Moonlit Narratives Blog

I saw Dr. B first today before going to the hygienist for my quarterly deep cleaning. Dr. B removed the archwires, elastic ligatures, and elastic band and left the brackets alone. I told Dr. B the elastic band was causing me some discomfort despite my attempts to remedy the situation. The orthodontic wax was not always successful with protecting my mouth from sores. Canker X helped only somewhat. He decided to leave the elastic band off this time since they were doing more harm than good. Luckily he also felt that I didn’t really need them for now. The hygienist had mostly good things to report to Dr. L after everything was said and done. The only problem was I had some plaque build-up behind my bottom front teeth. I had some inflammation and a small amount of bleeding during the cleaning =(. I was really disappointed to see that since I take so good care of my teeth everyday and I use the Sonicare compact head to brush that area (no cheating), but maybe the damage was done and the plaque was building up there even before I began using the Sonicare and made it that much harder to remove? She said it’s a typical issue that she sees in many people just because of where our salivary ducts are situated. She gave me a pediatric brush for that area and taught me the best way to keep it clean. I just started a Vitamin C, Magnesium, and Multi-B Vitamin regimen in hopes to improve the health of my gums. I also thought a Flouride Treatment twice a year could be beneficial (very reasonably priced and takes about 4 minutes). It wasn’t a big deal at all. I was looking through fashion magazines the whole time and listening to her chatter away even though she knew I couldn’t answer her =). The time was up before I even noticed. I went back to Dr. B, everything was put back (pink ligatures and all) and he tightened both the uppers and lowers. Yeah!!! Well, I don’t know what else I can do? My dental health has become like a full-time job. The dental staff have been vocal about being more than willing to help me mainly because I seem to care so much. They also know I have an unfortunate genetic disposition to some of these problems. Maybe I am their successful pet project (a patient that they could finally reach) =))? When I think back to the way I was before; I’m so glad I’ve changed for the better. Hollywood smile, here I come! Only ~ 14 more months to go =( *big sigh* …..

December 21, 2008

I love my new Sonicare RS930! It really does work well in getting my teeth clean plus I love that it has a sanitizing system for the brushes. I have to work on letting the brush do all the work instead of pressing down too hard. Unfortunately, years of having that bad habit has caused a little gum recession. I may need some minor gum surgery to fix the problem =(. Another aspect of the Sonicare that works well for me is the automatic timer, which helps me to pace my brushing quadrants. It’s pretty subtle. I only wish the beep was a bit louder. I think everyone should be using an electric toothbrush, whether it’s an Oral B or Sonicare. Hopefully I’ll be able to convince my parents.

When I bought my Sonicare, my dentist had mentioned that some of his adult patients with braces were not properly caring for their teeth. He said, “it’s like buying a new car and not getting it cleaned.” That was a perfect simile.

P.S. This particular Sonicare model in the 900 Series uses the ProResults brush head.

http://sonicare.com/brushes/flexcare/c_flex_t2_prod2_compare.asp

I had to place orthodontic wax over the elastic knot since the sharp ends of the knot were digging into my lips; certainly making it unbearable to eat or speak =(… If it’s not one thing, it’s something else =(. At least I’m starting to feel a little better.

Just had my lower braces tightened yesterday with elastic ligature changes. I’m a little disappointed that yesterday he left the upper braces alone. He said he was concerned about closing the bottom gaps and wanted to leave the uppers alone this visit. I really hope that my teeth will look nice at the end. No surprise that today my lowers are tender but thankfully not enough to need pain killers. I’m trying to treat them gingerly and eat soft foods or at least not rush through eating. I wonder with all the advances in orthodontics why the process is still so painful? It’s hard enough on adults; I just can’t imagine how kids go through this?

I mentioned to the dental hygienist, I noticed a little bleeding on my three front-most lower teeth recently (during my proxabrush cleanings). Dr. B said he didn’t see any gum inflammation at all. I was surprised that this happened after months of going through the same thorough routine. She told me hormonal changes could be the culprit and recommended rinsing with equal parts water and peroxide to resolve this issue.

During yesterday’s visit, Dr. B called the dental hygienist into the room to help resolve the issue of keeping the white elastic on the lower front teeth clean. I told them it was a food trap and that my attempts at cleaning it weren’t the most successful. Kind of tricky working with such tiny spaces. She gave me a Crest Glide Floss Pick; using the end to gently open up the elastic so I could use a tiny Go-Between to brush the remnants of food out. It’s been proving useful. Come to think of it, a GUM stimulator could also take the place of the Glide Pick… Another small issue solved.

I’ve been using the GUM stimulator (soft tip) to gently remove food particles collecting around the brackets only because I’m not sure what else to do and my rinsing and Oral B brush aren’t always successful at getting the food completely off.

The dental hygienist reminded me to keep my brushes clean by using an equal part mixture of water and vinegar.

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.

Vertical Horizon is my favorite band. I’ve seen them a few times in concert and they’re performances were always so consistently good. I’m a little sad that Ed Toth left the band in 2005 to be the backup drummer for The Doobie Brothers. I doubt that would badly hurt VH’s new music though. When will the new Vertical Horizon album be out? We’ve been waiting FOREVER! I know Matt Scannell has been collaborating with Richard Marx re-vamping some loved oldies and that the duo has been touring, but it could never make up for VH being MIA =(. I heard a tidbit of a new VH song from Burning the Days on Matt’s My Space Web Blog and though it’s a little different from their usual stuff, it’s still awesome! We want the new CD! We want the new CD!….

*Photocredits: Amazon

San Francisco Boy by Lois Lenski
A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madelaine L’Engle
Tenggren’s Golden Tales From The Arabian Nights

All of which I now have copies of; well, Tenggren’s book is on the way. Only one alludes me =(. I remember it was a lavender/pale lilac colored hardcover book and I think it was called The Valentine Day Party (something to that effect). My memory of it is a little sketchy since the last time I borrowed it from the library was more than twenty years ago. I’ve been trying to Google it, but to no avail =(. I even called my old elementary school in hopes to speak to the librarian, but the librarian never returned my call- maybe she thought I was a nut =}?.. I don’t even remember the author; only that I loved the illustrations enough to hog the book for weeks at a time. I think the illustrations were drawn by pencil and filled in with light or pale colors. I believe it was about a young girl who was trying to fit in; she was a very shy girl who was invited to a friend’s party? Any suggestions? Please contact me through the comments form. It would make me very happy to finally find it; to be re-united with a very special book from years ago =). Feel free to drop me a line about a favorite book of yours. My nephew is slowly accumulating books for his library (he’s not reading on his own yet but good books are forever treasures). I’m always wondering about what books have inspired others, what books have helped to shape a person’s life.

*Photocredits: Amazon