Kristine's Metal Mouth

Message

#16 Post by **Kristine** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 8:49 am

I've become aware that I have an open bite now.

I know it's only temporary, but it's annoying.

I just got back from my appointment. I graduated from 'skater' elastics to 'basketball' (ie 1/4" from 5/16").

The only bad news I got was the threat of extraction if my upper arch doesn't expand.

That doesn't surprise me; there's crowding around the bicuspids. You can bet I'm going to continue to be 100% compliant with the elastics.

#17 Post by **Dodger(UK)** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 12:44 pm

Nice to hear of your progress Kritstine.

Incidently do you eat with your elastics in?? I've got one elastic and it's only a lightweight one, that goes from my upper right cannine to my lower 2nd molar. It's to pull the canine back a bit.

At my last adjustment I said there have been times were I took the elastic out to eat, and then forgot to put it back in again for a couple of hours - he said you can leave it in while you eat if you want, but as of yet, I always take it out, because I find it too irritable to leave it in while I eat.

#18 Post by **Kristine** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 5:44 pm

Nope - I have to remove my elastics to eat, because they go from the back of my top molars to the front of my bottom molars. I only leave them in if I'm eating something completely soft, like mashed squash, a protein drink, soup, etc.

Thanks for stopping by - good evening!

#19 Post by **lilleth** » Tue Nov 09, 2004 8:30 am

What is the sandblaster thing referred to in reference to a filling? My dentist still drills.

#20 Post by **Kristine** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 9:59 am

Hi Lilleth. It's an air drill that rapidly fires a fine dust, like a sandblaster. It's painless, so there's no novocaine needed.

Today was my third appointment. My molars really moved, so I get top braces on Dec 2.

I have to continue to wear the elastic on the right all the time, but on the left, I'll only be wearing it every other night. I hope I don't screw that up.

#21 Post by **Kristine** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 11:56 am

Got my top braces on today.

So far, so good. Minimal discomfort. I actually felt better while I was out running my errands. It's okay to baby yourself if you're in pain, but I think it's better to get out and distract yourself.

#22 Post by **Kristine** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 11:44 am

Well, it's day five and still not much discomfort. I thought my lips would be trashed by now, but they actually feel pretty good. I try to leave them alone and not talk any more than I have to. They actually feel a bit... itchy.

Flossing hurts, but brushing hasn't been bad. The teeth are a little sensitive to the vibration of the electric toothbrush, but I can handle it.

The purple is gone from my ligs already. :p They look grey.

#23 Post by **Kristine** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 2:16 pm

Blarg. I noticed my archwire was sticking out the back of my molar band, and it hadn't been previously. When I tried to tuck it back under, it slid right through the band, so it obviously wasn't attached to the band anymore. I debated calling the ortho's office, but I did. They got me in within an hour. That was impressive.

Turns out the wire had actually snapped, and had to be replaced. They put in a stronger one.

He figured it would just snap again, otherwise...

I got light purple ligs this time.

#24 Post by **Kristine** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 10:35 am

...and I 'curried' my light purple ligs a week later.

Oh well. To heck with vanity; I can't go too long without a good curry.

They're kind of a dull grey now.

Thu Dec 23, 2004 11:09 am

Life without curry would be like life without homebrew (of which I brewed up another batch last week).

Of course, I've stuck to boring silver ligs so far. The Vindaloo and Masala sauces seem to have zero impact on them.

MMG

#26 Post by **Kristine** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 5:18 pm

Ha ha - amen to that! We always have a couple of Kingfishers (good Indian beer) with our samosas, gobi bahji and chicken pasanda.

My teeth feel pretty weird. The braces have been on for three weeks, and all of the sudden, my front teeth are sore and loose. Ouch.

#27 Post by **Metal Mouth Guy** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 9:24 pm

Had curry tonite in fact. It was good. But chewing Naan is kind of tough these days. Haven't tried Samosas since the molar bands were glued. I'm going through the same sore front teeth problem at 4 weeks in. Thank goodness pizza is still workable.

Never really developed a taste for Kingfisher. But then the place I got it from wasn't necessarily known for its cooled storage. And last I checked, Kingfisher (in theory an Indian beer) was actually brewed in England, where they know even less about cold storage.

Is Big Rock Brewing still in business? They had a beer called Warthog Ale that was quite tasty.

And isn't it "Pasada"?

MMG

#28 Post by **Kristine** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 2:56 pm

Chicken Pasada, from what I gather, is a dish with asparagus. Chicken Pasanda is a taste of heaven. Coconut, almonds, cream and tomato with a hint of curry.

Yes, Big Rock is still around. I've had the Warthog; it's quite good. Ontario has so many small breweries, I don't know if I'll ever taste all of their wares.

Anyway... adjustment #1.

The Good Doc had no mercy today. Now I know why they used to be known as 'tightening.' 'Adjustment' is just a euphamism. You know the ortho means business when he comes out and says, "I've done these up nice and tight. If it's too much, come back and we'll loosen them a bit"

I got a couple of 'figure 8' configurations on my bicuspids, as well as a couple of wire ties. Tight wire ties.

On the plus side, he noticed that an upper molar was hitting the lower brace, so he filed it a bit. That made things much, much better. I no longer have only one tiny 'bite spot'.

Feeling particularly saucy today, I chose hot pink lig ties on a whim.

#29 Post by **Metal Mouth Guy** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 6:19 am

Sounds like I need to get the wife to make some Chicken Pasanda. Or even figure it out myself. Thanks for the recommendation.

And I know all about the figure 8 ligature configuration. All my brackets are tied that way now. Yep, that first adjustment was a bugger. And I've got spacers again so that they can try to get those last three bands on. Hello, Advil.

But then this is your story, so I'll shut the heck up now.

MMG

#30 Post by **Dodger(UK)** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 9:46 am

Kristine wrote:I got a couple of 'figure 8' configurations on my bicuspids, as well as a couple of wire ties. Tight wire ties.

Am I right in thinking, that they do figure 8 cofigurations to ensure that the arch wire, stays attached to the brackets??

I went for an adjustment today and I've also got a figure 8 on my lower biscupids.