Well, the pain never came. Not from the extraction, anyway. I took the painkillers and antibiotics as instructed, but oddly enough, even after the anaesthetic completely wore off and I was in between drugs, I didn’t have any pain. I stopped taking the painkillers after the first day to see how I went, and it still didn’t hurt so I just finished off the antibiotics on their own.

Today I had an appointment to put the separators in, to make spaces between my teeth to make putting the braces on easier. The appointment started off with the orthodontist’s assistant going through the standard stuff about what foods to be careful of or to avoid completely, and then she showed me the horror photos of people who hadn’t cleaned their teeth properly while having braces.

I also got to ask her a few questions, which was really good because I was still trying to decide whether to get the clear braces or just the ordinary metal ones. I think I’ve decided to go with the metal ones, which I didn’t initially think I’d want, but for various reasons I think they’ll be better for me.

After my chat with her, the orthodontist put the separators in - 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top. They felt pretty uncomfortable at first, and it hurt to chew, and the discomfort got to the point where I just took a Panadol to try to ease the pain a bit. A bit wimpy, but it really is hurting! I never thought that I’d be taking painkillers for this, but not the extraction.

So, it’s a week until I get the braces put on, and I’m actually looking forward to it so I can get these stupid separators taken out. I know it will still be uncomfortable with the braces on, but it will be a different kind of discomfort, and at least I’ll be able to chew properly.