opera^gal's story

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#16 Post by **beth1966** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:07 am

Hi again - i forgot to mention I too am a grinder. I had what they sort of assume to be TMJD a few years back during a very stressful time in my life. The jaw discomfort has calmed down substantially but I think that is largely in part due to less stress. I do think I grind due to my bad bite though - I had a guard for a while, saw various TMJD specialists etc. But once my jaw felt better everyone said the next step is braces.

I've been quoted 18 months treatment time - max. I was told I don't need spacers before the braces, even tho I have a lot of crowding - not sure why.

I'm looking forward to following your story and hopefully taking the plunge myself. It is also a lot of $$$ to commit to, so that is a concern for me too.

Are you still able to sing with your braces on?

#17 Post by **opera^gal** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 10:57 am

Hey Beth, I did answer your private message, but to reiterate: I don't know the brand of the brackets but they were considerably smaller than the others I saw on the plastic models...especially the ceramics!
Take the plunge and get the process started. You'll be so much happier in the end!
As far as being able to sing with the traintracks, so far so good. I get the occasional lip-hangup on the canine hooks, but I'm slowly learning to be aware of which consonant/vowel combinations lead to that, and preparing with lifting my lips up and over. Looks strange but from far away across the footlights, I don't think it will be too odd.

#18 Post by **beth1966** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 11:04 am

Okay thanks! Mind me asking what your total treatment costs - as in the braces (xrays, molds, visits, retainers)

#19 Post by **opera^gal** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 11:14 am

records <moulds, all x-rays> = $350
braces = $5000
retainers <I think I overheard the price though no discussion so far> = $200 a piece

#20 Post by **opera^gal** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:38 am

This might sound totally ridiculous to some but here it is:
I am so pleased to report that I managed a french dip sandwich, chips and a cookie last night for supper...OMG!!!...I could actually chew like a normal human being...on both sides at once...first time since the hell-spawned spacers where shoved in back in Jan! Granted, the beef was soaked and soft, as was the bread, and the cookies were soft-baked...but hey..jalapeno chips were hard like shards of glass and I did it....WhooWhoo Yay Me!!!
<sidebar: yes, some tenderness in the molars later in the evening but dagnabit...it was worth every single throb!!!>

#21 Post by **brika** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 12:26 pm

Hahaha, that is too funny! It's definitely great once you get the use of your teeth back.

Enjoy it while you can!

#22 Post by **opera^gal** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 8:47 pm

A flossing we will go....a flossing we will go...high ho the derry ohWTHeck?
At some point between yesterdays floss-fest and todays...I have sported gaps between teeth that never have been apart before...holy moly!! Granted, they are 'floss-sized' at the moment, but feel gargantuan in my mouth of course. Pulling my lips open wide, I'm trying to show my fella 'hey look at all the gaps..look here, and here, and over here..' and he looks at me like I've grown a second head. So, I take a sip of water and shoot it out of one of the new gaps at him...HA! So there, Mr. Non-Plussed..take that!!!

#23 Post by **catfish** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 8:52 pm

I LOVE your sense of humor!! Your journey is going to be a really fun one to follow!

#24 Post by **opera^gal** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 6:38 pm

"ODE TO A BURRITO"
flour tortilla, so white and unassuming..
wrapped softly around steaming shredded beef, black beans, cheese and sour cream..
spirals of intoxicating scent wafting upwards to tease the senses, betraying the inevitable singe to the roof of the mouth..
each bite brings more wedging of particles into each gap between already sore teeth..
bite by bite, slowly, methodically, chewing with deliberate motions to keep flesh from entering the 'metal zone'..
the first swallow as delightful as the final, followed by tongue probbing each nook and cranny for any morsels left jammed between brackets..
Burrito: I thank you for your nourishment, your pleasure, and your pain..
Adios!

#25 Post by **Tommm** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 6:45 pm

Hahaha! I love your "Ode to a Burrito". I would follow up with "Pining for Nachos" if I was even slightly poetic but...

#26 Post by **opera^gal** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:06 pm

Thanks Tommm...after still finding remains of said burrito after proxy-brushing/Sonicare brushing/flossing....the Ode had to be done!
As far as the nachos are concerned, I am pining with a very serious....SERIOUS craving for a really crunchy, molten grilled-cheese sandwich on crusty bread. Normally, I would endulge and damn the torpedos but.. I fear losing the entire epidermal layer of my hard palate due to cheesy-goodness eaten while still smoldering..not to mention the shredding of what skin is left over by the bread shards.

#27 Post by **Tommm** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:12 pm

I just had a tunamelt for dinner (although not exactly "molten" as you described). Just had to use a knife and fork but it was so damn good with fries and all.

#28 Post by **opera^gal** » Sat Mar 14, 2009 7:09 pm

I thought I was done being 'surprised' by the party going on in my mouth...but nooooooooo! I was playing the flossing game once again as I have done every night, and I was gentle around one band that has been a little tender since day one (I'd carefully floss from the back , or the normal way, but pulling the floss to the tooth-edge tightly, as the gum between the teeth was tender, yet not swollen at all)...when low and behold...a hunk of bonding material-shrapnel shaped like a minature sharks-tooth danced out from under the gumline..OMG!!!..This thing was needle-sharp on one end and the other 2 edges were just thicker, and still as sharp..perfectly shaped like the gumline between two teeth. No wonder that spot was tender (since Groundhog Day!!!)...all of the new gaps between teeth lately must have allowed enough room to dislodge the offending bit of crud, that I had been flossing around/through/side-by-side for over a month. I tell you folks, it's the little things that can make your day during this process called adult orthodontics!!!

#29 Post by **changes09** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:04 am

I love reading your story! It's so entertaining! BTW, how is your bite? Has it changed at all? And yup, as you go through your braces journey you'll get new gaps, then they will close, then they will open , and close then you'll get more new gaps....and the cycle goes on.
I've had the same upper and lower arch wires for two months now. I hope that they change mine this month. But enjoy those burritos while they last....because with every adjustment comes new pain.

#30 Post by **opera^gal** » Sun Mar 15, 2009 1:36 pm

Thanks for the reply changes09.
As far as my bite goes, I haven't noticed much change yet. I'm hoping as I get through this wire and into the next adjustment, I'll see more. My doc said it would take approx. 4 months to get me into the strongest wire, so I'm guessing I'll continue to get new top wires at least, each month for a while. Will see at adjustment #2 coming up 4/6.