August Adjustment update

It is sooo good to eat again, this last weekend was a bit rough. I had a trip to the Poconos planned with my friends with my adjustment falling the day before. I was only able to to chew solid foods again around this past Monday

Got a brand new (stronger and thicker) arch wire for my upper teeth, and no more elastics or ligatures. Instead we say hello to the POWER CHAIN. Holy shitake mushrooms these things hurt. When my orthodontist attached it to my braces I just thought, "MOTHER DUCK!!" (No, that is not a typo.)

So this is great news. We're trying to have me finished by the end of this year or maybe my birthday and it's looking good so far.

Hollywood smile, here I come!!

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Reviewing the pictures I had taken so far

Holy crap. I always knew my teeth were bad but seeing it in pictures, what I started with to what I have now. Good lord why didn't anyone push me to braces earlier?? The more progress I see the angrier I am that this has gone on for so long. And the more embarrassed I am for past-me. I think I will most definitely be in my orthodontists Before and After album.

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Picture update

July 19, 2013

Two years, four weeks into treatment.

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July adjustment

Just minutes after my most recent adjustment I am thrilled. Apparently it's only the two small extraction gaps in my upper teeth left to close and just a little more in terms of alignment. Other than that I'm just about finished!

I have decided that I'm definitely leaning to having my teeth reshaped. And it is part of my treatment if I want it done so there will be no additional cost for that. And it can be done at any time during m treatment.

On another happy note I only owe them $250 left for my braces! Not counting the retainers of course but those can be paid for in advance if I wanted. They'll be the Hawley's I think. The one with the metal line which is what I preferred anyway. I don't want my retainers to be dos colored because of my fillings and I like the idea that I can tweak my teeth in the future with the Hawley's. So all in all not a bad visit! I'm nearing the end. WOOHOO!!

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June adjustment

Another month has come and gone, another adjustment endured and I have reached my two year mark with my braces this past June 21st. And what a difference two years has made!

There's been some changes from my June adjustment. First of all the very first thing she said to me when she looked at my teeth was how well they were coming along and if I have anything to comment on. I did bring up that my extraction gap on the upper right side is taking what seems like forever to close. So she slapped on a powerchain going from my upper right canine to my upper right molar band. Henceforth I am to be wearing the elastics only on the left side so as not to interfere with the powerchain on the right.

Secondly there was this second premolar on my upper left side that just refused to hold a bracket so for the past few months the orthodontist let it go naked since it wasn't really a problem, but I suppose we are seeing the finish line in the distance (waaaaay in the distance) that she glued on another one to make sure that everything is lining up all right. 

Finally she decided to replace the chipped bracket on my upper left central incisor. Felt a little strange to have a full bracket there again but that's A-OK.

I did bring up the fact that most of my teeth are irregular in both size and shape. My upper front set are a bit larger than say my lower front set with my back teeth being cute in how tiny they are. She did mention that if I wanted she could reshape my teeth but that I need to consider that carefully because once she decreases the size it cannot be undone. Still, strongly considering it...
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List of Post-Braces Foods

There are some things that I am just DYING for. Well obviously not dying for, but you get the idea. There are these constant cravings that refuse to leave for the entire time I've been braced. I've been thinking of what I'd like to eat once I lose my mouth jewelry and just off the top of my head I'd like

• a steak
• crab/lobster/things I can crack with my teeth
• corn dogs
• Lamb chops/ pork chops
• BBQ ribs
• corn on the cob
• gummy bears
• an entire bushel of Gala apples

TO GO!

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May Adjustment Update and Cost Happiness!

Armed with a new pack of 3/16 inch "Pete" rubber bands I embark to a another month on my orthodontic journey. One of the first things my doctor said to me is that my midline is looking great. My midline was not part of the original problem but it shifted slightly during treatment. Regardless my orthodontist sure knows how to flatter a girl!

