Well its about time I updated, since its been a looong time since I last posted! Or at least it feels like it!! Unfortunately this is not because I have been out enjoying my perfect speech lol but life has taken over for a week or so!
The first day back at work (day 16) was actually HORRIFIC!!! I had to do a suprise presentation in front of basically everyone I actually give a crap about at work! There's some people I couldnt really care less and once I finish this placement I wont ever plan on seeing again anyway... but then there's the others I am training with who I think the world of and some have become life long friends... and of course it is them that I find myself stuttering and spluttering away in front of on my first day back!! I suppose on one hand its lucky because they are all so nice it wasnt a hostile audience, but on the other hand I had to face up to my fears sharpish!! Well my mouth went dry, my lisp got worse and I wanted the group to swallow me up!! I have no idea what it sounded like it anyone else but it sounded awful to me! And I even had a few texts later on with people asking if I was ok because I didnt seem myself and they were worried!! So clearly it was impacting quite significantly!! But no mention of speech so whether they didnt notice, or didnt want to ask I'm not sure!
Next day I was back in the main office... tried to speak as little as possible to colleagues, but had half of my case load in because I'd been off for a while so needed to get back on track with them all! Plus half the office seemed to be off sick or on training/leave so I ended up seeing a whole load of extras as well!! DISASTER!!! Or at least it was to me!! Again I cant be sure whether I imagined the funny looks from my regulars, or the sympathetic looks from the ones i'd never met before!! Everyone seemed to understand me, although the effort of talking was actually exhausting!! I was sooooooo tired when I got home hoping to go straight to bed! However things didnt work out quite as planned and I ended up in A&E until about 2am!! (Before you panic - definitely non brace-related haha! I took someone else!) And the rest of the week has been a blur as I had an unplanned day off (again non-brace related!) and then can hardly even remember the rest because I've been one big blur myself as I have zipped all over the place at the speed of light lol! BUT the biggest thing to note is that nobody has asked me to repeat myself and nobody has asked what is wrong with me!! They either i) havent noticed ii) have noticed but thought it was rude to ask iii) have noticed but decided i must have had it all along but they've never noticed before!! Or iv) couldnt actually care less whether I lisp or not!! Or perhaps a combination! Anyway I've wangled it for now and just keep hoping I'll steadily improve! Its definitely worse in my head than it is out loud, but its also definitely not perfect yet as the trusted few people I have asked who know me well tell me that they do notice slight changes and my mum in particular can see it in my face when i'm not comfortable talking or struggling getting words out!! The worst bit of it is, in my efforts to get my words out properly I seem to have managed to start biting my tongue!! I dont know how, because the changes certainly arent conscious... maybe its something to do with the extra stuff in my little mouth!! But it hurts and it definitely hinders the dream of perfect speech!! Its not all the time tho, and hopefully will go away again as I get more used to it! Aah th joys of linguals!!!!
But despite all my woes its definite progress from the early days where I hid in the house all day to avoid having to bump into anyone! And I've seen most of the people I see regularly now so they either have or havent noticed... nothing I can do about it anyway!!!
Food wise - I just snaffled a bag of crisps!! Definite progress!! If you have a weakness for crisps like me get urself some pom-bears!! They're kinda softer than most crisps but dont get stuck all over the wires like wotsits!! (Yes I have given the crisp selection an awful lot of thought!!) I have also managed pizza, curry and macdonalds so things are looking up!! The cleaning part is still not fun tho - sneaking off to the toilet at work for example to clean my teeth - and the taste is still not quite the same, but I think I just have to accept that! Its better than it was but it will never be as good as when my mouth is my own!! And I still lisp much more straight after eating for some reason so its interesting at lunchtime... although I tend to eat at my desk anyway so I dont think that has really been noticed!!
Well what a big long ramble!! My thoughts seem to come pouring out all at once when I start blogging! Am keeping my fingers crossed for the month mark anyway, that is when the big presentation is so I need more improvements!! Wish me luck!!!
