Adult Ceramic Braces-10 months

So I am almost a year into my braces journey. These months have really flown by so fast.  I still cannot believe a year will be leaving in a couple of weeks. Well, there have really been no changes with my teeth.

The four teeth that I had extracted prior to braces have to close in. If you have had gum disease in the past like I have, you will have to realize that your treatment will be longer. I was under the impression it would be 18 months, but it looks like it will be 2016. I am not happy about that, but I have to go along with the plan, my orthodontist knows better than I do.

This dental visit entailed of 

• Top: tightened (no wire change)
• Bottom: Wire change (no tightening)

During my journey I have experience no bleeding or puffy gums. I do hate flossing, but thank God for the dental brushes. I alternate, its faster for me to use my brushes. The Water Pik does remove big food debris, but to me it does not replace flossing.

Maybe I will give a review on the WaterPik, who knows. I do know that I am so sick of these things. I am so ready to get them off my teeth. This video kinda describes my frustration, but it also reminds me of where I have come from. So I'm closing my post with, if you can get braces, get them. They will change your entire facial appearance, and give self esteem you never had. Good luck with you journey and thanks for reading my blog!! If you have had braces please comment!!

Adult Ceramic Braces-Teeth cleaning #4

Hello,  and thanks for coming by to read my blog and if you noticed the topic of my blog yes this is my 4th dental cleaning. On November 2014 of this year will make an official year of going 4x's a year. I have moderate gum disease so that is the reason for the frequent cleanings. Since I have had my cleanings every 3 months I have saw a total difference in my gum health.

• No more swollen gums
• No bleeding when brushing
• No bad breath
• No appearance of tartar build up

Since I have been using Crest Pro Health, I had less scrapping and shorter cleaning visit!!

I noticed a little  tartar buildup on my bottom teeth, which is what every person gets, but it has to be removed by your hygienist or Dentist. The appointment takes about 30-45 minutes, and it goes by pretty quickly. I used to not look forward to going to the Dentist, but I know that if I want to keep my teeth, I don't have a choice.

I stand before people all the time and talk to people face to face and my oral health has to be right!! Don't be afraid to go to the Dentist, if you don't go you'll regret it.....when is your next appointment for your cleaning?

Adult Ceramic Braces-Power chains/Hooks

Hello, this is Shiry and thank you for visiting my blog today!! It is the day after and I posted a video on YouTube the day before about my visit to my orthodontist . This morning I am in no pain, just a little stiff and sore. If  the pain becomes too unbearable, I will take some ibuprofen.

I recorded a little of what they do at the actual visit. When I go to the dentist, I just close my eyes and let them do their magic. This is my first time seeing what they actually do.

Pearl everything (O's and power chains)

Since I have had teeth extracted, a total of four, the power chains will assist in closing the gaps on the top and bottom.  So you maybe asking these questions:

Do they hurt? Ummmm, yes and no.

• Uncomfortable at first while they are being applied
• You will not be able to bite down for a couple of days
• More food gets trapped between brackets and around chains

The only thing I recommend is:

• Take some pain reliever 30 minutes prior to visit
• Be prepared to eat soft foods
• Take dental brushes everywhere
• Chew gum if you can
• Keep lips moisturized

My next visit to my orthodontist is October 28. 2014, so my visit is in 6 weeks this time. My dental cleaning for my teeth is on September 23. Good luck with your braces journey, I hope my blog and videos help you to decide on your plan of treatment.  Have questions? Please comment below! See you on the next video!!

Adult Ceramic Braces-Achy Teeth-Top and Bottom Braces-Teeth cleaning-7 months

This is Shiry and thank you for checking back and reading my blog. My next appointment is September 16, 2014.  My appointment was scheduled for an 8 week appointment instead of of a 6 week appointment.

The strangest thing  happened  while watching  Netflix, my teeth starting feeling achy. I mean, I feel like my teeth were  loose. That is the only way I can describe it. I know that a person experiences movement once and this month  I felt strange. No PAIN, just felt strange.

I am so proud of the progress with my teeth. Now when I look at myself in the mirror I see a big difference in my smile.  I thought I was experiencing the ugly black triangle, but I wasn't. My  bottom teeth are closing  faster than the top .  My next appointment for my cleaning is September 24, 2014.

July 2014

February 2014

Please feel free to leave a comment or message me about your braces journey and experience, be blessed and thanks for reading my blog.

