Week Five...

Well, there's some big changes. BIG spaces. Wide open spaces I'd say if I was a Dixie Chick. The pain I've experienced nearly constantly when biting is gone. (Thank Goodness) It's been replaced by the "touch your mouth, teeth shift and INSANE, IMMEDIATE, BLINDING PAIN".

Yesterday, I was kinda happy that the pain has been less and that if I eat carefully, I am almost able to eat normally, bagel sandwiches being the exception. So, I was sitting at my desk and reached up to touch my face on the right side. When I did, the tooth there SHIFTED and suddenly I was hit with the INSANE, IMMEDIATE, BLINDING PAIN mentioned above.

Everything went white. I had to take a couple of deep breaths and debated calling the ortho. I felt around thinking somehow that tooth gave out and would be held in place only by the wires of my braces. It seemed "stable". I exhaled. I actually began to sweat the pain was so intense. I grabbed the Anbesol out of my purse and slathered the gel on my gums like you'd slather icing on a cake. It helped. I then took 2 Aleve and waited. The pain eventually subsided.

I never ever want that to happen again!


I do have to mention that on the plus side, I haven't had any *knocks on wood* more TMJ episodes since I got my spacers! THAT'S THE GOAL! So I suppose one (hopefully the only) INSANE, IMMEDIATE, BLINDING PAIN episode is worth it.

As always, since it's Thursday, Anniversary day, I have pictures....

First Day with Braces, Five Weeks Ago



Week Five, Front



Week Five Showing Changes



The biggest changes seem to be on either side of my two front bottom teeth. if you look you can see the space I had, on the right side of the picture, left side of my mouth, has gotten wider and that tooth is sitting up higher and closer to the top teeth.(see arrow on right side of picture) On the other side, those teeth (denoted in the bottom picture by the two red arrows) have moved apart. They'd always been so close it was hard to floss and now, they're open.


The other arrow on the left side of the picture shows that those teeth do not quite touch any longer. Just showing how even the back teeth are shifting a bit.


I'll be the first to admit, I've been obsessive over my teeth and I notice the changes almost daily. I keep asking my husband and he will say he notices NO change. The other day I put the first day picture against last weeks and pointed out the changes to him. His eyes got wide and he said, "No wonder your mouth hurt so much!"


At least I know I'm not going nutty. Well, getting any nuttier than I already am! o_O

A Month and a Day

Well as you might have noticed, I usually try to post at least once a week, at least on a Thursday to mark each week as things progress. Unfortunately, I was away at an out of town meeting yesterday so I could not post, but fear not! I took a picture to post!


First Day with Braces



Week Four


I'm not sure about how much has changed. I know that my right front tooth is incredibly sore right now and I can't bite anything with it. I feel more "popping"and "wiggling in the back so things must still be moving, but I don't think I notice much moving at least visually.

Two things happened this week that I didn't expect.

One: I ran into someone I hadn't seen since getting braces and I hadn't mentioned getting them to her. She exclaimed, "Oh! You got braces! They're pretty, all shiny, so sparkly. It's like bling on your teeth!" It made me feel good that the 850 times I brush a day must be paying off to keep them that sparkly!

Two: I ran into a dear friend who mentioned he read my blog. I don't know why it touched me so to know he'd actually be read and following my dental misadventures, but it did! :-#

It just dawned on me that next month at this time I'll have had my first adjustment. I'm not afraid or anything, just wondering what color rubber bands I'll choose....decisions, decisions.

Week Three

I can't believe it's been three weeks already. Well, at least in some aspects, in others it seems like forever.I can really see some changes. It's cool thinking about the change that seems so rapid. The downside is all that rapid change has been very sore on my mouth.

A friend of mine got braces on her bottom teeth the week before I got mine. She's had no pain. I on the other hand, have had enough for both of us. I've had only 3 relatively pain free days so far. :-(

The newest is a dull ache in my jawbone. I suppose it's because of all the stress of the moving teeth above it, but it's not a fun feeling. BUT on the PLUS side, I haven't had any problems with my TMJ since I got the braces. I was talking with my husband last night. I'd rather go through 2 years of discomfort for a lifetime of no/less TMJ pain than not have the braces and know that my jaw is going to hurt worse and become more unbearable for the rest of my life.

There hasn't been one single "crack" from my jaw in 5 weeks (from when I got my spacers). I've had a few minor adjustments kind of like a gentle stretching feeling and pop like when you're stiff and your back pops and you feel much better for it.

It's going to be a long road and it might be a cranky one for me...but it WILL be worth it in the end.

AND as it is Thursday, it's time for a progress picture!

First day of Braces

Week Three

(as you can see, they are playing havoc with my lips...all chewed up!)

