Sigh

[labellementeuse]

So, today I got braces - this is because I finally caved to my mother's outfreaking about my teeth (really not that bad, pretty massive overbite and crowded bottom teeth, the sort of thing you get if you thumbsuck for a really really long time, but not utter hideousness). Anyway, she convinced me by a)nagging and nagging and nagging and b) bribing an orthodontist to tell me that when I was 50 my bottom teeth would probably DISSOLVE.*

Anyway, I would have caved originally, so better sooner than later I suppose.

I have these braces that are supposedly invisible. I was pretty sceptical about how invisible they would actually be, but it turns out they definitely won't show up in photos, you can see them if you look for them, but really not too bad. So that's good (because 22 year olds with braces... yeah, no.) Bad: they kinda hurt. Good: pretty sure they're not even a fraction as painful as standard braces. Hard to tell: so they work with a system of, basically, moulds that you put over your teeth and change the moulds every two weeks. That's fine but you have to take the moulds out to eat. This is kind of a big PAIN because I am a real grazer, I eat while I'm working especially, I don't usually break to eat. So these braces might also cause me to lose some weight!

I think that's all the material I can get out of braces. And that's all I can talk about right now because if I talk about anything else the hell that is my life right now will come crashing in on me and I'll implode! Which would be fun times for everyone!

*Actual bribery may not have been involved. Do teeth really DISSOLVE?

Comments

[jeeps]

i believe teeth can dissolve, like if you leave a tooth in some soda for a while it will dissolve and get all soft. what i want to know is how teeth can dissolve from being crooked.

[labellementeuse]

Well, the way it was explained to me: my bottom teeth are very crowded. This makes them super tough to clean. And... I don't know, that somehow leads to them dissolving! Yeah, I feel like there were a few leaps in logic there, too.

[amarynth.livejournal.com]

I had a similar scare talk from my dentist a couple of years ago. He didn't describe teeth as dissolving per se, so much as existing in a fairly fragile state chemically that could lead to all sorts of badness if it wasn't maintained. I believe he may have used the term 'necrotise', which while scientifically and linguistically correct is also calculated to sound alarming to the human ear.

I expect somebody's already reassured you on this score, but if not; I'm sure like most things they will get less painful as you get used to them.

You should also have told your mother it was her own fault for not feeding you fluoride tablets when you were a kid.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, no, he assured me that I'd get used to them in a week or two, so I'm not too worried. Just tonight, ouch!

I actually can't blame my mother a) because Wellington water is flouridated and b) it's not a tooth health thing so much as it is a location-of-tooth thing, where they're so close together that they're really difficult to clean. Which is definitely my own fault.

[amarynth.livejournal.com]

I believe all NZ water is fluoridated (certainly it is in Chch), but my parents still felt the need to give us the extra dose. Maybe they were just hoping that at least one of their kids would be homosexual.

Isn't bad tooth spacing just down to bad luck? Or genetics? Which, again makes it your parent's fault...

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

Christchurch water isn't flouridated. Flouridation decisions are local body politics and unfortunately i8t is very easy for groups that are, well, NUTS to hijack those processes so there are quite a few places in New Zealand that aren't flouridated.

Bad tooth spacing happens when you suck your thumb for twenty years. I mean, other stuff can cause it too, but I'm pretty sure that was it for me.

[amarynth.livejournal.com]

O rly? I'm pretty sure my parents told me there was fluoride in it. Maybe they were just referring to natural fluoride levels.

I also thought that the idea that thumb sucking caused problems with tooth spacing was a myth, but a quick glance at wiki showed me that was incorrect too. Well, looks like I'm 0 for 2, may as well call it a night before things get any worse.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

It may have been true when they told you - I'm not sure if Christchurch stopped flouridating, or never started.

[sixth-light.livejournal.com]

They haven't fluoridated for at least, oh, a quarter of a century, because Mike likes to blame his really appalling teeth issues (partly) on non-fluoridated water as a child. He lived in Christchurch 'till he was seven.

Ellie had braces for quite a while, and I don't remember it being too bad for her, though, as you say, she did hate those moulds!

[amarynth.livejournal.com]

I was living there more than a quarter-century ago, I'm embarassed to say!

But whether we were in Christchurch (non-fluoro) or Wellington or Hamiltion (fluoro) we still had to eat those disgusting little tablets every day. One of the best things about turning fourteen was not having to. And I've got to admit, my teeth have been pretty problem free, despite my abusing them with a high sugar diet.

[sixth-light.livejournal.com]

Disgusting tablet things? Fluoride, I assume? Never come across those. I just had to do the thing where you stain your plaque red so you can see if you're brushing properly or not. It probably helped instill good habits, but it was horrible at the time.

[amarynth.livejournal.com]

Yea, they were called 'fluoride tablets' although presumably they had something else in them. Tasted like chalk.

I never had to do the plaque staining thing but I have heard about it... I guess my parents didn't trust us to develop good habits.

[kitsunerei88]

I had braces put on when I was about 15, and I had them until I was 20 :p Yours sound infinitely better than mine though - first of all, my parents couldn't afford my orthodontia to begin with, so they ended up putting me through a program run by my university that basically means I got to be a test subject for student orthodontists, who, as student orthodontists do, screw up.

At least you can take yours out to eat - for days after my braces were adjusted I'd live off of tomato rice soup with chopped deli meat in it.

[disturbed-kiwi.livejournal.com]

My mate Kat just turned 24 and she's had braces for a goodly long time (thought granted it's because of some seriously rough jaw issues). She says she used to think it looked odd etc etc, but she's totally happy now, just getting annoyed when things get caught etc.

And she's got silver ones with little blue bits on them, nothing that's intended to be subtle!

How's things though?

[cactus-cat.livejournal.com]

I would love to get braces, but I can't afford to, and it's not something my parents are worried about. Woe.

[amchara.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the braces- yours don't sound too bad, all things considered when it comes to the evil that is orthodontistry.

And I hope the hell of your life isn't too horrible-- I'm sure you can manage the non-imploding for a little while longer. *hugs*