"Brace Face"

So, I have had my braces for just over a week now and this week has certainly been quite the adjustment.

I got them Thursday afternoon and the pressure I felt on my teeth for the first couple of days was just... odd. There really wasn't a lot of pain, just throbbing every so often as my teeth were moving in to position in the trays.
The other main thing I had to get used to for the first few days was the extreme amount of extra saliva that was being produced in my mouth! It was crazy! Whenever I talked I felt like I was spitting all over everyone and everything that was in my path. I actually felt the need to talk with my hand in front of my mouth so I wouldn't spray :) That actually seems to be subsiding now as my mouth gets used to having that foreign object in it 24/7.

My orthodontist impressed me greatly when I got a phone call Friday evening from the doctor himself asking me how I made out my first full day of having them and to answer any questions I might have come up with. It made me feel better to know everything that was happening was normal and I wasn't just a freak of nature LOL.
One problem I did have to ask him about was that the edge of my bottom tray was rather rough and it felt like it was scratching or cutting the inside of my lip. He had an easy solution for that for me: just take a normal, every day emery board and file the edges smooth! I did that and they felt much more comfortable. And now I know how to check and fix that problem with any of my new trays before my lip becomes endangered.

Aside from still having a slight lisp and slur to my speech I think I have been adjusting to them quite well over this past week. I feel like a dork when I drink my coffee through a straw at work but it works. I tried to make it cool at least by getting neon bendy straws :)
I have quickly fallen in to the routine of taking my trays out when I eat and then brushing my teeth before putting them back in. I now even carry a little travel toothbrush and toothpaste in my purse for those times I am not at home. I was given 2 cases to put them in when I take them out so I have one in my purse and one by my bathroom sink. One thing's for sure - by the time this is all done my teeth will be the cleanest they've ever been considering the number of times I end up brushing my teeth in a day!

This coming Thursday I go back to the orthodontist to have "buttons" or "attachments" bonded to a few of my teeth to help with the moving process. They are tooth colored so supposedly they will not be visible very easily either. I will then wear my current tray for another week after that before switching to the next. My orthodontist will give me the next few sets of trays - which are all in their own numbered package so I know which one is next - and I will switch those every 2 weeks.

So far this has been quite the experience and I am interested in seeing how it all plays out over the next 12-18 months... And you get to ride it with me :)

"The Call"

Just got that call from my orthodontist. Tomorrow afternoon at 4:15 I have an appointment to get my first set of Invisalign trays...


-- Posted on the run from my iPhone

Back to School!

That's right! Today was Sweetpea's first day back at school. I am now officially the mom of a 3rd grader! And boy is it hard for me to get those words out....

She is super excited and had a fantastic day. This is the first year she gets 2 teachers over the course of the day - 1 for reading, writing, etc and 1 for math, science and social studies. It's also her first year of having a male teacher... but she says both are great.

Sweetpea all ready to go!

There's also her gifted classes she's excited about this year too - that I believe start next week. This year they are studying Egypt and she is super excited to get in to that.

And showing off her new backpack "Nerds Rule"

Sitting at her 3rd Grader desk

I think she's going to have a great year!

A Life with Braces - Step 1

You read that right. At 34 years of age I have to get braces. Now, I had no idea I had teeth problems. My teeth look great - at least I thought they were until my dentist mentioned it. And now I can notice what the issue is.
My top teeth, instead of coming straight down, are coming down at an angle in towards the inside of my mouth. This is putting undue pressure and rubbing of both my bottom and top teeth. This is causing my teeth to wear and crack - to the point I actually have fracture lines on my front teeth.
The braces are going to move my teeth back in to the correct angle and improve my bite so my teeth will stop wearing away. How long is this going to take? About 12-15 months - maybe longer depending on how my teeth respond.

Now, I'm not one to worry about how things look so I didn't have a problem with the possibility of having a mouth full of wires and brackets for a good year and a half. But there are more choices these days aside from the "old fashioned" braces that everyone is used to. The choice I have made is Invisalign.

My orthodontist was really good at explaining out and describing all the choices I had when it came to fixing my teeth. And after listening to them all, I decided that, for the ease of care alone, Invisalign was the best route for me.

This route, if appropriate to use for what you have to have fixed, is the easiest for adults to adjust to. You don't have to worry about the discomfort of having all those wires and brackets in your mouth. And you can take them out for eating and cleaning your teeth. The best part is the ease of still getting your regular teeth cleanings with your dentist. No trip to the orthodontist first to remove the wires, then to the dentist for the cleaning, then back to the orthodontist to have the wires put back on. With Invisalign, you just pop them out for the cleaning and pop them back in when you're done.
Mind you, they are more expensive than "normal" braces but I think that for the ease alone it is worth it!
Today I went for my consultation, paperwork and set up. Of course, since each Invisalign is made for each individual, you don't get them right away.

I had to get "molded" so my orthodontist can then send them to the company to be made just for me. They should receive my personalized set of trays back in 4 weeks. That's when I go back and really get the ball rolling.

Now, the molding experience was a deal in and of itself! They had these special molding trays that they put some nasty tasting stuff in and then stuck to my teeth for 3 minutes! Top and bottom, one at a time. The part that sucked the most was that they had to do the top twice because the first time my back teeth got cut off! So they had to force the tray farther back in my mouth the second time and I had to overextend my jaw and hold it for 3 minutes until the mold set! Very uncomfortable, I tell you! And when they pulled the molds off my teeth, it was stuck to my lips as if I had gum stuck on them and I had to peel it off. And the taste of the stuff lingered!

After that, they had to do another set of molds for their own use. Fortunately, I got to pick a flavor for that one (watermelon!) and it was one mold, my mouth closed around it to get both top and bottom at the same time. But my mouth still hurts, hours later!

But now the first hurdle is done. I should be getting a phone call in about 4 weeks from my orthodontist telling me my Invisalign is ready for me... and that's when the real fun begins!

She's Here!!

My Sweetpea is home!!







-- Posted on the run from my iPhone

14 Days - The Final Stretch

OK, so I got bad at blogging every day. But, honestly I thought it was getting too boring to tell everyone about what I did EVERY day while Sweetpea was gone.

My best friend was here until Monday so I had a nice long weekend with her and her family - keeping my mind off the fact that Sweetpea was not around.
Still talked to her every day. Yesterday she even told us she didn't want to come home because she was having so much fun! So, of course, we told her she had to come home because 1) my mom has to go back to work and 2) the hugs and kisses she gave us before she left had run out so we needed more. Her response to that? "I can mail you some more"... Sometimes she's just too smart for her own good!

It's been nice having some time for us for the past 2 weeks and being able to do what we wanted to do when we wanted to, but at the same time it just didn't seem right. Somebody was missing from our little family.

Tomorrow is Friday. That means we get a whole weekend of being a family together before getting back to "normal".

4:30 tomorrow afternoon can't come fast enough!!

14 Days - Day 9

I MISS MY LITTLE GIRL!!!!

Do you think I said that loud enough? :) I'm proud of myself for lasting as long as I have... but I am really missing Sweetpea now!

I think that's all I have to say about today...