"My adult patients who get braces become my best patients," my dentist told me. "They take very good care of their teeth."
And for good reason I thought. I was getting braces in part because I was well aware that I wasn't going to be growing any new teeth. Something I wish my kids could understand a little better.
When I asked him how long it would take and how often I would be coming in for appointments, he said that I would come once a month and they would take off the wire and then let me floss.
I can only floss once a month? I thought. How will I get to be a better patient? Instead of flossing once a day, now I only have to floss once a month?
"You can come in between appointments if you have something big coming up to get the buildup off," he continued.
Buildup? I thought. Gross.
When he left the room, my hygenist clarified. It was actually possible to floss with braces on. It was more like sewing she said.
Having never had braces and not being a student of brace anatomy, I tried to wrap my brain around how you would do that. But, I really don't have extra brain capacity right now since I am living under the influence of children, so I told myself not to worry about how to do it since they would show me when I got my braces on.
After the dentist installed my appliances (aka. he put my braces on), he handed me a packet of stuff to help me keep my teeth clean. Inside, he say there was a plastic needle that would fit between the teeth. After threading the needle with floss, I was to...well...sew that floss through my teeth.
Having learned how to sew at an early age, I was excited to try it out.
When night came, I pulled out the plastic needle, threaded it and tried to push the needle through my teeth. Some of my teeth it slid through. But most of my teeth it would not slide through. The wire was too close to the gum line. The eye of the needle was too wide. To understand what I mean, you need to realize that the needle itself was flat and thin, but the eye was wide enough that a great grandma could thread it without the use of her spectacles. And that was the problem. It wouldn't fit between the gum and the wire.
I tried several times, and each time I failed and went to bed. I decided that I would need to go buy the floss that has a stiff end attached at one end.
But I am living under the influence of 5 children who are out of school for the summer. I find I keep my sanity longer if I wait to take them to the store with me when I have enough energy, or wake up early and go to the store by myself (which also means I need to have extra energy).
I heard a story once about the man who invented the sewing machine. He had been working on designing a sewing machine for a while without luck. One night he had a dream. In his dream, the needle had an eye on the opposite end of the needle. Instead of pulling the needle through the fabric, the needle in his dream pushed the thread through the fabric. It was the missing piece of information that allowed him to invent a sewing machine.
About a week after I got my braces, I was just going to bed after trying to floss and failing. Surely the dentist would have already run into this problem. Why would it not work for me? What am I doing tomorrow? Can I run to the store early in the morning? Maybe I should just buy a water pick like my dentist suggested.
As I closed my eyes, my brain was toying with the problem when inspiration hit. I could see what I was missing.
I jumped out of bed and threaded that needle one more time. This time instead of pushing the needle between my teeth, I pushed it between the wire and my teeth. Viola! I could now floss my teeth.
And, I am happy to report, I am on my way to becoming a better dental patient.
That is if you don't count the days I don't have the energy at bedtime.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
My Teeth are Sitting Up and Taking Notice
When I smile, my lower front teeth usually get hidden behind my lower lip. I really had not paid much attention to them.
True, my mom had instructed me that if I just pushed with my tongue on the tooth that had grown in behind the others that it might move into place. I knew that I had a few crooked teeth but I wasn't too concerned. I was only concerned that my lower front teeth were beginning to wear down.
The morning the brackets were in place and the wire from fence post to fence post in my mouth, I was surprised that my teeth were THAT crooked.
It was like someone had drawn a dot-to-dot puzzle on my lower teeth.
In the past 3 weeks I have watched those crooked teeth slowly begin to move into place. It is exciting to see the progress. (If I could see this much progress when I tried to lose weight, I would have wonderful motivation.)
That tooth that has lived on the second row by herself all of her life now has a seat on the front row. Those fence posts are beginning to look more uniform and the wire strung on them is getting straighter and straighter in small ways each day.
But a few days ago, I discovered that one of my front lower teeth has been laying down on the job for years now. My braces have straighten it up though and now.....
....... it is TALLER than the other teeth.
Which teaches me that if you lay down on the job, you don't get so worn down.
True, my mom had instructed me that if I just pushed with my tongue on the tooth that had grown in behind the others that it might move into place. I knew that I had a few crooked teeth but I wasn't too concerned. I was only concerned that my lower front teeth were beginning to wear down.
