12/27 - first ortho adjustment

Well, I was a bit nervous for some reason. I’ve had a million adjustments but this one just felt weird. I guess I know it’s just one more step closer to surgery. One step closer to having fixed jaws.

they talked  to me a little bit about the thin wire they took out and the new thick wire they changed it to. the thin one basically got my teeth ready to move and kick started the shifting. since it's so thin it can easily shift left or right in those fancy cage brackets. that is what was causing the wires poking me. i was able to leave it on for 6 weeks.

this new wire is a lot thicker. it should shift too much. but she did say something that was a little scary. she mentioned how this next 6 weeks with the new wire will be "exciting". she said that i will be able to see lots more movement. i am not sure if excitement is what i am feeling but i am anxious.

she did have to replace my top, left, back bracket. she had trouble putting in the new wire. there was some reason it was crimped

or something. the wire didn't want to go in the tube. so they popped it off, ground on the tooth a little to clean off old glue and applied a new and improved bracket. the wire slid right in. yea!

i looked closely at that bracket and angle of the wire. it looks like they are trying to bring that tooth down a little as well as rotate a bit. yikes.

i could instantly feel the new more aggressive tension of the new wire. man, this should be fun.

here's a close up of my new wire. you can really see those special hook things in this picture.

 

 

and for dinner...
some fabulous four cheese mashed potatoes.
ate every last bit of it.

once again courtesy of my best gals!

i was smart enough to keep it in the pantry for a special occasion.

12/18 - relief

Yep that’s right. I am a 37 year old buying wax for my braces.

The thin wire has shifted around and is now poking out of my last top bracket. So I keep getting puncture wounds. Sometimes when it gets stuck I literally have to reach in there and pull off my cheek. Joy.

I’ve decide to just muscle thru it. I have my first braces adjustment appointment in a little over a week.

But wax now is my new best friend. OK, maybe second best friend. There is wine chilling in the fridge. J

12/5 - radio lollipop test

Swell Michelle in the house!!

So, I produced Radio Lollipop for first time tonight since I got my metal grin. It was weird. Doing a lot of talking really did a number on my cheeks. They are all torn up now. Oh well, it was fun. Hopefully this tender cheek and mouth thing will go away with time. Crossing my fingers.

12/3 - snack time!!

So today I am enjoying one of my favorite things… peanut butter. I typically don’t buy it. I have a serious problem and can’t control myself around it. it’s rather sad, really. But I bought some to make my soft afternoon snacks. YAY!

 

11/24 - pepperoni!!

trying pizza again. this time i upgraded it to include turkey pepperoni. oh my, it was yummy!

 

 

11/22 - thanksgiving

family time! yay!

lots of eating, lots of desserts and lounging around. lucky for me most of thanksgiving food is pretty soft. So I really had no problem stuffing my face. It was kinda weird being around family and hearing their reactions to my new metal grin.

But double yay for my buddy “mr. pik” as he now going to be referred to. He earned his keep today.

11/21 - strides in chewing

I’m getting real brave now. I had some thin crust cheese pizza for lunch. Of course I had to cut it up into tiny pieces. it took forever to eat it and i was super sore... but soooooo worth it!

 

 

 

I then headed down to my mom’s for the thanksgiving holidays.

 

 

 

I had a pimento sandwich for dinner. This was a big step for me. bread, the nemeses of braces. I loved every little tiny bite of it. didn’t love brushing my teeth after though.

 

I know, eeeewwwww gross. But it’s true. Bread is just pure evil. Lucky for me I planned ahead. I packed my trusty water pik. :)

11/20 - I need meat

I know… that’s weird sounding coming from me. but it’s true. I have been surviving on pasta, pudding and mashed things for days. So I decided to give chicken another try. I went to a little place in the tunnels and picked up some and mac-n-cheese and a grilled chicken breast for lunch.

