Getting Braces On For the First Time

Over the next few weeks, our team member Mallory will be sharing her journey with orthodontics at our office. She had her braces put on recently, and below is her first entry, entitled "Putting the Braces On". We hope you enjoy!

I got my braces put on by Dr. Phillips on August 25, 2010! Getting the braces on was a lot easier than I expected. First of all: It didn’t hurt at all. In fact, I didn’t even feel a thing! Julie, the assistant, placed cheek retractors in my mouth to hold my cheeks back while they got my teeth ready. She then helped Dr. Phillips prepare my teeth for the brackets. She placed a green gel on my teeth and then rinsed me out. She then put another material on my teeth and then Dr. Phillips came over to begin putting the braces on with the glue that they use. Throughout this process, I did not feel anything!

As soon as Dr. Phillips put the last bracket on, Julie shined a blue light on my teeth. This light helps the glue harden, and ensures braces stick to my teeth. I got to take the cheek retractors out after Julie was done with this light. feeling the braces for the first time with my lips was a strange feeling at first, but like I said befrore, it was painless and much better than I expected! After I got to rinse out, Julie put my arch wires in. While placing them, made sure that I was comfortable by clipping the wires so that they would not poke me.

While we offer colored bands at our office, I didn’t pick any colors because I chose clear braces instead. But if I would have gotten colors, I think I would have gotten red! Julie showed me some great brushing and flossing tips when she finished. She also gave me advice on how to take care of poking wires or soreness. I then made my next appointment and got to go home!

Stay tuned for next week's post from Mallory, which describes her first week with braces!