Tinsel E - part 3

Day 5 of dental captivity.

It still sucks.

I have since found some over the counter products that ease my discomfort temporarily. The only thing that'll permanently ease my discomfort is getting these wretched things off me. But that's 15 months away.

Anyway, found I've been applying Orabase, a canker soar paste that has a benzocaine in it to numb the pain. It works pretty well for an hour or so and if I don't talk for awhile afterwards, longer. If I'm not careful, though I get some of the stuff on my tongue, and then my tongue goes superficially numb. lol oops. It doesn't affect anything, but the sensation is weird. hahaha

DJ loves Mommy's braces. Every time I show them to him, he grins and wants to feel them. I'm trying to teach him the word "braces" by saying it every time he feels them. We'll see if that sticks. Meanwhlie, they don't seem to have phased Elektra one bit.

Otherwise, my teeth are still sore from the pressure, particularly my front bottom teeth (the ones that are the most crooked), but that is something I can live with.

I think it's getting better... just very slowly...

Tinsel E part 2

5:53AM

It's official. Braces SUCK.

I have 4 nasty canker sores in my mouth in strategic parts where the braces rub my cheeks directly. And I have 2 more, one on either side, where I've bitten myself trying to eat.

I'm concerned that although the two where I've bitten myself might go away if I don't keep biting myself, the 4 big ones being caused by the brackets will continue to be agitated and never heal. These are what hurt the most, and I'm almost to the point where I have to just stop talking, too (ha, yeah, good luck with that... !).

My teeth are still sensitive from the pressure.

My lips are raw and cracked, too, even though I've kept a lip balm on them as often as I think to do it.

Eating has become nearly impossible. I have to cut everything for myself the same way I do for DJ... itty bitty so that I can effectively swallow it whole to avoid chewing. I've been hungry for days now. I'd like to think I'll lose some weight, but who knows. This just might require the "I just had periodontal surgery" diet - soft foods (like custard) and liquids only - until stuff heals. But what's to say I won't just reopen those wounds?

I was done with these things by Monday night, the night I got them. I was more done with them yesterday morning. Then I saw the canker soars last night, and now I'm really done with them.

On the bright side, when I went to pick up DJ on Monday night, I said to him, "DJ, look what Mommy has on her teeth!" He came over, I showed him the braces, and he took his fingers and rubbed them. Every once in awhile, I'll say now, "What does Mommy have on her teeth?" and he'll grin and try to feel them.

Similarly, Elektra was in my arms and when I smiled at her, immediately tried to feel my face and coordinate herself to the point where she could get her hands on my braces. That was really cute.

At least there are bright spots in this, I suppose...

Tinsel E

In December of 2007, my dentist told me that I should go see an orthodontist because she saw movement in my teeth that concerned her, particularly regarding my overbite. She was figuring retainers could probably fix it. Great!

I go see the orthodontist that she recommended (who did both sets of her braces as she's had them twice!) in January, 2008, but they couldn't take x-rays to do the full consultation because I'd just found out I was pregnant with Elektra. Without the x-rays, though, they could already tell me that retainers weren't going to cut it, and that it would take about 15 months with full braces.

You have GOT to be kidding me.

What about Invisiline? Nope, that would take forEVER and doesn't really fix the overbite problem I have.

Ok, so if I have to get braces, can I at least get colored ones? I want the most obnoxious color possible - fluorescent pink or multi-colored! - because if I'm going to have braces as an adult, I may as well have a sense of humor about it. Nope, that's old technology.

The technology they are using now is called Damon 3 brackets, and it's the only bracket they use now. Why? The Damon 3 bracket is very easy for the orthodontist to change the wire when it's time for adjustments, treatment time is significantly faster because of the reduced friction between the bracket and the wire, and they are the most ergonomic bracket on the market.

So here I am, sitting in this consultation, incredulous because I didn't have braces or retainers as a kid yet I'm going to have to get them as an adult. And I can't even get fluorescent pink brackets to boot. Now I'm really bummed (just wait till I get the cost estimate... talk about depression!). ::smirk::

They tell me to come back after Elektra was born to complete the consultation, which I did in October, 2008. In November, I got back the official results and the cost for the treatment. Now I understand why people bemoan the cost of orthodontia... ooooouch. But the cost of the treatment includes all of the hardware, all of the appointments, the permanent retainer I get on the bottom teeth after treatment is over, and the removable top retainer that I'll only have to wear at nights. Considering... that's not bad. But still... it's a lot of money in this economy for something that isn't life threatening. Hrumph, said the grinch with a bad overbite and crooked bottom teeth.

Then I started to feel that my top teeth have moved. And Mama reminded me that the longer I wait, the longer my treatment will have to be and therefore the cost will go up. ::sigh:: I can't argue with logic like that.

My appointment was yesterday morning, 9am. They polished my teeth with a pummus, and then the fun began.

Step 1 was to prep the bottom teeth's surface and then dry them. Step 2 was to cement the bracket to the crown of my tooth with sealent. Step 3 was to add the wire. Do the same with the top teeth. Done.

Self portrait with my iPhone

Then I received the documentation to help me care for my braces, and an appointment for my first adjustment in 10 weeks. I was also told that the less breakages I have, the more likely I might complete my treatment faster. Rock on. I'm an adult; I can do this.

I read the documentation when I got to work. I knew that the "forbidden foods" were categorized as sticky/tacky and hard meaning no nuts, no gum. Ok. But then I read the documentation and cracked up. Clearly 99% of their patients are middle schoolers....

Sticky foods - gummy bears, gummy snakes, gummy rats (gonna have to toss that supply... oh but they didn't mention swedish fish!! ew...), caramels, tootsie rolls, chewing gum, bubble gum, sugarless gum (um, doesn't "gum" mean any type of gum? Apparently not to a middle schooler), jelly beans, sugar daddies, candy bars with caramel and nuts (ooooh, that actually hurts because I love Twix and Snickers... but good for the diet, I suppose), salt water taffy, skittles, now or laters, licorice, starburst, fruit roll ups, and airheads.

Hard foods - nuts (that's a bummer), popcorn (that's a bummer, too), doritos (this will keep me out of the vending machine here at work), tacos, hard pretzels, corn on the cob (I'll never forget when my brother had to cut it off the cob when he had braces), apples and carrots (can eat them if cut into small pieces), ice cubes (i don't chew ice cubes), granola bars, peanut brittle, hard breads, jawbreakers, lemonheads, nerds, fireballs, and jolly ranchers.

I've been on motrin because my mouth really is sore. It doesn't outright hurt, but it's a whole lot of pressure. And last night, it took me an hour to eat dinner and I still left the table still hungry because I couldn't figure out how to eat with these things. When I chew, one of my top brackets hits one of my bottom brackets making everything feel weird and like I'm breaking something. I can't bite down the way I normally do; it goes to show how messed up my bite really is, I suppose. The insides of my lips are starting to get raw in spots. And I'm totally paranoid that I'm going to break a wire because it is really thin. It feels like I need to floss constantly, too, I guess from the pressure of my teeth being forced together.

Hope this gets better soon or I'm going to lose weight from the lack of food intake. Hmmmm maybe that's not such a bad thing after all!!!