Hey you!
Hope this summer treated you well!
I’ve been MIA a bit and honestly it felt awesome to take some time away and learn and do some things for myself. Also, I’m still working full time and I have some photography contracts on the side that keep me a busy bee.
But, I never forgot about my love for writing and sharing stories with you.
“Pay attention to the things you are naturally drawn to. They are often connected to your path, passion and purpose in life. Have the courage to follow them.”
Today I’ll be talking about my experience with braces, how it felt in the first days, what changes I had to make with respect to food, how I dealt with pain, mindset and motivation
Plus! These days I will post some recipes suitable for braced smiles.
I wanted braces for a long time now but didn’t have the chance to do it. Either I didn’t consider it a priority, or I was saving for traveling or photography equipment. I cannot say I was really stressed about my smile; my teeth weren’t that cricked. It never stopped me to laugh like crazy, being afraid that someone will notice I have a tooth that is pointing another direction LOL.
So, let’s be sure we get this right from the beginning.
Whether you have in plan, maybe next years, to go for braces because you cannot afford it now, please, for the love of wellbeing, don’t refrain yourself from smiling with all your teeth, however they look. Laugh hard until your belly feels like it will explode. Express your feelings and forget about other people looking.
Don’t lose those moments thinking you will smile only after getting the braces off because no one will give them back. The present is now.
I will talk from an adult perspective, as I’ve past the teenager period (not in my soul though, I’m forever the 15-year-old girl, daydreaming ????), but I think the mindset would apply in both cases.
If it’s something you really want to do for yourself because it will make you happy, do it. DO NOT CARE ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE OPINION. They are not you and you are not them. Don’t be afraid that they will look strange or they will not want to interact with you, just because you are wearing braces. It’s their loss if they can think an accessory like that (because yes, you should consider it as an accessory, a piece of jewellery that adds up to your personality ????) it’s the only thing that defines you.
And believe it or not, I met more people that thought wearing braces is cool than the ones that thought it was stupid to wear them as an adult.
So, mindset ready, now let’s get the braces…
As I live in UK, I had to find an orthodontist in my city (Birmingham) and of course I used Google and read a lot of reviews until I chose one. It was easier at home in Romania in a small city as I would have chosen the one with the best reputation and I also had a lot of friends that could advise me about their experience. Here it was a bit more difficult and I had to trust the reviews.
I guess it’s the same with every clinic. First, it’s the consultation when you meet the orthodontist and he/she will evaluate and explain the next steps. For example, if you need braces for the entire arcade or just for few teeth, the approximate period you would have to wear it, if you need to fix any cavities before and of course, will present the options of braces: metallic, ceramic, Invisalign etc.
The clinic : Midlands Smile Center Selly Oak
Of course, the classic one, the metallic is the cheapest solution and the most visible. Like in the old times.
If you don’t like the idea of having the metallic one for a long period of time and you have no restrictions with respect to budget, you can choose the ceramic or even the Invisalign.
The assumption for me was to wear the upper for 6 months and the bottom for 2-3 months and the cost for the metallic was 660£ and Invisalign 2200£.
For that amount of time I chose for sure the metallic, but honestly even if it was for 2 years, I would have chosen again the metallic, that’s because I could use the difference of money to do something else, to travel for example. And again, I do not care what people think about me and you shouldn’t also. If you do have a lot of money and you think you like more the ceramic or Invisalign, then go for what your heart wishes. I’m just saying to evaluate your choices in accordance to your beliefs, not what others would think of you.
I am taking really good care of my teeth, so I didn’t have any cavities, one problem that I needed to fix though was getting a mouth guard for the bottom teeth. I felt a pain all the time in my left jaw and apparently my nerves were affected because I was biting and scrunching during the sleep, when exercising at gym or when I was really focused.
On 14th November I went to the orthodontist and got the braces for the upper teeth. The procedure lasted no more than 10 minutes. She glued the brackets on my teeth and the only pressure I felt it was when she applied the wire to tie the brackets. It didn’t hurt, just felt a pressure, as she was tightening.
