BRACES OFF!

 It was a Tuesday to never forget.... alright done with the dramatics...

October 1, 2013 - a day to be documented in history! Only after 9.5 months of my braces I went to my appointement & they came off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hip hip hoooooray!

The days before I was concerned that the ortho was going to tell me that I would have to keep my braces on for another month! I had already convinced myself of this, so when he said they could come off I nearly thought he was joking!

The process was so quick, not painful, and i have no clue what those people are talkign about when they say "there's so much pressure"

The wire is removed  just like when you get an adjustment & there is that slight pressure feeling but nothing out of the usual. Then these clamp things click click and remove the bracket. Then a little teeth cleaning to get all the "crud" off and then tada!!!! you have a new improved straight smile!
They immediately took a mold for my retainers & I waited....
Everyone constantly was telling me "you're going to want to run your tongue across your teeth non stop" so being a rebel I made sure to not make it obvious to the assistants when I would steal a slide across those smooth babies! They gave me a photo of the pictures that I took before I got my braces and my response was "ew, gross" hahaha

I mean what else was I supposed to say when your mouth looked like that....
RAWR RAWR RAWR

My retainers are still moving my teeth a little & I've actually gone back since & had to get an adjustment to my retainer already. They're clear & I'm supposed to wear them 10-12 hrs a day.... I'm hardly home so I just wear them at night - Dr.Kolodziej didn't seem too concerned when I mentioned this thankfully!

 

 

 

I'm so glad that I made this decision

 

I will not miss

 

-cutting everything up because I know that the mess in my brackets isn't worth biting into anything

-wondering if something is stuck in my braces

-Steak getting caught on my brackets

-not being able to eat corn on the cob (although that tool to cut it off is very useful)

-taking 3 hours to eat a simple dish of food

-broccoli everywhere even when you're being careful

- having braces at 23/24 years old when meeting new people

- People assuming I'm a teenager

- my lips being push outwardly because the brackets are big

- the stuck taste of coffe, pop, milk, everything in my mouth even after rinsing with water

 

 

I will miss

 

-making em"brace" jokes

 

yep, that's really all that I can think of!

 

 

Here it is folks!

Weekend before my braces came off - Eat Dirt mud run - no mud in my braces --- success!

 

 

Right before I went to my final appointment

 

 Bye bye braces!!!! back in my car & braces no more!!!

 

 

Quad Photo- top left picture from 2008 horrendous teeth, top right- day I got my braces on, bottom left- weekend before I got them off, Bottom right - after they're off!!!

 

Frustrated with trying to remove my retainers.... these bad boys are ridiculous! They do it so easily in the office but the first few times I tried it took 10 minutes it seemed like! Now it's easier but still I think the ortho has a trick up his sleeve that he's not sharing! you can kind of see the retainers

 

 

this is what happens when you dont wear your retainers... :)

 

Selfie!!! Smile

 

Wouldn't change my mind about braces even if I would have had to have them on for the full estimated 2 years! It was definitely worth it!

 

 

 

 



Fingers crossed for my next appointment! Braces are coming off!

Per my previous blog with my estimations I was nearly close... obviously August wasn't my month to get my braces off but October 1st my teeth will sink into everything that has been cut ever so nicely with a fork & knife since December. Okay, so getting braces doesn't mean that you can't bite into things, but for the sake of not wasting time wondering if I have food in my braces it was my best decision.

Now just to close some little spaces and bring one tooth down a little and this mouth will be golden. I'm back to the rubber bands though... which in this case "will only give you even better results. You are going to have excellent results either way but they will just make it even better" So now I'm forced into the aches & pains of rubber bands. Having all that pressure on your jaw is just about as much fun as stubbing your toe, messing up your fresh manicure, or getting bitten by a shark.

Let the count down begin!

Orthodontist & Dentist all in one week! always getting such great news from my appointments

I went to my ortho apt first and I was given even better news! This girl will be feasting in celebration on Thanksgiving because My braces will be off before feast day! I'm always last at the table already because of all the food I consume on thanksgiving & this yeas just imagine how much easier it will be without the braces & expander holding me back! I am beyond excited! I think only my family could possibly understand as they're the ones always waiting on me so they can clear the table & bring out desserts.

Dr. Kolodziej said his typical "I don't want to say any sooner" but I can tell you that you will have your braces off before Thanksgiving, if not even sooner but we will see at your next visit how it goes.

Every time I go I just keep getting better & better news. This is what happens when you follow their rules or maybe it's just that I'm really fortunate!?!
Whatever the case I am now at an only braces point - no more elastics! see ya back in 5 weeks!

The following week I went to the Dentist and I was very honest to admit that flossing is not one of my strong suites with braces. I LOVED flossing until I got braces and it takes like an hour to do sooo I just make sure that I always use those Wisps and clean my mouth really well after eating. It seemingly has been working out for me... the hygienist said only a littttttttttle bit of redness on one little section of my gums :) scoorrreeeeee!
Alright it's not the smartest idea but flossing is just a pain with the braces! I do not recommend for any one to skip it but if you are going to then be sure to be brushing and using Wisps!
I even got complimented on how well I am at brushing with braces!
Also don't let your hygienist skip out on flossing your teeth ... some are lazy and don't want to take the time but that's what they're getting paid to do!
The dentist came in and said I have great teeth no cavities, healthy, and good roots!

