Kinda looks like a zipper in my mouth...

Well, they’re on.  I have braces… Yea.

 

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went to the orthodontist.  I spent most of the 30 minutes drive interally debating whether I’d written down the wrong appointment time – maybe it was 9:20 instead of 10:20 and I’d missed the appointment…  My orthodontist’s office is cool.  Almost everyone that works there has braces or at least had them – my orthontist, Dr. Weber, just got them himself not too long ago to correct his slight overbite.  So, anyway, I get there, and yes my appointment was at 10:20, I’m not late.  After signing a bunch of documents, promising that I’ll actually pay for my treatment, the ortho’s assistant (OA) whose name I didn’t catch leads me back to a chair.  First, she pumiced my teeth.  WFT!?  I don’t even pumice my feet that often!  Hmmm…it wasn’t too bad.  When I rinsed, I realized that I was looking at my naked teeth for the last time in a LONG time.  Sigh…  Next, the OA plied my mouth open with one of those lip guard doohickeys.  I have a tiny mouth and these things never fit comfortably – this time was not the exception. (When they did the impressions, they had to use a child-size tray!)  Then the OA applied etching gel, rinsed that off, and put on the glue.  Either the etching gel or the glue smelled a lot like nail polish remover – it was probalby the gel…I can still smell it, but I think I’m imagining it.  The OA applied the brackets and then flagged down my ortho, who set them into place.  After he’s done, he decided that he doesn’t like the placement of one of them, so he takes it off and redoes it, joking that “now you can say you’ve had braces put on and unbonded all in one day!  Not many people get to experience that!”  Whoopee!  No, that didn’t really thrill me all that much, honestly.  J  Once Dr. Weber had finished his magic, the OA took over and put in the wire… because of my tiny mouth, she had a heck of a time trying to clip the wires... and one majorly rotated tooth required the help of a second OA to snap the wire into the bracket.  Observation:  two sets of hands don’t fit well in my tiny mouth!  I’m pretty sure I wasn’t alone in noticing this…  So, now that the braces were on, the OA gave me a goody bag full of floss samples and wax, a t-shirt (with the logo of the ortho’s office – I can wear it just in case someone doesn’t notice all the metal protruding from my mouth), what-not-to-eat lists, etc, and some tips she’d learned since getting her own braces in August.  I was surprised that nothing I heard today was new – I must be pretty well researched!  Ah, one of the advances to being rather obsessive about new topics.  

 

I stopped home after my appointment – my sweet husband has the day off and wanted to see me.  I think I look hideous.  He thinks I look like a high school girl – which is funny, because that’s exactly what Mrs. Shanton said when I posted about the potential of kissing problems… J  Hmmm…how wrong is it to look like you’re still in high school when your 10 year high school reunion is only months away?  J  I wonder if I’ll get carded more often now…

 

So, two hours in full braces and I’m not too irritated yet.  I can’t close my lips all the way, but technically I couldn’t before the braces either – one of my issues is that when my mouth is at rest, my top lip doesn’t cover my teeth.  This should be fixed by the upper jaw surgery, I’m hoping.  I haven’t tried to eat yet, but I smell soup in my future…

 

My next appointment, barring any unforeseen problems, is March 6.  They’ll change my wire at that time – I was promised that I should start seeing some dramatic changes right awy.  I’m pretty sure that translates into “You’ll probably hurt a lot for the next 8 weeks”.  Good thing I married a pharmacist…

 

I’ll post some photos of my new bling later.  This will definitely be an adventure!