I'm 27 years old and decided to get braces after being gently reminded by my hygienist at EVERY cleaning how much of a difference braces would make for my appearance, ease of cleaning, etc. So finally she talked me into it and I decided to do some research. Google and I found a promising orthodontist in my area and after my free consultation + up close and personal pictures (yuck!) I was sold. We made my appt to make my molds and pay my down payment for the following week. Getting the molds done was not the most pleasant experience, partially because I have a weird bite so when I would bite down to get the top mold done, it would rock and create a bubble. But after a few tries we got it! Had to wait almost exactly 6 weeks to get the trays back. Getting my top arch put on was a lot easier than I expected. The doctor place glue on the back of all the metal pieces and then popped the tray in my mouth and that was it for the initial placement of the metal pieces. Then he and the assistant had to go in and place the wire and do some magical things with rubber bands.... I'm not really sure what all was going on in there to be honest!! I have a very small mouth so I was just ready for it to be done :) Initially there was some pressure, but it was not entirely unpleasant. I had a tiny bit of a lisp, mostly when saying a word that had an 's' followed by another consonant (like the word "lisp") but I soon got over it, and the slower I talked the better it sounded. I'm bilingual and found Spanish to be much harder - it is a very tongue-intense language after all and I have not had the best luck rolling my r's since my incognito placement. But nothing over the top and nothing I couldn't deal with. There have been several times when talking that I have snagged my tongue on my braces, which is not pleasant but not unbearable. It feels like if you've ever gotten a hair or thread wrapped around a taste bud. I have a bite guard (I believe it's called) placed on my back teeth, which caused my bottom jaw to have to shift forward to make my teeth meet. For the first few days eating was really weird but now my jaw rests in the correct spot to be able to eat easily. This whole thing has not been without discomfort but I am 11 days in and have pretty much adjusted this go-around. The first few days I strongly preferred soft food and was breaking things up in to little bitty pieces, but I was able to eat! The secretary at my ortho's office has Incognito braces so she has been a great source of advice. One of the things she told me was to try to eat normal foods as soon as possible. She said it may hurt worse now but it won't hurt for as long because you will be toughening up your gums. Also, definitely invest in a Water Pik!! I brush, use an inter-dental pick, and mouthwash after every meal and my water pik still gets things out of my teeth! Dr. Starling's office is nice enough to provide one for their patients, which is wonderful. (He really goes above and beyond, partially because several of the women who work for him have or have had incognito braces so they have nudged him in the right direction lol) I'm currently schedule to get my bottom arch placed on October 19. I will post my "before" pictures as soon as possible, I don't have them with me right now. Updated on 19 Oct 2015: Ouch! This is why they are wise to make you wait between arches. I believe my bottom arches are going to be quite a bit more uncomfortable than my top ones. This probably varies by person but my bottom teeth need more work than my top, so I'm sure the pressure is going to be more pronounced. The procedure was the same and painless. First they cleaned my teeth, then placed glue and put the incognito tray in. She cured it with the UV light then fed my wire through the brackets. There was one spot that was a bit tough, because of crowding... But they got it =) I'm going to add some pictures, some from the office and some I've taken myself. Remember I have a tiny mouth but I did what I could. =) I don't go back to see Dr. Starling for another 6 weeks! Updated on 27 Nov 2015: I decided to do an update since someone finally noticed a difference in my teeth at Thanksgiving dinner. I have had my braces for 10 weeks now and have virtually no issues! Sometimes I may be a little tender but usually I can eat like normal, just a lot slower =) see the difference for yourself! I have an appointment on 12/1 and will update again. Updated on 13 Jan 2016: I had another appointment with Dr Starling yesterday. We left the top wire as is (still the smallest wire available) but I had a chain added on some back teeth on my top left. My bottom teeth were where the real fun happened. I got a thicker wire placed, and it was also able to go through all my brackets, where before my teeth were too crooked to get it threaded through. I could INSTANTLY feel it working! I wish I would've taken a picture yesterday morning and last night because the change was incredible! I'm uploading a collage of my bottom teeth for reference. My top teeth are doing what they are supposed to but nothing so drastic. I will upload a picture of then soon.
