Moonlit Narratives Blog

Sorry if some of the pics look like they were taken at weird angles.  Sometimes I tend to tilt my head a little back.  I will try to do less of this so the shot is more straight on.

Previously I mentioned to Dr. B regarding Lora’s Blog. The next time I saw him, he noted that though Lora’s Blog was a good account of her experience with braces, she never really brought up people’s reactions to her braces (namely her family). He made a good point… So to improve upon that recounter, I will say that my husband told me that my braces made me look like I was smiling all the time (spoken in jest)… haha… What it really was? The brackets gently pushed my upper lip up a little on either end and made me look like I was smiling all the time. I obviously had a small problem of keeping my upper lip closed over the brackets earlier on, since I was not used to them yet =)…
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I’m glad I didn’t get braces as a child for the reasons that I was dealing with many issues back then- racial prejudice, being a nerd. Braces would have made the teasing worse. Kids are mean. I also didn’t have the greatest dental hygiene back then (typical kid problem). So when my mom went into her banter of “see I told you to get it when you were a kid,” I told her “think again.” This was the perfect time for me to have braces- no teasing (except from my mom), plus I’m compliant to the regimen- no slacking, no matter how late at night it may be; you will still see the bathroom lights on, hear the buzz of my Oral B, the sound of swishing and rinsing, the duggaduggadugga of the waterpik (think mini jackhammer).

For any adult who doubts they’ve made the right decision to get braces; doubt no more, you’re worth it.

Today is October 17, 2008. My third visit to ortho. I have a party to attend this weekend and was trying to decide whether I should just go for the clear elastic ligatures. Frankly, I’ve been tired of the continued staining- looking at the neon yellow-green…yuk. I wanted color this time, but not too much to attract attention to my braces. I’m still overly self-conscious about them and sadly sort of ashamed that I need braces. I’m sure people see them but no one has said anything yet. I haven’t caught people staring either. I guess everyone knows the polite thing to do (keep quiet if they do spot them on me)- maybe let me bring it up only if I want to. That is, everyone except for my mom, who sure has a way of making me feel better =(. Anyway, I told Dr.B I was feeling a little braver and asked him what colors he had with him today. My face brightened when he said he had pink. That was the color I was hoping for. The perfect blush/neutral color that says “fun” yet doesn’t shout “look at me.” Not bad for my first experiment with color. I think I would have gone for purple lowers and maybe clear uppers, maybe purple lowers and uppers (depending on the way it looked on the lowers first), had he not said he had some pink handy. Anyway, my husband says he can see some progress with my teeth from the pictures. I haven’t really done a comparison yet. I did notice that after I got home, I checked in a mirror and saw that my lowers are slowly moving closer together. Millimeter by mm my teeth are moving. I’m thinking of switching my Oral B electric toothbrush to Sonicare with a brush sanitizing system. I haven’t decided yet. As for pain, I did start feeling a bit tender several hours after the dental appointment. I hope tomorrow will be okay. I love food. I dislike limiting what I can eat due to this sensitivity.

I have been eating mainly soft foods e.g. eggs, yogurt without solid fruit chunks, congee, potatoe salad, noodle soups since the tooth extraction and braces tightening. Today was the first time I realized my bite has changed slightly. I’m not sure what happened? It feels really strange. I had suspected my right upper canine but it’s really the “loose tooth” and the one below which feel at odds with one another. It seems like there’s something new everyday. I will probably call the dental office on Monday to consult with Dr. L. It’s not a tremendous problem but a noticeable change. I suspect that these changes are normal; funny that the potential change in bite never crossed my mind as a consequence of having braces. I’m overall experiencing less teeth/gum aching. Maybe tomorrow will be even better?

Today is the day after the dental visit. Please see previous post September 18, 2008. It’s been a little hard for me to eat solid food today (including peaches in yogurt). I think my mouth is still not over the dental trauma of yesterday. The aching is 5/10 only when I try to eat solid food. Hopefully it will subside as the days pass. I dislike taking pain killers so I will continue to rinse with warm saltwater, etc. I’ve heard this is a normal malady of having braces placed/tightened. I also had to place a little orthodontic wax on the elastic holding the teeth together (the teeth to either side of the extraction site) because it was rubbing the inside of my lip. Refer to picture from September 18, 2008 blog entry; it’s the white elastic pictured in a criss-cross on the front lower teeth… can’t miss it. I think the wax has done the trick. I’m probably going to have to cut my food into small pieces to alleviate the aching and until I feel better overall.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention… I requested to take a look at my tooth after the extraction (I know some of you are saying “eww” right now). I remembered Dr. L said I could look at it but couldn’t have it. I didn’t get to ask him why (not that I would have seriously taken it home). I told my husband about the dentist’s response, he teased me and said, “don’t you know that adult teeth are worth ten times that of children’s according to the Tooth Fairy; it’s at least $2.50… and your dentist is probably rich from all the collections he’s been accumulating.” That was a pretty funny thought. I really wonder what the office does with the extracted teeth?

Below, is a picture of a tooth pillow. This pillow keepsake is supposed to keep the tooth safe and secure for the Tooth Fairy. I guess it’s an item of “common knowledge,” apparently not for me.

