Feeling Good!

Feeling pretty good. Ever since I had that spacer adjusted I've been feeling so much better. Very little pain. In fact, the top edge of the rubber spacers stick out and have been acting like little rubber bumpers and have been preventing me from grinding my teeth! I haven't needed the prescription medication in days! OK, may be there is some benefit to those things.

I logged in tonight to check my page hit counter, just curious to see if anyone was looking and I saw the countdown timer at the top...3 days and 14 hours until I get my braces.

*gulp*

I know I'm doing this for all the right reasons, that it is necessary, but why does the bottom of my stomach drop out when I think about it?

I went to the movies today, my husband is away this week and I had some time to myself. I went to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D. Getting to the theater, I realized that all this dental stuff is getting kind of intrusive. When did I notice this? When I went to get my snack at the concession stand.

Popcorn is out of the question, on top of being afraid of getting shells caught in the spacers, my teeth are so sensitive that if I bit down on a hard piece it'd ruin my whole day. So cross off popcorn off the list. Next, Sour Patch Kids. A world of no. Nothing sticky. So cross off Sour Patch Kids, Twizzlers, JuJu Bees...

M&Ms? Peanut no. Regular? Not in the mood. Reese's Pieces, they could be a little tough if they weren't fresh...

Then the angels sang, light streamed down from the sky...Runts! A big box of Runts! A whole box of little fruity flavored candies, NOW with Green Apple and Grape! Something to snack on for 2 hours without pain! YAY!



Made me a happy girl and the movie was amazing!

What a RELIEF!

I feel sooo much better! I did chip a little less than a 1/4 off of a tooth. It was a tooth with a filling and apparently, some decay got in around the filling and weakened the tooth. Had the tooth not chipped, the band would have gone around the tooth and held it together while the decay continued unchecked and unfettered behind the filling. By the time the bands would have come off, it would have been a BIG mess. Additionally, this is the tooth that needed the brass spacer because the restorations on the two adjacent teeth made them too close for a regular spacer last week.

When the dentist went to smooth down the restorations and make them nice and round, he saw the OTHER tooth had decay started around the filling and he removed it and then replaced it. He spent a lot of time shaping them so hopefully the bands will fit quite nicely next week.

When I was at the orthodontist's, I asked about the one spacer on the bottom that was bothering me, the assistant popped it out and put in a new one and voila' no more pain there!

I actually chewed food! I had a solid food lunch! Oh, my teeth are still a little sore, but what a difference!

I'm so happy things worked out today! *snoopy dances*

OH NO!

I think I chipped a tooth! I have a molar next to one of the spacers that has a filling in it and I think the pressure of the spacer trying to move the tooth broke off the "corner" of the tooth. That or the additional clenching and grinding I've been doing.

It's too late to try to get into the dentist today, I have an appointment with the orthodontist at 7:45 AM tomorrow so he can check it out and if he can't fix it, I'll call the dentist for an emergency appointment.

At least now I know why that tooth hurts so bad?!

*wimpers*

Something's going on in there....

Today I noticed that the spacers aren't sticking up quite as far as they did, they must be contracting and pushing my teeth apart. I do notice that the brass wire they inserted is looser so it must have worked some space in there, too.

I took pictures of the wire, which wasn't easy, but it was kinda gross being able to see all the way to the back of my mouth so I'll spare you. I can tell you the brass was very shiny, lol.

While writing this, I got the email reminder that I have my appointment at 7:45 AM to get the wire taken out and replaced with a rubber spacer. UGH! 7:45...Doctor better hope I don't mistake his fingers for a bagel! LOL!

Really, I can kinda chew, like soft meat from one of those add water, microwave and strain dinners, so I at least feel a little fuller.

I think I've lost some weight since I started having jaw issues. Back in January, my shorts were very tight, almost too tight to wear. The other day I could pull them down without unbuttoning them! My work pants are much looser as well. May be I should step on a scale and see?

I'm imagining with as sore as my mouth has been, it will get a little worse before it gets better so who knows? May be by the time everything is done I'll give Kate Moss a run for "skinny Minnie". Ok, not that much I hope!

OH YEAH! I added a countdown clock....Like it? Pretty spiffy!

It's Getting Better

There is next to no pain now...a little feeling of pressure, unless I bite down hard.

Saturday and Sunday were tough. Most of the pain was gone EXCEPT for when the teeth touch. It was so sore I had to chew very gently with only my front teeth then swallow everything kind of whole.

I had a milk shake for lunch, well it was "medically" necessary, lol...then I cooked up some ground turkey and let it go into little pieces. I just browned it down until it was well cooked then mixed that in with some pasta and sauce. It was delicious, but it took me an hour and a half to eat my dinner!

Sunday I had oatmeal for breakfast then more pasta for dinner.

