first cleaning in braces

I had my first cleaning with braces today - not as pleasant as Katherines, let me tell you. I was nervous going in - my teeth are pretty sensitive, my gums are practically triple the size they're supposed to be, and I don't really like cleanings to begin with.

Well, the technician did as best as she could - which was really good, except for my lip kept getting caught between my braces and her hand or the applicance she was using. And MAN are those teeth sensitive when they are being picked at (and picked and picked at).

She said I was keeping my teeth "super clean." Which I'm glad for - I was really worried that the true reason for my gums being swollen was my lack of teeth-brushing skills. I'm doing everyhing right, except for the slight coffee stains and the weird discoloring between by bottom front two teeth. They gave me a really cool paste to put on before I go to sleep at night (yes, yes, yet another aspect for my nightly cleaning regimine) that should strengthen the enamel and add minerals back into my teeth.

adjustment time

I had an adjustment this afternoon. I got my first set of square (rectangular?) wires, and I am hurting already. It seems like every tooth is throbbing, my head is full of pressure, and the roof of my mouth feels like it's going to crack open.

Wahoo! No pain, no gain.

interview!

I got a call for an interview today. It's Monday morning. Why do I let a little bit of metal on my teeth turn me into a nervous idiot? If they like me, they will look past the braces.

Sometimes I really hate braces. They are able to kill the little self-esteem I have. Every time I smile without thinking, I cringe. I have a big smile - I always have, and I've always loved it - crooked teeth and jaw and everything. Now that it's beneath five pounds of tin it's jarring and disgusting, and once you add in my swollen gums it's atrocious.

Argh.

spring?

I can't believe it's spring outside. It is pouring down rain, it's freezing cold, and the wind is blowing so hard that our lights are flickering on and off. It's June! Come on!

It's been a while since I've updated - too busy, per usual. I've had a lot on my plate - played in a few concerts, conducted a few performances, ran a 5k, flew to Denver to swing dance, caught another terrible cold... The teeth progress has been minimal, but since it's been a while I thought I'd post some progress pictures.

The top teeth look almost exactly the same. My stubborn gums have only gotten worse, and I'm going to talk with my orthodontist again at my next appointment (next Thursday). My arches are continuing to round out, and I can feel the pressure almost every day. The back spaces in my lower arch continue to get smaller. My overbite gets bigger and bigger, however. It's really starting to look pretty funny! But the worse it gets now, the better my bite will be after surgery (right?! Right?!).

Does anyone else have problems with clenching at night? I am a mouth breather, or, was a mouth breather until braces. Now, I wake up with intense headaches because I've clenched the entire night. What brings this on? The ortho gave me a mouthguard, but it hasn't helped. It falls out or gags me at night, which I am especially prone to right now with this killer cold.

Okay, last question - have any of you out there had to change orthodontists? I love mine, but there's a small chance I'm moving to CA at the end of this year - my husband just got a new job. I'm not positive I'm moving with him yet, as I don't want to give up the school-district insurance that pays for my jaw surgeon that I have selected and not some army doctor. I'm not so trusting of the army doctors after my last experiences. Anyway, I was wondering how payment works - I'm paying on my braces now, but how would those payments transfer? Hmm....

Well, I'm off to nurse this cold in bed (I had a 102 degree fever a bit ago!).... it's the last week of school, so I don't have the option to take time off from work.

somedays

Sometimes, I forget I have braces. I'm in a dressing room, with a shirt that might not seem terrible on me (even though I've got a long way to go), and then I smile.

And there's metal. And it literally shocks me.

And that's sad.

no kidding....

I had someone ask me how I expected my middle school students to take me seriously while I had braces on.

Oh, but when confronted that I found her comment to be rude, she said "she didn't mean any harm by it, she was just curious."

Am I a magnet to stupidity? Really?

on and on

It is the end of the school year. In the past week and a half, my choirs (or portions of my choirs) have performed 5 times. Those performances and extra rehearsals, plus a concert of my own on my clarinet, plus a field trip across the state, plus progress reports and may-fails being due, PLUS a cold from hell that continues and continues = Stephanie is unable to blog sometimes. (That's my 7th and 8th grade choirs performing in Leavenworth, WA). They're quite adorable, eh?

