12/10/14 - Here they are!

Tah dahhhhh!!!!

Removal was AWFUL, guys.  Holy crap.  You forget that those brackets are GLUUUUUUUUED on to each individual tooth.  And by glue, I mean dental cement.  CEMENT.  So, when it comes to their removal, do they just sliiiiiide right off easy as pie?  Or is there some sort of solvent that the orthodontist can use to magically dissolve the stuff, or some other bit of fiction???  NO.

THEY USE PLIERS, GUYS.  ***PLIERS***

There is cracking and shrapnel.  CRACKING.  And SHRAPNEL.  You have to wear safety glasses. There is also yanking and pulling.  It is *excruciating*.  I started to wonder if I was being interrogated.  I suggested to my orthodontist that they rename their practice to "Guantanamo." And then if that wasn't enough, they file the remainder of the glue off of your teeth with what feels like the dental drill from your worst nightmare.  Be prepared for this.  Treat it like an adjustment and take some pain meds before you go in because you'll want them long before you get out.

But then they told me I could go floss and brush so they could do a quick polish before they applied the dental mold they needed to make my retainer, so the putty didn't stick.  And I saw myself in the mirror.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  It was everything I wanted and more!

They took the mold they needed and I was cut loose to return later that afternoon after the retainer was made.  The retainer looks like what Invisalign would look like - it's a clear plastic thing that fits over my teeth.  (I can also imagine, now, why Invisalign would not have worked very well for my treatment - I also think it would have been far more uncomfortable.)  I have to wear it full time til the end of the year, then all of next year I wear it while I'm sleeping.  I obviously have to remove it before eating, and after I'm done drinking anything that isn't water, without a straw, I have to rinse both the retainer and my mouth.  The first thing I noticed was that I had to say goodbye to mindless snacking in the evenings, which is actually good for me.  I should maybe see some weight loss come out of these next few weeks - especially with the holiday coming.  Food has to be sort of scheduled, because the point is to wear the retainer as full-time as possible.  The retainer, at first, was pretty snug and taking it off was NOT comfortable at all - in fact, it was really painful.  But the lady there told me that over time the retainer would loosen up, and the discomfort would lessen - it had to be "broken in," not at all unlike a pair of shoes or jeans.  I can say, less than 24hrs later, that she's very correct.  It's already starting to give me less trouble.

To end it all, though, I need to make an apt with the orthodontist sometime in June to take a look at everything to evaluate my progress.  I also got a coupon for a free photo shoot to show off my pretty new teeth, so I'll be scheduling that for sure.  Freebies, yay!  I also got the turkey & swiss sandwich from Goodcents that I've been craving for nearly a year, and I will be grabbing a cheeseburger this week as well.  Only thing left is to find some salt water taffy!  Ooo, or tootsie rolls!  Yeah!!!!

12/8/14 - The End

Can it be?  Can it really, really be?  It can.  And it is.

I'll start a bit back, though.  After the bracket pop incident, things got a little out of whack for the rest of my teeth, on down the chain (the word "chain" is used on purpose, but I'll come back to that in a minute).  The right-hand side of my front two teeth decided to... fly away a little bit.  A gap formed between my two front teeth, and the right one began to tilt further toward the right.  It was a direct result of the loss of tension on that back tooth.  BUT, Dr. Hannah got it reigned in pretty good.  I went back for my final adjustment sometime in Oct when he yanked me all back into line, re-tied the brackets and re-wired me, but this time he put what's called a "chain" on me.  It's basically a series of little rubber bands - they look like a long string of tiny white "o"s.  He wrapped an "o" around each bracket and told me that they'd keep everything in place nice and good for the rest of the ride.  They'll also remain whiter than your teeth and basically make you look like a grey-yellow-stained mouth-slob, which will do wonders for your self-esteem.  They'll also be highly reflective which will make them immediately obvious, and also look like extremely pretty, long strings of slobber coating your funky (yet marvelously straight) teeth.  They're essentially a way to guarantee the orthodontist that, if he hasn't yet caused some sort of mortification for you yet, he most certainly has now and his job can be checked as "complete."

But then he asked me what I never expected to hear that day.  Not for at least a couple more months.

He asked me, "How would you like to get these off before Christmas?"

