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!
Stephanie asked for more info on Gishy Goo. While no expert, I can at least link you to their website. www.gishygoo.com J I meant to take a picture of my stash but toss the empty syringe before thinking about it. It’s basically a “flavored, thixotropic, polyvinyl siloxane silicone elastomer” that you squeeze out, roll between your fingers and gob onto your brackets. It tastes really great and feels pretty darn good. I don’t like the fact that it’s opaque and therefore highly visible when I smile or talk. At least with wax, the person you’re talking to doesn’t necessarily know what they’re seeing! J But comfort becomes far more important than style when your face is being shredded by brackets, am I right?
I have no clue where you get this stuff other than from the orthodontist. It was the first time they’d offered it to me, so maybe it’s new?
I officially ran out of the goo last night, and am wax-free at the moment. That’ll last until I need to eat or have to speak in a meeting at work. I bought more wax, but am trying to see how long I can go without. Back to the ortho tomorrow afternoon to get a verdict on the state of my teeth.
OK, I’m getting nervous about this. My mouth is still not healing from whatever infection this is – the icky cankers are still there, despite a new medication. I’m told this one takes a while to work, but it has been an entire week. I ended up going in to see the orthodontist last Monday because I was still in a lot of pain, so they switched me to a different treatment. Ooh, and gave me Gishy Goo, which I’ve never tried before, but is quite nice as an alternative to wax. Gotta love anything bubble-gum flavored. But still… this is going on 3 weeks now and I haven’t been able to floss much or wear my rubber bands…which undoubtedly means that I’m delaying my “release date”. I am scheduled at the ortho this Thursday to get the last route of torturous rubber bands and stuff put on, but I’m guessing that Weber will push it off until I’m less swollen and pained. Which means that everything gets pushed back. Ugh.
I just can’t figure out what I did to cause this. Surely it’s something I did or didn’t do…too many tomatoes? Too little of one vitamin or another? Who knows…
So, apparently I am just a freak of nature. I saw the surgeon this morning (my xrays look great!) and he confirmed that it was highly unusual for anyone to get an infection like this. That means I’m incredibly lucky right? Maybe I should also play the lottery. Ugh. That would explain why Google wasn’t finding me very much information on “infected canker sores”. Great.
However, 5 days into my course of antibiotics, my mouth does feel better, so that’s a plus. I pulled off all my wax last night, brushed and rinsed really well and carefully applied my night-time rubber bands (the first time in a week). I did not, of course, remember to put on lip balm or anything, so my lips managed to stick themselves together during the night and when I unpeeled them this morning, I bled all over the sink. Sorry, TMI. The lip balm is now ON, permanently! Hopefully this will all be even better by tomorrow night, when we go out to celebrate my birthday. Because I would like more sushi, not soup, for dinner. J
I hurt, I hurt, I hurt, I HURT! Gah, it feels like my braces have razor blades attached to them. I hope that something isn’t really really wrong. I don’t think I’ve ever had this much damage done to the inside of my mouth in a 3 day period. I even gave in and put wax on yesterday; I’ve really tried not to use the wax any more than necessary and am actually still on the first little container of wax that Dr. Weber gave me in Jan 08. I didn’t put any on today but I’m leaning in that direction. This is horrible. Did I mention that I hurt? Please feel sorry for me; my pity party is getting lonely. :P
I woke up this morning to the taste of blood; one of the brackets in the front not only rubbed my cheek raw during my sleep, it apparently ripped it open. Ow. Not the best start to the day. I’m drinking my coffee through a straw in hopes of not soaking my wound in French vanilla creamer; sucking on the straw hurts too, but I figure it feels better than eating will… L I suppose this is all a sign that the braces are still doing their magic – my cheeks should be fully callused against the old position of my teeth, so any new injury tells me that something has moved.
I have a tooth that hurts so bad – like “I have a cavity that will need a root-canal” bad. This is the part (well, OK, one of the many parts) or this ordeal that I hate the most. The horrifying feeling that something bad has happened to my teeth that will require more (expensive) treatment. Usually it turns out to just be some movement of the tooth that is causing the pain and/or sensitivity, but until the pain subsides, it’s impossible to tell. I’m sure it’s just the nighttime rubber bands pulling on this particular tooth that is the problem, but still… ouch. L I want it to stop!
I have an appointment with my surgeon next week to get X-rays and see if I’m “all good” (ie if he’s finished with me), and an orthodontist appointment two weeks later to get the final “stuff” done – I’m not sure what all they do, but it’s the last step in this process before removal, or so I was promised… J
Thanks are quiet in my braces-covered world. Or, mainly, I’ve just gotten whiny and haven’t wanted to fill a blog with complaints. I’m ready for this to be over! I know its just a few months more, but man, it’s dragging. What’d’ya do, though, right? Just wait…
Chin and lower lip are still pretty numb. Occasional tingles and I do notice when I managed to bite my lip instead of my sandwich, but otherwise, nothing.
Sigh…OK, I’m logging off before I get too Debbie Downer about this again! Hope everyone is having a great week!
Ugh, these things are never coming off, are they? I had my first trip back to the orthodontist since my surgery. Dr. Weber said I looked pretty good, then slapped some thicker rubber bands on my teeth and sent me on my way. I have one on the left that is to stay on all the time, and one on the right to wear at night. I didn’t even ask if he could estimate my “release date”. I am so ready for this to be over. It’ll be 18 months this week. I don’t want to be 30 With Braces, but the chances of getting them off within the next two months before my birthday aren’t looking so promising. Grrr…
My top lip is mostly back, but my bottom is still numb. For the most part, I’m eating pretty good, but a lot of food is upsetting my stomach – I much eat TOO well on Fridays because the last two Saturdays I’ve felt like ripping my stomach out. I missed the whole holiday on Saturday – my husband grilled 16 hamburgers and 12 brats for our family, and I didn’t get even one, I was so sick. But on the plus side, I’m still losing weight…it’s just not much fun! J
I’m changing the name of this blog to “My Adventures in WHINING About Adult Braces.” Sorry.
At my appointment on Friday with Dr. Desa, he encouraged me to ramp up the chewing and work on my range of motion, so Friday night I had pizza and Saturday I had steak. OK, it was teeny tiny pieces of steak but nonetheless. Ah, progress. Unfortunately my poor tummy wasn’t prepared for the pizza… if you’re not there yet, please proceed with caution when you add things back into your diet!
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