Thursday, June 24, 2010

My extreme, extreme apologies and a new blog to follow

Hello!

First, I'd just like to say how very, very, VERY sorry I am that this hasn't been updated for an eternity. When I first came up with the idea to do a braces blog, I initially planned to stay on top of it, updating it weekly and after every adjustment appointment. I'd planned to post pictures so that I could see for myself how much progress I'd made with my teeth.

Unfortunately, that all fell by the wayside. It definitely wasn't intentional by any means. I knew that once classes started up again and once life took over that updating this was going to be next to impossible, since I'm a full time student and also work as an editor for my campus newspaper. Add that in with the fact that my braces treatment has been very status quo with no major events to write about, like it'd been with my experience with Invisalign, where there was gum removal and care and refinements to deal with and write about often in a notebook.

I just got my braces off this past Tuesday (yay!), June 22nd, exactly one day shy of a year since I had them put on. My teeth look amazing and because of this, I've gotten inspired to write another blog on here about my life post-braces, dealing with getting retainers and things like that. Unlike this blog, where I intended to update it weekly, this one is going to be much more relaxed in terms of updating and this way I don't have to feel like this blog became a failure or something haha, because I'd only write in it if something came up. I'm going to create it in a bit so keep an eye out for it.

To all who have followed me or have lurked in this blog for the past year, my immense apologies for the lack of updating once again and thanks for stopping by and visiting! :) ♥

- Now Former Braces Girl haha.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Braces: Week 7: August 12, 2009

I'm now going on week 7 with my braces and everything is going pretty well. The gap on my trouble tooth is closing immensely as well as the two teeth on the other side of it. The bite is also improving; my front teeth barely overlap my bottom teeth anymore, which is awesome! =]

The wire that I'd complained about in my last entry has gotten much, much, much better =]. My sore and cuts have healed over and I have not worn even one piece of wax since Monday because my mouth has not had any problems; I guess it just toughened up on its own which is good because now I don't have to worry about going back to Dino's until my next appointment on September 2nd. One new thing I have learned: when they change a wire there is a 100% chance that regardless of what wires have been in your mouth before, it will cut your mouth up anyway lol. Still hanging in there with my rubber band stash; I have enough to make it through the rest of this week, and possibly next week and the week after as well but Mom did say that she'd be able to go pick up an extra package for me or call them up and ask if they'd be so kind to mail a package so I'm not too worried; it's just the paranoia side of me.

Speaking of paranoia, the bumper sleeve that Dino put on my bottom wire is not very sturdy; a piece of it came off either due to something I ate or brushing my teeth a few days ago. Idk if that's worth an emergency appointment; I'm leaning towards no because it's not like a wire or anything, just a piece of freaking blue string so I'm going to just leave it alone for now, especially since the majority of the sleeve is still intact =].

I'll write back next week guys! ♥

Friday, August 7, 2009

Braces: Week 6 and 2nd appointment, August 7th 2009

Hey guys! =] My apologies for not blogging after my appointment like I said I would. Things were really busy this week with mine and my dad's birthday (his is the third of August and mine is the fourth) and yesterday my internet was down all day until last night when Mom came home from work (at 6:00!) and we unplugged and replugged the modem in to get it to work (idk if this happens with everyone else's modems but w/e lol). If that hadn't had happened then I would've updated yesterday but it did and now I must sit here and blog to you all on a Friday afternoon. I was afraid that I was actually going to forget to do this this week and was thinking that this was the first step of abandoning this thing but I remembered =].

So I've now been in braces for six weeks and while for most braces wearers this also means the first adjustment day, for me, this is my second adjustment. The appointment on Wednesday was actually quite shaky but not because of the obvious; the appointment part actually went well. Dino and Brittany changed the ligs like usual (btw, I don't know what kind of drugs people take before going in for adjustments and saying that it doesn't hurt but I take two Advil before going and putting the ligs on still hurts like hell); I stuck with baby blue again because I really like how they don't look so obvious right away to people unless they look way up close. They also did two shocker things that I hadn't expected because I hadn't been told this directly; first thing they did was put a tiny spring on the my canine tooth on the top teeth on the right (your left) side; the one that always looked like a fang to me haha. It's small and you can't really see it; to me it looks more like a rubber band hook. When I asked why I needed to have this, Dino said it was going to help rotate that tooth more or something, idk. But it appears to be doing it's job because that tooth is looking awesome!

