Thursday, October 19, 2017
Day 114 Update
Still in a good bit of pain. Those bite wafers I purchased a few months ago are actually coming in handy now. I bite on them to help with the pain and it does help some. I had asked the ortho when I was there approximately when she anticipated that I would need to go in for the surgical part to get the gums cut open and brackets put on the canines. She said sometime next spring or maybe just before summer. She said maybe I wouldn't need to because if the teeth move into position, I wouldn't have to. Well, I'm not holding my breath on that. The perio had told me that it was "possible, but not likely" that would happen. I'll believe it when I see it. For now, I'm just looking forward to eating normally again and after that, getting this palatal expander taken out. I'm going to be glad when these spacers get replaced with the band. The band on the upper teeth really isn't bad at all and I barely notice it now.
Day 112 - Bottom row
October 17, 2017
So, the day arrived. I was dreading this. But I kept telling myself, the sooner it gets put on, the sooner it can come off. Easier said than done. It's a long road ahead. I finally got to a point about 3 months in now where I can finally bite into food somewhat normally only to have the bottom row put on and now I'm back to the beginning again (it feels like it!). Ugh. So it wasn't very dramatic but I'm in pain. They put the bottom row on, except for the 2 back teeth on my right. I have crowns there. They said I would have to wear 2 spacers again (OH JOY!) for 2 more weeks to make a little bit of room to add a band around the tooth. They said it was necessary because the brackets would not stick to the crowns and have to use a band. So unfortunately this makes my mouth tender again on that side with the spacers in. She also had to turn the expander backwards 1 time because my upper teeth were tipping outward a little too much. I rewarded myself with a Frosty when I was done because now I'm back to barely able to eat anything except really soft foods and drinking protein shakes again. Oh joy. The sooner I can get back to eating normally again, the better I will feel. I actually don't like the way the braces look right now. I wish this was all over with already. I'm not enjoying the teeth pressure/pain and at the moment, I'm not enjoying the way my mouth looks.
The worst part? I have to go back on HALLOWEEN. Who wants to go to the dentist on Halloween?!?! Ugh ugh ugh. No candy this year because now I can barely chew again. 😡
So, the day arrived. I was dreading this. But I kept telling myself, the sooner it gets put on, the sooner it can come off. Easier said than done. It's a long road ahead. I finally got to a point about 3 months in now where I can finally bite into food somewhat normally only to have the bottom row put on and now I'm back to the beginning again (it feels like it!). Ugh. So it wasn't very dramatic but I'm in pain. They put the bottom row on, except for the 2 back teeth on my right. I have crowns there. They said I would have to wear 2 spacers again (OH JOY!) for 2 more weeks to make a little bit of room to add a band around the tooth. They said it was necessary because the brackets would not stick to the crowns and have to use a band. So unfortunately this makes my mouth tender again on that side with the spacers in. She also had to turn the expander backwards 1 time because my upper teeth were tipping outward a little too much. I rewarded myself with a Frosty when I was done because now I'm back to barely able to eat anything except really soft foods and drinking protein shakes again. Oh joy. The sooner I can get back to eating normally again, the better I will feel. I actually don't like the way the braces look right now. I wish this was all over with already. I'm not enjoying the teeth pressure/pain and at the moment, I'm not enjoying the way my mouth looks.
The worst part? I have to go back on HALLOWEEN. Who wants to go to the dentist on Halloween?!?! Ugh ugh ugh. No candy this year because now I can barely chew again. 😡
Day 70
September 5, 2017
Back to the ortho for another adjustment. It still hurts every single time. She said that next time when I come, I can probably get the bottom row put on. She turned the expander 2 more times right there in the office and said I was done turning it. Yay!
I asked her approximately when I could get the expander out (December, January?). She thought for a minute and said, "It will be out before Spring Break." Great. Only another 6 months to go.
Next visit in 6 weeks.
Back to the ortho for another adjustment. It still hurts every single time. She said that next time when I come, I can probably get the bottom row put on. She turned the expander 2 more times right there in the office and said I was done turning it. Yay!
I asked her approximately when I could get the expander out (December, January?). She thought for a minute and said, "It will be out before Spring Break." Great. Only another 6 months to go.