The gums are the same. In fact, the gums are worse but I'm ignoring it because that's what the orthodontist told me to do (if you look to the picture on the left, they are my teeth on the top, just to the left of the two front teeth). The gum actually touches metal, where the bracket is connected to my tooth. I have tried everything. Brushing softer, brushing harder, swishing with salt water, using the flouride rinse they gave me, brushing more often, brushing less often.... It seems that the gums want to be swollen, no matter what I try. I just do my best to keep food out of there (which is actually pretty difficult).

The bite, however, is worse than ever. There are days (like today) where only the outsides of a few teeth touch. My lips keep getting trapped in the great void of my overbite, and my braces chop them to bits. Check out this overbite!! While my bite has always been "open," I didn't really have an overbite until just a few weeks ago. It's coming out with a vengence! Lovely.

My arches are really starting to shape up, though, especially on the lower half. My gaps are still pretty wide where the teeth were originally extracted, but they are continually getting smaller as my palate gets wider. I can't believe how rounded and lovely those teeth look - especially those front teeth, which are now pretty much completly straight. Yipee!!

The top teeth and top arch aren't doing too much yet. I can tell the arch has started to grow, and my teeth are looking a little straighter. But really, it's only been 5 or 6 weeks since I got my top braces, so I can't complain too much - especially with the progress of the lowers, which were SO MUCH WORSE. (sorry for the blurry picture... I seem to be unable to take a decent picture of my uppers. I don't know why).

Finally, I have one more picture to show you. I want the world to know that this face does NOT look like a middle schooler. I took a choir to a MS/JH choral contest over the weekend before last, and I had a lady come up and ask me where my director was. I am an adult. And yes, I have braces. And yeah, I'm a young-ish teacher. But in no way, shape, or form do I look between the ages of 12 and 14. Thank you.

Hope you are all doing well!!

still swollen gums

I've been gone for a bit. I had a pretty nasty cold (I'm still recovering slowly) and I've been busy at school with state mandated testing stuff and choral contest coming up. Yikes.

So, the gums aren't really better. I called last week and asked what I should do, and they told me to wait it out and see if it gets worse. Of course, it got worse so I made an appointment for this afternoon. They were located at the office that's furthest away from my house, but I went anyway, ended up waiting for 45 minutes after my appointment time, and then the orthodontist barely looked at me before telling me I was worrying about nothing.

Now, this is unusual. I love my orthodontists. I had a rotten end to my day at school, so I was feeling a little sensitive, and I hit traffic on the way to the appointment and freaked out about being late (remember the first braces fiasco? now I'm paranoid about being late to an appointment).

The reason, he tells me, is that my swelling is due to my tooth pushing forward into line - and pushing all of that extra gum tissue with it. He says to clean my best, but that "I haven't seen swelling yet." What does that mean?

To put it lightly, argh, I am not satisfied.

swollen gums

So I'm a bit of a compulsive teeth brusher. Many fellow bloggers have admitted to letting things slide a bit after having braces for a while, but I am not one of them yet. I brush in the morning. I brush in the afternoon after lunch. I usually brush after dinner, but always take a long, long brushing and flossing at night before bed with the fluoride paste and the million little brushes. Every time something enters my mouth I make sure to at least rinse, I often brush.

Another side note for the upcoming question: I have swollen gums. I am a mouth breather at night, and the orthodontist says that makes my gums worse. My gums on my lower teeth used to be incredibly swollen because there were parts of them I couldn't get to with a brush or floss, but after the three months or so of braces, they have become healthy and pretty much normal.

My top teeth, however (here comes the question!), seem to be doing terribly with my new braces. Despite the normal brushing/ flossing routine that whipped my lower gums into shape from the beginning, the top gums keep getting worse and worse. In fact, there is one spot where my gums are approaching the bracket on my tooth, and will probably encroach the tooth by tomorrow or Tuesday.