Another shocker thing they did (which wasn't horrible at all) was put something called a "bumper sleeve" on my bottom wire, specifically at the end of both sides of the wire where it connects to the molar band (it's on both sides, on my two teeth that just have wire on them, no brackets). It's light blue to match my ligs and it isn't near the torture device that I thought it was going to be when I heard Dino and Brittany talk about it at my last appointment (I thought it was their word for a power chain hahahaha). The way Dino explained it to me was that it was used to keep those teeth from moving too close together as the rubber bands changed my bite around.

The last thing they did was trim off the end of the wire that was poking me and they also changed my lower wire from a size 38 to a 28. I don't know what the numbers and all that mean so I'm not going to say anything else on it.

Now onto the "shaky" parts of my appointment. As you all know, I go every three weeks for adjustments (for now, idk if it'll change to six weeks later on). When I went to the front desk to make my appointment, they had a spot available for me on the 26th at 3:00. My aunt, who was sitting in the chair and waiting for me (she is my ride to these kind of things since my mom works during the day and I'm currently relearning drving so that I can get my license soon) said very loudly, "NO! I can't do that! I'm not going to be able to make that from work!"

Before I continue, you should know the backstory of my aunt. She's the kind of person that, when in the mood, will tend to intentionally cause drama in everyone's life. Not only did we make my last 3:00 appointment with time to spare (btw she works as an RN at a nursing home until 2:00), but back when I was in high school and we got out at 3:00, she would be there at 2:30 in the afternoon, sometimes with her clothes changed, in the car reading a book!! So why did she have to nearly flip out like that and humiliate me?? =[

I asked the front desk lady nicely if I could please have a 3:30 appointment (much like this current one) but she said she didn't have anything then. So now my next appointment is for September 2nd, on my third day of classes, at 3:30. I made the appointment but I'm not happy about it because I have to leave my last class of the day early (I knew I'd have to do this anyway once school started because Dino's office is only open Monday-Wednesday, which sucks because those are the three days that I have class). My aunt was another one that wasn't happy; the entire way home she was bitching and moaning about how she was going to have to come from work (at 2:00) to get me at PUC (approx. 2:30, maybe a little bit more than that) and then go back to Dino's office (We'd probably get there at three). Maybe I'm just too used to my mom taking me everywhere and juggling things so that everything gets done on time, but I think we could make it with time to spare, still can. It's just that my aunt likes to spread out her time too much and feels she needs to be everywhere an hour in advance. Despite me saying that to her and despite me saying that I could always cancel the appointment, she got mad about it anyway. By the time we were out of the parking lot and heading home, she was already happily talking about other things but this really bugged me. I hate that she makes me feel like this, like it's such a hassle to take me around when my mom and I would take her kids to various ortho/dentist appointments without a complaint. She knows that I'm currently practicing driving and will get my license probably by the end of the year but until then I have to rely on her for rides. Why she can't just take me willingly, I will never understand.

I actually came home in tears. I'd been so upset that I'd forgotten to grab a new bag of rubber bands on my way out (thank God I still have a lot left, this was just for backup and my mom says she can pick up more for me if we need any =]). Also, my new wire is irritating my cheek and lips. Dino bent the wires at the end on both sides to keep it from digging into my cheeks and it's working on the right side but not the left. The wire is clicking anytime I open my mouth (though it hasn't done it much today) and already I'm getting a sore. I've been keeping wax on it and rinsing my mouth out with warm salt water and it's helping immensely as well as Anbesol, but I'm not sure if I want to go back to get it cut off because the wire is small and bent (remember, he did that) and hard to cut anyway. Plus, after what went down with my aunt at this last appointment and because I'm tired of always going back, I'm contemplating waiting until my next appointment to get it fixed. The braces wires have clicked before when I first got my braces, so I'm hoping once my mouth adjusts that that will get better, making the cuts all better (which they are now thanks to the salt water and wax) and the sore better. But I have until Monday to make a decision so we'll see. Maybe my opinion will change then haha.

