Incognito braces - train tracks for adults!
In my opinion teeth are very
important to ones appearance, crooked and discoloured teeth can be very ageing.
Hence the reason just over eight months ago I embarked on the rollercoaster
ride that is Incognito Braces.
Incognito braces simplified are
train track braces on the inside of your mouth and a relatively new and
expensive procedure. The allure is that if like me you are past adolescence and
not keen looking like you're not they do the job discreetly but efficiently.
The metal which is glued to the back of your teeth is made of gold hence the
hefty price tag, the dental geniuses who came up with the idea believe that
being one of the most malleable metals it enables the teeth to be pulled into
place far quicker than other metals. On paper this all sounds like a dream,
beautiful straight teeth using a devise you don't even know is there! This was
not quite the case…
Initially it was the sand blasting
that set the alarm bells ringing that this might not be the breeze I was
anticipating. In order to fix all that they need to into your mouth, they blast
your teeth with sand to create a clean non-slip surface. It’s really unpleasant
having your mouth filled with sand as I’m sure you can imagine. And next comes
the metal…
I have had both the top and bottom braces,
having your mouth suddenly turn into what can only be described as a metal
cadge was pretty terrible, I didn't know where to place my tongue and had
suddenly developed the most horrific lisp, gone was the idea that I wouldn't be
mentioning it at work! My whole jaw felt tight and having a headache was the
norm.
The thing that caused the most
irritation though was getting the back wires short enough, there can only have
been the tiniest bit of wire jutting out at the end but in your mouth it feels
so much worse, scratching and rubbing on your tongue and gums and despite
having little pots of brace wax in every place imaginable I was often caught
out with none, and even when I did using it whilst eating it was no help at
all. After dozens of appointments back and fourth to my orthodontist we would
try and get the wires clipped down to as little as possible without the whole
wire slipping out altogether.
Once after having to much to drink I was hell
bent on removing the offending article, and much to my Orthadontists dismay
decided to take out the bottom wire myself, I cut my hands but managed to keep
everything else intact which I think she was actually quite impressed about,
never the less generally not recommended!
In the first few weeks I existed on
a diet of mashed potato, ice cream and soup! No more anything chewy, at least
not until you figure out your new mouth.
Despite all this doom and gloom the
thing that spurred me on when my tongue was red raw (aside from my very
supportive boyfriend!) was the results were almost instant, I started to take
pictures of my lower teeth on a weekly basis to show the effects.
You may wonder why if results are
so swift I was required to keep the brace on for so long and it’s a question I
asked over and over in search of an alternative answer! Your teeth are mobile,
the brace has to stay on for a year or more to train them to stay put,
otherwise all the discomfort would be for nothing and your teeth would move
back quite rapidly.
So I persevered and gradually began
to understand my new mouth a bit better, where to put my tongue, how to
annunciate my words (or say as few with "s" as possible!), and how to
eat some of the foods I had been missing. I know I do still lisp slightly and it
gets worse when I'm tired or I've been chatting a lot, but nothing compared to
what was before. I have also been at times a bit over zealous with my food consumption
and on occasion swallowed a couple of fixings from behind the teeth - again
not recommended as they have to be specially molded to your teeth in Germany
and take about six weeks to be replaced!
It feels like I’ve had them in
forever, and no doubt it will take some adjusting to not having them in any
more but I am beyond excited about having them removed. To continue to train my
teeth to stay where they are I am to have a fixed brace – a small wire that
stays permanently behind the back of your teeth, and a retainer that keeps them
in place at night.
Would I do it again? – I think for
a person such as myself who didn’t have particularly bad teeth in the first
place I would say no. Unless you have the will power and determination of a
saint, (of which I have neither, the tears and tantrums were there to prove
it!) this is no easy fix! But for someone whose teeth are an issue, something
that is effecting their confidence or causing them pain and discomfort it
really is a fantastic advancement in orthodontistry.