Should I call the orthodontist for this? I mean, I'm doing ALL OF THE RIGHT THINGS. I'm not some 12 year old who doesn't brush or floss. I'm not eating things I'm not supposed to eat (except corn chips, but I make sure to break them into really really small pieces). It should be getting better, at least in my non-professional-worried-about-everything opinion.

I'm worried that stuff is going to get trapped underneath the gums and over the bracket, or that I could develop an infection or something. I could brush more, or floss more, but that seems like it might make things worse....

What do you guys think? Should I call the orthodontist, or just keep on keepin' on?

PS. Thanks for all of the support with the new upper braces, by the way. They feel much more natural, they don't hurt very much, and my lips feel like they're starting to fit over them nicely. You guys are amazing :)

ouch.

The braces are terrible. So terrible, in fact, that despite taking pictures for later reference, I was not sure if I could bring myself to show the rest of the world. But this morning, I have better resolve, better tylenol, and a better sense of humor. So, here we go. Huge, terrible, so big-my-lips-don't-really-fit-over-them braces. Yikes.

And they hurt like... well, they hurt. Last night was worse than this morning, except for my jaw. My jaw is deciding to declare mutiny on the rest of my skull and teeth and is throwing HUGE fits for reasons unknown. My top teeth don't hurt TOO terribly yet (though I already miss being able to "bite" into things), but that new wire on the lowers is movin' and shakin', let me tell you. Can't wait to see all the progress.

But MAN, do they look awful! If only my lips fit over them in any way.... Hopefully that improves soon.

upcoming

I am bummed that I have to get the rest of my braces on Monday.

• I can hide my current braced state from the public, as long as I eat the right foods and don't smile very big.
• Playing the clarinet is finally getting better! And now, it will get worse.
• I enjoy that when my bottom teeth hurt, I can still eat because I can just push the food against my top teeth instead of really chewing.
• Good grief, brushing my teeth already takes way too much time away from my life. I assume it will now double.
• I do believe that stuff like apples and carrots (which I can now kind of chew as long as they are in small pieces and I use my back teeth) will be pretty impossible.

Okay, that's enough complaining for one day. Now, for the good stuff (otherwise known as progress pictures). My teeth continue to amaze me. My lower arch is giant, now, and my teeth are starting to line up in the front! They have a long way to go, but they are progressing faster than I even dreamed. I mean, look at the new pictures, when compared to the first day pictures.

See you on the flipside, with more bling!

running

Oddly enough, the braces don't like to run. I was running with a friend this morning (we're doing a 5k in mid-May) and the wind was blowing, and all of a sudden my teeth started to ache. Burn, really.... and I realized it was because they were so cold from the wind blowing and my mouth hanging open like a doofus.

Ouch. Is this weird?

On a happier note, the musical I was playing for is now over, and my last concert for a while is next week, so my lips will have plenty of time to adjust to the new wire/ new top braces before I have many more gigs. And playing is getting easier and easier now that my teeth are so straight. Pictures soon.

Happy Easter, everyone who celebrates!

starbucks guy, I loathe you

Forgot to mention this in the blog yesterday due to the wire-clipping excitement. You guys will understand.

So I walked into the Starbucks by my school this past Monday, like I always do. I'm an addict, err, a regular, so they all know my name, my drink, etc. There was a new guy that I had seen only once the week before, and as I came up the register he said (loudly) "Hey, Stephanie!" and I was surprised he had remembered my name so fast - go new barista guy!

He should have stopped while he was ahead - because he continued by saying "Hey, Stephanie! Guess how I remembered your name?" I know that all of you see this coming, but in my befuddled, pre-coffee stupor I said crankily "I don't know, how?" and he said (loudly still) "The braces! You're the only adult I've ever seen in braces!"

Thanks, Captain Obvious. Because had you failed to point out the masses of metal sticking out of my face, I might have forgotten they were there.

Blegh.

clipped

Last weekend while the braces were dancing in Portland, I broke down, brought out the nail clippers, and asked Nick to play orthodontist to my back wires (yes, I called my orthodontist first). But he couldn't get his big hands in my mouth, and I couldn't see with MY hands in my mouth, so I reluctantly gave up to call on Monday.