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Day 10
Mmmmm lamb shank! I have found a lot of foods have lost their enjoyment value but this tasted just as good even with the linguals!! The food side of things is coming on a bit now, I keep adding to the 'list of things I can eat' although most of them still arent quite the same as before... the extra inconvenience, the horrible feeling of tongue on metal, the feeling of bits being stuck so trying to get them out with your tongue and then wishing you didnt because it hurts, and the inability to talk properly whilst eating, my speech seems to deteriorate for some reason until I've cleaned my teeth again afterwards... all kind of spoil the enjoyment a little bit!! But at least I'm getting there and I'm not going hungry!!
I've not quite got to the stage where the braces feel 'normal' that other people talk about! I'm still finding it a rather strange thought that this might soon feel normal as it really doesnt feel anywhere near normal at the moment... although at least its not sore anymore!
Speech - ARGH!!! When it is going to get back to normal!? I keep getting very frustrated and am now following quite a few of my sentences with snarls, growls and angry mumbling!! Starting to get stressed about going back to work and still being like this... it really *has* to get better in the next few days or what is the point of having 'invisible' treatment if I then have to tell everyone about it because I sound like a weirdo!!! Dear oh dear!! I think I will soon know the entire rainbow passage off by heart... and comma gets a cure... which doesnt even make sense by the way!!!
Feel a million and one times better now the essay is done anyway, have more time to practice speaking and stress levels have finally dropped back down to normal so at least thats one less thing to worry about! Just cant wait til my speech is back to normal and I can go out partying to celebrate! Have got the most overwhelming urge to go out and boogie!!!
I've not quite got to the stage where the braces feel 'normal' that other people talk about! I'm still finding it a rather strange thought that this might soon feel normal as it really doesnt feel anywhere near normal at the moment... although at least its not sore anymore!
Speech - ARGH!!! When it is going to get back to normal!? I keep getting very frustrated and am now following quite a few of my sentences with snarls, growls and angry mumbling!! Starting to get stressed about going back to work and still being like this... it really *has* to get better in the next few days or what is the point of having 'invisible' treatment if I then have to tell everyone about it because I sound like a weirdo!!! Dear oh dear!! I think I will soon know the entire rainbow passage off by heart... and comma gets a cure... which doesnt even make sense by the way!!!
Feel a million and one times better now the essay is done anyway, have more time to practice speaking and stress levels have finally dropped back down to normal so at least thats one less thing to worry about! Just cant wait til my speech is back to normal and I can go out partying to celebrate! Have got the most overwhelming urge to go out and boogie!!!
Sunday, 23 May 2010
I am so hungry!!!
It is still day 7 and I have never been so hungry!!!! Eating is such a chore that I try to avoid it, especially when I have essays to worry about! I just cant be bothered with the whole teeth cleaning malarky and general discomfort of trying to eat anything, which I then dont enjoy anyway so end up feeling like the whole thing was a complete waste of time and effort!! Aside from the issues speaking, this is definitely the worst side effect of the linguals. My love affair with food is officially over... Gutted!!
Day 7
I never realised I was so impatient! Day 7 and I am expecting results speech wise, and have also noticed I am ever so slightly disappointed that my teeth havent moved yet!! Lol I know its a slow process tho and aware that my expectations are completely unrealistic so not overly disappointed!
I took a day off yesterday and LEFT THE HOUSE for the first time in a week!!! Went out for the day with my other half, who has been totally amazing this past week and really cheered me up yday! However lunch wasnt all that fun, it took me so long to eat my pizza that it went cold... and he snaffled all the chips!! I reckon he's gonna love this next few months and probably put on a few extra pounds as a result haha! It was lovely to get out, altho of course I took my insecurities with me and was convinced that everyone who heard me talk looked in sympathy at 'that poor girl with the lisp!' In all honesty I doubt anyone cared in the slightest, and its not like I'll ever see them again anyway!! But it was still a strange experience feeling so vulnerable for such a silly reason!!