The morning the brackets were in place and the wire from fence post to fence post in my mouth, I was surprised that my teeth were THAT crooked.
It was like someone had drawn a dot-to-dot puzzle on my lower teeth.
In the past 3 weeks I have watched those crooked teeth slowly begin to move into place. It is exciting to see the progress. (If I could see this much progress when I tried to lose weight, I would have wonderful motivation.)
That tooth that has lived on the second row by herself all of her life now has a seat on the front row. Those fence posts are beginning to look more uniform and the wire strung on them is getting straighter and straighter in small ways each day.
But a few days ago, I discovered that one of my front lower teeth has been laying down on the job for years now. My braces have straighten it up though and now.....
....... it is TALLER than the other teeth.
Which teaches me that if you lay down on the job, you don't get so worn down.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sealing My Lips
I'm a storyteller. When I got home from getting braces, my husband said, "You're going to be a better storyteller by the time you are done with these braces."
"How so?" I asked.
"You'll have to work harder at enunciation." he responded.
The first indication that he might be right was when I said an "F" sound. Bookshelf. Bookshelves.
Every time I say a word that had an "F" sound in it, I hear a small whistle. It is so soft that I think I am the only one who can hear it. (Or at least my supportive husband claims he can't hear it.)
At first I couldn't figure out what was causing it, but I finally determined that I'm not getting my lips all the way down to the bottom of my top teeth when I say an "F" sound and there is a small space that allows air through as I talk.
My lips are not sealed.
I have noticed other times that my lips gape open.
Finishing a smile. I really have to extend my lips around my braces and sometimes I just don't have the time between smiles or words to close those lips all the way. Or maybe I'm just lazy. So, on occasion, I end up with fangs.
Little short stubby fangs that only I notice...or at least I hope I'm the only one noticing.
The worst indication, however, that I still need to seal my lips comes at night when I am relaxing.
I really hope here that those of you who have had braces before know where I am going. Otherwise I'm about to embarrass myself royally.
At night, when I'm relaxed, and my lips are not sealed....well, ..... is there a polite way to put this?
OK, I drool.
As a rule, I don't drool....or at least that's my story....but with orthodontia appliances glued to my teeth, I don't always get my lips sealed.
And because my lips are not sealed, you all now know the awful, slimy, wet truth.
"How so?" I asked.
"You'll have to work harder at enunciation." he responded.
The first indication that he might be right was when I said an "F" sound. Bookshelf. Bookshelves.
Every time I say a word that had an "F" sound in it, I hear a small whistle. It is so soft that I think I am the only one who can hear it. (Or at least my supportive husband claims he can't hear it.)
At first I couldn't figure out what was causing it, but I finally determined that I'm not getting my lips all the way down to the bottom of my top teeth when I say an "F" sound and there is a small space that allows air through as I talk.
My lips are not sealed.
I have noticed other times that my lips gape open.
Finishing a smile. I really have to extend my lips around my braces and sometimes I just don't have the time between smiles or words to close those lips all the way. Or maybe I'm just lazy. So, on occasion, I end up with fangs.
Little short stubby fangs that only I notice...or at least I hope I'm the only one noticing.
The worst indication, however, that I still need to seal my lips comes at night when I am relaxing.
I really hope here that those of you who have had braces before know where I am going. Otherwise I'm about to embarrass myself royally.
At night, when I'm relaxed, and my lips are not sealed....well, ..... is there a polite way to put this?
OK, I drool.
As a rule, I don't drool....or at least that's my story....but with orthodontia appliances glued to my teeth, I don't always get my lips sealed.
And because my lips are not sealed, you all now know the awful, slimy, wet truth.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Developing my Smile Wrinkles
You've all had someone tell you that the more you smile, the more smile wrinkles you will get when you are older. Usually this instruction is accompanied by a warning, that if you frown, you will develop frown wrinkles in your old age.
Getting braces, often results in the patient being hesitant to open their mouth for fear of showing their braces.
I guess I've taken the opposite approach. When my husband comes home and asks how my day was, I give him the biggest smile I can. Just to have him laugh at me.
My children think I look different with braces on. One even said I was freaky looking.
Smiling actually is more comfortable than frowning. The bigger you smile, the more comfortable it is.
It is in the closing of the mouth after smiling that things get cumbersome. First you have to extend your upper lip to clear the braces on the top. If you are not careful enough and close your bottom lip too soon, it can get snagged on the I teeth of the bottom braces. Sometimes I fear I might tear my lip.