I'm like a goal medalist at the dentist!

only a few more weeks until another update on these teeth hopefully Dr. Kolodziej gives me great news :)

Here is a picture from 2008 & then a current 2013 picture. Good to see I'm still making the same faces 5 years later but check out those teeth! & you can hardly even see my braces since the pic is grainy :)

Expander is OUT! Getting my expander out and what a joy it is to speak properly!

Finally!
CONVENIENTLY my dad wanted to have CHEESE PIZZA the very day that my expander was out. INCONVENIENTLY I was looking too SWEET in my work outfit so I CHANGED into JEANS and ordered a MEDIUM PIZZA.

hahaha I know, I know what does any of that have to do with braces or my expander? Welllllll everything!
Remember all those words that I struggled with? well they all came back to me every so gracefully.... I meannn oh! MEAN I couldn't say that properly before either! so any capitalized word is a word that I had issues with saying since the end of August 2012 & now I have freedom of SPEECH. haha I love remembering these words as I type.  I also have cut down the amount of time that it takes me to eat and I can eat spaghetti noodles with out trying to figure out which part of my mouth it is going to. Believe me I was just as confused as you are as you read that.

I was so excited to be able to pronounce that I made a video.... okay multiple videos to share the excitement with my friends! I'm sure they were just thrilled listening to me say the same words and pointless sentences over and over just to show them that I was no longer a struggling young lass with an expander.

When Dr. Kolodziej told me that my expander was coming out first thing I just literally thought he was kidding... then all of a sudden the tools came out and the two back bands were being snapped off. It was so strange to be able to put my tongue to the roof of my mouth without a bar being in the way. Now don't think that an expander is the end of the world, I gained from it.
Pro's of having an expander -
1) my teeth look like they fit in my mouth
2) it's helped my teeth to shift quicker
3) I learned how to make this annoyingly creepy noise that I thought for sure would only last with the expander in but sure enough I can still make it :)
4)I now Know how people with silver teeth feel as I had 4 silver bands around my teeth and 2 visible for several months
5)I never developed a gap tooth from it.
6)I could hide lifesavers between the expander and the roof of my mouth and talk mostly normal.
7) When it finally came out I could make such wonderfully fantastic videos for my friends - videos below!

& I'm not going to dwell on the Con's because clearly the Pro's outweigh the Con's
Thanks Dr. Kolodziej for the belated Birthday gift of being expander free!

Breaking news I am now (as of April, actually) a 24 year old brace face!

so that was April... letssss seeeee

In April I was also introduced to the wonderful little elastics... or more commonly known as rubber bands.
These little guys sure were achy and a pain in the jaw. I was instructed to wear them from top front to bottom rear on both sides. Sometimes my mouth couldn't handle the pressure and during the night I would take them out with out knowing. I started changing them twice a day to help the progress and not lose the elasticity but with my TMJ it just became less of an option to do that.

May
I went and now I am down to a rubber band only on my left side... I sure hope I've been wearing it on the correct side or else I'm going to be scolded next week when I go back. I was told only the one side to even things out a little but I'm almost feeling like it's doing more harm than good. I think my mouth shifts so quickly that when I have to wait an entire 6 weeks to go back it's nearly impossible for the progress to be positive. currently I'm pretty sure that my right front tooth is shorter than the left one, and today when I looked I swear they are moving toward the direction that the rubber band is tugging at them but I'm not sure if that is off center or not! I guess I'll just find out next week.

Dr. Kolodziej told me that I am about 10 months ahead of schedule.... BUT he won't tell me an estimate of when my braces will come off because he doesn't want to get me too excited in case it's longer... ugh typical!
But according to my calculations.... (here's the part where you can zone out if you want)
originally I was told 1 1/2 years to 2 years of having braces but not sure because it all depends on how the expander works. Well guess what! It worked fantastically! and I quote "better than I could have possibly imagined it to work"   Something else to consider I was told they will be off before the end of the Calendar year. And as previously mentioned I am 10 months ahead of schedule...
Okay
so here's my time line
Braces on - December 18, 2012
+1.5 years or 18 months = May 2014
If I am 10 months ahead (in May I was) then  10 months+5 already completed months (dec-may) = 15 months
18-15 = 3 months left of treatment.
which means a possibility of braces off in ... AUGUST?!?!?!?

Okay so maybe I'm jumping to conclusions & I did do that scale based on the short term period so I'll do the long term conclusion... 2 years

2 years or 24 months
10 months ahead of schedule + 5 months completed = 15 Months "complete"
24-15 = 9 months left of treatment
which would be February 2014

okay pay attention again!

sooo I was told before the end of the year so 2 years estimate of treatment is out, so it must be that he estimated 1.5 years (after the expander was out and he could see the results) sooo August!?!?!

hahaha seriously jumping to conclusions but it's good to be hopeful!

