Day 1- 5: Living with Temporary Veneers

Temporary veneers are made of acrylic. When they are fitted they feel rough and too big for your mouth. The adhesive used to fix them in place is painted on to the front and backs of your teeth, so you can no longer feel the backs of your real teeth. Because you have a rough layer of adhesive on the backs of your front teeth, your bottom teeth are not able to slot in behind them as they usually would. This tends to push your lower teeth back slightly in your mouth and will probably give you jaw ache. With the final veneers, you will be able to feel the backs of your old teeth and your bottom row of teeth should sit comfortably behind your front teeth as they always used to (that’s what I’m praying for anyway).

The temporaries are usually fitted as one big block – like dentures – rather than as individual teeth. They do not have gaps in between each tooth and so your speech may temporarily be affected, I find S’s quite difficult to pronounce at the minute.

You will find that saliva gathers in your gums. You would usually suck this through the gaps in your teeth subconsciously, but you will be unable to do this. If you are anything like me you will likely keep your mouth closed for most of the time and will consciously need to suck the saliva in to your mouth regularly.

You may find that your teeth are more sensitive to air when you breathe. Mine are less sensitive than I thought they would be under the circumstances, but cold air on them can provoke a sharp pain, like eating an ice lolly with sensitive teeth.  I have tended to keep my mouth fully closed and breathe through my nose unless I am speaking, to minimise the cold/any air on my teeth.

To begin with the temporaries feel hideous and make your mouth ache almost continuously. After about 5 days this abates quite a lot. You will still be conscious of them and they will feel alien, however, they may not neccessarily cause you a great deal of pain. There is a constant pressure from them on your gums, which aches, but with regular over the counter pain killers you can stem this quite well.

I had my temporaries fitted on Wednesday, it is now Sunday. Below is an honest/brutal account of  what it has been like, for me, living with temporaries for the last 5 days. It may or may not refelct other people’s experience.

WEDNESDAY: DAY 1

It is difficult to remember exactly how I felt immidiately after having my temporary veneers fitted. I know I was completely drained and my mouth was very sore. However, I sent a group texts to my family  in between having the top and bottom veneers done. I think these texts pretty much sum things up:

“Just had the top 10 temp veneers done. Feels fucking HORRIFIC. Want to cry. Looks nice but not white enough, so will go whiter for the final ones. Got a break then in at 2pm for the bottom set 😦 “

My Mum responded to me asking me if I was very sore. My response was:

“Not too sore but achy and very numb and soo swollen. Will only get worse once anaesthetic wears off. Won’t be able to eat anything, would rather die than try at the moment.”

To my boyfriend:

“Feels fucking horrendous. Want to die.”

To my boss, asking if I could talk:

“Not a fking chance. Feels absolutely horrific. It feels like someone has ripped my teeth out and stuck in some dentures made of glass and then sliced out my gums. Just had the top 10 done, got a break, then the other 6. Bite all fked up. The temporaries feel awful because they are plastic rather than porcelain. Can imagine when the anaesthetic wears off  will feel like I am chewing razor blades because it already feel dreadful 😦 “

As you can see, it wasn’t plain sailing… I am known for being a little dramatic, but it definitely was not pleasant.

After my appointment I caught the train from London to Birminghamto stay at my parents for the night. We watched the final installment of Harry Potter at the cinema. This was a good distraction and I would advise planning something like the cinema, which will distract you but not force you to talk for a long period of time.

Eating & Drinking:

At dinner at ‘JAMIE’S’ that evening I asked for any drink that was room temperature and they found me some mixer lemonades. Anything too hot or cold would have had me climbing off the ceiling. I had a starter portion of tagliatelle carbonara, of which I ate 1/2 and it took me 30 mins. It felt very very strange attempting to eat with the temporaries. It felt like all my teeth had been removed and small Lego pieces had been inserted in to my jaw. They didn’t feel like they were mine and I was conscious of clanging them together and them not fitting together as I chewed. I had ulcers all along the top and bottom inside of my mouth, which also hurt.

Click here:  Temporary Veneers: What can I eat? 

How it feels:

When I went home to bed I was very conscious that my teeth and bite didn’t fit together properly and I couldn’t close my mouth in a comfortable position. I spent literally hours moving my jaw around and stressing myself out. I am told this is quite normal but it feels awful and made me quite anxious.