WHAT?!?!  You mean, NOT have them in family pictures taken over the holidays?  To actually be able to go to Silver Dollar City over Christmas AND eat salt water taffy???  To enjoy the cheeseburger I've been craving since February - BEFORE 2015?!?  Inconceivable!!!

Not inconceivable.  It's happening, folks.  TOMORROW.  This here is the last picture I'll take with them on:

So, if I had to look back on these past 10 months and sort of sum up, here's what I'd have to say.  First of all, BOY did I get lucky.  I never thought that this would only take 10mos.  Next I'd have to say TRUST.  When you first get these things on, everything in your mouth is going to change and nothing is going to line up the way it used to, if at all.  My teeth didn't fit together, at first, in *any* way that would allow me to eat food comfortably, and for a very long time my front teeth wouldn't touch their compatriots on the bottom jaw.  I was told to trust and be patient.  I worried and fretted.  The thought of never being able to bite properly again, EVER, kept me awake at night.  And needlessly so, because today everything is just fine.  (Well, not perfect, but it's because I have a cross bite that would have taken a $10K surgery to repair, but honestly I have no complaints.)  Things ARE going to get messed up for a while, maybe even a long while, before they get better, but they WILL get better.  I would also say that flossing is essential, even if it takes longer and makes you want to slit your wrists.  Regardless of what method you use to floss, braces create a shelf that catches food and doesn't let go so just do it.  You'll feel better about yourself.  If you neglect this, you WILL have expensive work at the dentist when you get done - and you'll just have finished spending thousands of dollars.  (Just a note, this is NOT to say that I neglected this - in fact, I was a diligent flosser, but I'm just passing along the info anyway.)  The little brush thingies that they give you, too - get as many of those as you can carry with you everywhere.  Stuff every pocket with them.  Have them on your couch, have them in your coat pockets, have them in your wallet or purse, have them in your car, have them at your office - have them everywhere.  Because I *guarantee* you you will need one at least once when you don't have one, and it will make you miserable.  And lastly, the pain is actually pretty minimal.  That said, though, it's good to take at least a couple of ibuprofen before you go in for your adjustments, just to keep your comfort level even.  I started this thing with soup and mashed potatoes and applesauce, but it's really not like that at all.  You'll have weird days when there'll be just one random tooth or two that's angry and acting up (even today, sitting here, my left front tooth and the one to the left of it are protesting), but it's not enough to change your life.  There was really only a short list of things that I took off of my menu: sticky candy and sandwich-like things.  Bread is your ENEMY when you have braces on.  It is just the most miserable stuff, even when you're eating it alone and in small bites (which I still did anyway, quite a lot).  But don't give up on fruits and raw vegetables and popcorn.  Cut them up into bites and enjoy.  Don't cry in the movie theatre - eat the damned popcorn and love every morsel just as you used to.  Just chew cautiously (and consider brushing after popcorn, just to be sure).  And honestly, even if you're sore after an adjustment, just keep on eating what you would.  The more you "push" through the pain, the faster it'll be over.

And, of course, the last thing I'll say is the answer to the question I've been asked many times since I started this experience.  Would I do it all over again?  Is there any regret to this decision?  I absolutely would and I have no regrets whatsoever.

.....but that doesn't mean I plan on doing it all over again.... I'm planning on wearing my retainer.  I'm curious how long I'll have to..........

So, just to recap, here's beginning and ending pictures.  Thanks for following, folks, and for anyone who's ever faced the decision on whether or not to be an Adult with Braces, I hope I've provided some help to you =)

(I'll probably post again tomorrow, with the things off, and give information about the retainer.)

8/28/14 - Braces Gnomes are REAL

So, either I brush my teeth like a wild animal or a Viking (like, with an axe), or Braces Gnomes are REAL, and they WILL sneak into your place in the middle of the night and wreck shit up while you're sleeping.  So no shit, there I was, driving in to work minding my own business when I felt like something was.... off.  At first I thought maybe something was lodged between my back two teeth on my left side.  After discovering I couldn't fiddle it out with my tongue, I grabbed my little mini-brush-thing at a stoplight and dug after it a bit more intensely.

Which was a mistake.

That's when I felt that the wire was loose and dangly back there.  I thought maybe the crimper that secured the end of the wire had popped off and had gotten lodged between the back two brackets while I was brushing.  But my back tooth was out of the whole braces loop thing, was missing pressure, and had definitely moved of its own accord like an unruly sheep out of the pen.  So, I called and made an appt to have this fixed.  (sidenote: If that's what this is going to feel like when ALL of the brackets come off... holy crap - just the ONE was weird enough. I can also see the value of wearing a retainer.)

