And in a week you won't remember what it felt like to have braces, BUT, you'll have a great smile to show for it!
YeeeeHa!
Mike
Fluffy's Story: IPR BETWEEN FRONT TEETH! (Pix pg8)
Moderator: bbsadmin
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fluffybottom
- Posts: 385
- Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:28 pm
- Location: Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
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fluffybottom
- Posts: 385
- Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:28 pm
- Location: Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
-
fluffybottom
- Posts: 385
- Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:28 pm
- Location: Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
Well, my after braces plans involve drugs and dental work!
10:20 - Ortho's office for debanding
12:30 - Take Halcion and get loopy
2:00 - Doctor's office for:
...............upper left lateral incisor extraction
...............upper left canine (yup, the one that made it down) drilled down and capped
...............gums shaped and temporary bridge placed
...............Hawley retainer placed
3:30 - Back at the ortho's to have another impression of my top arch taken so I can get Essix retainers too.
As you can see, it's ALL PARTY ALL THE TIME with me!
10:20 - Ortho's office for debanding
12:30 - Take Halcion and get loopy
2:00 - Doctor's office for:
...............upper left lateral incisor extraction
...............upper left canine (yup, the one that made it down) drilled down and capped
...............gums shaped and temporary bridge placed
...............Hawley retainer placed
3:30 - Back at the ortho's to have another impression of my top arch taken so I can get Essix retainers too.
As you can see, it's ALL PARTY ALL THE TIME with me!
I had my braces on for 2 years, 1 month, 2 weeks and 2 days.
-
fluffybottom
- Posts: 385
- Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:28 pm
- Location: Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
Ding Dong the wishing hour is here!
Have no fear!
It will be painless and you'll be free
Smiling, laughing with great teeth
for all to see!
Mike[/i]
Have no fear!
It will be painless and you'll be free
Smiling, laughing with great teeth
for all to see!
Mike[/i]
I wore braces (this time) for 1294 days or 3 years, 6 months and 17 days.
But who's counting?
Jaw Surgery June 1, 2009
Thanks for praying for me and thinking happy thoughts.
But who's counting?
Jaw Surgery June 1, 2009
Thanks for praying for me and thinking happy thoughts.
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fluffybottom
- Posts: 385
- Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:28 pm
- Location: Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
Oh my goodness, you guys! I was pretty much too excited to sleep.
I went to bed around 11:30 and I was really tired so I thought I'd have no trouble sleeping. I woke up at 2:22, 3-something, 4-something and then again at 5. I told myself that I had to stay in bed until at least 6a but I couldn't stand it so I got up at 5:30a.
By the way? I am in no way a morning person.
YAY! TODAY IS THE DAY!!
I went to bed around 11:30 and I was really tired so I thought I'd have no trouble sleeping. I woke up at 2:22, 3-something, 4-something and then again at 5. I told myself that I had to stay in bed until at least 6a but I couldn't stand it so I got up at 5:30a.
By the way? I am in no way a morning person.
YAY! TODAY IS THE DAY!!
I had my braces on for 2 years, 1 month, 2 weeks and 2 days.
-
fluffybottom
- Posts: 385
- Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:28 pm
- Location: Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
-
fluffybottom
- Posts: 385
- Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2008 5:28 pm
- Location: Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
So yesterday was the day!
As I mentioned before, I was too excited to sleep so I was up really early, trying to kill time before my 10:20a appointment. I called my mom. I ate some breakfast. I watched some tv. I walked around. I tidied up. My boyfriend eventually woke up and was kind of like 'wtf? Why are you awake, freakazoid?' Around 8a, I sort of felt tired so I tried to nap for an hour. No go! I just laid in bed with my eyes closed, mentally thinking 'bracesbracesbracesbracesbracesbraces!!'
Got up again. Showered. Hair. Makeup. Tried to make the dark circles under my eyes go away (again: no go).
And then it was off to the ortho!
I signed in and tried not to smile like a fool while I waited for my turn. 'Play it cool, Nina', I told myself but just as with sleep and hiding dark circles, I was woefully unsuccessful. My favorite tech called me back and I am pretty sure that I skipped and flew and that songbirds and flowers and sparkles were left in my wake.
First, she took off the wires and power chains. Then she pulled my mouth shut with some zig zag elastics and said that the ortho would be over to check me. Wait wait wait wait try to be interested in 'It's Me Or The Dog' playing on the tv wait wait wait when is she going to come over here wait wait wait what if she changes her mind about taking them off today wait wait fret wait ..
