It’s been quite a while since I shared an update on my brace with you so I thought that today, I’d do just that! It’s been 8 months since I had my brace on and the change to my teeth has been incredible! I know a lot of people were really interested in the profess and having a brace in general so I hope that the pictures below won’t gross you out too much! You can read my previous posts on my brace here and here.
So, last Monday was my third tightening session and if anything, the most comfortable one too! If you’ve had a brace, you’ll know how painful the tightenings can be, especially the days after but during the appointment, it wasn’t so bad. Maybe I’m getting used to it? The following few days weren’t so pleasant though. I struggled to chew for 3 days after (although they’re fine now and I’m back to eating normally) but this is a sign that my teeth are moving so it’s kind of a spur to carry on with the treatment.
The tightening sessions last for about 30 minutes, the orthodontist takes out the wires and then fits another. It’s quite complicated to explain but imagine a wire joining all your teeth together and twisting it together tight on the front two teeth. Yeah, ouch. For the time being, I also have a roof plate in to help my bite come forward and by the time I have my next appointment, it should have improved and I can take it out! This is what’s been causing me to talk funny so I’m pretty happy about it being removed.
I still struggle with getting food in my teeth (yuk) and brushing them doesn’t seem to help either so when I have my normal dentist appointment towards the end of the year, I’m going to ask if he can give them a little clean just to spruce them up a little! They do recommend not to get your teeth whitened straight after having a brace but I will definitely be looking into it, just so I can truly have the perfect set of pearly whites!
Bottom picture is before brace, Top right is my first fitting, Top left is current.
You can see how much my teeth have shifted, all over my mouth and not just the front teeth. Where I had the 4 extractions, the gaps are closing really well and my top row are super straight already. My bottom teeth have now straightened and don’t overlap whatsoever and my whole mouth just looks better in general rather than having teeth overlapping, crossing and sticking out everywhere!
Like I said, it’s only been 8 months and I’m due to have this on for another 14 months yet (maybe longer) so I can’t wait to see the end results! If you’re thinking about having a brace, I really do recommend it. You may regret it to start with as the pain, loosing the ability to eat and the self consciousness that comes with it may take over but I do promise, it gets better! Talk to your dentist if you’re thinking of having a brace first as you may be able to get it on the NHS.
When it comes to nails, I’m not a huge lover of varnishes as it seems to just chip off as soon as I apply it and I end up taking it off within an hour of putting it on so whenever there is a way to avoid using Nail varnish, you can be sure that I’ll check it out. I use nail wraps more than anything but find that they take too long to apply and can sometimes look really cheap so when I got my hands on these Elegant touch ‘House of Holland’ falsies, I was so excited!
As far as stick on, DIY nails - I’ve never had much luck as I’m quite heavy handed, they just seem to pop off but when I bought the ‘ROYAL EXPLOSION’ Nails for my cousins wedding back in May I was extremely surprised at the quality and sustainability of them and have gone on to buy 2 more packs!
The nail packs come with 24 nails in 10 different sizes meaning that they are pretty universal and should fit most nails, mine are quite big so I use most of the bigger nails in the pack to ensure they look more natural. There are little numbers on the back of the nail too so it makes matching the sizes to each finger even easier. They also come with glue and a tiny file to make any adjustments to your own nails or the falsies.
I used the ‘BOOM’ pack for just a day but during that day I was picking Millie up, eating, opening bags, texting, using a camera etc etc and had no problems with the length of them or the application. Each and every one of the nails remained in place and I even had a tough time removing them that night ready for work the next day - they are super super glued on! I went on to use the ‘ZIG ZAG STARDUST’ nails when we went to Brighton last week and applied them in the car on the way down - showing how easy it is to apply them - and they lasted the whole week. I took them off Friday morning for work and again, they were tough to remove. One did come loose and popped off Thursday night though but other than that, I can’t fault the durability of them at all!
The House of Holland Nails are available in various stores and online at Feel Unique with a current offer of 3 for 2 - so stock up on your favourites or try something new! I really want to try the ‘CLASSY NUDE’ ‘THORN IN MY SIDE’ and ‘HEARTBREAKER’ editions so keep an eye out for more reviews on those!
Save 10% on Nails over at Feel Unique with my code NOTAVGNAILS
If you don’t already subscribe to my Youtube then you wouldn’t have seen that I put a new ‘Haul’ video up last night! I have been buying bits and bobs over the last few weeks and thought I’d film a video to show you what I got all together!
On Monday, we took a trip to Brighton. We stayed in the seafront Travelodge, just like we did last year and were there until Thursday. It’s one of our favourite places and luckily for us, the weather was beautiful the whole time we were there (minus a cloudy morning on Wednesday)!
I didn’t take too many photos or videos this time round as I just wanted to relax and enjoy myself and spend time with Adam and Millie without having to worry about documenting too much of it. The pictures below are from a mixture of my iPhone 5c Camera, my Fujifilm S4300 and Adam’s GoPro so I hope you don’t mind the mixture of qualities and effects.
We strolled around The Lanes, went to Stanmer House and had lunch, had Ice cream on the beach and won lots of mini toys in the arcades on the Pier. We also ate Nandos, Tapas and Italian at Jamie Olivers Italian. There are so many more things to do in Brighton so if you’re looking for a quick escape or a day out, then definitely consider visiting!