Here's some updates on my mouffffffff....I unfortunately couldn't include any of my entertaining videos documenting the rejuvenation of speech! Maybe I can figure it out later
These next few are from The past few months... and oddly in order, clearly by my attire it was hot then cold then hot. Check out my GRILL!! :)

Words I had issues with:

Cheese, Sweet, Q, Coupon, Pizza, Tina, Dina's, Neat, Jeans, Convenient, Inconvenient, Bee, Changed Mean, Medium... oh I wish I could remember the rest ... I'll add to it if I remember any.

Best Decision EVER!

Not that I ever regretted my decision to get braces but I seriously am sooooo sooo sooo happy that I didn't chicken out.  I didn't want to "deal" with braces so I almost said forget about it... but then I realized I'm only 23 & I still have more than double my life ahead of me & I WILL regret it if I don't do it!  Well it's been 3 months and I am so incredibly happy to report that I would never ever discourage braces from anyone! in fact I'm like a little "what you hate your smile? get braces, you wont regret it" person now!

I was painfully sore a lot in the first month of braces. I remember thinking that my teeth don't have any feeling & that they will never feel normal again. Well even though that may still be slightly true I've accustomed myself to the lifestyle that braces bring.  I don't bite into anything with my front teeth instead I always cut or tear my food.  My brother said "you know you're not the first person to ever have braces, suck it up" and yeah that might be true but I just feel a lot better not biting into things and just being extra cautious.
A little word of advice... it also prevents that messy stuff stuck in your braces performance. Now if food gets stuck it's only on the molar part of my braces & I can worry about that later, the people I'm eating with won't even know. The problem that I've had is the fact that I still have my palate expander in so food doesn't always know where to go. It can't make it's way to the side b/c the brackets & wire and it cant go to the middle/ roof of my mouth b/c of the expander. so basically if I take too big of bites I'm eating like a savage... or so I've been told haha!

My first wire adjustment went alright....it was a lot more painful then I had anticipated but that's the price you pay for straight teeth. I'm pretty sure the entire week afterwards I was sore sore sore. I didn't want to eat anything solid but my problem is that I don't like mushy food so I loaded up on Advil and dealt with it. after that I could feel my teeth shifting and you could definitely tell they were and finally my bottom teeth started moving. Now I'm not sure on how fast teeth normally move but mine are moving at light speed! My orthodontist said "you are light years ahead and I'd say you're going to have them off this calendar year" YAHOOOOOOO
only 1 year with braces! I can totally deal with that! I was expecting longer over shorter!
At my 2nd visit I was sure to floss while they had the wire off because it's like normal flossing instead of having the struggle of sliding the floss in and out of your braces... and boy was it glorious! I seriously am in love with flossing and this whole braces thing is making it much less enjoyable. It's the small things like once every 5 weeks being able to floss like a normal person that keeps me going. It's also a weir experience because I am so used to havign to floss with angling the floss every which way and now it's a breeze!

at my 2nd adjustment my expander was also "turned" one more time ... it hasn't been turn since November so that was an interesting process to have to remember again. Dr. Kolodziej said that I really could use that little extra room and he's looking at getting my expander out by the begining of summer. Hopefully that'll be true because even though I've gotten used to it I still can't pronounce some words and I am starting a new position at work on Monday and it takes extra effort to pronounce it w/o sounding like a moron.

If anyone is doubting braces just check out this transformation that only 3 months has made
 My teeth went from this shape of crookedness below (left)...

Now looking like this below...

And I am so pleased!

They're on!!!!! Braces on... check!