*Photocredit: http://www.ultimatebabyboutique.com

Picture of a Very Cute Tooth Pillow. FOR THE TOOTH FAIRY (Only You Have to Get the Tooth from Dr. L's Office). Could I still get something for it since the tooth was mine? =)

I was actually a little nervous today. Why? I have no idea. I’ve been through enough dental procedures within these past several years, I really don’t have an excuse to be nervous anymore. The extraction went pretty smoothly. Didn’t feel a thing. I made sure they gave me enough lidocaine gel before using the lidocaine-filled syringe. I still can’t believe a healthy tooth had to be sacrificed =(. Dr. L examined the slightly “loose” tooth and thought it was within the norm of having braces. I sat in the waiting room again trying to put pressure over the “surgical” site to stop the bleeding. I was determined to not leave without a full mouth of archwires and elastic ligatures. I was warned Dr. B would not proceed until the bleeding ceased. Remember I had to plead with him to make this a back-to-back procedure and he was reluctant to give-in. The lidocaine wore off about a half hour after the extraction and I started to feel some pain. I began to worry a little but, I’m so grateful the pain disappeared by the time Dr. B was ready to work on my braces. Though I complained about the clear elastic ligatures taking on the color of my food, I wasn’t brave enough to choose among red, blue, green, or purple. I hate to admit this but I would have went for pink or smoke color if he had them (this is the kid in me). So now it’s round two with the clears and more potential (okay, guaranteed) staining. I still have a big jar of pickles left that no one will help me eat. My husband hates pickles. Right now I’m slowly trying to finish my salad but I have a minor aching from the braces so I’ll just drink tea or whatever and try to eat something soft later. The visit in total took two hours but now I can finally start my countdown to beautiful teeth. This is not an experience for the faint-of-heart. I think the weirdest part of today’s ordeal isn’t the braces but the gap in-between my teeth (I can feel the edge of one tooth and the gap on the other side). Can’t wait until the gap closes; I’m hoping it’s about a month or less…that’s why I wanted the archwire for the lowers so badly. I was instructed to avoid rinsing my mouth for 24 hours due to the extraction (probably to not interfere with clot formation) but I think I’m going to bend the rule a little and do some gentle rinsing later tonight. I don’t want to go to bed with food stuck to my braces.

September 18, 2008

I placed my order for my proxabrush supplies on August 28 and today is September 17. I’ve sent them a few emails regarding the issue of order non-receipt besides the order details. Their site has no clearly listed phone number, just e-mail forms (which they don’t respond to and yes, I’ve checked my JUNK MAIL folder daily). I googled them and found out they were affiliated with a Lititz PA dental office. Called twice already and have not received a call back from Ms. Palace, even though a colleague forwarded her my message and contact information. That’s horrible “customer service,” if it could even be called that. I just saw a change in order status on the site. Looks a little promising but I really shouldn’t have gone through all this trouble for an order paid-in-full. We’ll see… the order isn’t in my possession yet. Keep you posted. I’m so disappointed with this company especially since I saw, previous to placing the order, that they have been recommended via other web sites. Any of you dealt with this company and have stories to tell?

Next Day: I just received an early morning call from Ms. Palace. Apparently one of the proxabrush items had been discontinued and that was the cause for the delay. I’m feeling better but wish she could have called or emailed sooner when she initially encountered this problem. There’s always a concern when you don’t hear from a company (after repeated attempts to contact them), which leads one to believe they’ve been swindled. The other items should be on their way. I think calling this company, should you choose to order from them, is the best way to receive an answer…..

September 18, 2008: I actually received my shipment today. Wow, perfect timing. I’m beginning to forgive them. =)

For anyone who needs their info:
Lititz Dental Co./edentalstuff.com
Contact: Keri Palasz, Manager
4C Tollgate Road
Lititz, Pennsylvania 17543
717.626.0600
customerservice@edentalstuff.com

Late last night I was flossing my teeth and suddenly realized that the tooth on my right side with the last bracket felt loose. I panicked not knowing why? I wasn’t even in pain. I’ve taken such good care of my teeth and gums. I went to bed worrying that I wasn’t meant to have braces. Maybe they were wrong and my teeth and gums weren’t really healthy enough to handle the stress of braces?

I woke up this morning and decided to call the dental office for advice since I was scared to eat, thinking the tooth would pop right off. Dr. L explained that the “mobility” was normal (I’ve had my braces for one month). He also told me that at some point all my teeth would be going through this mobility and that Dr. B would stabilize my teeth and tighten the braces with every visit. Mind-boggling news. Why didn’t anyone warm me about this “loosening” and “numb” yet not totally numb feeling was just a “normal” part of having braces/ortho? This “mobility” is a horrible feeling. Kind of transports me back to when I was I guess about 10 years old, when my permanent teeth were setting in… one tooth after another went bye-bye (a disgusting and disturbing feeling I still remember)… my baby/deciduous teeth slowly jiggled and fell out, and then erupted my adult teeth. Though Dr. L said I didn’t have to go on a soft diet, I’m thinking I should stay away from steak (my favorite meat) for awhile, at least until I feel braver. If anyone actually has any doubts, this entry gets a big unhappy face from me =(. By the end of all of this, I may be in need of some retail therapy!

I was already careful about avoiding curry but still got my elastic ligatures (for those of you who don’t know, ligatures are those little rubber bands on each bracket that hold the archwire in place) stained by eating pickles =(. I went into my dental office today to ask if anything could be done to whiten them, but alas I’m stuck with the neon yellow-green until next visit =(… I checked archwired.com for some advice but it looks like there are no real great options once they’re stained. So besides curry, you can add pickles to the list.

*The “Parts” of Braces… I’m learning something new everyday…
http://www.greatsmiles.net/parts/parts.html