Not that that isn't a good thing - no news is good news right? My braces have generally continued to be nice to me (thank you; thank you; thank you), so I haven't felt the need to share my lack of interesting braced tidbits to the blogging world.
But! Today I went back to see Dr O for my first braces adjustment - AND I was excited about it. I have been excited about it for the last two weeks; and counting down; and jumping up and down singing "I get my braces adjusted tomorrow". I don't know whether this excitement will wear off before the next adjustment - and turn into "braces adjustment - yada yada"; but I have tried to think of these as little milestones that bring me closer to a surgery date (the BIG one); and closer to the day when my mouth is free of metal & my beautiful new smile is revealed. I think that is something to be excited about & if I don't break this whole process into little chunks, then it just seems so long and daunting!
Started the day with another long drive. My appointment was for 9.30am & was all over before 10. I have read in so many blogs that the adjustments are painful - but I didn't really have anything to compare this to since I didn't have any pain when my braces were fitted. I now realize that this was most probably due to the fact that most of my top jaw (gums & teeth) was numb from the teeny tiny little nerves being severed during my palate expansion surgery (all according to plan).
So, some good news, and some not so good. My nerves seem to have grown back - YAY! However this means that I was in a bit of pain today. Nothing too dramatic - but now I understand what everyone writes about. My bottom front teeth really hurt when Dr O put the new bands on - but then over the course of the day, all of my teeth started to object & ache. Panadol seems to do the trick though.
And I am reminding myself that this is really nothing compared to what Terra and Sarah are going through at the moment; and what Ellie, Erin & Rosa have not long been through. Think I need to toughen up a bit!
I walked in to the Orthodontist rooms this morning with a gap between my front teeth of around 2mm & Dr O said that this will close up fairly quickly with these new bands on. Again, underestimated "fairly quickly" - 2 hours later it was half that size; and by 2pm it was completely closed. Holy! Crap!
Left to Right - Yesterday; About 4 hrs after my adjustment!!!!
The gaps left by my extracted teeth (bottom) had closed up quite a bit over the last 10 weeks (I hadn't really paid much attention to this bit); and today I had brackets fitted to my top back molars - so this will start to close up the extraction gaps at the top. I am amazed at how much my teeth have moved already, and what a huge improvement it is (even though technically we are making my bite much worse than it was). I am just so happy at how straight they are looking - and when I look back at my before pictures, I feel like such a hillbilly. It is good to look back though, as it just reinforces that I have made the right decision.
Left to Right above - Pre braces; Expansion completed; Braces Fitted
Left to Right - Pre braces; Expansion complete; Yesterday :)
Left to Right - Pre braces; Braces Fitted; Yesterday
This whole process continues to fascinate me - and would like to think that if I had've had this done when I was younger that I may have pursued a career in dentistry in some form or another. Then again, I probably would have been full of teenage hormones and would not have paid any attention to the actual process at all.
Since I liked my blue coloured bands so much last time; I decided to continue with this theme on this colourful process & we fitted hot pink bands today. My kids love them.
Seven weeks until my next adjustment & on one hand I am looking forward to it (I get to have my expansion support wire removed); but on the other I am not - so close to Christmas, and I refuse to believe that we are almost upon that time of year!
Again - no news is good news, so I hope to not update my posts again until then.
Cheers - Ellie x