Well as every other day starts I laid in bed as long as I possibly could before realizing I only had 20 minutes to get ready and document my teeth being bare with out metal attached... After all it will quite possibly be 2 years before I even remember what they look like.  So after a mini mouth shoot and running out the door I made it to my appointment at 10:20. I walked back to the chair and there she was that "careless assistant" from my horrible office visit.... as if I wasn't nervous enough about getting my braces on this just added so much anxiety. But I just prayed that it wouldn't be so terrible and leave me crying like the last time she was at the office.
Alright Step 1: buff teeth maybe prime or something along those lines, go rinse then return.
Step 2: take off my other front silver band from my expander. slice time
enough with the steps...
so then Dr. Kolodziej rolled on over and explained the process then got right to work... that was the easy part just little rub a dub of something on my tooth then the assistant would come over with the bracket and it was placed then positioned on my tooth. While Dr. Kolodziej was positioning the brackets ever so carefully... I had my eye on little miss careless assistant. I decided she isn't careless and may have just had a bad day. She isn't careless but lacks confidence. She isn't careless but is nervous. Then I thought maybe just maybe she read my blog and I am making her nervous ... then I remembered careless people don't stumble upon blogs and such so no it's not me. So I think maybe careless is named Cassandra... so from now on she shall be called Cassandra. sooo Cassandra was standing there waiting and twitching, shaking, twisting, making expressions. It was maybe the highlight when I decided that Cassandra gets a second chance but come on I'm the one getting the braces please stop shake, rattling, and rolling.
So then the top was on & Dr. Kolodziej said "actually I could put your bottom braces on if you wanted but it's totally up to you. I said well sure might as well (go big or go home, ya know) Cassandra then said she hadn't discussed silver or gold with me for the bottom. which was true and that's when I remembered that ceramic isn't an option for the bottom. But BEHOLD an angels voice spoke... :) Dr. Kolodziej told me that it was totally up to me but basically with the era that we live in he has to be realistic and do some tests on ceramic braces on the bottom. and guess what I am a perfect candidate... yahoo!!!! I of course asked why he doesn't typically offer ceramic on the bottom and there were risks but he said that my bite was protected enough that those things really are things that I should worry about. So Merry Christmas Michelle, ceramic on top, ceramic on bottom, happy girl!  Same process that he used on the top apply goop,apply bracket, push, adjust, check with mirror, next. It was just about then that I realized that the staying in bed as long as I possibly can game wasn't so fun when you don't eat before a painful appointment .. ugh stomach shut up so they don't notice how hungry you are!
So now the fun part....the wireeeeeee! ahhh the wire!
alright well Dr. Kolodziej's work was done and now it was time for the assistant to step in and lace the wire through. after pressure and pain it was all there. Apparently there are 4 somethings that the wire has to loop through so each takes a little time & a lot of pressure. The bottom was much easier than the top and in no time I was done.1.5 hrs later, task complete, emBracing life as it is now.  A short demonstration of how to floss, brush, and care for my teeth and I was out of there. There's a few cuts on my bottom lip or it feels like cuts, just a little rough so hopefully that's not something that will last the entire process. The top feels smooth still so I'm sure it'll be fine.
I went home & I thought alright well this is my life. I made myself some soup, plopped down on the couch, and POP a bracket popped off my tooth... whoops I guess sitting on the couch is off limits when you have braces.
So just after my visit I was headed back... this time it was much worse. My teeth were already starting to hurt but then they had to remove and re-wire the bracket and all that pain and pressure was just so horrible I just wanted it to be over and not even have to think about it ever again.... little did I know that I'd be thinking about it all night. I went home and was in pain so I took a 3 hour nap hoping to just stay asleep until 7am but not the case. Instead I woke up with pain pain and more pain. hey guys why didn't I think that pain would be involved?
Well I also had my stomach growling and knew I needed to overcome that obstacle so on the hunt I went searching high and low for something not on my list of foods to avoid. Something had to be soft that I liked to eat.... everything that stuck out to me was much to crunchy... celery, grilled cheese(that just seems messy), oh I could make rice... psshhh who am I kidding I don't want to stand around and make rice when I'm this hungry. Then there it was an idea just sitting on the shelf, Shredded Mini Wheat .. yeah I know not ideal they are hard, fall apart, and have serious potential to get lodged anywhere and everywhere in my braces. But I thought outside the box, I'll just let my cereal soak in the milk and get to a point of not as crunchy as normal. TADA!!! So soggy cereal I had and soggy cereal I will have for all my meals. It's like my grandma says "cereal provides all the nutrients that you need." The cold milk and the little bit of crunch that I got when I bit into the cereal was exactly what my painful mouth needed. It hurt so good!!!!
So now off to my first night of bed with braces.
It'll all be worth it in the end! straight teeth here I come.

 regressing to age 15... I guess you can hardly notice them...

 Until you look up close and see how crooked these teefers are...

My dinner from now until eternity....

All Tool Kitted out!

PreBraceFaceDay

Dearest loved ones we are gathered here today to mourn the parts of my teeth that will be hidden for possibly 2 years. In just 9 short hours we will lose sight of everything that was great in life... Popcorn, Starbursts,  Twix, hard candy, and of course fruit roll ups! Poor things, I'll miss them.... as well as all my friends because I am probably going into hibernation. Today my last meal was salad, baked potato, and Steak! Mmmm Mmmm MMmmmm I've almost even decided on giving up pop so i don't stain my teeth, but life with out Coca cola is no life at all! We shall see on the morrow how I like it!

My time has come to say goodbye... goodbye teeth, ever so crookedly smooth.
MUAH!

Something I didn't really notice until recently

Sooo I knew having this expander made me have to form my words differently and I've definitely adjusted if not mastered mostly everything to be understandable. BUT lately I've been using apps on my phone like Voxer, Skype, and just plain old video messaging and let me tell you I'm not doing quite as well as I thought. I can barely listen to my own messages, I hate watching myself talk, and it's it's it's... just not right! Everyone says "I can barely notice" and that is the biggest lie I've ever heard! Have you listened to my voice? and the way my words sound because I'm not sure if you're aware but I never sounded quite so disgusting in my life! ugh just a little longer I can't believe I have to have the expander & braces on together aghhhhhhhhhhhh I want it out NOW! I feel like Veruca Salt "Don't care how I want it (gone) NOW"
alright, back to everyday life :)

Last turn of my adult expander!