Cleaning my teeth in a public bathroom was a bit of a concern, I managed to find a disabled toilet with its own sink and seeing as the restaurant was very quiet I snuck in there... felt a bit guilty tho in case it was needed so sooner or later I am gonna have to face my fear of brushing in public! I've never liked brushing my teeth in front of anyone, even family/housemates so thats gonna be a bit of a challenge when i'm back in the real world! Again my interdental brushes were a godsend tho and made it that little bit easier to get clean quick!
Have set aside the entire week next week to practice talking, desperately need to see some improvements before I go back to work and face the world!! From going through the alphabet and trying to say different words I have identified that 's' is definitely the worst altho it seems generally ok when its a 'sh' sound. Also having a few probs forming 'l' when I try to speak too fast and 't' can be difficult in some words, and 'x' is a bit of a problem in words like 'excited' which become one big lisp and 'z' doesnt sound quite right but not too bad... I've also noticed 'd' isnt always quite right on the ends of words, like my mouth loses the ability to finish the words off! It really is exhausting because its such an effort all the time, for something that used to be so normal and easy... just crossing my fingers it will get easier! Its not *quite* as bad as I expected, but in reality its obviously more difficult to deal with than before you have the braces put on and you're willing to deal with absolutely anything to get your teeth fixed!!
I took a day off yesterday and LEFT THE HOUSE for the first time in a week!!! Went out for the day with my other half, who has been totally amazing this past week and really cheered me up yday! However lunch wasnt all that fun, it took me so long to eat my pizza that it went cold... and he snaffled all the chips!! I reckon he's gonna love this next few months and probably put on a few extra pounds as a result haha! It was lovely to get out, altho of course I took my insecurities with me and was convinced that everyone who heard me talk looked in sympathy at 'that poor girl with the lisp!' In all honesty I doubt anyone cared in the slightest, and its not like I'll ever see them again anyway!! But it was still a strange experience feeling so vulnerable for such a silly reason!!
Cleaning my teeth in a public bathroom was a bit of a concern, I managed to find a disabled toilet with its own sink and seeing as the restaurant was very quiet I snuck in there... felt a bit guilty tho in case it was needed so sooner or later I am gonna have to face my fear of brushing in public! I've never liked brushing my teeth in front of anyone, even family/housemates so thats gonna be a bit of a challenge when i'm back in the real world! Again my interdental brushes were a godsend tho and made it that little bit easier to get clean quick!
Have set aside the entire week next week to practice talking, desperately need to see some improvements before I go back to work and face the world!! From going through the alphabet and trying to say different words I have identified that 's' is definitely the worst altho it seems generally ok when its a 'sh' sound. Also having a few probs forming 'l' when I try to speak too fast and 't' can be difficult in some words, and 'x' is a bit of a problem in words like 'excited' which become one big lisp and 'z' doesnt sound quite right but not too bad... I've also noticed 'd' isnt always quite right on the ends of words, like my mouth loses the ability to finish the words off! It really is exhausting because its such an effort all the time, for something that used to be so normal and easy... just crossing my fingers it will get easier! Its not *quite* as bad as I expected, but in reality its obviously more difficult to deal with than before you have the braces put on and you're willing to deal with absolutely anything to get your teeth fixed!!
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Day 5
I realised its been a couple of days, other commitments seem to have taken over recently... I've been so focused on finishin this damned assignment I have spent the last few days tied to my computer and hardly a word to anyone! So needless to say the speech side of things hasnt improved, and its still reeeeally frustrating!! I think its probably part of the reason I havent really tried to speak for the past few days, because I really need to focus on studying and if I talk and get annoyed, then get stressed/upset etc etc then I lose valuable study time! I'll have to worry about it another day...although the pressure really is on to get it sorted before I go back to work!! Eek!
