I'm diggin' it

I've only had my braces on for 4 months and I can already tell my teeth are moving into the correct position. Before braces, I only had 2 pairs of teeth on each side that would touch and now I have 3 pairs and maybe almost 4. My upper front teeth are also moving back and my lower teeth aren't so crowded. My teeth must have been really messed up. Anyway, I am diggin' it. I got my teeth cleaned today and new stronger wires put on. Ouch. I also had them put on blue rubber bands (is that what they are called?). I think they look too young for me, but my kids love them. They both want braces now. They don't know what they are saying....

Missed appointment

I had an appointment with the ortho on Wednesday of this week and we had a big snowstorm and school was canceled for my kids. I knew there was no way my kids could sit still by themselves in the waiting room for an hour so I had to cancel my appointment. The snow went on for a few days and school was out for 3 days. Yuck, and it's only October. My appointment was rescheduled for Nov 9.

This is a picture right after I got my braces on.

No Sleep Apnea - No pay

Now that my braces are on and things are moving along I thought it was time to try to get my insurance to pay for the surgery. From what the insurance told me the only way they would pay for it is if I have obstructive sleep apnea. So, I went to my Family Practice doc to see about getting a sleep study done. He told me the first thing to do is to get a nocturnal pulse ox. I got one and it didn't show anything abnormal so he wasn't going to order a full sleep study. Darn. Not as easy as I thought it would be. I guess I'll call my OS's office to see if they could just order a sleep study. It would make me feel more confident in my decision if I could find a genuine physical need for the surgery and not just a cosmetic reason. Of course having the insurance pay for it isn't bad either. ;-)

I've spent a lot of time lately reading blogs and watching youtube videos about surgery. It's pretty encouraging to see so many people happy with their new bite. So, thank you all who have gone before me for posting your experiences.

Last 4 bands on

I went to the ortho on Tuesday to get my last 4 bands on. My teeth were so crowded it took about 2 months to get my teeth separated enough to put the bands on. Anyway, I now have 8 bands on total. That night while I was eating I noticed my tongue really hurt and I looked in the mirror and my tongue was bleeding. I wasn't able to get in to see the ortho until the next day and until then it hurt to talk and especially to eat. They ground down the band and again I was on my way. However, the same thing happened that night. The band was sharp and was cutting my tongue. I had to make a second trip in to have them grind it down some more. I think this time it worked. My tongue is still so sore it burns when I eat. I should be tough and not complain. Heck, I shouldn't even have gone into the ortho to fix it. This is nothing compared to going under the saw.

On a positive note, my kids went with me to the ortho today and they both sat and waited for me so patiently. They made me proud. My ortho has a contest every month and the winner gets a prize like tickets to the zoo, etc. This month's quiz was a spider's web made out of string and you have to guess how long the string is. My youngest son guessed for me. I don't think he was close, but I probably shouldn't be competing against little kids in braces.

Lost a screw...no I mean lost a spring

The other night while I was using my Hydrofloss one of my springs popped off. My husband got some tweezers, a flashlight and a magnifying glass and fixed it for me. That was so embarrassing to have my husband look at my teeth with a magnifying glass. The funny thing was I went to the ortho the next day for them to check his work and they just took the spring off and put spacers in. They said he put it back on right and he could have a job there if he wanted though. :-) I got black ligs on (I think that's what they are called) and I like them. I probably won't do anything wilder than that. I keep hoping my teeth will move a bunch so much that I won't need surgery. I'm sure that won't happen, but a girl can dream.

Not much new to report. I'm getting used to the braces and I hardly notice them any more, except when I eat. It's gross how much food gets stuck in there. I go in next week for a tightening or to get the rest of my bands put on. My teeth were so crowded they couldn't get all my bands on. It's amazing how the ortho knows how to move all my teeth into the right place. This probably is a dumb question, but where do normal people hold their tongue when their mouth is closed? I think my ortho said it's supposed to be at the roof of your mouth, which is weird because I always thought if I did that it would push my teeth out further. Anyway, I keep my tongue at the bottom. Gee, no wonder my jaws are messed up.

Here's a dorky picture of me right before my braces were put on.

Bummer

It's funny how when you have braces you notice more people in braces then you normally would. Well, when you are planning surgery I guess the same thing applies. I ran into 2 different people yesterday that had jaw surgery. Both of them had more than one surgery and one person had 5 different surgeries. Her situation was unusual and due to trauma, so it's not the same. Or so I tell myself. The other woman had it done and they took too much upper gum out and she looked funny so they had to redo it. I guess that's my fear now that I would look funny after the surgery and have to redo it. I guess I'm having second thoughts. I would love to have a beautiful smile though. Oh, I hate indecision.

I got my braces on July 1 just in time for my birthday on the 6th. That was my present. (just kidding). The first couple of days were hard. I thought if the braces hurt this bad how could I get through surgery. I must be a baby. I feel much better now and they don't hurt. I wish I would have gone to the dentist to get a cleaning beforehand. I did buy a Waterpick which has become my best friend. The OS and ortho said I would have surgery on both the upper and lower jaw in about 9-12 months. I think they will move my upper jaw up about 3mm and I'm not sure how far forward they will move my lower. I thought I heard my OS say 11mm, but my ortho said he thought it was 6mm. I will go back in on July 15 for my first torture, I mean tightening. Well, off to the pool with the kids.

A most delightful journey

I'm about to embark on a most delightful journey. At least that is what my fortune cookie from PF Changs said. Actually I'm not superstitious, but I thought the timing was so perfect. You see I have just decided to get braces and jaw surgery to correct my bite. I've picked a OS and Ortho, I just don't have braces on yet. I'm just taking baby steps. Anyway, here's my first post. I'll see where fortune will take me.