I can say it felt weird moments after because I was not used with the feeling of having something applied on the teeth and I was touching all the time with my tongue. Felt a bit like I had fillers as my lip was lifted ???? Funny, but pleasant.
The doctor advised to take some pain killers if the pain will become unbearable, but it wasn’t the case for me. I am usually a person that can take pain quite well so I didn’t use any pills in the entire period.
I knew that I have to give up on some foods because it was impossible to bite and from the first day I started to eat more soups and smoothies. Basically, still having the same nutritious foods every day, but in a different form.
I remember that day I felt happy because I took the step and I wanted to eat some comfort food, which is easy to chew, it’s sweet while watching my favorite series on Netflix.
I remembered a dish my mom used to cook for me when I was a kid and we didn’t have anything sweet in the house. I was on deficit at that time, so I recreated exactly to suit my needs. I will share the recipe soon.
The first night was a bit uncomfortable, but the morning after was even more. I felt a constant pressure and it was so hard to bite and chew even the soft food. My lunch break suddenly increased because I needed to take my time to eat.
After 5 days, everything got back to normal. I could even eat rice cakes and crackers. Yaaaay! As I have given up on bread, I substituted with the ones mentioned before. I could finally have my avocado less calories “toast”.
Ooook, here’s a list of foods you can eat and also what you will have to give up on.
Every 6 weeks I had to return for my appointment with the orthodontist, to tighten the wire. The next three days I would feel my teeth sensitive and again it was hard to chew.
I remember going to Paris the next day after I went to tighten the wire and I was sooo drooling after a baguette. Pointless to say, I couldn’t even bite, I had to break it in small pieces just like for a little baby. Thanks God for croissants and pain au chocolat because I stuffed my face with those instead. Felt happier than ever ????)
So, prepare for the days after tightening to drink more smoothies and eat soft foods.
- You will need to carry your toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, interdental brush and whatever you choose to properly clean your teeth after you are eating. Don’t wanna smile with some spinach within your teeth ????) Although, it’s funny, I did it several times with my friends LOL. Sorry, guys!
- You will need to spend more time eating, so take into account to discuss with your manager.
- You can never skip cleaning your teeth. It is super important if you do not want the colour of your teeth to be permanently changed.
- If you are a coffee lover and you don’t want to reduce it that much, try to drink water after coffee.
- Probably you will need to slow down when talking. The words seem to stumble sometime in the braces LOL and people won’t understand what you are saying. I don’t know if it is available for everyone, but for me, it changed the way I was saying the words that had letter “s” and I had to focus to say as better as I can. I was talking with a lot of subcontractors over the phone, so I didn’t want to repeat.
Time will pass by quickly, trust me.
I don’t even know when the months have passed and mid March I got the braces for the bottom teeth also. If before was hard to say some letters, now was even funnier LOL.
I got used pretty fast with the sensation and if the upper braces was not that visible, the bottom ones really got me some compliments 🙂
On 23rd of April, I had the appointment to remove the upper braces. Yaaay! So I had to wear them for 5 months and 9 days. In the same day, the orthodontist applied the fixed retainer which is a thin wire across the back of the teeth. This type of retainer has the best outcome to keep the teeth straight, even though it takes more time and effort to clean.
It took me few days to get used with the sensation because the wire is bonded to the teeth with little balls of cement and you can feel them every time you close the mouth or chew.
Also, she took the measurement for the removable retainer which I had to wear during the night.
On 5th of June, I got the bottom braces removed and again the fixed retainer applied. So, just 2,5 months for the teeth to become straight.
I was so happy with the result and felt more confident.
Now, all the people, even the ones who just met me are saying I am smiling all the time and it feels contagious 🙂
The fixed retainer will last for several years and the removable ones I have to wear them every night.
I didn’t feel stressed for the payment as I was paying every month in fixed installments. Every clinic will present you a financial solution to be sure you are not feeling any burden to pay the cost of the braces.
I hope I covered everything in this post. If not, please feel free to write a comment and I will reply 🙂
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