I have found it very strange to reflect upon the things I have learned to love!! In particular interdental brushes!! I think this is a find that no lingual brace wearer could live without! I was really struggling to manouver my ordinary size toothbrush around the brackets on the back of my teeth. My ortho gave me like a mini toothbrush with literally one sprog of bristles, which to be fair did look really easy when he showed me how to do it in the mirror. However this was not the case for me and I was starting to worry my teeth would all rot and fall out!! Cue interdental brush!! What a lifesaver, I use the blue one, and for me its the perfect size for squeezing in between the wires and the teeth... and getting rid of all those niggly bits of ick that you just cant suck, brush or rinse out for love nor money! I bought the mixed size pack to start with, one of each size, to make sure I could test out and get the best one(s) - I also find the tiny grey one is useful when I dont have the energy for a full flossing session as it pokes in between most teeth, except the ones further back where I cant get the angle right, and makes me feel less guilty about not flossing properly!!
I have also added jaffa cakes, chocolate buttons (cant remember if I mentioned them already!?), bolonaise, boiled eggs and toast, strawberries and pizza to the list of things I can eat!! Yes thats right pizza!!! Altho it was a very strange experience I must say!! Cheese everywhere! Ah well it can only get easier, and honestly, once I can talk the rest of it will be a breeze in comparison!!
Note to anyone new to braces - do not use dentyl mouthwash!! Whilst it may taste lovely (which it does, smooth mint in particular) and to most people it may be considered a good thing to 'see the results in the sink', trust me - you do not want to see them in your braces!! (The results are bright green and slimey!! Eurgh!!!)
I have found it very strange to reflect upon the things I have learned to love!! In particular interdental brushes!! I think this is a find that no lingual brace wearer could live without! I was really struggling to manouver my ordinary size toothbrush around the brackets on the back of my teeth. My ortho gave me like a mini toothbrush with literally one sprog of bristles, which to be fair did look really easy when he showed me how to do it in the mirror. However this was not the case for me and I was starting to worry my teeth would all rot and fall out!! Cue interdental brush!! What a lifesaver, I use the blue one, and for me its the perfect size for squeezing in between the wires and the teeth... and getting rid of all those niggly bits of ick that you just cant suck, brush or rinse out for love nor money! I bought the mixed size pack to start with, one of each size, to make sure I could test out and get the best one(s) - I also find the tiny grey one is useful when I dont have the energy for a full flossing session as it pokes in between most teeth, except the ones further back where I cant get the angle right, and makes me feel less guilty about not flossing properly!!
I have also added jaffa cakes, chocolate buttons (cant remember if I mentioned them already!?), bolonaise, boiled eggs and toast, strawberries and pizza to the list of things I can eat!! Yes thats right pizza!!! Altho it was a very strange experience I must say!! Cheese everywhere! Ah well it can only get easier, and honestly, once I can talk the rest of it will be a breeze in comparison!!
Note to anyone new to braces - do not use dentyl mouthwash!! Whilst it may taste lovely (which it does, smooth mint in particular) and to most people it may be considered a good thing to 'see the results in the sink', trust me - you do not want to see them in your braces!! (The results are bright green and slimey!! Eurgh!!!)
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Day 2
Not much change since yesterday if I'm honest, I was hoping I would wake up to a miraculous adjustment and no lisp! Well I was dreaming because this is certainly not the case and if anything I feel like I sound worse than ever! I feel like its more to do with the air rattling through the brackets/wire than anything else, although attempting to block these up with wax did not help at all!
Speaking of wax - what a pulava that was!!! I dont get the wax thing at all, clearly everyone else with braces knows something I dont because I cant for the life of me get it to stick! I know you're supposed to dry the braces first... which in itself is a mission, coz how the hell do you dry the inside of your mouth!? Well I gave it my best shot with a tissue, which first of all was like chewing on cotton wool!! (eeeeek that awful squeaking against your teeth that goes right through me!!) And then second of all I got bits stuck to the wire, which I then had to lick off, and was right back to square one with wet braces again!! Oh joy!! After several attempts i managed to squidge bits on here and there... found it helped to squidge around the wax a little bit like you would do with bluetack before you stick it on the wall... although still did not like sticking where I wanted it! And I did not enjoy putting anymore pressure on my already aching teeth!! So when I finally got some of it stuck on, and realised it had only served to make my lisp worse I gave up on the whole thing and took it off again! (A mission in itself because at this stage I dont really know what it supposed to be there and what is wax! Surely it has to get easier as time goes by!?!?!)
