As Good As New...Not!

Yesterday I went to have the broken bracket and wire replaced. My orthodontist has another practice at a different clinic and he was running late, so I saw one of his colleagues instead. My appointment was 5.10pm. I arrived promptly and I was heading home again by 5.20pm. I spent all of five minutes in the chair after I'd explained the problem, which was this:

The orthodontist quickly cleaned my tooth to remove all the old glue. That was mildly unpleasant because of the strong vibrations and horrible noise. He glued the new bracket on easily and securely and reattached the same wire I had on, which had also come adrift from the neighbouring bracket and the clip on my second to last tooth. When the wire was clipped into the bracket, I felt pressure and the upper right side of my jaw felt very heavy, but not dissimilar to just after they were fitted, except at one side only and this wore off quickly.

I asked about the pain in my lower teeth (nothing unusual apparently) and my glue lumps, which have already worn very smooth, which I am glad about. Luckily, they do not need to be replaced. I also picked up some extra cases of wax as I am using a lot. I came home and as you can see, everything is now fine on the right hand side. The wire is fully attached and secure and the new bracket has stayed in place. But one bracket is clearly missing in these photos because I didn't have time to take any before another bracket came unglued.

The bracket circle in red, where it has slid along the wire to on top of a neighbouring tooth, should be on the tooth circled in green, the tooth besides my two front teeth, so this time the loose bracket is more noticeable and in the way, although very few people are aware of it. It's irritating for my tongue so I am going back on Tuesday. This time it is not a glue issue. That tooth is set quite far behind the two beside it and the wire, bent inwards into the bracket seems to have been under too much pressure. It bounced back out of the clip on the bracket, taking the bracket off in the process.

Until then, I am often to be found sporting a very attractive lump of wax on my front teeth as above. I am not sure what can be done but more glue or maybe a stronger wire. I hope that losing brackets won't be a constant issue for me, although I fear it might be. Other than that, eating gets easier every day although cleaning is tedious and the braces themselves feel comfortable now. Tooth pain comes and goes in different areas. Right now, my lower teeth feel fine but the tooth with the missing bracket is hurting quite a bit. It does not help that this tooth also catches on my lower teeth when I bite. Roll on Tuesday...