Can I do it?

[smilehope]

Hi EbonyQ, I've not written much on your thread but I am another who wishes you well. I'm the other way round to you - had lowers fitted first and just had uppers done.
Good to see your bottom set wired up - they will look beautiful when you're through!

[unspec]

I'm very jealous, can't wait to get my lowers on!

[EbonyQ]

Thanks guys!

Klobird: yeah, I know. What was the chance that I got this ortho? Of all the orthos in the world the ortho working next to my dentist turned out to be a super ortho!
We had a teenager who wanted the forsus the other day… she wanted something permanent and asked for it. Asked for the forsus!? I was thinking of you when they put it in her mouth.

Come to Norway klobird and you will get the chance to meet my ortho

TMJJill: Wow! 1,5 hour in the chair? I would have been a mess lol Eric used 20 minutes to bond my lowers and I was exhausted by just that

We have one at work who can be a bit ruff if a pt doesn’t do as she says or if she is in a bad mood. I mostly work in the reception but my boss wants me to learn a little bit of the treatment too and sometimes he calls on me to do something. She does not like that at all, that I’m not in the reception because in her eyes that is my spot. So even though my boss asked me to do a treatment she often come to me later and very mean ask why I left the reception, she tells me that I don’t need to do treatment because that is not what I was hired for (even though my boss says that I’m supposed to do some treatments and I was hired for that too). I'm too shy to say something back so I just listen and then walk away

She even try to boss around with our boss, she thinks she is running the place.

Once she told me that I was too sympatric with our pt ( which I might be sometimes for all I know) but I must do something right because some parents and kids ask for me specifically sometimes because they don’t want to talk to her


***


Yesterday the ortho working for my boss asked me how my teeth were going and I said fine, molars are not sore, it looks like I don’t need more wax but my front teeth are still a little sore so I can’t bite hard things with them. So what did he do? He asked if I wanted an apple and really demonstrating biting into to it (He had braces five years ago so he knows all about it) I'm going to miss him, he has three weeks left at out clinic.

And I have one tooth who have moved like a lot in five days. It’s so fun to see!

Before braces:


day 5:


Before:


day 5:

[klobird]

Hey Eb!

Wow--I am thinking that the only reason she might want the Forsus is because she was curious. I can't imagine that she's tolerating it very well. I mean it's not painful or restrictive--it was just such an annoying pain in the *ss that it affected my whole being. Uggghhhh!!!

Yes, I would like to meet Eric--still might happen!! It's not an impossibility...

I think of all people that you are going to be AMAZED and so proud of yourself when those bottoms start straightening out--and it doesn't take all that long. Your tops are moving well--you are going to have one beautiful set of teeth by the time I get there!! (and you will probably be 30yrs old!!)

Have you mentioned to your boss that "mean ortho" prefers that you work in the front? If so, he might talk to her. Sounds like she wouldn't listen though....BEEEAAACCCHHH....I wonder how many kids are going to be traumatized and avoid the dentist/ortho forever because of her. Arrrggghhh...it makes me so angry to think about it!!

I have an adjustment on Monday...nothing appears to be doing anything in my mouth...this is such a boring but peaceful time in braces. I hardly even notice that I have braces anymore. A girl I work with gets her braces of in 9 days after 2 1/2 years in braces. My 30yr old niece gets hers off on October 4.
I'm excited to have them tell me how it feels--even though I've heard it online a million times!

Sounds like things have settled down a bit for you as far as your braces....it is so nice to be able to tell the difference in your outlook!!

[EbonyQ]

She is not an ortho, she is an assistant just like me.

Yes, I will be so happy when the bottoms are straight. My ortho keep showing me my “old teeth” on my appointments as a motivation

Good luck on Monday!

[klobird]

Hey Eb--Well, it seems like the assistant might be jealous of you...You can't be the only one who can see how contrary she is. Or she feels threatened by your ortho's willingness to train you further. It seems like there's always one in every work place that negatively affects co-workers. About all you can do is ignore her and not give her the power to affect your life....and keep learning all that your ortho will offer to teach you!!

[TMJJill]

EbonyQ,

Klobird gave you some great advice. Remember to stay confident in yourself and try not to let the other assistant get you down. Keep taking pride in what you do. I think it is a great thing that you are learning to do what you do and I believe it won't be too long before you end up having people keep requesting you for your skills, not just because they don't like the other person. Compassion and caring are huge when it comes to working with people.

I've had my lowers on for about 6 weeks now. It took me about 3 before those front teeth calmed down enough to bite into something. I just cut stuff up small and stuck it back towards my molars for chewing. I saw alot of movement during those three weeks. I didn't notice it so much, but my wire was obviously straighter. (That is when my wire started slipping. ) I'm working on developing my arch right now more than anything though. Gotta get the bite in order before focusing on the final tooth positioning. I think it is great you've been able to ditch the wax.

Your pictures are great evidence of the success you've had so far. I wish I'd documented my journey from early on. My orthodontist takes tons of pictures every visit. Someday I need to see if I can get copies so I can share too.