OH HAI!
The ortho looked me over and gave the tech the thumbs up to continue. Snapping off the brackets was no problem -- a little pressure sometimes but it didn't hurt. Filing off the glue? That's a different story. It didn't hurt the entire time but a few of my teeth were YOWZA SENSITIVE so she had to manually scrap those. The drilling sound also freaked me out a little since I am still a little dental phobic (but no where near as phobic as I was when I started this journey).
The entire time she was getting the glue off, Gabby was telling me how great my teeth looked. To be honest, I thought she was just saying that because I imagined she said that to everyone when they get their braces off. Months ago, I realized that my teeth would not come out 'prefect'. I was completely okay with that too! Considering what I started out with, anything would be an improvement.
When she was done, she told me to go rinse out and that she was going to film me on a flip cam so she could record my reaction (there's a big mirror there). Let me tell you, it was startling! My boss (who also had braces at the same time I did and had gotten them off earlier) described it really well:
'It's not like getting a cast off where you are seeing something restored to how it has always been. You are seeing something completely new, something that has never been 'you' before.'
My teeth were sooooooooo much better (and so much whiter!) than I expected them to be. It was weird! It was like .. someone had photoshopped someone else's mouth onto my face. My teeth felt so big and so slimy and so .. WEIRD. I had completely forgotten what it felt like to NOT have braces.
After rinsing, I went back to the chair and they placed the lower bonded retainer. Then they took an impression of the lower arch for my Essix. Then they gave me my upper Hawley. And then they sent me on my way, smiling like an imbecile! Heh.
Here's the starting point:
(I actually had a deep bite; I was pushing my jaw forward in this pic so people could see the lower crowding)
..and this is what I ended up with (for a few hours anyway):
What? For a few hours? What do you mean?!
Well. There was still the issue of my upper left lateral incisor extraction. For those who don't want to go back through my thread to find out what I am talking about, a quick recap:
When I started, my upper left canine was impacted way up in the roof of my mouth. Although they didn't think it would come down, I had the baby tooth removed, the tooth exposed and after about a year, it made it down. Because of the impaction, the incisor next to it had been pushed over all my life and we discovered that the spot it was supposed to move into? It had no bone. Nothing to anchor the root and keep the tooth in place. Because of the severity, it wasn't a good candidate for an implant so we decided that once I was done with braces, I would get it extracted, the canine would be filed down and a bridge would be placed.
So. The braces were off.
I went home and smiled ridiculously at my boyfriend for a while, uploaded a picture to Facebook, called my mom and then took some Halcion in anticipation to my extraction appointment. First I took one pill. Nothing. Then I took another half pill. Nothing. Then my boyfriend drove me to the dentist and he had me take the other half pill before we got started.
You know, I didn't think it did much but looking at the picture I took midway through the procedure? BOY OH BOY, do I look dopey!
Anyway, he extracted the tooth, filed down the canine, placed the temporary bridge and then adjusted my Hawley retainer before sending me on my way (oh, and he took impressions for whitening trays that I will pick up in two weeks when I go back for my check up). Because of all the Novacaine, my entire left side was droopy so I looked like I had had a stroke -- so I don't have pictures yet of my smile with the temporary bridge. But it looks good too! After the extraction, I went back to the ortho so they could take an impression of my upper arch with the temporary bridge so I can have an Essix retainer made. After that, it was crab cakes, raspberry cake and sleeping for the rest of the afternoon for me.
I'm still a little swollen and a little sore. It's funny trying to talk in the Hawley but I am getting used to it. I go back to the ortho today to pick up my Essix retainers, take my celebratory picture with my orthodontist, and get the low down on which retainers I wear when and for how long.
PHEW! That was a lot of typing.
POSTSCRIPT
Here's a picture of the braces right after they came off!
LOOK AT THE CARNAGE!!
As I mentioned before, I was too excited to sleep so I was up really early, trying to kill time before my 10:20a appointment. I called my mom. I ate some breakfast. I watched some tv. I walked around. I tidied up. My boyfriend eventually woke up and was kind of like 'wtf? Why are you awake, freakazoid?' Around 8a, I sort of felt tired so I tried to nap for an hour. No go! I just laid in bed with my eyes closed, mentally thinking 'bracesbracesbracesbracesbracesbraces!!'
Got up again. Showered. Hair. Makeup. Tried to make the dark circles under my eyes go away (again: no go).
And then it was off to the ortho!