Adult Ceramic Braces- Gum Disease

Thank you for taking the time to stop by my blog and even viewing my video. I decided to touch basis on gum disease also known Periodontal disease. As I stated in my video 4 out of 5 people have this disease, and it is a silent disease. It causes you to loose your teeth eventually and even loose self esteem.

What can you do if you have already been diagnosed with gum disease?

Well, you can began by going and getting treatments to removed and keep the disease under control, which means you will have to do these things:

• Go to the dentist every 3 months
• Water Pik
• Floss
• Brush more
• Listerine

What kind of treatment can dentist provide?

Normally a deep cleaning is involved, where the dentist or hygienist will remove the plaque and tarter from underneath gums. Depending on the extent of your infection sometimes an antibiotic has to be administered into the gum. That did not happen with me.

Can you still get braces?

Yes and no, and the reason I answered that way is because I am not a orthodontist nor am I a Dentist period. The Dentist refers you to the orthodontist and that dentist tells you whether you may be able to proceed with treatment. I went to two different orthodontist and got two opinions and that helped me a great deal.

How long did I wait after my deep cleaning?

I waited 4 months and that was only because I had to get teeth pulled, get my deep cleaning and heal up. I had to make sure my gums were healthy and I had not other evidence of the the disease getting in the way of my treatment.

My advice to anyone seeking braces is to do your research and feel comfortable with both dentist. My dentist referred me to both of the orthodontist in my area. I just liked one more than the other. Both of them do a great job, so I know that if something were to happen to my orthodontist I would go back to the first one.

Don't get discouraged, keep moving forward and seek alternatives to improve your smile. I saved my money up to pay my down payment and pay the office every month.  Good luck on your journey and thanks for reading!!

Adult Ceramic Braces-Bottom Row Installation

Hello, and thanks for coming by to read my blog. Sorry I have been missing in action for quite some time, but we all know how fast time and there are not nearly enough hours in a day to do everything,lol.

Well, I have had my braces for 12 weeks, to me my experience has not been too bad. I mean my first adjustment was not bad at all. I just felt alot of pressure and I know to take ibuprophren when I go to all my appointments. I don't want to experience an appointment without it.

I have been feeling some discomfort in the back and behind my front back teeth, if that makes any sense. Nothing I can't deal with though. People are starting to notice I have braces now, so its no biggie to me. I don't even feel the ceramic braces under my lip anymore.

I have not done anything different, nor have I changed my products. I just try to keep my oral hygiene under control considering I had issues with gum disease prior  too  getting braces.

I encourage anyone to get your teeth cleaned and go to the dentist as ne

Adult Ceramic Braces-Teeth straigtened on the bottom

So I am really excited, because my teeth have straightened at the bottom

Progress thus far:

My progress has been awesome, I feel as though my bottom teeth have moved faster than the top. The top spaces are not closing as fast, but the bottom is moving beautifully. I am not looking forward to elastic bands either, but if I want that smile, I've got to do what my orthodontist says,lol.

Until next time, thanks for reading my blog and see you on my next post!!

Adult Ceramic Braces-Top Braces- 12 week update

Hello, and thanks for coming by to read my blog. Sorry I have been missing in action for quite some time, but we all know how fast time and there are not nearly enough hours in a day to do everything,lol.

Well, I have had my braces for 12 weeks, to me my experience has not been too bad. I mean my first adjustment was not bad at all. I just felt alot of pressure and I know to take ibuprophren when I go to all my appointments. I don't want to experience an appointment without it.

I have been feeling some discomfort in the back and behind my front back teeth, if that makes any sense. Nothing I can't deal with though. People are starting to notice I have braces now, so its no biggie to me. I don't even feel the ceramic braces under my lip anymore.

I have not done anything different, nor have I changed my products. I just try to keep my oral hygiene under control considering I had issues with gum disease prior  too  getting braces.

I encourage anyone to get your teeth cleaned and go to the dentist as ne

Adult Ceramic Braces #2- Dental Cleaning #1

Hello and welcome to my blog!! I had my teeth cleaned today and it went great! I have been doing excellent oral care and I am very excited to announce that, lol. Tomorrow is March 19, 2014 and if the lord says the same I will have my very first adjustment tomorrow. I don't know what to expect, I am not nervous just dumb founded on whether I will have my lower braces put on, or will I be in so much pain tomorrow that it will be unbearable.

When talking to my hygienist today, she was very pleased at the orthodontist I chose, and I am pleased with my choice as well. She just told me to keep asking for whatever samples they offer and keep up with my regular cleanings.