But Monday passed with a school-wide field trip to the skating rink and a rehearsal, Tuesday passed with an all-day music field trip and a 4.5 hour rehearsal, and by yesterday morning I was about ready to pluck the whole darned wire out of there. Luckily, they had a "comfort" appointment open Wednesday evening, and I got to go in and get it clipped.

Ahh, relief. My tongue is no longer getting cut every time I swallow, and I don't get spontaneous migraine headaches from the wire getting stuck between my two back teeth, or wedged in a weird way in back of the back tooth.

My teeth are continuing to get more and more straight, which makes EVERYTHING easier! I can talk for longer, I can play my clarinet for longer, it is easier to understand me.... Just as I'm getting used to everything, it's edging on time to get those top braces on - March 31st (and don't worry, I made an afternoon appointment this time).

PS. I tried the orajel discs... you know, the discs for mouth sores that you stick on and give you hours and hours of relief? To put it lightly, they are a waste of your 5 dollars. It was great for the first 30 seconds or so, but then it snagged on one of the brackets, and instead of coming off lightly, it pulled and pulled and made the sore worse than it started out. Good idea in theory, not so good in practice.

Just thought I'd save y'all some pain.

look! look!

My teeth are so straight! All of the pain last week (that continues into this week) is worth it! Look at them! On last Friday, I was teaching my last period of choir, I was in the middle of warm-ups when all of a sudden a huge POP came from my lower teeth. It sent lightening bolts through my head, per usual, and I thought I had snapped another bracket off, so I excused myself from the class (my eyes watering from the pain), and grabbed my compact from my purse. Lo and behold, all of my brackets were firmly planted, but my teeth were considerably straighter. I have no idea what the pop would have been, other than pressure from some of the teeth finally given way.

And since then, they have been movin' and shakin' like crazy, which is painful in the short run, but much easier on my lip in the long run. Before our marathon rehearsal last night (almost 4 hours!), I took a bunch of tylenol and ibuprofin, and it kept the teeth themselves from hurting. And now that the teeth are in a straighter line, the wax works better and my lip is cut less.

So, things are looking up. Thanks, all of you, for your supportive comments. It lifted my spirits and got me thinking positive again.

One more time.... look at these teeth!

pity-poo-party (beware)

Read the title. I warned you.

Okay, for the first time in braces history (the whole five weeks), I'm mad at my braces. I want to take them off now. They're done. I'm done.

I play the clarinet. I love the clarinet. It is an extension of myself, and I play well. The first time I played with braces, it was mildly annoying, but I was encouraged - my tone didn't sound too bad, it wasn't very painful, and I knew it would improve in time.

That's where I was wrong! It hasn't improved! In fact, if anything, it gets worse and worse every time I play. On Monday night, I only played at half of my rehearsal and I barely made it through THAT - no matter how much wax I put on, the one painful bracket poked through. Tuesday night, I was supposed to have an hour and a half of another rehearsal for a musical I've been hired to play in. The rehearsal went almost three hours - I wanted to stop because I felt like my lip was hamburger and I was bleeding, but I was sight reading, I'm getting paid quite a bit, and we only have two rehearsals total before we perform.

Today, I've been slathering on chapstick and I've got so much wax in my lip it looks like I'm using chewing tobacco, but it's still managing to be painful. My own fault, I know.

I just keep thinking back to when I could play for six hours at a time without being too sore. I hate that I sound bad, and it's not my fault. I hate that I have no stamina. I hate that it just doesn't feel right - my clarinet doesn't fit me anymore. I feel like it's a prosthetic limb or something (not to compare my clarinet playing to an amputee victim, but you get the drift).

And while I'm complaining about braces, I am SO TIRED of not being able to enunciate things correctly. My 7th and 8th grade choirs are singing a song with a really fast tongue twister in it, and I'm telling them to speak clearer, think about diction, but I can't do it myself. Or, if I do, I'm spraying my front row of altos with spit.

