The entire bracing thing took place on June 1st. I was a bit scared of all I have to go through, but also knew almost anything a normal person (not an orthodontist) can know about this entire thing. With all the knowledge and patience in the world, I was able to face the thing that will change my life forever.
Sure, the orthodontic treatment is GOOD and USEFUL. I knew that and this was the reason I chose to go through many months of teeth straightening treatment.
The “day 2″ though was a huge punch into my confidence.
I expected pain since Damon is a very aggressive system (in the good sense of this word) and works fast. Sure, the changes in the teeth can become slightly painful.
Woke up in the morning with the same pressure feeling I had in my teeth since last night. No pain, just pressure. I then clench my teeth, as a normal person should. In the end, I wasn’t gonna keep my mouth slightly open as I woke up with.
OUCH!
Cursed, shocked by the pain coming out of nowhere. “Jesus, how can this hurt like this?” I thought to myself, noticing that not touching my teeth was good. No pain there, only when I pressed the lower teeth to the upper teeth, meaning closing that mouth and clenching them.
Cute, let’s see how we eat and brush.
The brushing was interesting, to say the least. I was trying not to put too much pressure on my teeth and it worked pretty well. Expected more pain, got less than thought I’d get. I was brushing with care, not forcing anything, being very gentle and thorough.
And then .. I ate.
Or something like this. The pain I felt when putting pressure on my teeth was serious and I just didn’t want to face it anymore. Sure, a simple painkiller would solve this, but I was stubborn. No medication, I wasn’t to feel it. And feeling it I was.
My grandmother and her sister ate better. I ate some mashed potatoes (I mean really mashed), drank some milk and ate pudding; all kinds of meals a toddler is getting used to. No solids. My teeth were in perfect shape theoretically, but painful when pressing. So, no pressing.
Even if I expected to starve that day, I wasn’t in such a case. There are so many things you can eat on such occasions and the “mashing” and “mincing” are two things that make almost anything edible even for an orthodontics patient with new braces on.
My second day in Damon wasn’t that bad. As I went to sleep, trying to keep my lower and upper teeth from getting in contact with each other, I realized my pain wasn’t that serious and the discomfort pretty bearable. I was looking at 7 months with the metal braces on and I knew THIS DAY was the worst of all days and that I CAN MAKE IT.
Attitude means a lot in such a situation and I was looking at months of braces with a positive attitude. Nothing happening to me from now on could be as bad as this day was and this day wasn’t that bad at all. And it could have been a good day if I wasn’t as stubborn as to not take any pain medication. But I wanted to feel it. To sense how my Damon braces are starting working to make me have a perfect smile.