In my case my teeth looked a whole lot worse than even I imagined. I mean you see each row from all angles. You see just how wonky and overbitey (or underbitey) your teeth are and then you see, in incremental movements, how they can be fixed and what they will look like when they are finished. In my case you are also shown where they will fix tiny little lumps of what I assume to be filling material, onto certain teeth to give the braces some traction. At some point I will also have an elastic band in place on one side so I have a cut out on my braces for that.
At the next appointment you have the traction bumps put on and your first trays fitted. The traction bumps are painless to have put on but they slightly cover a lot of your teeth with a sort of grainy substance which feels really annoying for the first day and then obviously disappears with brushing as I've only just remembered it.
So the first couple of days. Well I found it hurt. Not unbearably but a lot more than I thought it would. And my teeth bled a bit which was fine - could just occasionally be a bit shocking if you looked in the mirror. I got used to checking a few minutes after I put them in for the first week to make sure I didn't look sinister. Also for the first two days my teeth felt tingly and itchy and at some points I just had to take out the trays for a little while and give my teeth a break. I became concerned that this was going to continue for the whole 45 weeks but it eased off after the first couple of days.
I also felt incredibly conscious of them, could barely talk and got into the habit of suctioning my top lip onto the top row of teeth - which was attractive and I didn't notice I was doing it until it was too late. However after the first week they felt less bulky, talking became easier and I seem to not be suctioning on quite so much.
Changing the trays is fine. The first hour can be sore and tingly but not always - I'd say so far 2 of the 4 trays have been like this, two have been not very uncomfortable at all. I can sort of feel and move my teeth which is weird - and maybe because I'm a jaw clencher it's more noticeable for me though my orthodontist did warn me that they may feel 'wobbly'.
One thing I do want to mention is for the past 9 days I have had an on/off upset tummy. Initially I assumed it was something from the kids, but they didn't show any symptoms. I fasted for over 24 hours and then ate normally and then was struck again 9 days later with similar symptoms. I wonder if it's because I'm a bit relaxed with my trays. I pop them out to eat, leave them on the side and then return to them when I remember which is sometimes a few hours (which is naughty - you are supposed to wear these for 22 hours a day minimum). Could it be bacteria in the trays? It has been very hot here and it sort of makes sense to me even though I barely got a Biology GCSE. Today my husband bought me denture wash and I'm going to make sure I use it and see if that makes a difference.
Also this evening I broke a tray for the first time. Now my change over day is tomorrow so I'm not too worried but just a word of advice - when taking out the trays peel back from both sides not just one - that's how I broke mine and if you are near to your change day then it's fine you can just move to the next one but it would be really frustrating to have to wait to get a new one sent out just because you (like me) were too lazy to take them out properly. Like I'm too lazy to put them in the cary case they come with.
So I'm hoping my tummy improves and in a way that it is that I'm being a bit slovenly with my car of them as that will mean I haven't got something deeply wrong with me which is what I'm currently imagining.
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