Today I went back to the ortho and he yet again told me that my results are great and more than we could have hoped for. Besides the whole left top molars being tender I have to admit it hasn't been an absolutely horrible experience, I've learned how to chew, speak, and swallow differently. And the best part.... No awful gap was created!!!! Hoorah!!!'
I think my left side is tender because of my last turn of my expander and the fact that I have been clenching my mouth so hard at night. It's basically like I'm trying to prevent one breath of air from escaping my mouth, that's how locked in my jaw is at night. Sooo every morning I have to consciously open my mouth bc it just wants to be held together still. So yeah that's probably part of the reason I have soreness.
He turned my expander with the key for the very last time ever today (I hope) woohoo!!
My next news is what I ended up smiling at. He told me that next time he will be able to remove the other right front band(my other bling) and then.... I'll be getting on my top set of braces!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! This will be December 18th at 10am. I'll have to keep my expander in my mouth for another term and then it can be removed but it has to stay because of my sensitivity and to make sure nothing shifts. That shouldn't be so bad considering I've been with it for this long. Maybe I'll get to keep it, hahaha gross!!! Any way I guess smiling at the news of my next appointment becoming a brace face snapped me into reality and there's no turning back now! I, Michelle Black will have braces for Christmas and will embrace all the food that gets stuck in them. More waiting around but I bet this 6 weeks goes by quickly.

Another expander update.... it's still working, my adult expander is working!!

Wellllp went back for another check up on my expander. Again my mouth seems to have the best possible results that it can get so far... which is of course the best news I could hear and at least this contraption is working as it's supposed to. I got one of my "silvers" (as I call them) removed because that section of my mouth is done expanding. Now it doesn't look like I have a silver cap on my tooth on the left side... although it was my little bit of gangsta blinggggg and I missed it for like one second! That tooth is a little tender but not terrible and Dr. Kolodziej said that it would be okay in a couple days.  I have 5 more turns, one done in the office, and then the rest once a day every other day. I go back in 2 weeks this time, so on Nov 6th. Hopefully more good news comes from it! Meanwhile I wait.... wait wait wait....
The turns are a little more pressure and my bite has been different several times and eating is hard on some days of the turns. I still haven't developed a gap tooth in the front..... maybe I'll be lucky enough not to, that'd make the happiest!
All those people that say that adults can't get expanders because they never work .... boooyaaaa mine is working beautifully and I am so glad that I didn't just write it off because of what other people said. Ultimately I hope that people give things a try when your ortho advises you and backs up why he thinks it will work. Not all Dr's are looking just to make more money... and I'm not even sure if they are making more money off of this it's just putting off getting my braces on a little longer.

side note... I couldn't resist eating a fruit roll up (or like 30 of them) but one time I got careless and let me tell you that was a bad idea. I had a ball of fruit roll up wrapped around my expander for like 5 minutes... no way will I just toss the whole fruit roll up in my mouth again.

and now we wait again!

no more bling....

P.S. Dear Dr. Kolodziej since you thanked me for liking your Facebook page this means in case I ever post anything on FB about my blog that means you may read it... I'm sorry if you see this and I get details mixed up or have offended any of you or your staff (I can only think of one time that could happen) but I'm just being honest :) I really like my experience so far & am impressed with you & most of your staff!

Expander progress & check-up

Today I went to the ortho to check on my progress on my expander. Although I was being selfish & wanted my expander to not work so I could get this thing off, I am glad that this month hasn't been a waste of my time. Dr. Kolodziej told me that I have had more progress than he expected & that my results are turning out beautifully. My bite has changed already which I thought I felt it once but then it went away... haha I'm obviously very good acclimating.  I will give it 8 more turns making my mouth 2 more millimeters wider. So since I did 11 turns & he did one today, my mouth has already expanded apx 3 mm. Dr. Kolodziej told me that he's glad I'm keeping a positive attitude about it (hahaha I mean as much as I complain when I can't speak properly, it has gotten so much better) & that he expects even better results. He asked me how getting used to the expander was and truthfully now it's just something I've learned how to work around...mostly by eating pasta, good thing it's the love of my life! I will go back on October 23rd to check my results & then there will be a waiting process to "trick" my mouth into forming bone or having the bone in my mouth adjust to it. At least this annoyance in my mouth is paying off! Slow & steady!

Awaiting results

It's been 2 weeks of this device putting a damper on my life & I've been over it since day 1!
The first time I turned my key for my expander I didn't turn it enough and I started freaking out because I couldn't find the next hole. For future ref find the one you just turned instead of attempting to find the one on top. I say attempt because after a half hour of trying to angle the key just the right angle I gave up. Frustrated and nervous that I wasn't going to be able to use the expander correctly big brother Rob came to the rescue & started telling me the technical way of how they work & then it all made sense. At last I understand the device.
The turns aren't painful, they just feel like a little pressure it in a weird way good pressure. Each time I turn the key I think I can talk a little better which makes a happy Michelle. & why would they call it a key when were's are the hardest to pronounce? Sick joke, ortho's of the world! Also cruel jokes of my friends are not much better "what's candy taste like? Is it sour or....?" "Sweet" we get it I can't say my e's wahh
Consuming food is becoming easier. Just avoiding crackers. The  worst problem after like 7pm is trying to drink pop. Because of the constant hitting of the expander & middle of my tongue it causes pop to hit it directly & burn. It's basically the most depressing part of my life when I have to say no to Coke. 

