting a bit. Mainly because they were really pressing again my gum, but it was bearable. I had them for two days  The first thing the doctor did was to remove them... 

The process of punting on the braces was very easy. They glue each individual bracket with a special glue that needs a blue light to set. So far, so good. No pain at all. 

But then the doctor had to put some rings where the spacers were. These rings are what hold the wire and they have to be really stuck between my teeth. And ooh god. When she pushed them in, it hurt like hell. But it's just for a moment. Then the pain went away. But yeah that's not nice at all... After that she added the wire and the rubber bands to keep it in place. Again, painless. I choose baby-blue for my firs color. 

She explained me how to brush and how to take care of my braces. I can't eat anything crunchy like chocolate, toasts or apples, nor sticky stuff like chewing-gum, soft-candies. I should not drink carbonated drinks -- like coca-cola -- because it can remove the glue. Also, if I drink natural fruit-juice, to use a straw because the acid from the fruit can also remove the glue and oxidize the brackets. She gave me some wax to put on the braces if something is poking my mouth. 

As soon as the doctor finished installing it, I immediately felt pressure. A lot. And I'm still feeling. It's not pain, it doesn't hurt, it's just uncomfortable. But so far that's it. It doesn't hurt. Just pressure. 

I have to admit, lunch was hard. I was not able to chew properly and I kept hurting my tong.So I just ate some soup and some ice-cream. But I guess -- better say, I hope -- I just have to get used to it. Ans yes, food gets stuck all over the place. 

I am returning there in the beginning of January. But I will keep you updated :)

Also, guys, if you have any tips or tricks that will make this smoother, let me know :)

Braces | Spacers

Sooooo.. today I went and get my spacers putted in.

What are spacers? Well I thought it would be something weird but actually they are just some rubber bands that they put in between two teeth a few days before they install the actual braces. 

They literally shoved a rubber band -- like the ones people use in their braces -- between my teeth. The idea is to create space where the fixating part of the braces will hold on to my mouth.

To do this, they just stretch out the rubber band and use it like floss -- just push them in between the teeth. They added one between my last tooth and the next one, and between that one and the proceeding. So my "second" tooth is in a sandwich of rubber bands, lets say. See the picture, you'll understand. And of curse they did this to both sides of my mouth -- right and left -- but only on the top. 

Does it hurt? No, not really. To put them in, it's was actually easy. I was expecting it to be hard, since -- i thought -- my teeth are very close together. But no. It was easy. I felt like the right side was easier, because she pushed way harder on the left side. But no pain at all.

I did this at 8am and at the beginning it wasn't hurting at all nor being uncomfortable. It actually felt kinda nice because when I close my mouth I feel something bouncy, almost like chewing gum, and it was a cool feeling. 

But after a while it becomes a bit annoying.You know when you have food between your teeth and it gets super annoying? That's the feeling. 

Lunch was okay, I din't had any problems eating. But the doctor told me not to eat anything sticky so that the rubber bands won't come off. And now -- it's around 6.30pm -- I feel like my jaw is a bit sore -- but nothing to bad. 

On Wednesday morning I'll be getting my braces, and i'll tell you all about it! I don't know if you are actually interested in following my journey, but I think it's so much fun to keep a journal about it. 

I guess I am getting braces...

I'm getting braces. Yep. Now that I am an self-sufficient adult, I'm getting braces.

I have been going to the dentist because I have been fixing a cavity. I don't have very bad teeth, it's not a cosmetic problem, I just have a bit of overbite. Nothing very weird or that makes my smile weird. My dentist suggested that I get that fixed, just because.

So I went to see an orthodontist. I went there just to ask some questions and to see if she thinks I should really have it. I wasn't even sure that I wanted braces. As soon as she started so see my mouth she said I really need to do it, because it can really damage all my teeth and in 20 years I will have a lot of problems, bla bla bla. And she made the molds and everything right away and she said -- "Ok so we'll be back on the end of the month to put your braces so you can get your teeth fixed ASAP".

I am still a bit in a chock. Because I wasn't expecting to get them so soon.

I'm getting them in about two weeks and I am going to have it for a bit more than an year! So I will be posting about it on the blog regularly!

Anyway, let me know in the comments if you have/had braces and tell me your experience and any tips or advice for me :) Thank you!