Thanks to my new braces I get to practice slow smiles and develop wonderful smile wrinkles.
Getting braces, often results in the patient being hesitant to open their mouth for fear of showing their braces.
I guess I've taken the opposite approach. When my husband comes home and asks how my day was, I give him the biggest smile I can. Just to have him laugh at me.
My children think I look different with braces on. One even said I was freaky looking.
Smiling actually is more comfortable than frowning. The bigger you smile, the more comfortable it is.
It is in the closing of the mouth after smiling that things get cumbersome. First you have to extend your upper lip to clear the braces on the top. If you are not careful enough and close your bottom lip too soon, it can get snagged on the I teeth of the bottom braces. Sometimes I fear I might tear my lip.
Thanks to my new braces I get to practice slow smiles and develop wonderful smile wrinkles.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Soft Food Diet
The dentist mentioned in an earlier consultation that for a little bit I might need to go on "kind of a soft diet".
I used to be a CNA and had a small idea as to what he was talking about, but it almost sounded....well....optional.
"No bagels, soft bread was ok. Don't eat an apple with your front teeth. Your teeth will feel loose," the dentist had said.
By the time I returned home, it was 1:30 pm and I was hungry. The fridge, which had held many options just a few hours earlier, now had much less to offer me. Carrots, apples, celery, could not even be considered. I didn't even want to see what peanut butter would do to my braces.
My neighbor told me that I would loose weight. My husband agreed. I was skeptical. But now, looking in the fridge and having no inspirations, I was beginning to think I would starve.
I nibbled on some left over mac n cheese. It got stuck in my braces. I brushed my teeth and had to use one of the special brushes the dentist sent home with me to get a piece of noodle out. I made a strawberry smoothie with a scoop of protein powder. It was delicious, but I wasn't looking forward to eating smoothies for the next couple of weeks.
I found the last package of graham crackers. Stuffing them into a glass, I poured milk on them and waited for them to be soggy and then drank the result. Not bad I thought. When you are hungry, even soggy is acceptable.
By the late afternoon with dinner looming, I was ready to have some help. I googled "Soft Food Diet" and came up with many options. Most, however, didn't exist in my home.
But I put together a crust-less quiche, chopped up pears, and chopped up hard boiled eggs for dinner. and hoped my family would get enough to eat.
Tuesday, tired of oatmeal and out of graham crackers, I braved the grocery store with 5 children in tow. My goal: Buy food I can eat.
Jam, Jello, Potato Rolls, Yogurt, milk, eggs, cottage cheese, popsicles, avocados, french bread, thin sliced ham, bananas, graham crackers, melon, frozen potato soup, grapes, and of course ice cream.
I was starving when I made it home and pulled off a chunk of french bread only to find, even the soft stuff inside was hard to mash with just my front teeth. I tried the potato rolls with only slightly better results.
Each bite brought pain shooting. My molars aren't touching and won't touch for a couple of weeks. My front teeth are tender from the tight wire and putting them together without food in them is painful. Trying to tear food with them is more painful.
I can't say I wasn't warned. But at the time, well, I thought my experience might be different. Of course.
Food choices that have been successful so far are: avocados, cottage cheese, ice cream, popscicles (although the red one stained my rubber bands red), soft bananas, cream of potato soup, quiche, chopped apples and chopped canned pears, chopped hard boiled eggs, strawberry shakes with protein powder in them and chocolate bars (just let them melt in your mouth and then swallow!).
I used to be a CNA and had a small idea as to what he was talking about, but it almost sounded....well....optional.
"No bagels, soft bread was ok. Don't eat an apple with your front teeth. Your teeth will feel loose," the dentist had said.
By the time I returned home, it was 1:30 pm and I was hungry. The fridge, which had held many options just a few hours earlier, now had much less to offer me. Carrots, apples, celery, could not even be considered. I didn't even want to see what peanut butter would do to my braces.
My neighbor told me that I would loose weight. My husband agreed. I was skeptical. But now, looking in the fridge and having no inspirations, I was beginning to think I would starve.
I nibbled on some left over mac n cheese. It got stuck in my braces. I brushed my teeth and had to use one of the special brushes the dentist sent home with me to get a piece of noodle out. I made a strawberry smoothie with a scoop of protein powder. It was delicious, but I wasn't looking forward to eating smoothies for the next couple of weeks.