On the bright side, the pain seemed to have subdued overnight and was down to the occasional ache- not helped by this morning's brushing and waxing experience!! I have to confess I did not floss this morning, despite promising my ortho I would floss religiously twice a day!! I couldnt face it after last night but i have promised myself to super floss this evening instead to make up for it!!
My tongue still feels ok, brackets are not the most comfortable thing ever I'll be honest, but still no major sores or cuts on the tongue which is a definite bonus!
Eating - now thats been interesting!! I had salmon and mashed potato last night, weetabix for breakfast (with lots of milk so it was basically mush - I used to hate mushy weetabix but I have a sneaking suspicious it will quickly become my best friend!!) and I just had raviolli for lunch. I used to LOVE eating, love going out for meals, snacking in between and generally snaffling whatever was put in front of me! So I'm disappointed to find I cant chew properly because of the brackets, it doesnt seem to taste the same anymore, and I am hating the feeling of half-mushed food swirling around and getting stuck in my braces. It takes a long time, it hurts, and it feels really really strange!! And i cant imagine biting anything properly ever again!! I take small cautious chews with the sides of my mouth but most of my food I am sorta sucking until it slides away down my throat so that I chew as little as possible! Eugh its horrible!! I am beginning to wonder why I thought this was such a good idea!!
Am also concerned over the amount of popping my jaw is doing... I dont think this is quite normal! Its always clicked a bit, which I think is to do with my misaligned bite. But the extra addition to my mouth seems to have changed where I hold my jaw, and it doesnt like it, but I cant put it back in the normal place because the brackets stop it going there! So it is aching and feels stiff, and will only open so far... until I force it really wide open when it does a really loud click and then feels normal again... for a moment until I shut it again back in its funny new position!! I'm going to leave it a few days then maybe contact my ortho for a bit of advice, but I'm terrified he'll say I have to take them off again when I've come so far in finally having them fitted!! But dont want to ignore it altogether in case I end up doin more harm than good... oh dear oh dear!! :(
Overall trying to stay positive but failing miserably at times. Have found some comfort in archwired.com where i discovered someone a week ahead of me, but equally as miserable/trying to be optimistic and it has definitely helped to share my woes with someone who understands... but I really just want my normal speech back! To my braces - you can throw the pain at me, I can take that...you even took my much loved food!!!.... but dont take my voice away!!! Please give it back!!! I know that I need to talk for my mouth to get used to it, but I dont want to!! I've only told a few people about my braces and they have since tried to be nice and tell me its 'not that bad', but then the amount of times they have to ask me to repeat myself is giving the game away big time! Am just hoping another week or two and I'll be talking like my normal self again! Fingers crossed!!!!
Speaking of wax - what a pulava that was!!! I dont get the wax thing at all, clearly everyone else with braces knows something I dont because I cant for the life of me get it to stick! I know you're supposed to dry the braces first... which in itself is a mission, coz how the hell do you dry the inside of your mouth!? Well I gave it my best shot with a tissue, which first of all was like chewing on cotton wool!! (eeeeek that awful squeaking against your teeth that goes right through me!!) And then second of all I got bits stuck to the wire, which I then had to lick off, and was right back to square one with wet braces again!! Oh joy!! After several attempts i managed to squidge bits on here and there... found it helped to squidge around the wax a little bit like you would do with bluetack before you stick it on the wall... although still did not like sticking where I wanted it! And I did not enjoy putting anymore pressure on my already aching teeth!! So when I finally got some of it stuck on, and realised it had only served to make my lisp worse I gave up on the whole thing and took it off again! (A mission in itself because at this stage I dont really know what it supposed to be there and what is wax! Surely it has to get easier as time goes by!?!?!)
On the bright side, the pain seemed to have subdued overnight and was down to the occasional ache- not helped by this morning's brushing and waxing experience!! I have to confess I did not floss this morning, despite promising my ortho I would floss religiously twice a day!! I couldnt face it after last night but i have promised myself to super floss this evening instead to make up for it!!