And I miss almonds. Okay, pity-poo-party over.

oh my GOSH

I have the most random story to tell. Hang on to your braces, gals.

So.... yesterday at school, I noticed my back tooth (well, the last tooth hooked into my archwire) was a bit tender. I thought this was odd, as my orthodontist told me that the other teeth were going to move back, instead of the back teeth moving forward. Okay, not such a big deal.

Right after school got out, I had to run to a teacher meeting. I noticed my tooth really starting to throb, worse pain than I've had with braces thus far. The meeting lasted two hours. By the end of the meeting, the tooth pain was starting to sear into my inner ear on that side, and tweak out my jaw. I'm thinking... "damn! this tooth is on a mission!" but didn't really worry about it.

Then, I get home, and my husband takes me out to dinner for my birthday (yes, it was my birthday yesterday)... by the time we were seated at the table, every time my tounge or cheek hit the tooth, I jumped up and yelped in pain, and the pain was shooting up into my skull and down into my neck. Now, I'm getting a little worried, because right before I left I downed a full dose of tylenol AND ibuprofin (and except for the first two days in braces, I haven't taken a single pill for any braces-related pain). I finish my dinner (ish, meaning I eat the mashed potatoes, try to gum some asparagus on my non-dominant side and eat cheesecake), and go home, on a mission to find out what in the heck is going on in my mouth.

All it was? The back of my archwire, which is slowly poking out more and more (as damon braces do), had caught itself on the INSIDE of the very back tooth, even though it usually sits on the OUTSIDE of the very back tooth.

I flicked it with my nail, and all shooting-type mind-numbing spot-seeing pain was over with. By this morning, my tooth has forgotten everything (though, I keep flinching every time I chew food on that side, just from 7 hours of pain).

Weird. Hey, now I know.

I can floss!

Now, I know that all of my orthodontic-type-fellow-bloggers are scoffing inside and saying to themselves "Stephanie doesn't floss? Gasp!". Hold your horses. Stephanie DOES floss, but between two teeth I have been unable to floss due to the bracket position and how far one of the teeth were set back. Every single night since I've gotten the braces, I've tried to floss between those teeth to no avail until two nights ago... when, suddenly, the floss slid through! (Angels sang, ballerinas danced, my friends I was sharing a hotel room with laughed at my excitement, I called my husband in the middle of the night).

The braces made their debut at my annual music education conference. I had tons of questions about them, and more disbelief that a clarinet player would WILLINGLY add a half inch of pokey metal to her teeth.

Also, I found it's really difficult to not eat on my normal schedule. Right now, I wake up, eat breakfast, brush my teeth, eat a snack if necessary during my planning period at school, brush my teeth, eat lunch, brush my teeth, eat dinner, brush my teeth. You get the drill.

But at conference, life tends to revolve around the sessions rather than meals, so everything is eaten on the go - I felt really OCD running into the restrooms four or five or six (or seven :-#) times a day with my travel toothbrush. My friends found it hilarious, at least.

Finally, the updated pictures - exactly a month since I've gotten the braces on.

painful

I never thought I'd be so glad to have sore, touchy, sensitive teeth.
But pain = movement = progress!
Bring it on!

dancing braces

I took the braces dancing last weekend in Salt Lake City. I learned a few things, really quickly.

1. Sprouts are a terrible thing. Terrible.
2. No matter how much I love fishy crackers, I shouldn't eat them because they form a thick, gooey paste that is impossible to brush off.
3. Watch out for tall leads while blues dancing. Minor trama to cheek that would have been ignored pre-braces suddenly becomes painful semi-large-feeling trauma with braces.
4. People look at you funny when you play with a loose bracket while dancing with them.
5. A tired, spaced out stare looks ten million times more stupid with braces.
6. Sushi is difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. And embarassing to eat in large groups of people.
7. Brushing your teeth in crowded bathrooms, especially in airports, brings a lot of attention.
8. I miss gum. A lot.
9. Wax is good. And should be brought on all trips.

There were other foods I encountered that were terrible, horrible, no good, and very bad, but they are escaping me now.

The sprouts, though. Ugh.