[jem]

Hi Eb,

Congratulations on getting your lower brace. If your progress with your upper teeth is anything to go by, you will be seeing that lower wire straighten out pretty soon. I am looking forward to seeing your progress pictures.

You have really come a long way since you started posting on this board!

Best wishes

Jem

[EbonyQ]

So this is what happened:

Second day: I could feel some tightness and my teeth were very sore. Had to use much wax!

Fourth day: I could stop wearing wax completely, and have not needed it since. Still a bit sore

Fifth day: very little soreness, just my front teeth. They had move a lot just in five days

7th day: bottom braces had become a part of me. I no longer feel them in my mouth. Everything is back to normal

10th day: My teeth in the front are all in line and on the same level. Wow! it went fast!!

And I can’t believe this is what I was so afraid of and what took me 7 months!

[klobird]

Hey Eb my friend--

You have no idea how happy I am after reading your last blog!! I'm happy because you stuck with it--and now you are seeing the awesome benefits. I wasn't sure this day would ever come, but when this is all done, you need to give Eric the biggest hug ever!! I am sooooooooooo happy for you!!

[EbonyQ]

Thanks klobird!! Yes, I will give Eric the world’s biggest hug!


Boss gave me tortilla chips at work on Friday and we ate that the whole day. Tried to eat softer chips when I arrived home and guess what happened? The arch wire slipped out of the tube even with a bend on the end! Why could it not happen at work where I can fix it?!
Sent my boss an text to ask if I should clip it since I could not get it back in but he did not see it before two hours later and called me back like 2 min after I had clipped it… He was on his way home to get some stuff so he could help me get it back in the tube. Too late boss!


So I knew that I needed to call Eric on Monday and all weekend I had that in my mind (I’m so glad that Eric no longer tells me the date for my next appointment! It sure was a long weekend…)
Called in just now and asked if this was something Eric wanted to take a look on or if I could just go with it till next appointment (hoping for the last one).

The receptionist “let me see when you have your next appointment. It’s…”
Me “noooo, don’t tell me! I’m not supposed to know!”
She started to chuckle “Yes, of course. Eric don’t give you your time”

The thing I hate with these emergency appointments is that I need to take what it is available, I can’t say “no, I want the last one for the day” and expect my ortho to work overtime when I call. I therefor know that it can be a bit crowed there, two assistants (one in the reception and one doing the “cleaning”) and pt waiting on the ortho.
When she went to speak to Eric, if I needed to come in or not, and I could hear him say “She can come five” I felt so relived. Yes, it’s the last appointment for the day!

So guess who is a “bit” nervous now?..................!!!!

[EbonyQ]

I survived yet again!

He was a bit late today He never want to rush is pt out of his office and today it sounded like he was "playing" with a kid because there was a lot of laughter in there (I guess it was the cheek extractor thingy, his “smiling mask” as he calls it. He tends to joke with that thing ). I was like “wow, how do you manage to get someone who is going to get braces laugh like that? (he always tend to have bonding at the end of the day when he is alone so there is always a bonding before me). The kid was laughing like crazy when they passed me and my ortho came to get me. The kid was still a bit sore in the jaw he already had braces so he could come back in a week when things was a bit better, no need to do anything with sore teeth.

When it was my time I was uber nervous as always . He wanted to see if my teeth were ready for the .014 arch wire and when I heard this there was some panic, but even though they had moved a lot they were not ready for it just yet. I was like “YESSSSSSSS!” no thicker arch wire! I could do the happy dance!!

I was a bit afraid that he wanted to change the upper one while I was there but he did do anything even though he mentioned that they were ready for the rectangular one(!) . This gave me some more panic so he told me that we don’t need to jump straight to the rectangular, he could put on two .014 wires which would be almost the same size as the first rectangular one, just a little bit kinder.

Asked the dreaded question; how far are we behind because of my anxiety? We are about 5-6 months behind but he empathized that I was not here just to fix my teeth like others but also my anxiety too. I had two things that I needed to take care of, not just one. So in that sense we were not that far behind.

Even though I still have anxiety at our appointments things are getting easier so that is a great thing.
I want to write him an e-mail to tell him how grateful I’m for everything he does. Know that he already knows but I really want to thank him. He has done so much for me

[Angel269]

Hi Ebony

Great to hear how well things are progressing-both your teeth and your confidence with your ortho.

I don't have my adjustment til next Friday and my powerchain has yellowed a fair bit and since yesterday the coating has come off my archwire right at the front I'm hoping to hang on til next week but it's looking bad

[klobird]

Hey Eb!! The increase in wires is not that bad--really! I think as time goes by, you will find that the hard stuff is over, and now it's just gradual changing wires etc. I used to be petrified about the "rectangular" wire etc. When I did get one, I didn't even know it until the next appt. Yes, for a few more adjustments, you will have some discomfort--but not so bad..

And then--boring. So,so boring. So very boring. Did I say it's boring??!!!
I am so used to having braces now that it's like nothing. Except that I really can't wait to get them off and eat all the naughty foods!

Tell Eric that America is rooting for the both of you!! EXCELLENT!!

[BetsyBug]

Your ortho sounds awesome you are a lucky lady to have him.