My tongue still feels ok, brackets are not the most comfortable thing ever I'll be honest, but still no major sores or cuts on the tongue which is a definite bonus!
Eating - now thats been interesting!! I had salmon and mashed potato last night, weetabix for breakfast (with lots of milk so it was basically mush - I used to hate mushy weetabix but I have a sneaking suspicious it will quickly become my best friend!!) and I just had raviolli for lunch. I used to LOVE eating, love going out for meals, snacking in between and generally snaffling whatever was put in front of me! So I'm disappointed to find I cant chew properly because of the brackets, it doesnt seem to taste the same anymore, and I am hating the feeling of half-mushed food swirling around and getting stuck in my braces. It takes a long time, it hurts, and it feels really really strange!! And i cant imagine biting anything properly ever again!! I take small cautious chews with the sides of my mouth but most of my food I am sorta sucking until it slides away down my throat so that I chew as little as possible! Eugh its horrible!! I am beginning to wonder why I thought this was such a good idea!!
Am also concerned over the amount of popping my jaw is doing... I dont think this is quite normal! Its always clicked a bit, which I think is to do with my misaligned bite. But the extra addition to my mouth seems to have changed where I hold my jaw, and it doesnt like it, but I cant put it back in the normal place because the brackets stop it going there! So it is aching and feels stiff, and will only open so far... until I force it really wide open when it does a really loud click and then feels normal again... for a moment until I shut it again back in its funny new position!! I'm going to leave it a few days then maybe contact my ortho for a bit of advice, but I'm terrified he'll say I have to take them off again when I've come so far in finally having them fitted!! But dont want to ignore it altogether in case I end up doin more harm than good... oh dear oh dear!! :(
Overall trying to stay positive but failing miserably at times. Have found some comfort in archwired.com where i discovered someone a week ahead of me, but equally as miserable/trying to be optimistic and it has definitely helped to share my woes with someone who understands... but I really just want my normal speech back! To my braces - you can throw the pain at me, I can take that...you even took my much loved food!!!.... but dont take my voice away!!! Please give it back!!! I know that I need to talk for my mouth to get used to it, but I dont want to!! I've only told a few people about my braces and they have since tried to be nice and tell me its 'not that bad', but then the amount of times they have to ask me to repeat myself is giving the game away big time! Am just hoping another week or two and I'll be talking like my normal self again! Fingers crossed!!!!
Day 1
Ok so I lie, its actually day 2... but I couldnt face it yesterday, I was feeling far too sorry for myself!! The whole fitting process was not that bad really, apart from having to sit with my mouth open for about an hour!! (Much harder than you could imagine!)
The process involved sanding of the backs of my teeth, so that the brackets would stick better... this literally involved a mini sand spray shooting into my mouth and roughening the surface of the teeth. The weirdest thing were the water jets and sucky pipes which were then used to clean the sand out of my mouth whilst I just sat back in the chair! I had imagined lots of gargling and spitting of sand, but this was not the case at all... it reminded me of being at the hairdressers in a way sitting back in the chair while everyone runs around you! So then came the fitting of the brackets themselves, I was strapped into a nifty little device that kept my mouth open and sucked out all of the spit in my mouth so it stayed dry whilst everything was stuck in place. Not the most comfortable in the world, but painless nonetheless! Then came fiddling, cutting, twiddling of various bits and bobs whilst the wire was put into place and voila!
Immediately after it felt strange, I tried to talk and sounded a lot like sylvester the cat (I tawt i taw a puddy tat!) so I decided against speaking any more for the time being until I got home to test it out on my own!! Well I got home, talked to myself in the mirror a bit, had a good old poke around inside my mouth and then had a good old cry!! I think it was the emotion of the day overall really... finally taking the step towards fixing something that had caused me years of grief, the worry that it might not be the right thing after all - especially seeing as it is only compromise treatment rather than ideal and of course I was well aware that I sounded ridiculous!!! I had been prepared for all this, but it didnt help! On the bright side I had no pain at all, either from the teeth themselves or the rubbing of the brackets inside my mouth. I had heard horror stories of shredded tongues and ulcers so I was pleasantly suprised in that respect at least!