My dentist was also pleased with my results, he said everything looked good and how did my extraction work because he remembered me having a dry socket the last time I had a tooth removed. The tooth I got the dry socket on was a lower bottom wisdom tooth.

Adult Ceramic Braces Adjustment -Dental Cleaning #1

Hello and welcome to my blog. On March 19th I had my teeth clean, and by the way, it is better to have your teeth cleaned before an adjustment. The teeth are extremely sensitive and cleanings in my opinion are not very comfortable. My teeth were scaled in November of 2013, and I went back March 19th to get another cleaning.

My visit went very well, my oral care was perfect.

To say the least my very first adjustment was not as bad as I pictured it. I did decide to take some ibuprofen on my visit because I was terrified of all the horror stories of adjustments.  When I arrived the assistant took me back and told me I would be getting power chains today and that I would also be getting smaller rings and no new wire. The actual feeling was a lot of pressure and if I had not taken the ibuprofen I would have been hurting because I felt the tightness and pressure on my teeth. My teeth felt sore  for the first two days, I could not bite down on anything for a couple of days either. It has been 5 days later and I felt very minimal pain or soreness, really no pain at all. My bite is off,  and that's it.

The orthodontist came in and he examined my teeth and said that to bite down, and my teeth are lined up!! I guess that's what happens, your teeth have to be lined up first then, I guess stabilized and so on. I can see a very little progress From the looks of my progress I am going to love my new smile. Here is a look!

If you have braces, or wanting them, please do your research and go for it. If you have braces describe your experience and thanks for reading my blog.

Adult Ceramic Braces #1- Braces on Top

So I made the decision to have braces installed. As of right now I only have my ceramic braces on top and will be getting the traditional braces on the bottom in a couple of months. This has been a big change for me simply because I did not think I needed braces until one day I looked at my teeth while doing a video and was like, wow, this is what I look like talking to someone face to face.

I had been contemplating this for months. I just really made the decision when there my daughter wanted them. But I was like if she wants them and is half my age I can get them to. The extractions in total that I have had are 5 within the past 2 months. I had one wisdom tooth removed and 4 bicuspids. I chickened out on my first appointment, but I ended up scheduling two different appointments because I just could not picture myself getting all four teeth pulled at one time.

The day of my appointment was the day I decided to have just two at a time removed. Well, when I went in the hygienist was like go ahead and get them all done at one time. I listened to her and just bit the bullet. I got a total of 10 shots, and I think he had to use a little Novocaine to deaden me some more.

I sat in the chair like a big girl and just dealt with the fact that four healthy teeth were being removed. I closed my eyes and did not watch him come towards me with the needles. I felt the medication enter my gums and even felt a little burning of the excess medicine dripping of the needle. He waited about 20 minutes and proceeded to pull all four of them out. I felt no pain, just pressure, and when I tell you those teeth were stuck in my head they were. After he got the first two teeth out, he was like no you could have been done, but I was happy that I was getting all four pulled out! because I did not want to go through that again.

After my teeth were removed, the hygienist cleaned them and gave them to me. I just could not give them my ugly teeth. I just wanted it to be a reminder that I was making the best decision in having my teeth straightened. I did not get any dry sockets because I have had one before and those are not comfortable. I just let the mouthwash fall out of my mouth, I did know spitting at all, I just brushed my teeth normally and used water to allow the substance to fall from my mouth.

On February 6, 2014 I had my ceramic braces on top. My teeth were sore as hell and I still can't close my mouth all the way, well it feels that way, but it doesn't look like it. It has now been 3 days and my mouth feels a lot better. I still have the sensation of the braces being there, no wires or brackets poking me yet, I know that will come further down the road, but just excited to be on my road to a better smile. See ya on my next blog post!!

Adult Ceramic Braces-Products I use, love the Water Pik

The products in this video are just a few, but my favorite is the Water Pik! Enjoy the video.

This whole experience with braces has really been a great one. The one thing I can say is I encourage anyone to get braces if you can. The difference in my teeth within the past 8 months has been wonderful. The Water Pik has helped improve my overall gum health, along with keeping food out of my brackets and cleaning my back teeth. I still have one wisdom tooth left, and it helps keep that area clean.I am pleased with my progress

The Water Pik attachments cannot be purchased at Walmart. They have to be ordered online. My Water Pik is a lifesaver. Sometimes I still floss afterwards, Depending on how I feel I will use the Water Pik without using my dental brushes or I will use both.It only takes 1 minute!! I love it!