Two Stories in One: Our His and Hers Matching Braces

[Ellabelle]

Dee, P.S., if you score that beachfront abode in HI, I'm coming to live with you, invitation or not!!!

[oldfart]

I am so tempted to try the red next time. At least on bottom.

[nachoesq86]

Ellabelle

Which type of brackets do you have?

[Ellabelle]

Do it, of! Red is hot!

And we have Synergy brackets, made by Rocky Mountain Orthodontics

[oldfart]

Do it, of! Red is hot!

And we have Synergy brackets, made by Rocky Mountain Orthodontics

Chickened out. Have a major work meeting scheduled for next month and red is just too prominant. Although the bright blue power chain also kinda sticks out.

of

[Ellabelle]

Oh, drats. Maybe another month.

[Ellabelle]

So my appliance broke the the other day. One of the attachments to the top broke, so it was just hanging out of my mouth, not unlike a walrus. So I made an emergency appt, a hassle but I always like picking out a new color, so that was a plus. Then I'm literally walking out the office door, when the "arm" of the appliance just up and fell off again. Ughhh. So back in, re fixed up, hopefully I'm good now til my Jan appt.

Pain is still constant. But I suppose that means it's working.Though the doctor was disappointed in the lack of movement. She suggested we may have to switch to a twin block, which I do NOT want. But hey, it's only been a month! Hopefully my jaw gets with the program soon. It dure aches like it is so I'm going to take that as a positive sign!!

I made a little collage of the details of the appliance, in case anyone dorks out to this stuff like I do.

[Dee17]

Oh, my goodness, you've really been through the wringer with that thing. I hope this latest visit will keep you until your next appointment, too! How do you clean that thing?

[Ellabelle]

Well I have a dental pouch in my purse always. The contents varies a bit but usually I have a mirror, braces flossers, two long dental pick/cleaning things (one softer & double sided, one like a metal hook), Wisp toothbrushes, lip balm, dentapicks, tiny mints (the big Lifesavers ones are a choking hazard to me these days). And always always water for rinsing/swooshing, my CamelBak is my good bud, haha. So that's for on the go, which is most of the day. I drive a lot between clients so much of my eating and cleaning is done in my car. But at home I use a Waterpik Ultra and a really nice electric toothbrush. Mouthwash regularly to keep my mouth wounds clean. Sometimes silicone or a topical analgesic at night. Sometimes salt water rinses. So yeah... my mouth is a teensy bit high maintenance these days.

[Ellabelle]

Today's pouch & contents. More dental goodies in my car, of course, lol.

[Dee17]

Wow! That's quite a routine but heck, if it gets the job done, it's worth it, right? I bought one of Lynn's Dentakits from the website but I must confess that I've hardly used it. Only a few times have I actually found food stuck in my braces after having a meal. If I'm out, a quick brush will get rid of it.
I also use a waterpik but I also floss after I'm finished using the waterpik. I guess I'm just not 100% sure that it will get rid of all the gunk in my mouth and I'm kind of paranoid about it. One of the worst things for me was once having a spinach cheese appetizer in a restaurant and then going to the bathroom some 15 minutes later only to discover that there was a HUGE wad of spinach stuck in my front brackets. The person I was with never said a thing. I was so embarrassed. I said to her, "Why didn't you tell me I had spinach stuck in my braces??" She said, "Oh, it wasn't that noticeable. I figured you'd find it eventually." Uhhhhh......

[Ellabelle]

Ughhh I hate that! I always tell people because I always want to know myself! It is just common courtesy.

[Dee17]

I know what you mean. I once read somewhere that Emily Post said that it was not rude to tell someone about something they could change immediately such as spinach in their braces but it was rude to tell someone about something they couldn't such as saying, "Oh, what an ugly dress" to someone at a dinner party. Made sense to me and I've always tried to abide by that rule. I was completely taken aback by the fact that she didn't say anything not to mention horribly embarrassed by the whole thing!

[plugnickel69]

A new aphorism: "While wearing braces, only eat spinach with someone you can trust."

[Dee17]

Very true!