Last Day Without Braces!

So.. It's my last day with these spacers, and without a metal mouth! I'm excited, nervous, anxious, and a bunch of other emotions all bunched up into one! My orthodontist didn't tell me how it was all going to go down, so I'm not super sure what is going to happen tomorrow morning when I get the brackets on. We'll see how that goes.

On a lighter note, my teeth aren't feeling so sore today. I've been able to tackle some harder foods. I might even dive right in and try to eat some of my favorite ice cream (it's got nuts in it). I was able to down some breaded chicken tenders last night and that went perfectly fine.

I'm working on preparing another shopping list of soft foods for the first few weeks of metal mouth-ness (if that's a term - if it wasn't, it is now!). Such as my staple mashed potatos and mac n cheese. Those two foods have been best for me when my teeth have hurt the most.

Anyways, I'm going to try to eat a grilled cheese now - one of the foods I miss the most! I'll update again tomorrow with before and after pictures.

Don't Try Eating.

Goodness gracious. I swear I'm going to lose half my body weight by the time I get used to having crap in my mouth 24/7. Last night I woke up at about 1 in the morning and had to take two motrin for the pain. It was... awful. And today hasn't been any better. At all. The only thing I've been able to eat is kraft mac n cheese, which I can eat without having to chew with my back teeth (Yes. I feel like a beaver, but I chew with my front).

I took another fast-acting motrin this afternoon, which basically put me to sleep for about an hour. that was the nice part - however when I woke up it was back to the constant pressure and discomfort. Not loving this, but I keep reminding myself that it will all be worth it when I have that perfect smile in just about 2 years.

"Grin and bear it" - phrase of the day/week, I swear. I'm still hoping that this whole spacer deal gets easier, but from what i've read/heard, it's not going to. Pray for me! LOL I'm going to need it.

Spacers this, spacers that.

Starting off with my first post - I got spacers this morning at 8:30 AM. It's been almost 12 hours, and the discomfort and pain has been constant! I've gotten mixed responses about spacers from my friends who have had braces, and let me tell you... I'm on the side of the ones that said it was the 'worst experience'! It's a pain in the butt already - my mom and I have had to go grocery shopping specifically for foods that I can eat while my teeth hurt. So far, mac n cheese has been my best bet, I can chew it with my front teeth where there is little discomfort (for now). Here's a picture of my spacers:

^ Can you see my little snaggle tooth? I grew an extra canine!

The nurse at my orthodontist put the rubber bands in quickly - about 2 minutes altogether. The front left side on the bottom hurt the most going in. The pliers weren't doing the trick, so the nurse had to string the band through floss and wedge the floss in between the two teeth to get it in. She also warned me that if my spacers fall out 1 or 2 days before my next appointment it's not a big deal - but it shouldn't happen. My teeth are tight!

I'm hoping this next week goes by fast. I've got a high pain tolerance but this is a lot to deal with... And it's only the spacers. I can only imagine the discomfort once the braces actually go on. I find that it's hard to concentrate on anything but the pain right now. One thing that does help though is soda! I'm not sure why, but the carbonation seems to help with the pain.. Hmm. Whatever works, right?

My next appointment is Wednesday, September 7th at 8:30 am. I get the actual braces on 1 week from today! I'm both excited and nervous. Stay tuned!