Next visit in 6 weeks.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Day 30 - 1 month down
Today is officially one month into braces and expander (technically two, if you consider that the actual treatment started with spacers 2 months ago). So far, the last 2 nights I have been able to turn the expander myself, carefully. It has gotten easier. For anyone having to do this, here's what I've learned about turning an expander you can't see.
When you put the tool in your mouth, try to keep your head level with the white part of the tool facing outwards (when looking in a mirror). It goes straight up to the roof of your mouth. You can also feel around with a finger and guide the tool to the hole. Once you get it into the hole, turn the tool in your hand approximately 90 degrees inward towards your mouth and gently push it towards your throat until it's all the way in the back of your mouth and won't go any further. Carefully remove straight down so as not to mess up the turn. That should give you a successful turn, without messing anything up. It took me awhile to get to that point, but with practice, it gets easier. 5 more nights of turning to go and hopefully that will be it, for the rest of this process.
Here's a list of soft foods that I've been eating in addition to the meal replacement shakes and protein shakes:
When you put the tool in your mouth, try to keep your head level with the white part of the tool facing outwards (when looking in a mirror). It goes straight up to the roof of your mouth. You can also feel around with a finger and guide the tool to the hole. Once you get it into the hole, turn the tool in your hand approximately 90 degrees inward towards your mouth and gently push it towards your throat until it's all the way in the back of your mouth and won't go any further. Carefully remove straight down so as not to mess up the turn. That should give you a successful turn, without messing anything up. It took me awhile to get to that point, but with practice, it gets easier. 5 more nights of turning to go and hopefully that will be it, for the rest of this process.
Here's a list of soft foods that I've been eating in addition to the meal replacement shakes and protein shakes:
- Mac n' cheese
- mashed potatoes
- homemade applesauce (a lot of this; it's soooo good!)
- banana pudding
- soup
- fruit cups
- eggs
- rice pudding
- jello
- chocolate pudding
- cottage cheese
- potato salad
- chicken tenders (carefully, with small bites)
- ice cream
- blueberries (carefully)
I'm going to be so happy when all of this is over with. Hopefully it will be worth it in the end.
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Day 28 - 1st Adjustment
Well if there's anything I've learned doing this, it's "take pain meds before your adjustment appointment." Oh my God, I wanted to scream Bloody Mary, because I was in so much pain getting the bands taken off and new ones put on. I was wincing in pain the entire time and my face turned red. The Ortho said make sure to take it an hour prior to your appointment. That was the most painful experience so far and one that I fully intend to never repeat.
More good news: I was told that I need to turn the expander once a day, for another 7 days. *major eye roll* And to think that I was just getting used to the new position my mouth has been in for the last 3 weeks.
So I'm about one month done with this process. Hopefully this first month has been the worst of it and it only gets better from here on out.
Next appointment is 6 weeks away.
Side note: I asked for a prescription for PreviDent, which is a fluoride toothpaste that's pretty awesome.
Next appointment is 6 weeks away.
Side note: I asked for a prescription for PreviDent, which is a fluoride toothpaste that's pretty awesome.
Friday, July 14, 2017
Day 17 - My supplies kit finally came
I finally received the kit of supplies I ordered of Dentakit.com. I didn't want to and tried so hard to do without, but I finally broke down and ordered. I've added a few of these to the Recommendations page. Haven't tried everything just yet.
Here's what I ordered:
Here's what I ordered:
- 2 Bite Wafers for pain/pressure
- Lip bumper/comfort cover
- Orthodontic toothbrush (v-shaped for braces)
- Orthodontic travel toothbrush
- 2 bags of Plackers Orthopicks
- Lil' Sweepers palatal cleaning tool
- popup cup
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Day 14
I'm so irritated with this palatal expander. Everything gets stuck, no matter how hard I try. This is going to be a long wait to get this thing out. :( I've had to bite the bullet and order some supplies from Dentakit.com. I wasn't planning on it because I was trying to do without, but I'm thinking I'm going to need some of these things to make my life a little easier. I'll be adding items to the recommendations page once I get a chance to try out what I ordered. I can't believe it's been 2 weeks to the day already. It's going by so slowwwwww. 2 weeks to go before I go back to the ortho. I'm sad that I can't eat things that I want to eat. I still can't bite into anything. Just give me a milkshake. Maybe it will bring all the boys to the yard.
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