However I couldnt shake the worries over my speech, I immediately found myself thinking what would happen if I still sound like this when I go back to work.... I have to speak a lot as part of my job, and certainly not the easiest client group in the world...and all of my worries and insecurities piled up and got the better of me!!
Then as the hours went by, it also started to hurt a lot more which only made me feel worse! Still no pain in relation to my tongue/gums etc but real aching from my actual teeth, I assume as a result of the pressure from the braces and the pull on them to move into the right place. Now overall I could deal with that, as it reassured me that they were doing their job! However just before bedtime, on trying to clean my teeth I reached breaking point! Cue crying fit number 2!!! I could not for the life of me figure out how floss with braces on, and i cant describe the pain that seemed to result from trying to clean/floss/check out the wires in a mirror and poke out anything that shouldnt be there as part of my new bedtime routine! Not fun at all! And neither was the realisation that I would now be doing this at least 3 times a day for the forseeable future!! But all that was left to do was pull myself together, take a max strength ibuprofen (that seemed to help ease the ache!) and stick on an episode of SATC to cheer me up!! Needless to say, it was NOT the one with miranda and the braces lol!!
The process involved sanding of the backs of my teeth, so that the brackets would stick better... this literally involved a mini sand spray shooting into my mouth and roughening the surface of the teeth. The weirdest thing were the water jets and sucky pipes which were then used to clean the sand out of my mouth whilst I just sat back in the chair! I had imagined lots of gargling and spitting of sand, but this was not the case at all... it reminded me of being at the hairdressers in a way sitting back in the chair while everyone runs around you! So then came the fitting of the brackets themselves, I was strapped into a nifty little device that kept my mouth open and sucked out all of the spit in my mouth so it stayed dry whilst everything was stuck in place. Not the most comfortable in the world, but painless nonetheless! Then came fiddling, cutting, twiddling of various bits and bobs whilst the wire was put into place and voila!
Immediately after it felt strange, I tried to talk and sounded a lot like sylvester the cat (I tawt i taw a puddy tat!) so I decided against speaking any more for the time being until I got home to test it out on my own!! Well I got home, talked to myself in the mirror a bit, had a good old poke around inside my mouth and then had a good old cry!! I think it was the emotion of the day overall really... finally taking the step towards fixing something that had caused me years of grief, the worry that it might not be the right thing after all - especially seeing as it is only compromise treatment rather than ideal and of course I was well aware that I sounded ridiculous!!! I had been prepared for all this, but it didnt help! On the bright side I had no pain at all, either from the teeth themselves or the rubbing of the brackets inside my mouth. I had heard horror stories of shredded tongues and ulcers so I was pleasantly suprised in that respect at least!
However I couldnt shake the worries over my speech, I immediately found myself thinking what would happen if I still sound like this when I go back to work.... I have to speak a lot as part of my job, and certainly not the easiest client group in the world...and all of my worries and insecurities piled up and got the better of me!!
Then as the hours went by, it also started to hurt a lot more which only made me feel worse! Still no pain in relation to my tongue/gums etc but real aching from my actual teeth, I assume as a result of the pressure from the braces and the pull on them to move into the right place. Now overall I could deal with that, as it reassured me that they were doing their job! However just before bedtime, on trying to clean my teeth I reached breaking point! Cue crying fit number 2!!! I could not for the life of me figure out how floss with braces on, and i cant describe the pain that seemed to result from trying to clean/floss/check out the wires in a mirror and poke out anything that shouldnt be there as part of my new bedtime routine! Not fun at all! And neither was the realisation that I would now be doing this at least 3 times a day for the forseeable future!! But all that was left to do was pull myself together, take a max strength ibuprofen (that seemed to help ease the ache!) and stick on an episode of SATC to cheer me up!! Needless to say, it was NOT the one with miranda and the braces lol!!
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