This is how I sit for a good minute or so every time I "expand"

Getting my expander... not so bad.. well sort of

Today well actually yesterday I started to outwardly get my brace face look about me. I went to my appointment and they took out the spacers, easy enough. I closed my mouth and could feel all the little spaces and even swallowing my spit was so strange. I feel sorry for the people that have side gaps because of the weird suction feeling you must have every time you swallow anything! That being said an assistant (I should probably learn their names) started to fit my expander in my mouth but my again my mouth is a weird special case so Dr. Kolodziej worked on me instead of the assistant.  "Open, touch together, bite, open, touch, bite.." is all I heard & did until the expander was fully on & cemented to my teeth or at least I'm pretty sure that's how it works. I read my informative paper work about how I probably will have issues speaking and getting used to how it all works, I realized ohhh how true that little paper was! I was practicing saying things that I normally would and I almost gagged myself. I'm not exactly sure how that happened but the only way to not throw up was to just stop talking! Such a weird sensation.
Eating is a completely horrible awful thing to attempt. I thought in my head oh soup will work because it is so simple to eat. As I was making it I realized I can barely even swallow my own spit how in the world did I think I was going to be able to swallow broth. But I attempted it anyway because I knew I eventually had to eat something & my growling stomach was a little bit of an influence on me too!
Bad. Idea.
I ended up looking like a baby bird waiting for it's mama to regurgitate into its mouth! What you don't know what I mean? Well I could only swallow the soup by tilting my head backwards... like so

So needless to say going out to eat is off the list for a loooong time.... ok probably just a little time, I like to go out to eat wayyyy to much to give it up the entire time of having this contraption on.
 On top of tilting my head backwards I also had to put my tongue on the other side of the bar/expander in my mouth & then swallow. Let's face it if you can't put your tongue to the roof of your mouth not everything is going to go down your throat. Well I was a failing child & gave up on soup so I tried a peach thinking this will be more solid.... wrong-o! A peach is so juicy, what was I thinking? I decided to give up food & just starve to death.
Hours later I tried pasta & chicken I had nearly a cup of pasta to give my stomach something because the pain was too much. But then decided that would be sufficient enough. Wrong-o again! I felt like walking to the door of my house was so much exercise that I might faint. I decided I should be an adult about this and just eat even if it's the most uncomfortable thing in my life to do! So there I sat, the pasta & me, me & the pasta. Baby bird Michelle tilted her head back ever so awkwardly and ate most of that pasta! My lovely mother even made jokes but I toughed it out & conquered that stomach which was aching for food. I also ate an apple afterwards. The expander didn't hurt all day, it is just the oddness of trying to swallow food or a drink that is making my life so difficult.
I decided to research & discovered that I'm not the only one with these issues but "you will get used to it". Well ya know what I want to be used to it now!
Eating was one thing but let me just brief you on speaking. I can't really even pronounce the word speaking so it's a good thing this isn't a video blog!
Words I can hardly say- you,me,be,need,eat & so many more that I was really shocked about.
I've changed the word eat to "consume food" because I can pronounce that clearly. & instead of saying "you" I just say the persons name. So for example as I'm sitting talking to my friend Holly I said "Holly was so right when Holly said that about walking" Poor Holly started talking in 3rd person after that conversation! It's all about how I can try to use another word to mean what I am really trying to spit out.

Here is my super special customized expander. Dr. Kolodziej said it was as small as they could get it because it's easy for a kid to have to get used to an expander but as an adult it is much more difficult.

So all I have to do it put a little key device in the center little tiny hole, push it up, and push it back & that is one turn. I'll do that 12 times & return to him in 20 days!
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I've also now had my turn at sleeping in this and it's not comfortable. When I woke up aches & pains all around. Not to mention I thought I was going to be able to speak normal but that was a big False! I'm still avoiding all "e" sounding words as of now! I'm just glad I didn't drool all over the place, at least I controlled that.

I should stop reading articles...

Well I think it's my future to have a gap tooth. 

Tomorrow I get my expander on so I decided to look into the process of what the expander will do. I was hoping it wouldn't be the case but every article I read seems to agree that I, Michelle Black will get a gap tooth! Perfect, I mean word on the street is that they're totally in this season! I guess we'll find out on the morrow.

I'm a little nervous because only one of my spacers fell out & he said they would likely come out, so in my head I was preparing for at least 3. But only 1, that's not good enough. So I'm pretty sure these little rubber bands have just become my friends & never want to leave their up close & personal view of my mouth. Don't worry I've taken good care of them, I brush!
Can't wait for tomorrow's joy and pain!

Traumatic... Dramatic... Michelle.