I found the last package of graham crackers. Stuffing them into a glass, I poured milk on them and waited for them to be soggy and then drank the result. Not bad I thought. When you are hungry, even soggy is acceptable.
By the late afternoon with dinner looming, I was ready to have some help. I googled "Soft Food Diet" and came up with many options. Most, however, didn't exist in my home.
But I put together a crust-less quiche, chopped up pears, and chopped up hard boiled eggs for dinner. and hoped my family would get enough to eat.
Tuesday, tired of oatmeal and out of graham crackers, I braved the grocery store with 5 children in tow. My goal: Buy food I can eat.
Jam, Jello, Potato Rolls, Yogurt, milk, eggs, cottage cheese, popsicles, avocados, french bread, thin sliced ham, bananas, graham crackers, melon, frozen potato soup, grapes, and of course ice cream.
I was starving when I made it home and pulled off a chunk of french bread only to find, even the soft stuff inside was hard to mash with just my front teeth. I tried the potato rolls with only slightly better results.
Each bite brought pain shooting. My molars aren't touching and won't touch for a couple of weeks. My front teeth are tender from the tight wire and putting them together without food in them is painful. Trying to tear food with them is more painful.
I can't say I wasn't warned. But at the time, well, I thought my experience might be different. Of course.
Food choices that have been successful so far are: avocados, cottage cheese, ice cream, popscicles (although the red one stained my rubber bands red), soft bananas, cream of potato soup, quiche, chopped apples and chopped canned pears, chopped hard boiled eggs, strawberry shakes with protein powder in them and chocolate bars (just let them melt in your mouth and then swallow!).
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
July 19, 2010 Braces: ON
The hygienist called me back.
"Are you excited?" she asked.
"Yea!" I answered
And I was.
About 9 months ago, the hygenist commented on the wearing down of my front teeth. I had noticed it myself, but didn't know what was contributing to it or what to do about it. I learned it was because I was grinding my teeth.
I had two options. A night guard or braces.
I don't like band aids--you know, procedures that don't fix the problem but just cover the symptom. That is how I viewed the night guard.
So I began to explore how feasible it was for us to pay for braces. One relative nine years ago had commented that my high aspirations to pay off our house would surely be side tracked when our first child needed braces. I feared the worst. But after another consultation with my dentist, and with my financial consultant (aka. my husband), I scheduled the procedure.
And here was the day. I was excited. I would have straight teeth. I wouldn't end up with teeth ground down to mere stubs at 60 or 70 years old.
Somehow I forgot about the quoted 18 months of wait time for my teeth to move.
I was excited.
My dentist put a "keep-your-mouth-open-while-I-work-on-it" device into my mouth. I didn't see it until after he put it in my mouth. It opened my mouth up in such a way that my teeth looked like a picture you would find in a 3rd grade health book of the body with no skin on it--just muscle. The contraption looks like a medieval torture device, but was amazingly comfortable.
He cleaned each tooth, then applied super glue and ceramic brackets. He used an ultraviolet light to kill bacteria and cure the glue.
Other patients had backed up in the other rooms at this point, so he left his hygienist to attach the lower wire while he checked on patients.
It was tricky to get that wire in place and after wrestling it into most of the brackets, she finally left the last two for the dentist to do.
I got a long break while my dentist finished his back log of patients. I didn't mind too much. My 5 children were at the babysitters. I had brought my mp3 player with the second book in the 39 Clues series and Anne of the Island. But what I really wanted to do was read the Real Simple magazine I had picked up last week in the dentist office when my daughter was getting a cavity filled. Since it is hard to read a magazine while the dentist is working on you, this was my chance to read more of this issue. (I really should get my own subscription to the magazine.)
45 minutes later, my dentist returned and said,"Now that your lips are rested from the bottom set, let's get the top set on."
"Rested?" I thought. "They have gone on vacation."
I was hurriedly jotting down the last step from the article "Skip Getting Sick in 3 Steps" as he pushed the button to recline my chair. He must have been anxious to get the rest of the braces on because he didn't see I wasn't ready yet. I exercised all my stomach muscles to move forward and replace my purse on the stable chair. Seeing my strained effort (abs of steel are not among my assets) he apologized profusely and reversed the movement of the dental chair.