I DID IT!! I chewed up some meat. I had to cut it up into tiny little pieces so I use the term “chewed” loosely. More like smashed against the roof of my mouth and swallowed the mushy stuff. But that gives me hope.

I took it easy for dinner – wine and red velvet cake. My teeth were so sore from their workout at lunch. Sound like a good excuse to me. J

11/19 - teeth chomp test

I tried something a bit ambitious today for lunch. I walked over to Otto’s for some chicken fingers. That didn’t go too well. Had to waste most of it because I just couldn’t eat it, too hard. man, I’m a little scared. I love chicken tenders.

I did manage to get some food into me later this afternoon… pudding!! thanks again to my besties for supplying.

11/18 - big day out

I went to the studio for the entire day. I normally snack on stuff when I am there. But today I decided to walk over to Café Express. I was starving from barely eating lately. I managed to eat a nice big bowl of fettuccine alfredo, sans chicken. baby steps on the solid food. Haha

Well here's something that is totally awesome... said in my sarcastic tone! my inner lips are peeling off. i think having them all stretched out while getting my braces really messed them up. it's like i'm molting or something. gross.

11/17 – interesting day

I am trying to master the water pic. It’s a little hard. For some stupid reason when you press the button it stops the water from coming out. that seems so backwards to me. it should squirt out WHEN you press the button. Let’s just say the bathroom has never been cleaner. ha-ha I spent a bit of time today wiping up my mess… and towel drying my hair where I got a little crazy.

I got a lot of goodies in my "yay-you got braces"
bag from my orthodontist. this is going to be fun!

There are special hooks on quite a few of my brackets to be used later after surgery. Man, they are tearing up my cheeks. I have found several things for relief: puffing up my mouth with air, which looks ridiculous in public, orajel for the really rough spots and spraying throat spray on them. It numbs the cheeks for a bit. Really nice. I have a travel size that I plan to carry with me for the next few days.

Side note: I went to a friend’s b-day dinner. I was kind of sad. There were bread baskets on the table. I couldn’t enjoy any of it because my teeth were hurting so bad. But I did have a great bowl of lobster bisque, dessert and some nice wine.

 

11/16 - brace face

yep. it's that time. 9am appointment to get my braces. i stopped for an egg/cheese biscuit along the way. i kinda treated it as a reward/last meal before i get my new hard wear.

I felt so weird walking into the orthodontist. there were several kids in there for appointments. i felt a little old. but the staff if super friendly which helped a lot. the staff was actually dressed in mix-matched clothes. They said it's something fun they do for the kids. funny how i really got a kick out of it.



Orthodontist: Dr. Carin Domann
www.townandcountryortho.com

Braces: http://empowerbraces.com/ 

They are using some new fancy brackets on me. remember how they had those tiny little elastic bands that would go around each bracket?? Well not with Empower brackets. they are basically little cages that have hinges. they are opened and the wire is placed. Then they just snap the cage shut. super easy. the doc called them Ferrari brackets... super fast and top notch. pretty cool if you ask me. i did see a little sample wheel of all the colors that the traditional rubber bands come in for those going the traditional route. that could have been fun!

They spent over an hour taking pictures, scans and molds. I'll load the picts later when i get some more taken so we can compare. but here's a new scan they did take. i love medical images.

i also asked to keep the lower fixed retainer that they popped out. that thing has been in my mouth for around 20 years. that's crazy to me. i am sure at some point i will have collected enough things along this journey to do some art piece. yay!

Here's two scans from today:

I went back to work right around lunch time. there were a few jokes made at my expense. but i expected it. i would be cracking jokes at co-workers if the roles were reversed for sure.

I decided to eat some mashed potatoes...

and chased it with a big piece of red velvet cake. :)

I invited my gals of for a braces pity party. On the menu… mac-n-cheese, chocolate cream pie and wine. I really know how to throw a party!!

