After almost 2 months of “perfect attendance”, I forgot my retainer this morning. Hopefully I survive until the end of the day. I’m too far from home to go back, but I feel “naked” without it. I am one of those odd people that really likes their retainer – I feel more secure with it!
Other than that, all is well. Loving the braces-free life!
The bottom braces are OFF! Naturally, I forgot to pretreat with ibuprofen, so it HURT when the gal snapped off those last few brackets, but I’m not complaining (too much). She cleaned the teeth off really well, then glued on a wire to the back of my bottom teeth. I’m aware that this is in leui of a removable bottom retainer, but I’m not sure if it’s permanent. Probably. She also fitted my upper retainer. Wow, this thing is so much more comfy than the one I had in college, the first time my mom tried to convince me to brace up. It’s not bothering me at all, other than the taste/smell. Ever drank nail polish remover? That’s what this reminds me of… well, what I imagine drinking it would be like… I’ve never tried it either. J I brushed it really well when I stopped at home, but it still smells. Hopefully that’s just the “new retainer smell” and will fade.
My orthodontist’s office recently bought a Flip camcorder and has been shooting little “thank-you” video clips for the newly-debraced to send home. Children send them to their parents, but they sent mine to my hubbie. I look ridiculous, but I’m sure he thought it was cute. Basically you just grin into the camera and say “thank for putting up with all my whining!” He’s buying me sushi tonight, and I’m so looking forward to not having it stuck all over my teeth!
I go back in 10 weeks to see if my retainer is doing its job and to get final photos taken. I’m post some before that, but I didn’t have time this morning…today I’m going to pop out this retainer and indulge in some long-missed junk food. Crunch ‘N Munch, Cheez-its (could have eaten those, but hated cleaning all the gunk off), Jolly Ranchers, and Sour Patch Kids! A couple days of this and then back to the diet… I did bring a nice juicy red pear for a snack as well – something healthy to bite into!
As I was typing this, my dentist’s office called. They have an opening tomorrow and can move my cleaning up from next week. 5 minutes later, they called back to confirm. Apparently, the second receptionist didn’t realize that the first one had just called. At least they’re thorough… J
Top braces are off! And most of the bottom, too, actually. All of my brackets are gone except for the bottom front 6. Dr. Weber and crew then sand-blasted all the glue off (well, that’s what it felt like!) and even lightly sanded the bottom of my two front teeth to smooth out the ridges that have always been there. I go back next Wednesday to get my retainers and have them yank off these last 6 brackets.
For those of you close to the end – it didn’t hurt like I was worried that it would. There was a little big of a twinge on the front teeth when they pull them off, but it’s not that bad. If you are worried like me, pre-treat with ibuprofen. I didn’t do that today and didn’t have any ill effects. I might next week though, because I was told the bottom front ones are more sensitive. They left those brackets on for an extra week because those teeth have the shortest roots and are most prone to shifting. Best to wait until I have the retainers ready.
Before I left, Dr. Weber’s team presented me with a gift bag of all the foods I was supposed to avoid while in braces. J Popcorn, sunflower seeds, peanuts, tootsie rolls, bubble gum, suckers, and taffy. Nice! What I really want is an apple and a Snickers. J
I have these remaining brackets completely encased in wax – the now-exposed remaining wire is really digging into my lip. I see no reason to tough it out – it’ll be “wax on” for the rest of the week.
I tell ya, though – this is the most awesome and weird feeling ever – and I love it!
Blogging from the orthodontist chair - my new phone rocks. Upper debanding next Tuesday!
Meh. 5 more weeks. Well, 3 weeks to check on my progress – Dr. Weber wants to see two teeth on the right side move a little closer together. Then another week until they take off the top brackets. Then yet another week until they have my retainers ready, at which time they will take off my bottom brackets, and I’m done.
I had sort of hoped to have these things off before our big Halloween show, but oh well. Better to get them as good as possible than to rush for vanity’s sake (yeah, still trying to convince myself of that!).
The receptionist asked me if there was any particular food that I was craving. I thought that was odd – I suppose she meant hard or chewy candy or something, especially since it’s October and so close to Halloween and all the sticky food that goes along with this creepy holiday… I told her hot wings – I haven’t been able to eat them well, without pulling the meat off the bones. But then again, at the point, I hadn’t have breakfast yet, so anything sounded great!
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