Wow I've written a lot lol. Until next week! ♥


PS, I finally got a camera for my birthday! =] It's really awesome actually; it's purple and it's both a movie camera and snapshot camera. Once I get a memory stick for it (this weekend) I'll be able to use it so once I do there may be some teeth pics coming this way! ♥

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Impromptu Post: Another Pokey Wire =[

Just got back from the bathroom after putting Anbesol on a sore in my mouth. I originally thought upon discovering it today that it was an irritation from something I ate (I ate at Red Robin today) but after looking in the mirror, I found out that I got yet another pokey wire on the left (your right) side of my mouth on my top teeth way in the back (so basically the side opposite to where I'd gotten my last sore/pokey wire). I'm not sure how it even got there; probably from the teeth shifting since I've been told through the Metal Mouth Forum at archwired.com that as the teeth shift (and the way that the teeth shift) the wire can shift as well, sometimes to outside of the molar band, causing cheek sores, which is my predicament right now it seems. My bite has been changing and my teeth have been moving back a little, which is probably what caused it.

Whatever the reason though, I'm back to doing the "wax by day, Anbesol/Advil by night" routine until my next appointment on Wednesday, which isn't far from now thank God =]. I just hope that my sore won't get worse before then. The pokey wire is much smaller than the wire that was giving me problems the first time but it's still a pain in the ass, especially since I thought that what I went through would only happen once.

Anyway I'm heading to bed now so I'll write back after my appointment on Wednesday. I know I'm getting a wire change on the bottom but idk about the top so Dino may just trim off the extra wire and not change the top one at all but we'll see. He never gives out a lot of info lol.

Till Wednesday guys! ♥

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Braces: Week 5: July 28th, 2009

Finally hit the five-week mark with my braces and things are still improving greatly. This week more than any other week I have noticed changes in my bite. My "overbite" is beginning to look more like a "normal" bite. When I smile now, my front teeth evenly meet with my bottom teeth (and I can feel it too, which is kind of weird lol) and my grin itself is also much wider than it was pre-braces. My grin used to be small and awkward looking but now my smile is much bigger and looks much more natural, which makes it all the more fun to smile for pictures =].

As for the rest of my teeth, they are moving as well. I'm especially impressed with my trouble tooth; the gap is beginning to close and the tooth is beginning to look like a normal tooth. The other two teeth on the other side are also looking normal too; unless you get really close, you can't even tell that those teeth were even "gappy" at one point. I'm just so thrilled with the progress that has been made and what is yet to come. Next week it's going to be six weeks! I can hardly believe it :O!

Next week, because my next adjustment is set for Wednesday (remember, I did it this way so that I wouldn't have to go on Tuesday, my birthday?), I won't be blogging on Tuesday and will just be waiting until Wednesday to write up my next update. Things will get back to normal the following week, with an entry on that Tuesday =].

Until next week, bye! ♥

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Braces: Week 4 (one month!!): July 21st, 2009

So it's my 4th week with braces and, even more exciting, today is my one month mark! Bloggers, I've now made it through a whole month with braces! This is soooo exciting =]. Also, my teeth have shown remarkable movement (which I'd like to show you all through pictures but I still don't have the technology to do so =[), especially on my top teeth. The gap below my trouble tooth is slowly but surely beginning to close and my other two teeth on the other side of my front teeth are almost completely closed; the gap there is almost nonexistent when I look in a mirror from far away. Speaking of far away, I'm really liking the baby blue ligs on my teeth that I wrote you all about last week. The brightness to them that I blogged about has finally died down and now when I look at myself from far away, you kind of have to do a double take and wonder if I actually have braces on or not (at least until I get closer to the mirror lol), which is great because this means other people won't notice them from far away either. I think I'm going to stick with this color until the end of my treatment; school starts a little over a month away and I don't want to head into my first class with dark colored ligs. If anyone who's reading this has experience with braces colors and have any suggestions on what other lighter colors are available and what I should use next, comment and give me your suggestions! =] ♥ If not, I'm just going to stick with the baby blue =].