For years your teeth have fit together perfectly and your mouth is now constantly moving, attempting to get them to fit back how they have always been. It drove me mad. It will give you jaw ache and your tongue will ache or even get ulcers from constantly touching all the new things inside your mouth. My brain just couldn’t comprehend the new ‘bite’.

That my teeth wouldn’t fit together properly was my worst nightmare and it had come true. My one fear was that I would trade a cosmetic problem for a genuine painful problem. I panicked so much I made myself sick and cried.

I got very little sleep and gave myself a banging headache. The teeth themselves were not particularly painful, to be clear, I didn’t feel pain from each tooth and I didn’t have any shooting pains. The pain was more of a consistent ache around my whole mouth and also the ulcer pain. I took some Panadol and this subsided things a bit.

Brushing teeth:

The dentist had advised me to brush my teeth very gently and to swill my mouth with either alcohol-free Listerine or salt and water. I used Sensodyne toothpaste, which I have used for years anyway but it will help your gums if they are sore. I used a very soft toothbrush and lightly brushed all the teeth and my gums. I swilled twice with salt and luke warm water.

THURSDAY: DAY 2

On Thursday morning I thoroughly regretted going through with veneers. I believed it to be the worst decision I had ever made and I posted an ambigious message on Facebook that I wished I could turn back time. I cried all morning and panicked that my bite and jaw alignment would never  be the same again and everything my Dad had warned me about unnecessary cosmetic surgery had come true. I had done this to myself and there was no going back.

I had stayed at my parents house the night before, to be looked after, as you do in these situations. My mum made me a single scrambled egg for breakfast which took me aprox 45 mins to completely finish. I drank luke warm orange squash.

I was in pain. It felt like someone was forcing my teeth into both my top and bottom jaws – with their hands. The pressure was very uncomfortable and very distracting. There was still no sharp pain, just a continuous throbbing ache.

The teeth felt a little sensitive to the air when I breathed in, so I covered them with my lips most of the time and continued to do this to protect them. The teeth felt alien, like someone elses teeth in my mouth. Too big. Awkward. Rough. Unfamiliar. I took 4 Panadol that day just to ease off the jaw ache and the pressure.

I called the dentist first thing and told them I felt horrendous and I wasn’t happy and that I had to be seen that day. They were very accomodating and slotted me in in the afternoon. The dentist listened to my panicked ramblings and filed down the teeth which were catching, giving me a ‘high’ bite. This is basically where one/ some of your teeth protrudes and stops you biting the whole way down, so your bite becomes ‘higher’. This was a marked improvement and I was relieved somewhat, but they still felt strange.

The dentist said I was being negative and that I really needed to give it time and I would adjust – he was probably right. He said it would take a few days for my brain to get used to everything.  At this point I was miserable. I told him I didn’t want to adjust to something that felt plain wrong, I just wanted it to be right. I think me and the dentist have fallen out… 😦

The ulcers were bad and had spread along the top and bottom of my mouth where the mouth guard/ lip retractor had been. When I showed them to my dentist he said it was where the injections had been but I believe  it was due to the rubbing of the lip retractor as this is where it sat.

Thursday night I was still quite upset. I ate a small portion of  mash potato with some green beans mashed in as a token gesture to my 5 a day. It took me about 30 mins to eat this and I waited until it was cold.

These were texts I sent that evening which better epitomise how it felt:

To my sister:

“Had a bit shaved off the tooth. Currently wish I’d never gone through with it but can’t go back now. Can’t eat anything that isn’t white and can’t fucking chew. They feel absolutely awful – look nice though, on the plus side!  Mouth feels like a load of rocks in it, keep chewing my tongue, speaking funny, bite not right. Altogether quite stressful. Was in tears all morning. Bit better now but regret it so much at the moment”

“Mum and dad off to the indian. I am going to bed to feel sorry for myself with my dreadful painful plastic teeth”

Nuff said.

FRIDAY: DAY 3

I went back to work this day so was obviously feeling a bit better. My boss had sent a text that morning asking if I would be coming in and I responded:

“Yes, I’m coming in. I might be a little quiet and I won’t be able to eat anything but that will probably be a refreshing change for everyone. Thanks for yesterday, I appreciate it. Really couldn’t have faced coming in, was practically  suicidal.”

