A university student's thoughts after nearly 6 months of orthodontic treatment

Good evening, whether you are currently undergoing orthodontic treatment or not. I wrote an article about orthodontics before, but...

I felt like I had been wearing the bracket appliance for a long time, but it seems it has been less than half a year. After repeated monthly checkups and getting fillings, I finally had to get appliances put on my lower teeth as well. There isn't much to write about compared to last time, but I'd like to leave this as a sort of memo for my multi-year battle with orthodontics.

It's never too late to start! So, I hope this article will be of some help to those of you who are about to start or are currently undergoing orthodontic treatment. Here we go.

・Eating has finally become a hassle

Even when I only had braces on my upper teeth, there was a lot of food getting stuck, and depending on what I ate, I felt like I had to rinse my mouth and brush my teeth after every meal, but that discomfort has been far surpassed. Now, no matter what I eat, it definitely gets stuck in the appliance and it can also cause the appliance to shift or come off, so I can't even use my tongue or a toothpick to get it out. Brushing after meals has become mandatory. It feels like my mouth's range of motion has been cut in half again. The size of each bite has also become much smaller.

Honestly, I'm hesitant to even write this down... but when I rinse my mouth right after eating, so much comes out that it's like a kitchen sink strainer. Even though eating is like my reason for living, this is seriously tough. Maybe it's because I just started the lower teeth treatment, but for now, meat is too painful to chew. Biscuits are also hard and painful. I can't chew elastic things like gummies, so I can't swallow them. Chocolate is also too hard to chew. Looking back, I realize I'm just eating snacks.

Also, because of all this, the frequency of changing my toothbrush has increased significantly.

If I lose the ability to find joy in eating, all that's left is to wither away and collapse. Because of this state, I'm self-conscious about eating with others, and it's hard to open my mouth wide to take big bites... Is this the end of my gourmet life?!

・On the other hand, I can clearly feel that my teeth are moving

When you first start orthodontics, everyone is shocked by the poor alignment of their teeth when they look in the mirror. With this lower teeth treatment, I experienced that feeling again for the first time in a while. Looking at my upper teeth with that in mind, the appliances that were jagged at first are now in a beautiful straight line. The areas where I had teeth extracted are still in the process of moving, and there are some gaps that look a bit silly, but compared to before, I could really feel that the alignment has clearly improved. The power of medicine is amazing!

And the lower teeth appliance I put on just a week ago, even though it was jagged at first, I can already see with my own eyes that it is moving to become a beautiful alignment. The fact that my teeth hurt is proof that they are moving. For now, I just have to accept that fact positively.

However, for the first time, I am currently experiencing the accident of an "orthodontic appliance coming off." There is one tooth that doesn't have a flat surface and has a slightly curved shape(?), and there is a place where the orthodontic appliance doesn't seem to be touching the tooth properly. It was attached firmly, but I wonder if the cause is the food I'm eating. It seems I have to go back to get it reattached. What kind of food doesn't put a burden on teeth? If I can't chew, I can only think of tofu and soups.

I want to eat meat...

・There are many things, but starting orthodontics was the right choice

Other than the difficulty with eating, there are no particular inconveniences. Most people around me know I'm undergoing orthodontics, and otherwise, I wear a mask, so I don't really worry about the "bad appearance" that people often talk about.

Above all, if I'm going to keep worrying about my teeth alignment forever, it's definitely better for my mental health to try to fix it, even if it's a bit painful. Thinking that things are heading in a better direction day by day makes me feel that it was worth it.

How many more years until it's completely cured... I heard it would take about two years, but I have a feeling it might take a little longer. I know I have to endure this until then, but when I face that fact again, I still feel shocked.

So, for those of you who are not undergoing orthodontics, please do "chew" on the gratitude of being able to enjoy meals without any restrictions.

It's not a huge amount, but I'd like to end the record for the 6th month here. As I've said many times, once you get past the initial pain and the shock of the appearance, it's quick. I've gotten quite used to the feeling of having the appliance on, so I'd like to continue with the treatment while being careful about what I eat.

So, that's about it! Floss or die is the motto. That's all.