Until next week bloggers! Oh, and totally defying what I said in my first entry, I'm debating, yes I said it, debating on making a second blog on here that's kind of a fun blog that will keep you all up-to-date on my life, minus braces. But I'm not totally/completely sure if I'm going to yet, I already have a journal going on my LiveJournal and am attempting to get another one started on the beta journaling site Dreamwidth. So blogging here as well is a maybe and it might not turn into anything at all, but we'll see ;].

Have a good week all! =]

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Braces: Week 3 and First Appointment, July 14th 2009

Today marks my third week in braces and what makes this third week even more "exciting" was that I went in for my first ortho appointment since having braces. Yeah, I know, three weeks in and I'm already having adjustments done (I guess that's the politically correct term for tightening lol). Most people have them done every six weeks but Dino tells me that going every three weeks or so will help the process to get done faster and he gets no argument from me on that one because I want this whole thing done as much as he does so if I have to go every three weeks for the rest of the summer then so be it =].

Now, onto the appointment. The beginning was quite hairy because I really didn't know what we would be doing. He'd kind of explained it to me after I got my braces put on but by that time I'd been so out of it and the only thing I cared about was getting the hell out of the office lol. So when today came I was so freaked out by what would happen. Combine that with my aunt, who was in a bitchy mood the entire day as it was and was irritated as she was sitting with me because my appointment card said 3:00 and they didn't call me back until 3:15-3:20 and I was a wreck. I couldn't even enjoy myself when I saw Dana, one of the hygenists behind the front desk trying to get rid of her hiccups (I've always had this odd hiccup fetish lol) =[.

Thankfully, the appointment was not so hairy. Dino was actually overjoyed by how much progress was made with my teeth and liked the way that they were moving and looking, which is always a plus because if he's happy then the appointment goes well. I finally, finally, finally got a bracket on that one trouble tooth, the first one after the front tooth on the left (your right) side, the one with the huge gap that started the 4/18/08 disaster and I'm overjoyed right now because it's extremely tight and sore and that's exactly what needs to happen for it to move; I'm hoping to see some progress with it in the coming days. I also got my ligs (short for ligatures and another word for O-Bands, the rubber bands that they put around your brackets and what makes the braces colorful) changed from purple to baby blue (still no clear but I'm more comfortable with the whole color-changing thing now, who cares at this point =]) because that and pink are the two light colors that make the braces less noticeable. Looking at them in the mirror on the way home, I'm not sure if that can be held true (I found this out online) because to me they look like a bright neon blue instead of baby blue but I'm sure the brightness will fade overtime after brushing my teeth a few times. I also got a new package of rubber bands because I'm beginning to run out in my other package. No wire changes as of yet (Dino bonded my new bracket on by pushing it up through the wire and gluing it on) but I think that will happen at my next appointment, if what I heard Dino tell his assistant Brittany right; that I would get a looser (yay!) wire on my bottom and possibly the top too. Also going to get some discing done on my bottom teeth, something that I did with Invisalign to get the plastic tray to fit. It's not the most pleasant process in the world but it's not deadly and it doesn't require Novocaine or anything =].

My next appointment is three weeks from Wednesday; I go the day after my 20th birthday (they offered me an appointment for the day of since it falls on a Tuesday this year but I opted out; who wants to go to the dentist on their birthday? Yuck) at 3:30 in the afternoon so now they'll be no more time constraints, another plus! =].

So that's it for now! I'll write back next Tuesday with yet another exciting entry! =]