As if I wasn't already having a stressful day I arrived at my appointment 10 minutes late but was luckily taken right back! Some ghetto-ish, definitely careless assistant started leaning my chair back & told me to open my mouth. I felt so lost and confused because I had absolutely no clue what in the world she was doing! I mean I assumed that she was going to remove my spacers. When I felt a weird snap I confirmed my guess. She took all 4 off of the right side then started putting something that hurt in my mouth...
uhm
A- What is that?
B- Please stop!
C- Do you have any sort of communication skills?

Luckily my mouth is a special case ("of close contacts"-teeth are close)and the actual orthodontist always has to step in... which let's face it I'd rather him do the work anyway because I feel much more comfortable & he explains things. I am a "know all the details" kind of girl so these people better remember that for next time. As he started saying "because you have close contacts this will be a little painful" and he must have spotted the confusion in my eyes because then he paused and looked at me so I said what are you doing? and then he looked at the assistant and said in a stern tone towards her "I thought she had explained to you already" & I proceeded to say "she didn't tell me anything at all" HAH! put her in her place!
He then explained that today they were removing my spacers, fitting these metal bands around my teeth  to see which fits best, and these bands will taken off before I leave & be sent out with a mold of the roof of my mouth and make a personalized expander. Okay, now I can feel comfortable because I mean if I didn't know what was going on then how could I blog about it!?!?!
So then he asked for a 36 and showed me that it was a metal band and how it had to fit around my mouth so I should feel pressure. Dr. Kolodziej is really a great orthodontist, he always makes me feel like I matter & he genuinely cares if something is going to hurt me.
He started to put the band on & it was kind of weird and I felt a pressure & not really painful, but sort of... it's hard to explain. then he would put a plastic tool in my mouth, tell me to close my mouth, then bite. This was the process over & over again on 4 teeth. It would seem as though I was in pain but really the tears running down my face were my emotions that were being released from still being angry at that assistant!
Dr. Kolodziej kept asking me if I was okay & he understands that I am in an extreme amount of pain but admires my pain tolerance. The tears just kept coming though.... he kindly asked me things like are you alright? Do you need a break? Let me know when to continue? Anything you need? He was being really accommodating. That assistant however was just still frustrating me and the tears kept leaking out of my eyes. She was a little useful & offered me a tissue.  I kept telling them "it doesn't hurt, I'm fine, I don't know why I'm crying" which was mostly true.... only one was actually painful but the rest were just uncomfortable.
When he finished they had to make a mold of my mouth with the bands on & that assistant did it... they let me take a little break from all my trauma & then she put the putty in my mouth & then wouldn't stop talking...
I just wanted her to stop talking but instead she blurted sooooo much that I did not want to hear from her because she lost my respect already. Plus when someone closes their eyes and hardly answers uhmmm don't continue asking me questions that I have to answer!! I was just at a point of LEAVE ME ALONE! Luckily it was over quickly &  Dr. Kolodziej was back to put new spacers in my mouth to stay until I get my expander on! & he said that they would probably even start falling out because my teeth would have enough room :)
I was so upset over a combination of my bad day & ghetto rude assistant(mostly her) that I drove all the way home trying not to cry, sat in my driveway crying for 10 minutes, went inside seeking sympathy but there was only the couch in sight so I laid there & cried for 10 minutes. The only comfort I was finding was from Mad Eye Moody, the cat who thought rubbing his furry fluff in my face would help me feel better... he was at least trying to comfort me. I finally broke down, knocked on my brothers door & said "I'm being stupidly emotional, and I had a really bad day, and I just want a hug" and being a GREAT, WONDERFUL, BEST BROTHER he gave me a sincere hug until I composed myself. What a rough day! But I'm pretty sure it will never be that bad again... but never say never!

Turning down bacon! Who is this person?

Today for the first time in my entire 23 years I said no to seconds of bacon.

How did I resist? .... The pain was worth it, but more pain was pushing it! 

How in the world did I turn down a whole fresh veggie platter & bacon in the same day I just don't know.

With the 2 little slices of bacon that I did manage, I had to bite & chew with my front teeth. When your friends are waiting to play Clue FX you're not allowed to take your time eating so by the time I managed to get to my second piece they were very fed up with my slowness, & my plate was ripped out from under me! (I think they were trying to say get a move on!)

Then of course someone brings out a vegetable tray & I was hit with sadness. How can people tempt me with so many treats in one day? Sure I can eat brownies & ice cream no problem... so you might think "Michelle, why are you complaining" but truthfully my soul is with the vegetables.

I couldn't resist the veggie tray for long so I attempted broccoli and only ate the top part... with my front teeth, again. I'm starting to feel like a rabbit just nibbling away on things. Life is so rough, it took me 15 minutes to my one piece of broccoli. 

BUT it wasn't that painful so I guess that's good news for my future meals :) 

Can the weeks move by any slower?

running, not my brightest idea!

