So, a couple of years ago I got a really great job with really great dental insurance and I decided to give a new dentist a chance to at least clean my teeth and give a general check up. My new dentist, Dr Han, is wonderful and he takes great interest in getting me back on track to a healthy, happy mouth. In the past 2 years, he's filled six cavities, repaired a cracked filling, installed one crown, referred me for a root canal, performed two oral cleanings, and chastised me like a child for missing the six month cleanings.
And then, earlier this year, he asked me when I would like to address my crooked teeth and fix the old crown on my front tooth that is crooked and yellowed. I figured it was time to finally face up to what I've always wanted but had not had the courage for.
19 July 2005
My first consultation with the orthodontist. I was very happy to hear that I will not need to have any teeth pulled and it should only take about 18 months to achieve my goals. I was somewhat disappointed and pained in the pocket book to hear that I would need upper and lower appliances that were not included in my dental insurance.
They took a mold of my teeth, installed 8 blue spacers around my molars and referred me to the lab for x-rays and photos.That night, while eating, one of the spacers broke, which was a relief because of the pain, but a pain because I'd have to miss more work to get it replaced.
21 July 2005
Two days later, I had the x-rays taken and everything went smoothly. I didn't think to ask for copies of the photos, but now I'm thinking it might be a good idea. I went back to the Ortho's office and had the missing spacer put back in.
The next day (a Friday) the same spacer broke again while eating.
25 July 2005
I went back in on Monday to get the missing spacer replaced again. I guess I kind of whined and complained about having to miss so much work (with office hours and commute, I was missing 1 - 1 1/2 hours for each visit). So the attendant suggested a metal spacer. Basically a thin wire that she put between my teeth, wrapped it around and then twisted the two ends together REALLY tight and then clipped the end off, yet still leaving a bit of metal sticking into my cheek. Despite the pain, I was very happy with the decision because this one was not going to break!
27 July 2005
I went into my regular dentist to have him check my teeth and sign off for the ortho that I had no periodontal issues that would preclude getting braces installed. While there, he comments that one old filling seems to have a crack in it. Although it's not really a concern, considering my pending journey, perhaps he should just replace it. No problem, right? He has me in the chair, sedated and ready to go when I hear him say, "Now, I'm going to have to take that one spacer out to get to the tooth. You can just go back to the Ortho and have them replace it."
I went back to the Ortho right after the appt figuring I was already late for work, what's another hour?
grrr....
04 Aug 2005
I had an appointment scheduled with the Ortho to have the mold taken for the upper and lower appliances that would work to expand my arch to allow room for the crooked teeth to straighten out. All 8 spacers were removed, including the one metal spacer. Metal Bands were placed on four molars and then there was a never ending process of the attendant placing a stick in my mouth, "Bite Down", "Let Go", move the stick, "Bite Down", "Let Go", move the stick, "Bite Down", "Let Go", move the stick, "Bite Down", the band slips completely out of position, the attendant removes it, looks at it, sometimes selects another band, sometimes tries again, place the stick, "Bite Down", "Let Go".... when she was finally satisfied, I was really worried, the bands did NOT feel right at all.
But she was satisfied, so she filled my mouth with that weird stuff, put the molds in and then took the bands off and placed them into the molds where they matched the tooth they had been on. Then, she replaced all 8 of the spacers.
The next morning, THREE of the 8 spacers fell out. Is this a comedy?
08 Aug 2005
I went back into the Ortho's and threw a bit of a fit. This can't be normal, can it? I cannot afford this! I'm going to get fired and then I won't be able to pay for these dang braces. The attendant showed me how to replace the spacers myself with two pieces of floss and also said if I couldn't get them replaced, don't come back until a week before my "braces on" date.
Every day after that, anywhere from 1 to 3 spacers came out. By the last four days I just gave up on the one tooth that lost the spacer every day and just left it out.
19 Aug 2005
I took the entire day off work. I was so excited. FINALLY, the journey would truly begin. I confirmed the address with my boyfriend. He was going to meet me at the Ortho's toward the end of my scheduled appointment. At the office, the installation was very easy. The attendant did the entire process with the actual Dr just coming over to move the brackets into place. I have bands on the four 2nd molars which are connected to the appliances. I have searched the website for the name of these or a picture of them and I can't find anything quite the same. I'll take pictures later and see if you all can help educate me.
The first week has been ROUGH. Mainly because the appliance in my upper palate tore my tongue to shreds. I managed to eat split-pea soup and pudding the first day. I have an awful lisp and have trouble with s's, th's and soft g's (particularly "George"). The list actually got a lot worse by the third day because my tongue was so sore I was having trouble getting it to come up front to form the sounds. It just hurt too much.
It was Thursday before I tried to chew ANYTHING. I survived on soups, beans and pastas that could be swallowed whole without chewing. The first food that I attempted to chew was watermelon cut into bite-sized pieces. It took me nearly half an hour to finish a small bowl of watermelon. To my dismay I discovered that chewing involves moving your tongue across the top of your mouth as you reposition the food for the next bite. I nearly screamed the first time, my tongue was so sore and scraping it on the metal prong in my mouth was torture.
By the one week anniversary, I managed to eat a grilled cheese sandwich without the crust, although it did take me an hour to finish it. The good news is, I've lost 5 pounds this week!! And, to my glee, almost like a switch had been flipped, the pain in my mouth went away! My tongue is mostly back to normal, although there is still a noticeable wire-shaped mark across it and I am able to close my teeth together fully, which I couldn't do before.
So, there it is... the beginning to reaching a long-awaited goal. I'll see if I can get some pictures up soon. I have clear ceramic braces, so they don't look so bad. And I'd really like to know if anyone can identify the type of palate appliances I have!
Thanks for listening,
katrina.