As he applied the last set of brackets, he commented, "It always amazes me when adults get braces. I'm not sure I would do it as an adult." He explained that he had braces as a youth but since then he has seen he could use some things fixed, but he hasn't had the guts to do it.
Of course, I don't know exactly what he means....yet. Because, well, I've never had braces before. And I'm excited because I'm going to have straight teeth. Who wouldn't want to have braces? Besides I told myself, "I'm not going to look like everyone else who gets braces because...well, I'm different, I'm cooler, I'll do things differently."
He went on to say he has family members who will do them for free. But he doesn't want to go through it again. "Free would be nice," I thought. So I'm still not sure what he was talking about.
Then he finished and he told me that he has just succeeded in making me look younger. As he hands me the mirror to look at myself he said, "Now you look like a teenager!"
Looking back at me in the mirror, I didn't see a woman who has 5 children and has yet to completely get rid of the baby fat. I saw a gawky teenager with braces. And I smiled.
"Are you excited?" she asked.
"Yea!" I answered
And I was.
About 9 months ago, the hygenist commented on the wearing down of my front teeth. I had noticed it myself, but didn't know what was contributing to it or what to do about it. I learned it was because I was grinding my teeth.
I had two options. A night guard or braces.
I don't like band aids--you know, procedures that don't fix the problem but just cover the symptom. That is how I viewed the night guard.
So I began to explore how feasible it was for us to pay for braces. One relative nine years ago had commented that my high aspirations to pay off our house would surely be side tracked when our first child needed braces. I feared the worst. But after another consultation with my dentist, and with my financial consultant (aka. my husband), I scheduled the procedure.
And here was the day. I was excited. I would have straight teeth. I wouldn't end up with teeth ground down to mere stubs at 60 or 70 years old.
Somehow I forgot about the quoted 18 months of wait time for my teeth to move.
I was excited.
My dentist put a "keep-your-mouth-open-while-I-work-on-it" device into my mouth. I didn't see it until after he put it in my mouth. It opened my mouth up in such a way that my teeth looked like a picture you would find in a 3rd grade health book of the body with no skin on it--just muscle. The contraption looks like a medieval torture device, but was amazingly comfortable.
He cleaned each tooth, then applied super glue and ceramic brackets. He used an ultraviolet light to kill bacteria and cure the glue.
Other patients had backed up in the other rooms at this point, so he left his hygienist to attach the lower wire while he checked on patients.
It was tricky to get that wire in place and after wrestling it into most of the brackets, she finally left the last two for the dentist to do.
I got a long break while my dentist finished his back log of patients. I didn't mind too much. My 5 children were at the babysitters. I had brought my mp3 player with the second book in the 39 Clues series and Anne of the Island. But what I really wanted to do was read the Real Simple magazine I had picked up last week in the dentist office when my daughter was getting a cavity filled. Since it is hard to read a magazine while the dentist is working on you, this was my chance to read more of this issue. (I really should get my own subscription to the magazine.)
45 minutes later, my dentist returned and said,"Now that your lips are rested from the bottom set, let's get the top set on."
"Rested?" I thought. "They have gone on vacation."
I was hurriedly jotting down the last step from the article "Skip Getting Sick in 3 Steps" as he pushed the button to recline my chair. He must have been anxious to get the rest of the braces on because he didn't see I wasn't ready yet. I exercised all my stomach muscles to move forward and replace my purse on the stable chair. Seeing my strained effort (abs of steel are not among my assets) he apologized profusely and reversed the movement of the dental chair.
As he applied the last set of brackets, he commented, "It always amazes me when adults get braces. I'm not sure I would do it as an adult." He explained that he had braces as a youth but since then he has seen he could use some things fixed, but he hasn't had the guts to do it.
Of course, I don't know exactly what he means....yet. Because, well, I've never had braces before. And I'm excited because I'm going to have straight teeth. Who wouldn't want to have braces? Besides I told myself, "I'm not going to look like everyone else who gets braces because...well, I'm different, I'm cooler, I'll do things differently."
He went on to say he has family members who will do them for free. But he doesn't want to go through it again. "Free would be nice," I thought. So I'm still not sure what he was talking about.
Then he finished and he told me that he has just succeeded in making me look younger. As he hands me the mirror to look at myself he said, "Now you look like a teenager!"
Looking back at me in the mirror, I didn't see a woman who has 5 children and has yet to completely get rid of the baby fat. I saw a gawky teenager with braces. And I smiled.
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