I signed in and tried not to smile like a fool while I waited for my turn. 'Play it cool, Nina', I told myself but just as with sleep and hiding dark circles, I was woefully unsuccessful. My favorite tech called me back and I am pretty sure that I skipped and flew and that songbirds and flowers and sparkles were left in my wake.
First, she took off the wires and power chains. Then she pulled my mouth shut with some zig zag elastics and said that the ortho would be over to check me. Wait wait wait wait try to be interested in 'It's Me Or The Dog' playing on the tv wait wait wait when is she going to come over here wait wait wait what if she changes her mind about taking them off today wait wait fret wait ..
OH HAI!
The ortho looked me over and gave the tech the thumbs up to continue. Snapping off the brackets was no problem -- a little pressure sometimes but it didn't hurt. Filing off the glue? That's a different story. It didn't hurt the entire time but a few of my teeth were YOWZA SENSITIVE so she had to manually scrap those. The drilling sound also freaked me out a little since I am still a little dental phobic (but no where near as phobic as I was when I started this journey).
The entire time she was getting the glue off, Gabby was telling me how great my teeth looked. To be honest, I thought she was just saying that because I imagined she said that to everyone when they get their braces off. Months ago, I realized that my teeth would not come out 'prefect'. I was completely okay with that too! Considering what I started out with, anything would be an improvement.
When she was done, she told me to go rinse out and that she was going to film me on a flip cam so she could record my reaction (there's a big mirror there). Let me tell you, it was startling! My boss (who also had braces at the same time I did and had gotten them off earlier) described it really well:
'It's not like getting a cast off where you are seeing something restored to how it has always been. You are seeing something completely new, something that has never been 'you' before.'
My teeth were sooooooooo much better (and so much whiter!) than I expected them to be. It was weird! It was like .. someone had photoshopped someone else's mouth onto my face. My teeth felt so big and so slimy and so .. WEIRD. I had completely forgotten what it felt like to NOT have braces.
After rinsing, I went back to the chair and they placed the lower bonded retainer. Then they took an impression of the lower arch for my Essix. Then they gave me my upper Hawley. And then they sent me on my way, smiling like an imbecile! Heh.
Here's the starting point:
(I actually had a deep bite; I was pushing my jaw forward in this pic so people could see the lower crowding)
..and this is what I ended up with (for a few hours anyway):
What? For a few hours? What do you mean?!
Well. There was still the issue of my upper left lateral incisor extraction. For those who don't want to go back through my thread to find out what I am talking about, a quick recap:
When I started, my upper left canine was impacted way up in the roof of my mouth. Although they didn't think it would come down, I had the baby tooth removed, the tooth exposed and after about a year, it made it down. Because of the impaction, the incisor next to it had been pushed over all my life and we discovered that the spot it was supposed to move into? It had no bone. Nothing to anchor the root and keep the tooth in place. Because of the severity, it wasn't a good candidate for an implant so we decided that once I was done with braces, I would get it extracted, the canine would be filed down and a bridge would be placed.
So. The braces were off.
I went home and smiled ridiculously at my boyfriend for a while, uploaded a picture to Facebook, called my mom and then took some Halcion in anticipation to my extraction appointment. First I took one pill. Nothing. Then I took another half pill. Nothing. Then my boyfriend drove me to the dentist and he had me take the other half pill before we got started.
You know, I didn't think it did much but looking at the picture I took midway through the procedure? BOY OH BOY, do I look dopey!
Anyway, he extracted the tooth, filed down the canine, placed the temporary bridge and then adjusted my Hawley retainer before sending me on my way (oh, and he took impressions for whitening trays that I will pick up in two weeks when I go back for my check up). Because of all the Novacaine, my entire left side was droopy so I looked like I had had a stroke -- so I don't have pictures yet of my smile with the temporary bridge. But it looks good too! After the extraction, I went back to the ortho so they could take an impression of my upper arch with the temporary bridge so I can have an Essix retainer made. After that, it was crab cakes, raspberry cake and sleeping for the rest of the afternoon for me.
I'm still a little swollen and a little sore. It's funny trying to talk in the Hawley but I am getting used to it. I go back to the ortho today to pick up my Essix retainers, take my celebratory picture with my orthodontist, and get the low down on which retainers I wear when and for how long.
PHEW! That was a lot of typing.
POSTSCRIPT
Here's a picture of the braces right after they came off!
LOOK AT THE CARNAGE!!
I had my braces on for 2 years, 1 month, 2 weeks and 2 days.