My appointment was at 11am. I paid the down payment in check, filled the consent form, then was called in. I sat and one of the assistant explained to me about food to avoid, how to brush and floss with braces on. Then she handed me a care kit containing the brush, floss, wax that I can use to wrap any brackets/wires that cause discomfort later on, etc.
After that, she put the cheek retractor and a suction device in.. and also the tongue retractor/saliva ejector. I have a very small mouth, it kinda hurt and I gagged a little when the devices were being pushed into my mouth.. The wall inside my mouth also hurt because it's sensitive. I kinda tasted blood a little..
It was also confusing when she told me to open my mouth wide and then close it.. but the hardest one when she told me to open wide but to relax the mouth without using the muscle, kinda really tricky. She had to apply the cement/glue and then when it was dry, the orthodontist came over to put on the bracket. The way he did it was the bracket was already in a tray that was made custom using the mold of my mouth. So he just pressed the tray against my teeth which were already prepped with the glue/cement. He pressed the left side for 5 minutes, then another 5 minutes for the other side. After that, the assistant had to clean up the cement/glue that were scattered on my teeth outside the brackets using a drilling handpiece. This took 7 minutes. After that she asked me to rinse my mouth using water then a mouthwash. I felt a weird sensation when I was swishing the mouthwash. I could also feel the new feeling when the brackets pressed against my inner lips. It was interesting.. and also weird.
When I returned to my seat, she put the wire inside the brackets. We waited for a few minutes while the orthodontist was finishing with another patient.. then he had to check the work of the assistant.. and "predicted" the progress my teeth would make. I would have an extraction next week, so that tooth isn't bracketed or wired. He told the assistant the plan/step he wanted to take because there was a little more complication than he planned.. and he told her to re-wire. I'm scheduled to come back for the next appointment on October 4th.
In summary, here's the process:
- The placement of the braces and the bonding procedure as used today generally follows these steps:
- The teeth are polished with a non-flavored paste (this is similar to a dental polish after a cleaning).
- A cheek retractor (shown below) is placed to provide a dry field and make it easier to visualize the teeth.
- The teeth are lightly air-dried, and the conditioner is placed onto the front surfaces of the teeth for about 30 seconds.
- The conditioner is rinsed and the teeth are again dried using suction and air.
- A primer is painted onto the teeth.
- The bonding cement is placed onto the back sides of the braces, which are then placed onto the teeth.
- The brackets are placed in a very precise position onto the teeth, and excess bonding cement is removed.
- If the bonding cement is light sensitive, a bright blue light is used to "cure" the glue. Some bonding agents do not require a light since they have a chemical cure.
- The cheek retractor is removed and the wires are placed
Ever since the braces were put on, I didn't feel any significant pain. Sure it feels weird.. and there's discomfort whenever I move my mouth around and all. But there has been no stabbing pain or anything. Refer to the pics below for clearer "description".
if you can see the right side of my mouth, the bracket came out and sat on my lip.. well, when I close my mouth, that is the bracket that poking my inner lip and causing pretty much the only discomfort I've been experiencing.
See that tooth that doesn't have bracket? That's the one that's gonna be extracted next week.
This side of my mouth pretty much seems ok and doesn't cause any discomfort/pain
Here's a video of a girl getting braces. It's pretty much the same of what I went through, but I don't remember the blue light part.
Although I don't feel pain and anything, I decided to have the soup still. The assistant said that although I wouldn't feel any pain during lunch, but at night I'd start feeling sore. So to avoid double discomfort/pain, I'm sticking with soup.. (although I have to admit, I couldn't stray away from a chocolate bar earlier..)
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