I really really didn't expect this to make my life so difficult... for goodness sakes it's just rubber bands shifting my teeth that have been there for more than half of my life... that shouldn't be painful at all, right?
False false false
Ouch!
I decided that I was focused too much on my mouth pain so to distract me from the pain I figured running would be the perfect activity. So there I am running, panting from not running mostly all summer, and about half way through my run I felt a hollowness in my stomach. Whoops forgot that I haven't been eating a whole lot due to the pain of these contraptions, so probably running with only a cup of applesauce in my system wasn't the best idea. Secondly, a little further on in my run I had the most painful feeling in my mouth. I guess a run won't take my mind off my spacers but make the pain so much more real. After running with my hands held to my jaw for several minutes I gave up and my run became a walk in the park. I really thought that running was a great idea but I was wrong.
Lesson learned: don't go running when you have mouth pain.

Also Let me just mention how long it takes me to eat!
I am a slow eater, everyone that I eat with knows this fact about me. Now that I have mouth torture devices in, my eating habits are on super slow motion speed.
All that I've eaten in 3 days is ... (& in very little portions)
-soggy cereal
-vegetable beef soup (which stained my white spacers)
-Ice cream & Hot Chocolate (gloriously no pain)
-a hostess cupcake (never again)
-a small McD's fry (took me 20 minutes)
-potato soup (this was a pretty successful meal) & grilled cheese pita (NEVER AGAIN)
-Hot chocolate (really soothes my mouth)
-a cup of applesauce
-Princess Spaghetti o's (so easy to eat, probably my 1st food option from now on)
-Ice cream
-Mozzarella sticks, Salad, bread sticks, rigatoni, fries. (all of that had to be cut into 2cm size pieces and then chewed with my front teeth- it took me so long to eat just half of everything probably like 2 hours)
-& More ice cream

I recommend spaghetti o's & soft squishy french fries.... anything else will hurt & it won't be fun no matter how much you think it will be okay.... it won't.

This better get better
p.s. I'm almost sure that I have to keep these spacers in until I get my expander on in September! Life without a satisfying meal is miserable!

Can I just add

I hadn't yet been brave enough to eat with the spacers until just now & let me tell you this is going to be a rough 19 more meals that I have to consume. The rubber bands are below my bite so I feel the rubber bands on my food instead of my teeth first. It is by far the most complicated thing to have to chew but not really feel like you're chewing. Not to mention that I'm a flossing freak & I'm not allowed to floss... I mean I know that obviously nothing can get in those spaces in my teeth but now I just have the urge to floss. I probably have food stuck in my teeth because I'm too afraid that I'll pick out a spacer! Life is so hard!

Spacers... oh the pain!

Today marks the day that my life starts to end.... Okay okay maybe the process of getting braces isn't the end of life but the beginning of a great smile. Yes, I will start to think positively about this because whether I like it or not, today, when I slammed $850 down on the counter after my appointment that was like sealing the deal for real. 
I went in and immediately was called back to the chair of doom. An assistant had little bitty baby rubber bands out on her sterile tray & got started. They just tell you to open up and then they take a metal tool and stretch the rubber band in between your teeth, kind of like flossing but then it stays there. Of course I would have issues. The assistant had to have Dr. Kolodziej come in to get most of the spacers(separators) in because of course my mouth is the worst case scenario of close teeth.
This process was seriously SERIOUSLY the worst pain I've ever had in my mouth. At one point I said "oh my Gosh" (all mumbled of course) because it hurt sooooooo horribly. They had to attach 2 pieces of floss to the bands and then floss them up into my mouth.The one is around a crown on my tooth so it was extremely tight, and  Dr. Kolodziej seemed to seriously hate the fact that he was causing pain but I got through it. He told me that I did pretty well considering it was such a tight squeeze.... I didn't cry so it must not have been that bad, I did dig my nails into my side and cause nail marks there but I was also told that this week will probably be the most discomfort that I will have throughout my whole treatment, which made me really thankful! 3 ibuprofen later and the assistant instructed me to not eat anything sticky.... does that include gummy bears? I definitely have a fresh bag of them just waiting for me to consume! Paid & off I went! Next appointment next Tuesday August 28th at 12:10.
Oh & I'm not supposed to touch the spacers or rub my tongue against them BUT it's soooooooo hard not to! How do they expect you not to play with things that shouldn't be there! I can do it I can do it... nope I can't. Let's just hope that I don't knock one out due to not following the rules.

Plan of Action

I went to my next appointment with high hopes of them giving me all the important information that I need. Dr. Kolodziej gave me a little run down of risks including losing teeth, root damage, ya know all the really horrible things that happen 1/1,000,000,000 times (all which will probably happen to me) 

Before, the plan of action for my mouth included braces, looking into an expander if my mouth wasn't shifting right, and then if necessary surgery for my cross bite... well now before I get my braces it stands as

August 21         Spacers

August 28         Mold of roof of my mouth

September 11   Expander

I was told to try to bring someone with me to that appointment that will be in charge of twisting my expander OUCH. My family will just love inducing pain on me and I'm such a control freak but baby that I'm probably going to have to to it myself and it'll take me 10 hours to just do one turn. 

Here's the x-ray's of messed up mouth ... 

Dear doctors, never leave me unattended I will take pictures of anything that I think looks interesting.

 Oh & they gave me a Good Luck shirt... which is obviously just promotional material! But hey I'm not complaining! :)