This text  message clearly demonstrates a change in the way I felt. I now felt well enough to come in to work and had used suicidal in the past tense! I was also attempting humour, something that had definitely been absent on day 1 and 2…

I spent about 3 hours in a meeting where I didn’t have to talk too much (couldn’t if I tried) and then 2 hours on the train. By the end of the train journey my jaw was aching and my ulcers were livid. When I arrived in Manchester, I went straight to Boots and bought as much ulcer relief medication as I could – and applied everything at once.

Sore

This is the first time I used something on my ulcers, so I think this shows that it takes a couple of days for them to come in to full swing. Buy some ulcer meds in advance to cope with this. I bought the following – and used them all in one go!

Friday night I made some home-made chicken soup with orzo pasta and very thinly sliced green beans. This was ideal and very easy to eat.

Things I discovered on Friday:

• Unable to bite nails
• Talking hurts your jaw
• Unable/best not to bite or chew anything with your front 2 teeth, can only use the side of  mouth
  

SATURDAY: Day 4

I felt much better and managed 12 hours sleep – can’t be bad. I ate home-made chicken soup for brunch as I couldn’t face anything else. The ulcers were killing me.

I spent most of the day out and about mooching around Manchester with my boyfriend. By about 5pm my jaw ached and I took the first Panadol extra of the day. I bought more ulcer treatment and some alcohol-free listerine. I also bought some minstrels as I couldn’t cope with the thought of no chocolate for 2 weeks.

The temporaries were beginning to feel more normal in my mouth, I was getting used to them and the pain was more feeling of continuous pressure rather than anything more sinister. It was the ulcers more than anything that were driving me crazy. I used the meds I bought constantly, they do help to dull the pain and speed up healing. I think I should have applied them from day 1, rather than day 3 and it may have helped speed recovery even more.

I ate chicken and pasta for dinner.  This was easy to eat but it still took me about 1/2 hour because I was still very cautious of chewing with these strange Lego teeth. They felt delicate and wrong when they moved against each. Most of the time I just swallowed whole after a token bite.

I sucked about 6 minstrels. Although they tasted GREAT Galaxy Counters would have been better ito suck, as the shells of the Minstreels rubbed the roof of my mouth raw. It was worth it. Buttons are the way forward – suckable is the word of the day.

Thought I would add a pic of the temporaries for viewing. Not bad. I shall be going a bit more ‘neon white’ for the final veneers, like my real teeth at the bottom back left.

SUNDAY: DAY 5

It has been 5 days since I have had my temporaries fitted. The dentist may have been speaking some truth in that over time I would get used to them. Don’t get me wrong, they still feel hideous  – but bearable.  However, if my final veneers feel anything  like these dreadful temporaries, I will be distraught. I have been assured they will not!

I seriously think they only give you these temporaries so that anything they give you afterwards will feel amazing and you will be happy and go away thinking you have the best teeth in the world. Because frankly, anything is better than temporaries.

I managed to eat 2 sauages and scrambled egg for breakfast, sadly without any ketchup for fear of turning my teeth orange.  Still had the constant pressure on my gums and a dull ache in the top of my jaw. Bottom jaw feels fine. It basically feels as if you have poppy seeds wedged inbetween each and every single one of your teeth and you can’t get them out. The pressure drives you nuts but it’s not like you are recovering from open-heart surgery or anything as dramatic.

My other half’s breakfast 🙂

My breakfast 😦

The ulcers are abaiting already. Yesterday I read up furiously on ulcers; what treatments work best, home remedies, how long they last etc. Most of the information stated that they usually take about 2 weeks to fully clear up. Mine are starting to go already, so the medication must be working. I think it a case of pile as much on as possible. It’s worked for me anyway.

The gums where I had reshaping have pretty much healed already and are looking good.

For dinner I had…. wait for it…. more chicken! Over the last few days I have become more accustomed to eating and become a little more adventurous. Chewing is becomming more normal but is still done slowly so as not to clang the teeth together.

I should imagine that this time next week will be much easier. Time will tell.

Click here to read  Days 6 – 14