After some minor and routine discomfort I was quickly released back into the world. Although I was sure to verify my remaining balance after relinquishing this month's payment. Turns out after my payment for this month I have a total of $550. At my current rate that will be paid out by September, which I'm really hoping to get my braces off around then. Once that final $550 is done I only have to worry about the cost of retainers. The office told me that they run at $250  per retainer, and I need both an upper and a lower one. Unless of course I want my teeth to shift back to the shark smile I had previously. That is clearly NOT an option.

Still though. I am in sight of the finish line. It's still a ways off but I'm getting there.

I can't wait.
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Maybe I need some thicker skin...

Or maybe I really don't like people talking about my dental shortcomings.

I went to my dentist appointment this past Thursday. I have to go to a new dentist because my previous (nice!) one is not contracted with my new insurance.

This guy is really close to my mom's neighborhood so I figured it would be vaguely convenient but his videos that he put up on YouTube are not very pleasing in regards to his manner. He seemed like a very stiff person, unsmiling and comfortable. At first I tried to make an appointment with a dentist who is literally across the street from my job but apparently they were "closed out" to new patients with my insurance. So I went to the stiff dentist.

Granted he was a competent dentist, he and his staff did all that they were supposed to but I was used to be old dentist, who was very well aware that most people (myself included) HATE going to the dentist. He and his wife/receptionist used to go out of his way to speak to a patient conversationally and ensured that a patient felt calm and comfortable.

This new guy felt no need to and just went to work. And the first thing he started talking about what how much trouble my teeth are/hypothetically were. He commented on how I had four extractions, I have gaps left in my upper teeth that still  need to be closed and went on to tell me I have a long long way to go with my braces yet. That I am a difficult patient who requires a lot of work.

I hate when dentists do that. I know very well how difficult my teeth are, I've lived with them my entire life. Talking about them or just having them on display is enough to make me very self conscious about them. It's comments like that from previous dentists that ultimately caused me to not see a dentist for nine years. I hated being the subject of conversation when the conversation is basically, "Damn, you're all kinds of fucked up."

Happily I don't have to see another dentist for another six months or so, so hopefully by then I'll have found a different dentist, or even be able to return to my much nicer dentist.
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Great news at my adjustment today!

Just got out of an adjustment appointment. I told my orthodontist that I have two problems and one question that hopefully she can address.

The first problem is that a steel ligature on my lower right lateral incisor is sticking out and poking me uncomfortably. The offending ligature was trimmed and tucked under the arch wire a bit more nearly.

The second problem was that the difficulty in putting on my elastics on the upper right side due to the close proximity of the ligature to where the elastic should go instead. My orthodontist changed it so that half of the bracket is attached to the arch wife via ligature leaving the other half open to give me a little more room to work with.

Finally I posed a hypothetical situation to her. If this was my first visit, I came in for a consult with my teeth in this position… I didn't even get to the question when she said she would not even bother putting braces on me I'm that close to the end. I asked for a ballpark estimate of when they would be off and she said it would definitely be within the year!

CAN I GET A WOOHOO?!
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New Dentist

Well I finally have insurance but go figure it is not one that is accepted by my (awesome) dentist. I have to change.

I'm one of those folks that HATE going to the dentist, I fear it with every fiber of my being and I believe all dentists to be sadists. Yet my dentist is so kind and his receptionist/wife is so sweet. When I walk into their office, I can't help but be at ease. This is not something that has ever happened before. Finding a new dentist who also conjures the same amount of comfort is going to be difficult.

Looking through the directory, I found a man whose practice is literally across the street from my job and he appeared to be a cheerful fellow. However when I called to make an appointment I was told that they are "closed out" on new patients from my insurance. I wonder then, why they are listed in the directory issued this month as participating providers accepting new patients.

I ended up making an appointment with an office located close to my mom's area. This dentist does not seem at all friendly and in fact has a very stoic and vaguely grumpy facial expression. Not looking forward to this at all...
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