They surprised me with a ton of great things to help me with my new adventure: wine, pudding cups, two packets of instant mashed potatoes, two types of ice cream, jello mix, chocolate mousse mix and several boxes of my favorite pastas. Man, I’m a lucky gal!!

11/14 - being proactive and last pre-braces meal

so... figured since the orthodontist will be filling my mouth with all sorts of metal I should make sure it's clean. the thought of not being to really floss is a bit disturbing. but, having had braces before I know I'll be fine.

great news - dentist is able to fit me in even though it's super late notice. YAY!! time to get clean. just trying to be a little proactive, or at least a responsible adult.

Went for the cleaning. i stopped off in the bathroom before my visit. When i walked in there was my dentist washing her hands. aggh. didn't need to see that. she's about to put her fingers in my mouth. i know, she'll have gloves on and she WAS washing her hands. but now that's all i can think about. Hopefully this isn't some sort of foreshadowing or something.

I had class tonight. My dinner was courtesy of Glassell vending machine. Thought I'd get some caramel and sugar in before I start this braces-friendly diet tomorrow morning. Yea yea... just had my teeth cleaned. there goes that "responsible adult" plan. but man, that caramel was fantastic!

I did indeed fact buy a water pik yesterday - another step in trying to be proactive. i read that they are the best tool to have after getting braces. i have a feeling that this little guy is going to be my new best friend.



But then i called on my dear trusted friend and i finally went to bed knowing that i have made the best decision in the long run! 

11/13/12 - time to commit!

let me start this blog off with a quick little history. I've had braces three times on the top, once on the bottom. I had a weird top tooth that didn't like staying in place. I've always had a little under bite which didn't help the teeth stay put as well.

fast forward about 20 years. my under bite has progressively gotten worse over time. it's hard to eat, teeth that probably aren't supposed to be touching are and are slowly grinding little spots, I keep biting my lips when I eat... I could go on, but I won't. just know that I have been somewhat suffering. I have slowly gotten the courage to investigate and pursue jaw surgery.

that's where blogging comes into play. I did what any intelligent person would do- surf the Internet. haha. I kept coming across people's blogs about their journey. I found it incredibly interesting. I think reading personal accounts instead of what doctors have to say about the pain and recovery is way more helpful. sure it's nice to read the facts. but hearing straight from a patient puts it into perspective.

so I decided like many others to keep a blog about my adventure. I hope it is both informative and amusing. I am also doing this to help keep friends and loved ones up to date with progress. here at the beginning the posts will probably be a couple times a week. I'm sure it will be pretty lame notes about food and how weird it is to have braces again. when it gets closer to surgery and especially after I will try to blog everyday.

i promise to post lots of pictures of my progress. and you have officially been warned. i have no shame in posting photos of gross stuff. :)

but keep this in mind. I am not going to worry about comma placement, proper sentence structure or spelling. just keeping it real. :) like any person with an art degree would. expect lots of pictures and quick updates.

with that being said... here we go.

I got a referral from my dentist at my Spring cleaning session. below is a and x-ray that my dentist took of my teeth/jaw to carry with me to the appointments. (pretty cool how my earrings are in it!)

step one- went for a consultation with a jaw surgeon and an orthodontist back in May. got the cold hard truth that I will need to be in braces for about a year. six months prior to get my teeth ready. then surgery and about another six months fine tuning after. There will be weeks of being bound shut with heavy duty elastic bands in between. joy! 

step two- freak out about braces and breaking my face only to be held together again with metal plates and screws. See below. it will be something like this... I won't know exactly the game plan until it's go-time.

step three- put on my big girl panties and decide to take on this challenge full steam ahead.

so I called the orthodontist on a Tuesday to schedule my appointment. I intended to start this craziness in Jan 2013. well 20 minutes later the lady had talked me into coming in that Friday to get braces.

YIKES!! I got off the phone and sat there a few minutes in shock.  I just did that. oh my. here we go for real!

BRING ON MAY!! I'M READY!!