What changes do you see? I see that my front two top teeth are almost straight, not overlapping and that the teeth beside them are also almost straight and no longer overlapping. I also see that you can see some of the gap between the top and bottom jaws closing a little bit on the left side of my mouth. As I mentioned in a previous post, the bottom teeth in the front are also starting to stand up straight and tall.

I suppose the motto of the story is that rapid progress is wonderful but it does come at a sore price. (see what I did there? :-#)

Move Along, Move Along

This was both a horrible and a wonderful weekend. Friday and Saturday, the tooth to the right of my right front tooth hurt so terribly that I nearly spent those two days crying. I hardly ate anything because it was so sore.

I stared at it and realized that one of my overlapping top teeth had "popped" past the side of the front tooth it was overlapping and had moved quite rapidly. No wonder it hurt so much!

Sunday, we had tickets to a baseball game and I got a hot dog, fully expecting to have to pull it apart with my fingers. We got to our seats and I sat down and not thinking...took a bite. For a second after I realized I did it, I had a panicked moment, waiting for the pain, but there was none! I realized it didn't hurt to bite! I also realized if I kept the dog to the opposite side of my mouth, I could eat it just like I always did. It was the best hot dog ever!

My husband usually gets Cracker Jacks or peanuts at a game...but those are both on my "no-no" list, as would be the cinnamon roasted cashews, twizzlers, sour patch kids, sunflower seeds and at this point, even Skittles. So what to snack on?

Cotton Candy. I figured what the heck, first game of the season, treat yourself. When I read the back, the pillow sized bag only had 114 calories! YAY! Finally! Something worked out!

I took my time and it took the entire game to enjoy it and being that it was only the 2nd game of the season, the cotton candy was soooo fresh. It was like a little piece of heaven.

Later, we stopped at a mall so I could pick up a new cord for my iPhone and we stopped at a restaurant for dinner. We ordered some bruchetta, that came with some "Texas" toast to spread it on. I tentatively took a bite of the toast...and while it was firm, I could bite it! I ate an entire dinner like an adult and didn't have to pull it apart or cut it into pieces. It was wonderful.

I thought I'd put in 2 pictures to compare so you could see some of the changes that I am now noticing.


First Day


Today

The arrows indicate the beginnings of a space where this tooth had overlapped the front tooth!

I can't get over how quickly everything is moving. my two front teeth are almost straight up and down and side by side already. It won't be long!

Snip, Snip, Here, Snip, Snip There and a Couple of Tra-La-Las

Who'd of thunk it? After only a week, I started getting this sharp, poking feeling in the back of my mouth. It almost felt like I was getting a shot back there every time my cheeks moved.

Unfortunately, it didn't start until Good Friday and my ortho's office was closed. I slathered my upper left band in wax and by Monday, it was OK.

With self-ligating braces they tighten themselves, so periodically, extra wire will emerge from the brackets at the back and will need to be trimmed. I never imagined that in only 8 days it would actually move enough that the wire would need trimmed. By that Monday, the extra on the top left was long enough that it bent when I put the wax on it so it didn't stick out and poke my cheek anymore. So I didn't call the orthodontist.

Tuesday, I woke up and now the bottom left was doing the same thing. I again slathered it in wax and waited. by Wednesday evening, the back left part of my cheek was raw between both the top an bottom wires poking and knowing that my ortho's office is closed on Fridays, I called first thing in the morning and they were able to get me in before work, only 20 minutes after I called!

I walked in, they sat me down and within a few seconds, both wires on the left side were trimmed and the technician looked at the right side and said that they were almost to the point of poking as well so we trimmed them as well.

What a DIFFERENCE! I got a good look at the wire from the bottom it was between a 16th and an 8th of an inch long, which seems really small unless it's in your mouth! It's amazing how it felt like they took a Mac truck out of the back out my my mouth. Moral of the story, get snipped.

Yesterday was also my two week anniversary with braces so I post my first picture with braces and this week's. Notice any movement?

Day of Installation


Week Two


Week Two, Marked

The first arrow denotes where I can see and feel that those teeth are moving, they seem to be standing up straighter and there's almost a small space between them. Between this picture and the first you can really see how the tooth to the left of the bracket is really sitting up straighter.

The second arrow on the bottom shows this tooth sitting up a little higher. I don't know why it's doing that but the ortho seemed happy with the progress when he peeked at them yesterday so I won't argue.


The arrow on the top is the one that shocked me the most. This tooth was the "reason" for my braces as a kid. My dentist insisted the baby tooth be pulled. It hadn't come out "on schedule" so I had to have it pulled. It was a fiasco. I had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia, nearly ended up in the hospital and that tooth? It didn't come in for over 2 years, allowing the teeth next to it to nudge in and take it's space making it overlap my front tooth. They put me in braces to put it back in the place it would have likely come in, had the baby tooth been allowed to leave on it's own. It was OK for a while but as soon as I stopped wearing my retainer, it started moving. By the time I got braces for the second time, it was back to overlapping and on the inside of the teeth, there was a pocket or indentation caused by the overlapping that was very hard to brush, food would get caught there and it was a pain to have a hygienist scrape there to clean it up.


