Lingual Braces

After 3 years of thinking (procrastinating?) and 3 orthodontists, my lingual braces were fitted on November 19, 2014.  I’m now eagerly and nervously anticipating my first 8-week wire-change on January 14.  The last 7 weeks have not been easy … but the amazing, exciting thing is that my teeth have straightened!  Really.  People have commented.

It’s not that my teeth are terrible.  The correction is ‘moderate’ and many people would question why I’m bothering.  It’s a case of stopping the rot.  My teeth used to be straight but have become a little crowded (ever so gradually during my 40’s) and I don’t want them to worsen.  I’m aiming to grow old as gracefully as is possible!

BEFORE

AFTER (12-14 months later)

Why lingual? … since the cost is double Invisalign.  4 reasons.  ONE  You can’t see a thing, they’re on the inside of your teeth.  TWO  I eat and drink constantly, little and often, so Invisalign would be going in and out the whole time. That would be hassle, potentially exacerbate gum recession and offer an easy way for me not to wear them enough.  THREE  I’m a clencher and feeling the Invisalign trays on my teeth would make me clench and grind even more.  (That’s what happened when I used similar trays designed to stop me clenching  –  it made it worse.)  FOUR  Lingual is quicker than Invisalign and the orthodontist has more ability to control the forces being applied.

Fitting was time-consuming (2 hours-ish) but not painful.  Glue is applied to each tooth, the tray containing the row of metal brackets is affixed, the tray is removed leaving the brackets on each tooth (12 each on top and bottom) and then the wire is fed through the loops on each bracket.  I have super-sensitive teeth and cannot tolerate cold air or water, so was nervous (the teeth have to be clean and dry for the glue to take).  I was massively relieved that I tolerated the fitting well.  Hurrah!  I’ve read that sometimes the bottom brace is fitted first and then the top some weeks later.  I had both done together  –  seemed sensible to just suffer once.

Lingual Braces

There are 3 difficulties:  eating, talking and soreness.  Eating and talking involves your tongue moving around your mouth and teeth more than I’d ever thought! Touching and brushing the metalwork hurts and makes you lisp. The lisp is worse when my tongue is sore and when I’m tired.  A certain amount of acclimatisation happens, but I have found it a constant battle.  Warm, salt-water mouthwashes are essential  –  as are the little wax strips that I apply to the two ends of the wire on the bottom teeth.  I was told that some people wean themselves off these, but not me.  Any movement of my tongue makes the wire-ends poke into my tongue.  The wax strips stay on surprisingly well, but I do swallow them occasionally when eating  –  annoying rather than dangerous.

During the first few days, I felt dominated by my braces  –  thinking about them constantly, planning what I could eat (basically soups and pureed food) listening to my lisp and spending ages cleaning.  Then gradually they became a part of my life.  A major factor was that I could sleep as normal.  I was worried about that as I’m a light sleeper at the best of times.  But I actually found that night time was a big relief:  no talking, no eating and a nice still tongue.  Not being able to clench was tricky but since it was completely impossible with the metalwork in my mouth, I had no choice.  For the first week, I had to do yawns to control the clenching urges!  Sounds weird, but if you’re a clencher or grinder, you’ll know what I mean about the urges.  The good thing is it’s now under control. Fantastic.

I can still only eat soft food that breaks down easily without chewing.  So no meat, crunchy salads or veg, no nuts & seeds or anything chewy.  This is because my molars do not touch, so chewing is impossible, and I don’t want to risk breaking the wires or brackets off.  I eat porridge, soft fruit, soft fish and veg, eggs, crumbly bread, skinned tomatoes, mash.  If I want something else, I’ll puree it in the blender and serve with soft veg.  My chocolate addiction is now fed with chocolate mousse and chocolate cake.  No Green & Blacks bars any more …

I lost a couple of kilos very quickly and was genuinely struggling to take on board enough calories to maintain energy levels  –  and be able to play tennis! I used a protein/carbs supplement powder a few times until things settled down. Being able to eat a banana after about a week was a welcome step forward.

Christmas fell five weeks in …  and I LOVE christmas dinner.  Thank the lord I was able to eat very tender chicken mopped up with soft vegetables and lots of gravy, cranberry sauce and bread sauce (home-made, mmmmm).  Oh, and champagne and Waitrose chocolate Christmas pudding.  Yum.

Eating out is a bit of a pain, not really a pleasure, since I have to order what is soft rather than what I fancy.  And I need to do a full clean afterwards, otherwise my tongue will fiddle around to try and clean things and so get sore.

My cleaning routine is a good gargle with Listerine Sensitive after breakfast (porridge with soft fruit) plus a full clean after lunch and after supper.  Cleaning involves the electric toothbrush, salt-water gargling and inter-prox brushes (you can’t floss).  Then I apply the wax strips to each end of the bottom wire.  Feels great!

I oscillate between resolving to call the orthodontist tomorrow to have my braces removed (happens in the evening when I’m tired) and then waking up in the morning knowing I will carry on because I’m feeling better and can see the progress. I often look at the photos of the ‘before’ and ‘after’ moulds to keep me motivated  –  it works.

BEFORE

AFTER (12-14 months later)

Progress was visible after just a few weeks. The front teeth have flattened and look straighter.  Amazing.  I’m constantly looking for evidence of new movement. At the 8-week appointment next week, I’ll be asking for details of what exactly is going to move in what order.  I’m assuming the widening of the arches (to give a fuller look in the mouth) is the last stage.