32 Years Old, Finally Fixing my Teeth with Damon Braces and Acceledent - Lakewood, CO

I decided to finally get braces at 32 because quite frankly I couldn't take it anymore. I've hated my teeth since I was 10. Every time I smiled I felt like everyone was looking at my teeth. I tried whitening the hell out of them to help but I couldn't get past how bad they looked. I had a snaggle tooth in the front from when I had surgery to remove an extra adult tooth, my 2 front teeth were completely slanted backwards, my bottom teeth were severely crowded and I had a 100% overbite. When I went in for my consultation, I wanted to get Invisalign. However with all of my issues, there was a chance I would have to wear braces at the end of my treatment to make my teeth perfect which is not something I wanted to do. I would rather just get it all over with in one shot. So I decided just to do the Damon braces. I got them put on on November 6, 2015, and I got clear on top and metal on the bottom. Just a warning for anyone getting braces, the moment you first go to close your mouth after getting them put on, they will feel enormous! The first time I looked in the mirror I wanted to cry. And people will notice your braces. Random strangers even ask me about them. I also have to have bite turbos behind my 2 upper front teeth for the duration of my treatment to prevent my upper teeth from cracking down on my bottom brackets. Honestly that's probably the thing I hate the most. It took months before my mouth would close enough to to actually chew, and I had the worst lisp ever for about a month and I still have one if I get lazy or if my mouth gets dry. That's the other thing, my mouth is either dry or I'm spitting on people. Ugh.

I was projected 21-24 months of treatment and I am using Acceledent to hopefully help speed it up. I'm super compliant with using the Acceledent and have only missed maybe one day. I'm hoping to get them off by the end of the year or early next year. I have had my braces on for 8 months now and I'm so over it. I hate that I can't eat normally and I'm constantly worried about food being stuck in my teeth. The brackets stick the inside of my mouth and every morning I have to pry my lips off of the brackets. I already look younger than I am so with braces I look like I'm 18. I work in a professional setting so I feel like I have to work even harder at getting people to take me seriously. Also it's really hard to feel sexy with a mouth full of braces. I've been with my fiancé for 15 years thank goodness but even still I feel like the braces are hurting my mojo.

The pain overall has been fairly minimal. The worst was when they added the power chain to my top 4 front teeth. The first couple of days after the braces were first put on wasn't fun either. Otherwise it's mostly just uncomfortable but completely bearable. All of the complaining aside, I am very grateful to have braces. My mom couldn't afford to get them for me so I'm thankful I can afford them now and I know it will be worth it. I'm more comfortable smiling with my braces on than I ever was with my crooked teeth. I've included a few pictures of my progress so far and I'll continue to provide updates. I'm hoping that posting this and updating everyone helps the time go by faster haha :) My next appointment is on August 10th. Stay tuned!

I had another appointment yesterday and it was really productive. They changed out my wires and put in the finishing wires. These are thicker and have little metal posts sticking out of them. They also put tie backs on both sides and both top and bottom. The tie backs are just power chains that they stretched from the post to the back molars. I also now have thicker elastics that I have to wear from the top posts to my second to bottom molars. My last elastics were 2.5 ounces (I'm not entirely sure what that means... 2.5 ounces of pressure? Idk.) and my news ones are 4.5 ounces. So they are almost twice as strong, and I'm wearing them almost 2 teeth closer to the front so they are really pulling on my bottom jaw. It hurts soo bad to pull the elastics back that far. They are also way more visible since they are closer to the front of my mouth which is kind of a bummer. But they will really help with my overbite which is great. My mouth is in so much pain it's making me feel sick. The new elastics are destroying the inside of my mouth. My bite has shifted so my teeth don't touch on the left side, and my teeth barely tap together on the right side. Trying to eat is nearly impossible and incredibly painful. The pain sucks for sure but part of me likes it because I know my teeth are moving. I asked how my progress was so far and the orthodontist said I'm way ahead of schedule. I've been using my Acceledent every day and it's definitely working. He said they usually put the finishing wires on at about month 15 and I'm only at month 9 so I'm already 6 months ahead of schedule which is awesome! I'm so excited to see the end results! I've included some pictures so you can see the tie backs and the new elastics. Also I posted some last month and this month pictures. I don't really see much that has changed unfortunately. My next appointment is on September 7th so I will update again after that. Until then, let's hope this pain subsides and I see some major improvements!

Ever since my appointment last Wednesday, I have been in unbelievable pain. The inside of my mouth is so cut up and full of sores I can barely stand it. The new elastics and their placement is cutting up my cheeks and creating painful sores inside of my mouth. Also, the Damon brackets on the top that have the elastic hooks are so sharp! If I don't have wax on them, they feel like needles poking my mouth. The new metal posts attached to the wire on the top are also constantly digging into my upper lip. It hurts so much to talk. Food burns like acid because of how wounded my cheeks and lips are. I've tried swishing warm salt water but I really don't know what else to do. I've been going through so much wax but I don't know what to do about the elastics cutting me. If anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it. This is miserable and I'm desperate for some relief.

I had another appointment yesterday. This time they made little bends in the upper wire to help move my top front teeth so they line up better. I'm so happy they did that because my teeth look diagonal and I'm ready for them to look straight. They also changed my elastic tie backs. For anyone who is getting tie backs or power chains, the light silver does stain. I'm not a heavy coffee drinker and never drink soda but my tie backs turned a weird gross green color. I chose dark gray this time so hopefully that doesn't happen. I may choose a fun color next time. Might as well embrace the experience! They did not do anything to my bottom teeth. I feel like my bottom teeth have stopped moving. I have a dark triangle in between my two front bottom teeth that is making me crazy. I'm hoping it gets addressed next time.

Also as an update from my previous post, the pain does get better! Hang in there! It took about a full 3 weeks for my mouth to toughen up so I wasn't in pain all the time. Orajel for mouth sores is amazing. I also bought the orajel for mouth sores mouthwash. It burned like acid but then numbed my mouth so I would recommend that too. Another tip if your cheeks are raw, don't use a toothbrush that has a tongue cleaner on the back. It will hurt! I bought a super cheap $1 Colgate toothbrush with no tongue cleaner and it's been the best one I've ever used so far. It has the floss-tip bristles and it makes my teeth feel so clean. I highly recommend!

My front teeth and my molars on my right side are pretty sore today but nothing that isn't bearable. My next appointment is in just 3 weeks which has me so excited! I'm hoping that the quicker appointments means I'm getting closer to getting them off. I know my teeth still need a lot of work but I'm also so eager to finally have straight teeth! I'll update again after my next appointment.