Guess what? The tooth is moving back in line! it's not all the way back, but the pocket is almost gone. I can feel the entire back of the tooth now. I'll bet that by the next adjustment it'll be back where it belongs.


It just amazes me how fast there's some changes. I still have six weeks until that first adjustment. I'm excited. These new-fangled thing-a-ma-bobbers are pretty cool. Considering they're estimating I'll need them for two years I wonder how close to "perfect" they'll be by then!


I can almost eat what I want now too. I can bite through soft bread/buns and soft hamburgers, BUT not so for my favorite bagel sandwich. I still get it, but I don't get it toasted, I rip the bagel apart with my fingers then eat it. I also cut the meat just because by the time I'm done with all the bagel chewing, my teeth are a little sore. It's worth it though. I thought it could be months before I'd even feel like trying a bagel.


I have a coworker who got her braces in November and the first sandwich she ate "normally" was right before Easter! I'm glad that I don't think it will be that long for me. Her teeth are looking AWESOME!


So that's it for right now...Today is a turkey with a slice of provolone, touch of mayo on a roasted garlic bagel type of day.

BY THE WAY....

I added a guest book at the bottom of the page. Please feel free to send me any comments you may have.

Was Thinking

I was reviewing my previous post and realized I should have had 3 pictures, Before, Day of Installation and Week One. This way we can see the changes, if any...


Before



Day Braces Were Installed

Week One

Is there any difference? Any noticeable movement?

Week One Picture

I'm not sure if there is any visible movement but here is the picture of my teeth, Week One


and before



Teeth are feeling a bit better, still a little sore...but nothing bad.

I've been doing some MAJOR cleaning around my house and am using updating my blog as an "excuse" to rest. Back to work!

Hanging in There!

I haven't posted in a few days as my husband returned home from an extended trip (I hadn't seen him in 3 weeks) and I've been adjusting to my braces.

When I woke up Friday morning, I was in an incredible amount of pain. Because of my TMJ, my jaw was throbbing from being open over two hours while my braces were applied. My teeth were so hypersensitive just looking at them in the mirror seemed to hurt.

My mother made me saurkraut and very soft pork for dinner that night. I ate that, but when I tried a bite of the hot dog she made for my puppy, Veronica, I couldn't chew it. It was too "tough".

I found that Bob Evan's heat 'n' eat mashed potatoes were a good thing to have; quick, easy and I didn't need to chew.

Saturday, I was feeling better so I went to run my normal Saturday errands. I stopped at Chick-Fil-A and got chicken strips and my 'stand-by' milkshake. It took me over an hour, but I was able to mush up (not quite chew) the chicken.

Sunday, I made a casserole for when my husband returned. I would have loved to have steak waiting for him but it was not meant to be.

Each day I find my teeth less sore and more tolerable of pressure. Sure, I still can't "bite" with my front teeth and sandwiches are going to be a long way off but, it's not too horrible now. I do find it weird that my teeth seem kind of loose and seem to make little popping or clicking noises when pressure is applied. It kinda reminds me of being a kid, when you start wiggling that loose tooth and the roots seem to start to give way. I guess this means they're beginning to move.

I think I've been lucky. I've really only had 3 "blisters" or sores caused by the rubbing of my braces; one at the back left, one at the back right and one at the bottom front. The woman at the counter at the orthodontist's office suggested I try Peroxyl, a mouthwash from Colgate that has no alcohol and contains peroxide to clean out the sores.

It doesn't taste bad and while a bit on the spendy side, I'm glad I bought it. After only 3 days all the sores are healed! I only needed to put wax on the offending braces 2 nights. Overall, it's amazing how much easier most things are this 2nd time around. I honestly don't remember my teeth being this hypersensitive the first time, but all in all, I'm doing rather well.

I did get a bit "surprised" this morning, I must have rolled over in the night and pressed on my lip too hard, I cut my lip on my braces and woke up with blood all over. YUCK! I rinsed it with the Peroxyl and then put some of the Body Shop's cocoa butter lip balm on. I really like it. It does so much better than the wax-based lip balms.

I'll post a picture tomorrow to see if there is any visible progress...because it'll have been one week.

I also wanted to mention that I was quoted in a "real" article on the front page of the print and online editions of USAToday! It's kinda cool....for a geek like me...

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2010-03-31-1Aappworld31_CV_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

It's On!