I spent most of the weekend home, going to bed early and sleeping in which got rid of my cold, for the most part, still a little stuffy but as long as I'm not coughing and bumping my teeth together...It's all fine and dandy.

I have to go back REALLY early on Thursday so they can replace the brass spacer with a rubber one...but other than that, I think this is going pretty well.

As a bonus...the little rubber spacers stick up a little bit and when I bite down it's a bit bouncy...which seems to be helping my TMJ as it keeps me from grinding my teeth.

More...later in the week...

New Morning, New Pain

All in all, the pain isn't as bad as I thought it might be, however, this being said, two of my teeth are hypersensitive. It wouldn't be too much of a problem as as long as my mouth is open and they are not touching, they do not hurt.

The problem is they are directly above and below one another and....joy of joys, I woke up with a cold this morning.

Every time I sneeze or cough, the two hypersensitive teeth touch and it drives me crazy...it's like getting electroshock therapy inter dentally.

Other than that little complication, it's not so bad. Sure it's sore and I really don't feel like chewing anything right now, but overall (other than when the 2 hypersensitive teeth touch) the pain is like a 3 1/2 on a scale of 1-10.

*Yawn* off for a nap to try to get rid of this cold.

Ouch!

Just got home. I had the wonderful Helen to put in most of my spacers. I got 7...six rubber and one brass.

My teeth are very tight but 5 went in without a problem. However, one was very tight. so after some work, she got that one in, using some floss to force it in. I knew it cut my gum a little, as she said, "You're not squeamish about blood are you?"

It only bled for a little while. Kinda like a paper cut on my gums.

The last one was so tough, the doctor had to come in and "make" a spacer.


I had a filling/restoration between 2 teeth which eliminated the space. So what to do? The Doctor came over and used a small diamond file to polish the edge to try to make room. When then that was done, he used a brass wire through the space near the gum. OUCH!

It wasn't horrible but it did hurt a bit. Then he twisted the ends tight to force space to be created. I go back next week to have the brass ring (ha!) removed and a regular rubber one put in.

You can see them in the picture above.

I treated myself to a milkshake at Chik-fil-a when I was done. Yum!

It didn't hurt a lot once everything was done. It was just a weird feeling of pressure, except where the brass ring is. The pressure there is instant...with the rubber ones, the pressure is slowly growing. I have a feeling I'll be pretty sore at bedtime.

Think I'll wait till bedtime, take more Advil and then sleep. Hopefully, it won't keep me up.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

48 hours from now I'll have my spacers. I'm a little tense. I won't lie. I have heard stories that the spacers can be the most difficult and painful part. I do not remember them from when I had braces the first time.

I'm going to take precautions and get a lot of soft foods. I plan on ice cream, applesauce, pudding, oatmeal, soup and yogurt.

I have 16 days until I get the braces. *tenses*

I am hoping that this is I have "much ado about nothing" and it'll be easier than expected. I hope so.

I keep thinking, "eyes on the prize" and focusing on the hope that the braces will do their job and that it prevent more strenuous and drastic measures to fix my jaw issues.

*worries*

Two more days.

Feeling Special

Not only was I published in USAToday this week, I was quoted/referenced later in the week!

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/popcandy/post/2010/02/whats-your-most-embarrassing-dental-story-come-clean-win-a-smile/1

If you read the comments, Whitney also says:


USA TODAY Staff Whitney Matheson wrote:
That was a great Pop Five ... it reminds us that comedy can be found everywhere, even through horrible and bloody tooth torture!

It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

T-Minus 34 days until braces....(20 Days until I get the spacers)

I imagine unless something happens, I won't post until closer till then....

First Appointment

I had my first appointment with the orthdotontist today. He's a very nice man and his staff is polite, fun and professional.

I decided to go with the stainless steel braces rather than the clear. I may have some "complications" that would be better dealt with steel over the clear. I am not so vain that I'd be that worried by the metal.

It's costing a little more than I expected, but with the "complications" I understand why.

I had my impressions taken today. They were NOT bad. I had remembered them from when I was a kid as the worst part. I remember how rough that orthodontist was and how I kept gagging through the entire process and that it seemed like it took forever. Today, it was less than a minute per tray. The technician was gentle and no gagging.

Then I had a series of panaramic xrays and pictures taken. I asked for copies of the pictures so hopefully, eventually I'll receive them in my email and can post thost here.

In one month, I go to get spacers put in between my back teeth. These will make room for the bands that will hold onto the back teeth. Two weeks after that, I will get my "tin grin".

I must admit, I was hoping to get them on sooner, sooner on, sooner off...but I will have a vacation in the middle of the two weeks and they recommended not going on vacation with the spacers in place. If the spacers would break or pop out I wouldn't have a way to get them fixed while gone.

So. T-minus 45 days of freedom to eat gooey, chewy, crunchy stuff....