Grab Some Pliers

My blog isn’t the most popular in the world, coming in just under dooce or worldwidewatercooler (some of my personal favs) at an average of under 10 views a day for the past month (I know! What an explosion in hits!). Part of the reason for this is that I don’t actually take it seriously enough to commit to posting something interesting on a semi-regular basis. The other part of the reason being that when I do commit to writing something it usually turns out to be uninteresting.

On the other hand, because I’m vain I’ve been checking my blog stats on a near daily basis and amongst the “braces” and “rpe” searches the one interesting search term that people have used to get to my blog has been “how to remove your braces yourself”. On a blog of 10 hits a day at least one person gets to it by trying to pry away their braces!! I don’t know about you but I find that kind of mind boggling.

Having experienced the urge myself I can definitely see how such a thought might arise, however, considering the fact that you could seriously injure yourself doing this (thus requiring even more painful dental and possibly facial reconstruction) I would strongly advise against it. Braces is a tough and painful experience to go through but it gets easier over time.

My first month was hell on a popsicle stick with some depression and massive pain.
My second month was hell on a popsicle stick with some massive pain.
My third month was hell with some massive pain.
My fourth month was pretty painful.
My fifth month was bearable.
My sixth month was ok.
Do you see the receding suckyness trend here?

Nonetheless, getting through that first month (a thanks to goes out to The Parents and the He for the massive and invaluable support) was an experience. So here are some tips and tricks to help you get through it without resorting to desperate measures such as pliers:

-THINK before you decide on braces. It’s a major commitment of time money and emotional/moral distress. My dentist gave me a vague report of what he was going to do(without getting into the details about the PAIN) after taking the initial molds, which very clearly stated the estimated time to treatment. If you are expecting to go on any extended vacation (like I did on my two month stint to europe) then expect that vacation time to be added to your time. Basically any time that you’re not available to go to the dentist every two weeks extends that treatment. On the safe side also patch on another couple of months for good measure. This is the amount of time you’ll have braces. After that you get a retainer for a year. Keep that in mind.

- Plan for it. Don’t go on a modeling photoshoot the day you get braces. If your confidence was anything like mine you’ll feel ugly. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror for about the first six months. At least not with my mouth in a smile.  Don’t plan to have a jaw breaker contest with your friends the day you get braces. Don’t plan on eating chewy stuff. You get the idea.

- Make sure your friends know. If you just show up with braces to a party you will be the talk of the party. This may or may not be pleasant and result in encouragement. When I told my friends a lot of them were against it and said I was doing myself a huge disfavour. I did it anyways. The friends I didn’t tell ended up staring at my mouth whenever I talked for the first month. Expect this.

- Stock up on some boost. For the first week you will be living off this. I tried many different meal-in-a-bottle type deals, especially during my first month. Most of them were disgustingly chalky. This one was bearable. Another thing you could do to keep your energy without having to chew is make a power shake. Regular smoothies are good but they don’t provide you with a lot of energy that will keep you going through the day, their energy is more along the lines of oh-my-god-we-do-this-NOW kind of deal. The way to make your shake last through the day is to add protein powder. Take some soy milk (because it doesn’t curdle when you add fruit), a frozen banana, some honey and any other fruit or jam you want to add, and get some protein powder from those bodybuilding stores. Blend. Aside from being good for you the protein powder also provides a nice bonding agent for the shake making it extra smooth.

- Get some pain killers. Tylenol and I were goood buddies for the first few months. I am overly sensitive to pain so my doctor was kind enough to prescribe the extra-special type. Fortunately I didn’t have to use it (too often).  DO NOT get oragel. This is what my dentist recommended, but since this a topical analgesic and your pain is inside your jawbone I didn’t really find it hit the spot. What it did do on the other hand was make my tongue to numb so that I would rip it up on the braces instead.

- Carry a knife with you. For the fruit and veggie lovers, you won’t be able to bite into anything including fruit for the first couple of months. Having a knife makes your life SO much easier. Feel like an apple? Sure thing, let me just get my blade out!

And finally….

-Think of the beautiful smile you’re going to have when it’s all done, and the awesome food you’re going to be able to rip those shiny teeth into! Hang in there! I feel your pain but don’t worry, it’ll get better. Setting a goal like this makes you feel better when you’re completely devastated (or starving). It also reminds you of why you’re doing all this in the first place.

Good luck!

~ by penka86 on July 16, 2008.