On the way there, I realized that I had an appt for my next adjustment within the next five days, so upon arrival we just decided to kill two birds with one stone.  It turns out that the back bracket had come loose, so they reattached, and then sewed in what they called my "final" wire - it is literally the last, and biggest, wire I'll have to wear.  I was also informed that my treatment would be ending sooner than originally anticipated - YAY!  So, I may only have 4-5 more months, putting me at a full treatment length of 10-11 months instead of the original 12-14 month guess.  This wire will still need to be adjusted as we go along, but it's the last one.

But BOY did it smart going in because of that back tooth that got away.  It was angry.  I'm overdue for an updated picture, though, so here we go!

7/15/14 - Gettin' there!

HyVee was happy to remind me last night, in all of my brace-face glory, that today is National Gummy Worm Day.  *sniff*

Had my most recent adjustment last Thurs, the 10th.  I had been warned that this one might be as bad as last time, but it really hasn't been too awful.  I was told by the orthodontist, though, that with my next adjustment in Sept I will likely be ready for my "final wire."  I'm assuming this means that it'll be the last wire they put on me, which makes the adjustment(s) I receive after that somewhat easy, as they'll only really involve re-tying to the wire and making sure everything remains in position.  That wire, however, is the biggest wire, so it'll likely be awful.  They had initially wanted to schedule me for a Fri afternoon appt, right before a Faire weekend.  LOL!!!! I requested we change the date.  Like, post haste.

My teeth are nearly straight, though.  Amazing difference.  I have pictures I've taken after the last adjustment, and I have pictures taken from this one as well, I need to post them.  I swear I will!

6/26/14 - Worth it? Signs pointing to "Yes."

Starting to feel awwwwwful darned pretty when I smile...

5/22/14 - WHY GOD, WHY?!?

Okay, so, I know I should've posted after my first adjustment because I expected it to be more than what it really was.  But nothing spectacular happened, and I couldn't think of anything to say.  Then I had my second adjustment this past Tuesday.  I have much to say now.  I'll start from the beginning, though.

So, I went in on 4/15/14 for my first adjustment.  They re-wired my brackets, and wrapped each individual one in steel.  There was a lot of pushing and prodding on my teeth that led me to believe that I was going to be in for one hell of a ride over the following few days, but instead I ended up feeling a lot like this:

It went so smoothly that I honestly thought that the rest of this treatment was going to be a breeze.  Oh... oh sweet, sweet summer child.  I had gone eight weeks since I'd gotten the braces on til my first adjustment, so I was a little surprised when they told me to come back in five weeks for the second adjustment.  But, I scheduled the appointment and put it on my calendar.  This past Tuesday, 5/20/14, was the date.  I went in expecting about the same as last time.

Which, really, is sort of what happened, at first.  We re-wired the braces, and again wrapped the brackets in steel.  But what I didn't know was just how big a leap we made in the gauge of the wire.  It was quite a bit different.  Immediately after it was done I could feel how much more pressure was being placed on my teeth.  By the end of the night, I was feeling a lot like this:

And now, on Thurs, I feel much the same way.  Aleve isn't quite cutting the pain.  I feel like I have something large lodged between every single one of my teeth.  It's shooting pain all the way up into my eyes and sinuses.  When the aleve wears off, I can feel my pulse in my teeth.  And from what I understand from the orthodontist, the next adjustment we make another big jump in wire gauge.  YAY.  And right before my birthday...  At least I have eight weeks again this time...

They've been having trouble getting my right canine and the incisor next to it to turn.  All of my other teeth have turned nicely, but those don't seem to want to budge. However today, looking at them, I think I can finally see movement.  The brackets for those two teeth have been touching each other thus far, making flossing soooo much fun, but I can see space now, and I've been able to get a small pipe-cleaner-like cleaning brush between there for the first time.  I'll do a photo mashup again later today so you can see progress, but if next adjustment goes like this one - and I suspect it very much will - there's likely more progress to come and greater hope that those teeth will finally straighten.  Really, they're the whole reason I'm doing this - those two teeth right there.

4/15/14 - Yeee...?

First adjustment today.  Which means my left-side teeth are all, "Hey, let's be sore today - whoohooo party!"