Three Week Update: Fixed At Last!

On Wednesday 3rd April, three weeks to the day since I got my braces, I had my second broken bracket replaced. Originally, I had hoped to go the week before but I had to reschedule my appointment when I knew I would be unable to make it from work. Fortunately, soon after my last post, the broken bracket came off, so I didn't have to go around wearing a lump of wax over it anymore. And unlike with the first lost bracket, it fell away gently, without breaking my wire. This meant I enjoyed a few days of relative 'freedom' and comfort in that tooth, looking like this:

The procedure was much the same as before, the old glue was scrubbed away and a new bracket applied. This time the bracket had broken off because the wire was put under too much pressure last time, when it was pushed into the bracket. That tooth is set far behind the two teeth on either side and my front tooth partially overlaps it at an odd angle, so the pressure at that point is high. The repair was done by the same orthodontist as before, a colleague of my own, as he was with another patient. He did come to see how I was getting on though. The wire was not pushed in so far this time so it didn't feel heavy after and it has lasted. I don't expect to need another repair before my first adjustment on 14th May. Finally, I am fully braced with no missing or broken parts:

Things are going quite well and the braces themselves are comfortable on the whole. I am used to them under my lips, although finding I need plenty of lip balm. I sometimes catch the inside of my cheeks on the clips at each side and have developed some tough parts on my gums. Luckily, except when I catch them, I don't find these painful and haven't had any ulcers yet. The pain is back now though, especially in the tooth with the newly reapplied bracket, which had stopped hurting altogether while free of the pressure of the wire. The overlap between it and the neighbouring tooth is particularly sensitive. My bite is still a bit odd and I sometimes catch it with my lower teeth, so I am back on painkillers every few hours for now.

Eating is mostly ok, depending on my pain, but some foods are quite messy to clean up after, particularly bread and oranges, as the stringy part gets stuck in the clips. I am managing to keep everything clean, but brushing 3-4 times a day, including at work is tedious and fiddly. A colleague who has had braces for a while very kindly bought me some interdental brushes with a nice large handle the other day, which has helped. As for whether my teeth are moving, I believe there have been changes but they are very subtle. My orthodontist said they definitely were but I have a harder time seeing it. I think my bottom teeth are maybe ever so slightly less crowded.

In another funny coincidence, I went for a haircut tonight and while she was shampooing my hair, my hairdresser asked when I had got my braces. We ended up spending most of the appointment talking about them, as she had her braces off a couple of years ago. She even used the same orthodontic practice as me, although under the care of a different orthodontist. We talked retainers and pain and cleaning and brackets and about how popular orthodontics for adults has become, even fashionable. A couple more photos of my teeth and the newly repaired bracket: