Counting Down.
I am currently in a lot of pain. I visited the orthodontist this morning, and they put in additional bands on my four molars, the ones in the way back. For the 9 months or so [I've not been particularly good at keeping track, but I caught a glimpse of my chart this morning], I’ve only had bands on the second set of molars. So now those other molars are covered, and a new wire’s been placed. I’m just a whole lot of soreness…
After getting my teeth cleaned some time next month, I’ll get some more x-rays taken to see how the bone underneath it all is doing. Once all the gaps are closed, I’ll have to make an appointment to see the oral surgeon. I’m, of course, noticing all the changes. The front teeth are no longer overlapping, and the gaps that were teeth pulled out are definitely closing. After the consultation, they’re going to work on widening the upper jaw. That does not sound fun at all.
We’re aiming for a surgery date some time in later spring or early summer. Upon healing up from surgery, another six months of braces and retainers for the rest of my life. It’s really all coming together. What a weird feeling. I remember always “looking into” this, doing my research. I joined mailing lists, read blogs. Still, nothing really prepares you for this.
I can’t wait. I feel like I should be taking more photos to document the teeth and jaw, but I think it’d also be very gross… I look the same on the surface for right now. I was flipping through old images of myself pre-braces, and it was hard to find a good one showing the bottom teeth. I noticed that I tend not to smile as much, or my bottom teeth aren’t really showing when I smile. So anyway, here’s SORT of a before and after shot.
If one looks closely enough, you’ll see the front bottom teeth overlapping each other in all sorts of directions. And with the braces, they all now stand alone. They hurt like crazy though since they’re the ones being pulled loose and moved around.
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