I did all that stupid worrying for nothing. Kelly was awesome in taking her time and being very gentle. It took a little less than 2 hours. The only really gross part was the cement. I really thought I'd be in a world of hurt, right away. I feel a little pressure and some rubbing, but nothing too horrible right now. They say I'll get more sore as the day goes on.

I treated myself to a venti peppermint mocha frappaccino from Starbucks on the way home. It's kind of convenient that it's only half a block down the road. I also had a coupon for a free drink so I felt doubly special.

When I got home I was checking my email and I felt a "pop" and I thought, "that's strange"...then another pop and one of the brackets popped off. Back to the orthodontist's. It only took a few minutes to fix.

I stopped at Panera Bread on the way home and got some soup. Broccoli and cheese, yum!

I had picked the purple bands...what do you think?



I was shocked by how the braces really accentuate how crooked and misaligned my teeth really are.

When I asked how long I'd need them, they stated the treatment plan has it listed at 2 years. Great *dripping with sarcasm*. I'm 37 1/2 if things don't go as planned, I could still be in braces at 40. I changed my counter at the top to reflect 2 years to the day from when they went on and will change it accordingly as more information is available.

I'm going to get my hair cut in a little while. I'm going to treat myself.

Hopefully, the pain won't be too bad, I did not sleep very well last night. I'm really tired and will likely go to bed once I get back from getting my hairs cut.

Moral of the story, I shouldn't have worried, the staff is wonderful and gentle at the ortho's office and I need a nap.

:-# <---smiley emoticon with braces.

Less Than 24 Hours Left!

*gulp*

By this time tomorrow I'll be a half hour into the process of getting my braces and hopefully about a quarter of the way through.

I plan to get a bagel sandwich for lunch, garlic bagel, turkey, provolone cheese and a hint of mayo...my favorite but something that might be tough for me to eat for a while, if not impossible.

Then I plan on using a few white strips for the last time for year or so, so my teeth are as white and bright as they can be.

For dinner tonight, I plan on running to Sonic for a big burger after my piano lesson.

I think I might as for purple bands, you know, for Spring/Easter. We'll have to see. I'm off of work tomorrow since the appointment is scheduled for 10-12. I hope it's not too painful. I hope that the reports that the spacers are the worst part or true, because if it is, the rest of this will be a piece of cake...well mostly.

I'm nervous. Not so much about the braces but more so how my TMJ affected jaw will tolerate being open for 2 hours. Will the muscles spasm afterword? How badly will it ache?

I remember how much my cheeks hurt from last time and that wasn't too horrible, but will it be different now that I'm older?

I think I'll just treat myself today, expect the worst and hope for the best.

Getting Closer, In More Ways Than One

OK, so I logged in this morning and see that in almost 48 hours exactly I'll be on my way to get my braces! SHOCK! HORROR!

It was like an early morning wake up call, OK, midmorning, but still...It's starting to seem real.

This morning I tried out my new Waterpik toothbrush attachment. Pretty cool. It almost feels like I was at the dentist it feels so clean. It's messy as the water goes everywhere, but from what I've read, a Waterpik is great to use the waterjet attachment to blast the food particles out of your brackets. I was rather impressed. It has ten strength settings and several attachments including a small, narrow brush specifically for cleaning braces and around the brackets. This is what it looks like:

Then I flossed and realized some of the teeth in the front that were easier to floss just a week ago, are more difficult now. I think the spacers did their work and started to move my teeth a bit. It was weird though. My back teeth have always been incredibly tight and the front were OK to floss, now the fronts pretty tight. A very weird experience. Guess I should get used to it!

Not much else to report right now. I'm going to lunch with a coworker then a 2-3 hour meeting, blech! Can I just go home now?

I did take off Thursday when I get the braces my appointment is scheduled from 10-12 so it pretty much kills the day. I just wonder if I'll need to take Friday off, if the pain will bother me enough, or that I'll be having issues such as drooling/spitting that will make it embarrassing?

Anyone know?

I suppose I'll find out when I wake up on Friday.

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!

Just wondering and feeling better!

The pain is nearly gone! I can chew and the only real pain is where I had the Novocaine shots before my restorations.

The only "good" thing I find about chipping the tooth is that somehow the piece that broke off is seemingly allowing my bite to fit a little better. I wonder if the bite looks different?






Before I chipped the tooth











After I chipped the tooth


The tooth in question is on the right side of the photo (left side of my mouth)


What do you think? To me, it seems that the molars are sitting closer together, overlapping top and bottom-wise but I'm not sure.

I'm just happy to be very nearly pain free and am excited to get started next week!


As of this posting 5 days, 23 hours and 55 minutes until the next step in my journey!

(Oh yeah, forgot to mention that the dentist took out all the dark metal fillings on that part of the tooth and replaced them with tooth-colored composite material! YAY for real looking restorations, quicker AND prettier!)

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.