Foreign objects in my oral cavity

[sirlightblade]

I got braces yesterday. At some point over the summer I decided I wanted them, and I put it off until I had a job that gave me money to pay for them. I'm seeing Dr. Riz at Orthodontics in Davis Square (if you want one of my referral cards let me know

Comments

[okosut]

My recollection is that food was never really a problem. There was this long list of foods from my orthodontist that I was not supposed to eat, but at some point I realized that it was actually a list of foods that dentists never wanted you to eat, and really had nothing to do with braces, so by the end I was eating pretty much everything.

The annoying part is just that it hurts. If it doesn't hurt much yet, that means either that you're lucky, it takes a few days to really kick in, or they haven't been tightened enough yet. I had a U-shaped squishy thing that I could bite down on, which would tend to alleviate the pain. Presumably drugs would do that as well.

[sirlightblade]

I have this suspicion that the first month is just me getting used to something funny in my mouth, and when i go back in 4 weeks he'll go to tighten them and it will hurt. However, the teeth that need to move hurt when i push them with my tongue, so something is going on.

[lakmiseiru]

In general, although they're tasty, nuts, popcorn, and anything sticky (even candies like Starbursts) suck a ton. Popcorn in particular is sucktastic because the little bits of hull get stuck in your braces and hurt! Also, it sounds like you've got enough frontal work that you should avoid eating uncut apples or corn on the cob. I might also try to avoid meat things that are stringy in nature - beef brisket, for example, gets caught really easily.

Pretty much everything else works pretty well. Curries and the like are great because the pieces of food are small and don't get caught easily. Also fish, because it tends to flake nicely.

Luck!

[sirlightblade]

I have ceramic brackets instead of metal ones, but they're standard braces otherwise.

[ilai]

Second everything lakmiseru and darlene_ford had to say about sticky/hard foods. Don't chew gum either, but you might have figured that out :-) Getting rid of sticky foods can practically rip out the wire.

If you ever get canker sores, braces might exacerbate or start them. It can be hard to clean your teeth through the braces but it's well worth the extra effort.

Good luck and make sure to wear your retainer diligently afterward--I had to have braces twice and that was not a fun experience. (Not due to lack of retainer use; I just got more teeth coming in at the wrong angles.)

[autumnmist]

Oh yes. Definitely WEAR YOUR RETAINER afterwards. I've been wearing mine for the last 9 years (dear god has it been that long?)... my mom and brother did not. Both of their teeth have shifted out of place enough that they cannot even put their retainers on anymore.

[sirlightblade]

Heh, given that I'm paying for the braces out of my own pocket, hopefully I'll be diligent about the retainer.

[rhean]

You are using FSA money to pay for them, right?

[badoingdoing]

When you finally get them off again, your teeth will feel SO SLIMY! It's really kind of funny how much you get used to them.